STAR WARS RPG - A Campaign Using the Fantasy Flight System, Act 3

Chapter 9 - Routing the Enemy

Natasha and Feral dispatch the Culliseto gang with relative ease. A few stragglers try to flee on speeder bikes but they are quickly caught and killed. They lead Natasha to a bar down by the industrial district called ‘The Hive’. Several other insectoid races fill the rundown establishment. Including Verpine, more Cullistetto and a Gand bartender. Natasha confronts the Cullisetto who think better than attacking her outright. When she follows them outside, another fight breaks out. One manages to escape and she tracks to her underground lair, a chamber flooded with tepid water and small, wriggling larvae. The corridor of flickering lights is guarded by a droid programmed to fire a blaster on intruders. The few Cullisetto left immediately surrender. Natasha leaves the brood with a final warning: "Stay out of Black Sun territory or be eradicated."

Feral searches for the Cullisetto brood but instead discovers a young human, barely in his teens. The boy claims to belong to the White Worm gang. Feral befriends him and offers to help get him off world and have a better life if he helps him navigate the expansive underground tunnels and chambers below Coronet City. 

Chapter 10 - The White Worm Strikes

Cael and Vendri, Black Sun
Operatives Loyal to Vigo Nemitza

Grindalid, White Worm
Gang Member

Natasha and Feral agree to meet back at the spaceport where Vigo Nemitza sends two other Black Sun operatives to assist them: Vendri a Duro and a human soldier named Cael (played by visiting guests).

Unbeknownst to the heroes, leaders in the White Worms contact the defecting teen and coerce him into giving up his location. Two Grindalids and a pair of Corellian hounds converge on them and a vicious battle ensues. Two Stormtroopers have been lazily keeping watch in the giant bay but spring into action when the fight begins. Surprised by the sudden shootout, they begin blasting anything that refuses their orders. The heroes overcome the White Worm gang and the Stormtroopers. Natasha and Vendri leave to go to find the control center in order to destroy any security footage that might exist. Feral and Blade arrange the bodies to look as if the clash was between the White Worms and the Stormtroopers.

Corellian Hounds, Favored Attack
Dogs of the White Worms

They join Vigo Nemitza back at Black Sun headquarters for an exotic dinner of live Falleen Slime Eels, Kowakian Monkey-Lizard brains and ‘iced cream’ made from an unknown dairy source. Natasha refuses most of the meal but the Zabrak brothers enjoy the fine spread. 

As part of their reward for defeating the White Worms, Nemitza offers to place them in contact with the finest weapons and armor dealer on Corellia and assists them in getting some special modifications to their equipment. 

Nemitza patiently waits for the right moment in the conversation to admit that he did some cursory research on the Infinite Crown. Allegedly, this is a treasure ship, lost in the clone wars when royalty from Sedoinia attempted to flee to Coruscant. No one has ever discovered it and most think it is another contrived war story. “There is a great Library in this system on the planet Drall. The Overseer of that place is a Drall who is an associate of ours. I will set up a meeting with him for you in exchange for a portion of the take.” In the end, Nemitza agrees to a 7% share in the treasure ship but they need to take Vendri with them as his eyes and ears.

Agathia, Fortune Teller and Pan Handler

Back at the spaceport, Feral and Blade encounter a elderly woman panhandling for spare credits. She is named Agathia, and claims to be able to tell fortunes. She licks her hand and wipes it down Feral’s face as part of her ritual. Blade and Feral are not strangers to sorcery and are genuinely pleased with the woman’s abilities. “A path of destruction and violence will follow you Feral, to the very end of your days.”

Local CorSec police (Corellia Security Force), begin investigating the shootout and subsequent deaths at the Spaceport. They have a lot of questions for the party and a contingent of Imperial Troops are approaching. Natasha has recently discovered how to use the force to sense lifeforms around her by feeling the energies coursing through them. She attempts the ability in the spaceport and to her surprise, she discovers that the old fortune teller proves to be strong with the force. Natasha realizes her fortune telling is actually a true gift of forsight: a glimps into the future. The heroes convince Agathia to come with them and they depart for Drall before the Imperials lock down the entire spaceport.

During the flight, they check the holonet for recent warrants and those wanted for questioning. To their surprise, none of the party is on the list. However, Agathia is. She is wanted for sedition and treason, and her warrant is for 20,000 credits. Strangely enough, the warrant gives little information about her alleged crimes against the Empire and Natasha suspects it is because she is a known ‘force sensitive’ to the Internal Security Bureau.

Chapter 11 - Heroes of Drall

The heroes find Drall to be a beautiful and interesting planet. Their cities are made of giant domes, constructed from stone and covered with living green vegetation to make them appear like the rolling hills that cover most of Drall. The Boiling Sea is an expansive, landlocked sea that boils with gasses being released from algae blooms. This attracts schools of fish and other sealife, including hundreds of different species of seabirds, including beautiful Flame Ibbots and even Giant Ibbots, (a colorful reptavian that the Drall have mastered riding). The Drall are a pleasant species to interact and deal with. Natasha attends the Luminous Gardens, a high end establishment filled with beautiful flowers and colorful lights. It is also a hub of venture capitalists, the Imperial Navy;s upper echelon and political hookups of the Galactic Senate. She takes note of two Internal Security Bureau agents (ISB) as well. Feral rides across the capital city, Mastagaphorus, by speeder bike. He meets a Selonian swoop bike gang called the Fangs. The Selonians are reclusive and most dislike other species. The make very little effort to hide their contempt for Feral. Feral has grown in wisdom however, and nothing will deter him from getting the information about the Infinite Crown. He refuses to race and this only upsets the Selonians further.

Drall, Capital Area of the Boiling Sea (Home-brewed Map)

The Overseerer of the Library is a venerable Drall named Corduunias. Corduunias has purchased several rare art pieces from Black Sun, who acquired them from Imperials trying to sell their spoils of war onto the black market. Perhaps Corduunias is a wealthy opportunist or perhaps he is just collecting the art for safe keeping, lest it end up in the hands of the gangsters of the Outer Rim. Either way, this is the basis for his ‘relationship’ with Black Sun.. Corduunias has a daughter named Nanora. She is a young and very enthusiastic Drall politician who speaks out against the Empire. This has put her on dangerous ground with Imperials and emboldened her enemies in rival Drallish clans. The heroes discover that the Empire recently captured her and has placed her under house arrest at a private estate on the secluded island of Uluum in the Boiling Sea. Her political leanings are only partially responsible for her imprisonment. The Empire has sent one of the Emperor’s advisors, (and an expert on the force and a scholar of Jedi history,) to search the Library for clues about the locations of possible hidden temples and holy places. They also hope to raid the tomb of a Drall Jedi hidden beneath the Library. Corduunias has a hard time getting away from his Imperial ‘guests’ and he is under a lot of duress with the kidnapping of his daughter. He is reluctant about meeting with Black Sun.

Drall Police Can Also Ride the Great Ibbots into Battle 

Needing to kill some time, Natasha and Feral take interest in the Avery, a spralling hill complex of Giant Ibbot stables, breeding agents, restaurants and an off track betting office. A legendary ‘race track’ of floating hoop sensors weaves throughout the hills stretching to the east of the Avery. Knowing they would never win a race against professional Drall jockeys, they begin training for an open-class race. Feral relished and excelled at this task, his Dathomirian heritage making him naturally adept at handling the dangerous creatures.

The Mastigaphorous 500 also has an open-class for novice racers and it is composed of several non-Drall flyers as well as a half-dozen rookie Drall. Two Dresselians, two Corellian human thrill seekers and a one-eyed Gungan are all frequent names in the beast racing circuit which also takes place on Malastare and Onderon. The party pays off the Corellians who are willing to give up their two spots in the race. The Corellians also moonlight as smugglers and are planning a ‘Five Brother Shuffle’ in a few days and a traded loader droid cinches the deal. Vendri explains the ‘Five Brother Shuffle’ as the Corellian system drug run.

Feral slips away and heads to the gambling office. He doesn’t have enough money to place a substantial bet and so tries to secure a loan with the ship. Ownership of the Gruuunn is a somewhat murky subject, but the Black Sun bookie he is dealing with accepts the YV-666, its cargo and their three droids as collateral. After all, if Feral absconds with the ship, he can go to the local Vigo with the grievance.

Corduunias finally meets with the party at the Avery. He is clearly under duress and is behaving nervously. He is persuaded to help the characters access the Library in exchange for rescuing his daughter and getting them both off planet, safely. Corduunias leaves and the heroes tail him for a distance. A small spherical spy droid follows him and was no doubt, spying on their meeting. Natasha catches up to it and bags it with her cloak from behind, dragging it into the alleyway before pummeling it into pieces. The droid is eliminated, but the Empire must know that Corduunias only appears to be cooperative.

The Ibbot race proves to be an exhilarating challenge. Feral discovered someone had slipped a spiked seed under his saddle which would have proved a painful distraction for his Great Ibbot. He suspects the seed was placed there by the one-eyed Gungan. Giant floating hoops flash and sound every time a flyer passes through them and are set up in such a manner as to force the racers into steep dives, winding through trees and over rocky peaks. They start with a death defying leap from Avery’s cliffs. Natasha uses the force, trying to push other racers back and keep them from passing her. Feral takes an early lead and keeps it most of the race until the Dresselians slip ahead of him. A TIE fighter patrol swooped in for a brief inspection of the flyers, startling several of the Great Ibbots. In the end, Feral and one of the Dresselians becomes locked in a frantic push for the lead. Feral leaves his competitor hung up in the final repulsor-hoop while Natasha slips ahead and won the race.

Everyone is celebrating, eating and drinking free food and enjoying attention from the locals. The Corellian press plasters their images on the holonet. Natasha has won the purse of 5,000 cr while Feral won 2,000. The bookie makes his rounds and profusely congratulates Natasha and Feral for their outstanding performances and for a very entertaining event. He slaps Feral on the shoulder, “Too bad about your ship though. Easy come, easy go. Right?” Feral leaves the celebrations early.

Back at the Spaceport, Feral finds a group of swoop bike riding Selonians who are members of a gang called “The Fangs”. He recognizes them from an earlier encounter in Mastigaphorous when they attempted to entice him into an illegal street race. Feral buys their leader a drink and proposes a business deal. He tells the Selonians that he is going to explore some underground tunnel systems beneath the Great Library. Those tunnels are rumored to connect to a network of caverns claimed by a reclusive tribe of Selonians who are even less friendly to outsiders than the other Selonians he has encountered. The gang leader agrees to assist Feral, but only if the right price is paid.

Selonian

Feral tells Natasha about the bet and she takes it well. After hours, she heads to the gambling office of the Black Sun bookie. Using her hacking skills on the doors and on a master safe, she gains access. The Drallish security personnel come to investigate but are easily turned away using suggestions from the force. Natasha finds the little black book, and sets it and the rest of the office on fire. She escapes with a collection of jewelry, a blaster of excellent quality (Royal Security Force S5B Officer’s Pistol) and a pile of loose credits, (approximately 20,000).

Natash makes her escape by heading towards the stables, her minor celebrity status gets her past the Drallish caretakers with little trouble. She finds the top two Class A racers, the finalists of the professional race. Colorful award ribbons hang on their stall doors. A few force powered suggestions to calm the startled creatures and within minutes, she is making her escape with the price Great Ibbots. She flies to a rocky peninsula on the southern shore of the Boiling Sea and calls Feral who grabs Blade and meets her there.

The two names of the Great Ibbots are in Drallish but they translate as the ‘One who’s flame shoots from her wings.” and the other “Speeding Storm Cloud’.

Chapter 12 - On the Boiling Sea

The three take off in search of Uluum Island and the Estate of Clan Trammos (known for their loyalty to the Empire) where she is being held prisoner.

The moonless sky is devoid of stars as fine, salty mist permeates them. Occasionally, heat lightning flashes and illuminates the coastal view. After a two-hour flight they see the lights from the Estate and close upon it. The clustered islands reach up out of the ocean with near vertical cliffs and grassy tops. Two Dralls riding Giant Ibbots circle over the island keeping sentry. The use a megaphone and give the characters a single warning before swooping at them with deadly intent. Natasha and her Great Ibbot face one, both great reptavians charging each other with abandon. The Drall shoots stun bolts at his opponent but Natasha returns fire with her disruptors, one of the bolts strikes and disintegrates his furry arm. The Great Ibbots veer at the last moment, narrowly avoiding a deadly collision. The Drall’s Ibbot snaps at Natasha with a vicious bite, teeth penetrating her armor and deep into her chest. She gasps for air but somehow manages to stay in the saddle. Her Ibbot snatched the wounded Drall from his saddle and with a short jerking motion, is tossed to the dark ocean hundreds of meters below.

Blade and Feral begin circling but their opponent swoops in behind them. Some quick maneuvering by Feral and they reverse the advantage. Stun bolts fly at them but nothing connects and Feral dives to deliver a killing blow to the Drall using his newly upgraded force pike. The Ibbots fly into the night sky.

Now Feral and Natasha can make out the details of a landing pad and an observation deck encircling the hilltop. They begin looking for a discrete area to land but a faint and familiar roar of a TIE fighter patrol grows louder and louder before emerging from the clouds. Feral and Natasha dive towards a rocky outcropping where their Great Ibbots should be able to find enough purchase to hang onto the cliffside. The TIE fighters scream past, mercifully unaware of the hidden heroes.

STAR WARS RPG - A Campaign Using the Fantasy Flight System, Act 2

Chapter 5 - Imperial Entanglements

Natasha and Feral meet 4-2 and head to the Typhoon so it can inspect the two containers of B1 Battle Droids they brought from Duro. It plays the holo-projector so the party can communicate with Drell Mar. All is to its satisfaction and the units are put on flatbeds and brought to loading bay 77077 inside New Jahnae City. Large droids with fork-lift actuators pull the containers and stack them. The characters notice a pair of feet sticking out from between two cargo holders at the far side of the bay. They investigate and find that the body is of an Imperial Customs Agent. They take her data pad, some credits and some unused customs seals.  Looking at the wounds she sustained, the party surmises she was attacked and killed by one of the loader droids. 4-2 asks that the party help move the body of the customs agent to a residential part of New Jahnae, which they do. Other cleaning droids show up soon after and clean the areas of any evidence.

Black Krrsantan,
Wookiee Bounty Hunter

Heading back to Red Hills Saloon, Natasha almost collides with a enormous Wookiee who snarls and bellows angrily as his personal space is invaded. She keeps her composure and enters the bar. The well-equipped Wookiee is leaving with a woman wearing Ubese armor and bristling with weapons. They have the look of bounty hunters. Asking around the Red Hills Saloon, they realize that the pair are searching for Drell Mar, the Aqualish pirate.

Doesh Dien,
Ubese Bounty Hunter

Their dinner is interrupted by two Imperial officers, Captain Lomar and Lieutenant Kriegg, with Storm Trooper escorts. They ‘insist’ that they join them at the Imperial Office for a ‘casual discussion’. When they arrive, Natasha and Feral check the Imperial Wanted Postings, seeing that the pirate Drell Mar is not listed. This makes them believe that the bounty hunters are working off of a private contract. The Captain and Lieutenant direct them to an interrogation room and tell them to secure their weapons in the locker before entering. Natasha, who is concealing two very illegal disruptor pistols, is not about to chance getting arrested for possession of a disintegrating weapon. She turns on the two troopers blocking the exit and fires, killing both immediately. More blaster fire is exchanged and Feral attacks the officers. In the end, Captain Lomar escapes with his arm gravely wounded, but the others are killed. They flee the Imperial Office to their ship for a quick get-a-way.

Captain Lomar, Bestine V
Imperial Security Detachment

As they begin to depart, the Wookiee and the Ubese bounty hunters are seen droid-napping, hauling an immobilized 4-2 on a repulsor-pallet and entering their ship, a battle-worn YV-666 named the Gruunn. The party enters the Typhoon which Blade had readied for take off and track the fleeing ship. They are heading to the site of a crashed VT-1300 freighter about 30 km from New Jahnae City, where there are mercenaries or pirates rumored to be working for Drell Mar.

They stow the G9 behind a rocky hill and sneak up to the crash site, the Gruunn is parked nearby with the entrance ramp down and a large loader droid standing guard. The party can hear blaster fire, shouting and a Wookiee’s enraged howl coming from the ruins. Natasha scans the ship, finding three other life forms and some droids on board. She, Feral and Blade rush the ramp and Natasha uses her force powers to ‘push’ the loader droid off to the rocky surface of Bestine V. They scramble on board and close the door. Natasha removes the power unit to ensure the door will not open again.

YV-666, "Grruunn" (side view)

Chapter 6 - The Upper Hand

The bounty hunters try to negotiate with them. The Ubese contacts them via holo-communicator and uses a CZ protocol droid to translate. The droid identifies his masters as the notorious Wookiee, Black Krrsantan and the Ubese bounty hunter Doesh Dien. They suggest, that if Natasha, Feral and Blade return their YV-666, they will give the characters the dread pirate Drell Mar, (really just a random mercenary with a sack over his head,) whose bounty should bring them 20,000 credits as well as several other pirate prisoners and equipment. Furthermore, the Doesh Dien holds a device which she claims is a detonator that can blow up the entire ship, killing everyone instantly. They make a quick search of the Gruunn, finding two life forms residing in prison cells and a third mysteriously moving through the walls and between decks of the ship. They eventually discover a device of four rigged thermal detonators behind an engineering panel, placed near the ship's reactor. Natasha carefully removes the device and uses her force powers to move the explosives to the wreck of the YT freighter instead. 

They head to the YV-666 weapon controls. Quad laser canons raze the ruined YT, continuing to punish it again and again. Black Krrsantan bursts out from the flaming wreckage on a speeder bike and races towards some broken terrain nearby. The Ubese tries to do the same but the controller fin of the bike catches on some debris and she and the bike go spinning into a wild disorienting dive. Laser fire finishes her off and the Gruunn takes off to pursue Black Krrsantan. He manages to evade them for a few minutes but as the Wookiee makes a daring break, he is shot down and erupts in a giant exploding ball of orange flames. They set the Gruunn down and take everything of value from the wreck, then they land next to the Typhoon and discuss their next move.

The players assess their condition after the battle. The bodies of Black Krrsantan and Doesh Dien are looted and quickly buried beneath the red rocks of Bestine V. Anything of value from the pirate hideout is similarly taken, and they place the only survivor in one of the cells on board the newly captured YV-666.   He is a Balosar by the name of  Zorbo Chernick. He claims to work closely with the Pirate Drell Mar but the party begins to suspect otherwise.

Terran 'Smash' Mace, Black Sun Thug

The two humans already in the cells are 1) a black sun thug named Terran "Smash" Mace and a suspected rebel pilot/smuggler named Mara Joyce. They both have bounties.

They take interest in the personal items left behind by the bounty hunters. Krrsantan had the head of a stuffed Nexu, some weapons he collected as trophies. Doesh Dien had a severed human head in a fridge. 

Mara Joyce, Rebel Pilot & Smuggler

They also find mundane cargo containers of food stuffs, some various star ship and droid parts.

There is a very wounded yet talkative CZ who now accepts the players as his new masters. They collect the loader droid as well and affix a restraining bolt.

CZ informs the party that a Neimoidian named Pruuv Naytay discovered a spy had been planted in his crew by a pirate named Drell Mar. Pruuv, a veteran of the Clone Wars and now operates a medium freighter working the hard scrabble systems of the Tyus sector. In turn, he hired the bounty hunters to investigate why this pirate had any interest in him.

They take the speeder bikes to pick up a part they need to fix 4-2 and meet with protocol droid without incident. However, when trying to return to their ships, several mynocks moved in to chew on the power cables of the bike. There was little damage and the party sped away, quickly outpacing the creatures.

Nexu Head - one of many trophies collected
by the Wookiee Bounty Hunter, Black Krrsantan

4-2, who had his central power core ripped out by the Wookiee, was repaired by Natasha. 4-2 establishes a link with Drell Mar, shining a tall, horrifying image of the Aqualish in the cargo bay for them as they negotiate. Drell Mar offers the party a retainer of 20,000 credits to infiltrate Pruuv Naytay’s crew and gather information on his movements. Furthermore, 4-2 is allowed to access and download the ship’s log to see if he can verify the Gruunn's recent movements and ports of call. Natasha looks at the data simultaneously and discovers that 4-2 also made a search for a ship called the Infinite Crown – a detail that was clearly left out of their discussions with the droid and his Aqualish master.

CZ - Protocol Droid

Natasha and Feral realize the G9 is now wanted and they have similarly been identified by the Empire as persons of interest. Natasha contacts her father, gives him a status report and informs him of the prisoners they freed from the bounty hunters. Rodundo tells them to bring the Black Sun thug to his Vigo who resides on Corellia. Meanwhile, the Typhoon should be brought to the Black Sun chop-shop on Centerpoint Station in order to dispose of it. They depart and begin making the calculations for a jump to hyperspace but a patrol of four TIE fighters attempts to interdict them. They attempt to jam transmissions, then engage the TIE fighters. Both ships take a bit of carbon scoring but in the end, all four TIE fighters are destroyed.

Chapter 7 - A New Nemesis

"We'll take it from here, bounty hunter."

Feral, who is piloting the Gruunn along with Terran and the droids, watches the Typhoon jump to hyperspace and he nearly engages the YV-666's engines until a proximity alarm begins to flash an angry red. A Imperial Star Destroyer jumps in, blocking the flight path of the Gruunn. Fortunately, it hails them on their communicator, rather than opening fire. Feral sends Terran to the back to make sure the captured Balosar, Zorbo stays quiet and he dons a space helmet to hide his face. Feral answers Commander Sienna of the Imperial Star Destroyer Vengeance. Sienna also contacts Captain Lomar who was previously wounded gravely by Feral and Natasha. The Empire is now calling the incident a concerted 'Rebel attack' and Captain Lomar orders Feral to remove his helmet. To Feral's surprise, Captain Lomar states that he was not among the attackers and requests the Vengeance collect his information, then release him and the ship. Captain Lomar's smiling face now looks more like a snarl. He concludes the conversation with Feral privately, ordering him to provide a scapegoat for the incident at New Jahnae City so that Lomar can save face. He also threatens to make further requests from Feral and Natasha in the future, as needs arise. Feral meets a contingent of Storm Troopers at the site of the crashed YT-1300 and he gives over a battered and bruised Zorbo to take the fall for the attack.

Chapter 8 - Corellia, Jewel of the Core

Dianoga in the Sewers

At Centerpoint Station, Natasha sets the Typhoon down in hanger 41, the Black Sun controlled chop shop. They clean out the ship. Four hours later, Feral joins them and they make a list of repairs needed for the Gruunn and give them to the furry Drall in charge of the landing pad while they eat refreshments in a cafe called the Bantha Trax. The refreshers and sewerage system in the Gruunn are replaced and a high output emitter is added to the ion engine to boost its speed. Unfortunately, they forgot to warn the Dralls of the dianoga living in the sewer storage tanks and an extra 2,000 credits got added to the bill for hazardous duty and damage the disgusting creature caused to a cleaning droid.

Centerpoint Station, Location of Black Sun Chop-Shop

Once the modifications are completed they travel to Corellia to meet up with Black Sun Vigo Nemitza, another Falleen who is a cousin to Vigo Agiatoz on Coruscant. Rebel Smuggler Mara Joyce departs to find her parents.

The meeting with Nemitza starts out well. The conversation turns into the Vigo complaining about the White Worms street gang and how much money they have cost him in territory disputes. They have members entering his underground dog fighting competitions and their Corellian hounds have bested his premium Kath hounds, causing the loss of several of the expensive animals. Furthermore, he has businesses who are being plagued by the petty criminals and are now refusing to pay protection money which they say isn't worth the plasticard it's printed on since their establishments are getting burglarized and vandalized regardless.

Vigo Nemitza

At this point, Nemitza uses his Falleen ability to release potent, mind affecting pheromones into the air and he begins to ask the questions. Natasha and Feral manage to keep their answers cryptic but Nemitza questions Smash about his apprehension and the thug succumbs to the biochemicals. He admits that he surrendered to the bounty hunters to spare his life, even though his boss courageously fell in the ensuing blaster fight. The Falleen is not pleased with 'cowardice' in his organization and has Smash taken out back to be fed to his fighting dogs as an example.

Nemitza tries to 'compel' Natasha and Feral into visiting Cyan Cybernetics, a medical facility that has refused to pay protection money. Natasha isn't impressed with the Vigo's treatment of his subordinates or the businesses within his territory and she lets him know that she isn't to be intimidated or influenced by him, (pheromones or not). This infuriates him, yet he offers to pay the three a substantial sum if they can humiliate the White Worms and get Cyan Cybernetics to resume the protection payments.

Band of Culisetto 'Blood Thieves'

They sleep on the Gruunn but in the morning they visit Cyan Cybernetics and are given a tour by Dr. Cyan Tames, a human who has received so many modifications that he could pass for a droid. Once the doctor realizes Natasha and Feral are not customers, he becomes guarded. He explains he will no longer pay any protection money until Black Sun stops his place from being burglarized. He has lost several shipments of biomass-products such as liquefied fat and bags of donated blood needed for the surgeries he preforms. They convince him that they are here to stop the break-ins. They stake out his storage area but no one attempts to burglarize the business on the first night. Natasha examines the security cameras within the building and discover a slicing transmitter connected to the system. This is sending the security feed to the burglars and so they hide in the only room (used for surgery) that doesn't contain cameras. The following night, they hear someone slicing the controls of the loading door. The door slides upwards and eight Culisetto, a flightless, mosquito-like alien, skitter into the room, some walking on the walls effortlessly. Feral, who waits in the structural beams overhead, readies his energy pike, while Natasha peers back at the giant, multi-faceted insect eye that stares at her through the small window into the surgical room.

STAR WARS RPG - A Campaign Using the Fantasy Flight System, Act 1

I want to put these campaign notes online, mostly to preserve them for future reflection and enjoyment but also to share the story with others playing these games. Due to our personal schedules, there are only two players and myself the GM. We are playing a little less than twice a month as not to disrupt our Pathfinder and Battletech RPG campaigns that are still ongoing. Fingers crossed for more players! The images seen are from Wookieepedia at https://starwars.fandom.com, many of them poorly photo shopped by me, or at the very least, 'renamed' to fit our story.  

Introduction: The Campaign & Characters

We are new to the interpretive dice system but are enjoying it immensely. Rather than play "born heroes", we decided to start out on a darker note and see where their moral compasses lead them. We begin ten years after the end of the Clone Wars, (nine years before the Battle of Yavin).

"Black Rose" played
by Scarlett Johansson

Collin’s character is "Natasha Hawthorne,” aka "Black Rose".

She is a force-sensitive human female spy/sleeper agent working as a freelance operative through an organization known as 'The Guild'. Her handler is a human who goes by the codename, 'Shadow of Eridu'. She graduated with a male Torgruta called 'Saber', a male human called 'Flame' and a Gand named Isek Nyuglioo who left the Guild mid-training. It was rumored he developed a 'deathstick' habit while trying to mimic 'vision questing' so many of the other hunters and trackers of his species perform, (though without the help of hallucinogenic drugs).  Her mother is a former pageant winner and a Coruscant debutante. Her father is a Vigo in Black Sun, a widespread, galactic criminal organization. Her brother went against family tradition and became a Law Enforcement Officer in the Capital City. He has little to no contact with the rest of the family but makes frequent attempts to lure her into colluding with the police. A security droid named Hunter protects the family's condo.

Sam is playing “Feral,” a Zabrak marauder from Dathomir. We role-played out the details of his backstory in the first chapter.

Feral, Zabrak Marauder

Chapter 1 - Escape from Dathomir

 Nightsister Shelissa has made an attempt on the Mother’s Seat for the Singing Mountain Clan but is sorely humilitated and banished from Dathomir. She informs Feral and six of his brethren to "pack lightly" and prepare to depart with her. They search for an abandoned Consular Class frigate turned freighter named Intrepid, deep in the ruins of an abandoned mining city.  A rancor hunts them as they travel and they attempt to hide. The rancor plucks two Zabrak from a shallow river and one is immediately eaten. The other, named Blade, is saved after a daring rescue by Feral who rushes the hungry beast, climbs up it's back and uses an energy pike to strike it on the top of the head, (our first 'crit' of the game)! This stuns the monster enough so that he drops the gravely injured Blade and Shelissa uses her dark side force powers to scare off the rancor. She then scolds Feral for his recklessness and for not protecting her. "Remember your place and the insignificance of your life."

They find the Intrepid and she tasks Feral to prepare the ship while she takes the remaining able bodied Zabraks and attacks a local village of the Singing Mountain Clan in a final act of revenge.  After clearing the ship’s cargo hold of venomous Bane-back Spiders, Feral begins system checks and repairs, keeping the injured Blade close by. The only Zabrak to return alive from the raid with Shelissa is a hulking brute named Killgore. The ship barely flies but they manage to make it off planet. It takes several tries to find a hyperspace route as Dathomir is extremely secluded and Feral has limited experience with plotting courses. They suffer additional indignities from Shelissa who is maddened with anger and thoughts of revenge. He realizes that she will be the death of them all. Once on the Celanon Spur hyperlane, Feral programs the drive to jump but jettisons himself, Blade and Killgore in an attempt to rescue his brothers from their cruel Master.

After four days adrift, they begin to eat the bacta shots included in a medical kit within the pod to stave off dehydration and starvation. With a stroke of luck, they are picked up by merchants, Captain Hapt, a Cathar and her human co-pilot Ido Burznen in the Action VI Freighter, Iguila. They refuse them their weapons but grant them passage in exchange for the pod. While getting resupplied at the space station “Titanus” in the Bandomeer system, Kilgore ditches them to search for his master, the Nightsister Shelissa. The merchants help Blade and Feral get 'refugee identification documents' and recommend they find work on Coruscant as hired muscle. They do well with the advice and in a short amount of time they meet a low ranking Black Sun boss named Lorenz. They collect 'protection credits' from local businesses, and are given a modest apartment and some cash. All of their immediate needs are provided for.

Chapter 2 - A Messy Business

On Coruscant, a Falleen Black Sun Vigo named Agiatoz, calls fellow Vigo, Rodundo Hawthorne for assistance with a 'situation'. Lorenz, who is a son of one of Agiatoz's Lieutenants, was sent to the Super Nova Hotel and Casino Resort to negotiate a meeting with a Hutt named Dagiz Besadii Sadeen over some disputed drug marketing territories around the Senate Spaceport district. Both sides want an amicable, bloodless agreement. The Hutt shows up with a Gossam Lieutenant named Tixir, and three Trandoshan bodyguards. Lorenz brings two human thugs, a Besalisk named Babo and Feral, (our player’s Dathomirian Zabrak). He also is being escorted by two Twi'lek dancers from the Starlight Casino who Lorenz likes to employ as 'arm candy' while doing business. Everything is going great with negotiations until one of the human bodyguards accidentally discharges a heavy blaster into the pretty green head of the Twi'lek dancer, splattering brains on the wall and making a pool of blood on the floor. None of the gangsters dare to leave without cleaning up the mess as security cameras would easily place them at the crime scene when the body is discovered later by hotel droids. Lorenz calls Vigo Agiatoz who in turn seeks help from Natasha Hawthorn's Vigo father who sends her to fix the problem. He instructs that her priority is Lorenz's life, (despite being a spoiled playboy who seems to frequently create difficult situations for the organization).

Dagiz Swallows the Evidence

Tensions are running high in the meeting room, the Trandoshans are hissing among themselves and the Gossam Tixir fears they will make a break for it. Everyone is keeping their fingers on triggers. Natasha arrives and calms everyone down. She sends the Besalisk Babo out for matching paint and cleaning supplies. They cut the carpet out, relieved the blood didn't soak through. Rose begins working on the window to see if it can be opened wide enough to allow them to get the corpse into a hover car or some other transportation out of sight of security cameras. Feral talks up Dagiz the Hutt who eventually agrees to eat the dead Twi'lek as long as Feral can provide a bottle of Shuura Fruit Sauce to help the poor thing go down. Feral 'strong-arms' the item from a nearby restaurant and Dagiz gobbles the evidence in a gut wrenching display of mastication. The section of carpet is removed, and the walls painted with the supplies procured by Babo. Everyone departs except for Rose who hangs back and slices the security systems of the Hotel to delete the last few hours of camera footage. Everyone goes their separate way. No body, no crime.

That night, Natasha confronts her feelings and a strange, growing sense of 'energy' within her. As a child, she fantasized about being able to make things float with her mind. Now, that power has come to fruition and she moves a glass of wine from the table into her waiting hand. Frightened, she confides in the one person she trusts the most: her father. "Never do that! Never do that again, especially here in Coruscant." He advises. "I know of this power, and beings that use it are taken away in the night by Imperials. Even I will not be able to protect you."

Chapter 3 - Two Heads Aren't Better Than One

Shadow summons Natasha Rose to meet in a shady back room of one of the many casinos in the Super Nova Hotel and Resort (coincidentally, the establishment is also under Black Sun protection). He offers her an assassination job of a peculiar nature: she must kill ONLY one of the heads of a certain Troig nammed Kevessu-Timmult, and must guarantee the safety and survival of the other. She accepts the contract for 15,000 credits and visits a medical doctor on the Black Sun payroll to discuss options. She procures an amputation sleeve and researches her victim's profession and residence. 

The Troig is Kevessu-Timmult, and works as investment bankers, however, Natasha quickly discovers that one of the personalities has a severe gambling addiction. Furthermore, the Troig stands to inherit a large sum of family money which is currently being withheld in the courts by other family members due to gambling debts with the casino, loan sharks and Black Sun.

Troig, Kevessu-Timmult

For four-thousand credits, Natasha employs the Besalisk Babo as additional security for the job and seeks to gain the Troig’s trust. She entertains them at the Casino and is able to negotiate a peaceful resolution with some Black Sun debt collectors looking to break one (or four) of the Troig's arms. She joins them for after dinner drinks at their estate in the suburbs of Coruscant’s Senate District and is greeted by a large security droid, not much unlike ‘Hunter’, a droid she grew up with at her father’s estate. Once she locates the security recorders in the estate, she calls in Babo, neutralizes the security droid and stuns the Troig to unconsciousness. The medical sleeve is put in place around Timmult's neck and she shoots him in the head with her blaster.

She then calls emergency medical services to save Kevessu, steals the security hard drive and makes a hasty get-a-way before police droids can respond. She receives payment from Shadow and (as she suspected), learns that surviving head, Kevessu, is the one who took the contract out.

Chapter 4 - Skeletons of the Past

Black Rose’s father bought some property on planet Duro. The area had been decimated due to orbital bombardment by a star destroyer after the city Qintepid was determined to be ‘infested’ with rebel supporters and hidden cells. He tasks Natasha and Feral to pick up two recovered shipping containers on Duro, and transport them to Bestine V to a contact, “Fourtu” (spelling?), who is to meet them in the Red Hills Saloon. They are given a ship to use, Typhoon, an old G9 Rigger and bring Feral's brother Blade with them as an additional gunner and to act as ship security.

In the Duro system they are scanned by Imperial TIE fighters who question them and ask them for their itinerary. The party is followed to the surface, but the TIEs break off without further complications. Heavy rains and weather do little to slow them and they acquire the two shipping containers which they discover are each filled with 32 B1 battledroids, spare parts and weapons for the droids. The containers are listed as 'destroyed' and the contents can now be sold on the black market.

"Typhoon" the party's G9 Rigger, landed on Bestine V

Bestine IV is a well known water world turned into a Imperial manufacturing center. Much of the population keeps getting displaced for expanding starship research and construction of the Acclimator Class assault ship. There is a orbital facility called Kestic Station on the outer part of the system that supports miners and gas scoopers that work the area.

Bestine V is a cold rocky world with only trace atmosphere but agreeable gravity. It is also the location of a crashed Lucrehulk Droid Control ship left over from the Clone Wars in 21 BBY. The giant structure suffered major damage but scrappers and salvage teams were able to seal and re-power much of the hulk, developing it over the last 12 years into a massive habitat for the human, H’Kig and other alien inhabitants who have called it “New Jahnae City”. The entire ground floor has  been agriculturally developed, using Bestine V's natural soil and fertilizers purchased from Bestine IV’s oceans. They can support half the population with these vegetable and yogurt crops. The upper levels have been restructured to create living and work stations and manufacturing sections for the population as well as parks, markets, restaurants, etc. Outside, several deep and lucrative mining shafts provide employment for the locals. The senior administrator is a follower of the H’Kig religion a belief in meditation and transcendence, chimes and contemplative glyphs. The population nears 22,000 with approximately half of them H’Kig.

New Jahnae City on Bestine V,  Built from the Ruins of a Crashed Lucrehulk from the Clone Wars Era

They land on platform two, outside New Jahnae City and are greeted by  C-9 is a blue protocol droid and his excitable GONK droid partner. Both droids wear restraining bolts. They are given a brief overview of the crashed ship turned boom-town. Inside, they observe the strange meditative practices of the H'Kig and then head to the Red Hills Saloon where they meet Cilla Joy, the owner and operator of the finest bar in the Bestine System.

A socially awkward man wearing a cybernetic brain implant is asking Cilla out on a date, though it becomes evident she has refused him several times already. The characters 'shoo' him off and befriend Cilla. She explains that he is Darvin Wright, head engineer and safety coordinator of New Jahnae City. All construction or modifications to the Lucrehulk must be examined and cleared by him.

"4-2" projects a hologram of the Aqualish pirate Drell Mar

They ask to meet 'Fortu', only to discover that it is short for R4-R2, a former astromech droid turned waiter at the Red Hills Saloon. The droid brings them in a back room and says that he he works for the dread pirate Drell Mar and that he can receive the delivered goods upon inspection.

Before leaving the saloon, they meet a Quarren pilot and trader named Frizgna who tells them that he has heard that Drell Mar is an Aqualish pirate who has been plaguing Bestine for several years. He is rumored to be hiding out in a hidden base in the vast asteroid belt that surrounds the outskirts of the system, preying on the occasional mining crew. He has never encountered Drell Mar, but any spacer will tell you that those who have are never seen again.

TINFOIL-MOLD WARGAMING HILLS: QUICK, CHEAP & BETTER DETAILS

Tinfoil Rock Mold, Reusable

Model railroaders have been making cliff faces by pouring plaster of Paris into rock molds since the start of the hobby. A popular hack, was to make a tinfoil mold by gluing several sheets together, wrinkling it in random patterns, then pouring the plaster into it to make thin pieces that could be then broken into whatever shape was needed to construct the rock faces. I used this technique on several terrain pieces, gluing the broken chips to a white Styrofoam base, then using spackle or more plaster to fill in the gaps between the ‘rocks’. This makes amazingly functional and realistic looking pieces for the gaming table and I loved the end result, but gluing all the pieces was time consuming. I experimented with this alternative technique and it proved to be an incredible time saver for these very detailed hills. I have estimated the cost of materials to be less than one dollar for each hill. This is the new technique that I wanted to share.

You start by creating a tin foil mold. They are reusable again and again. Lay out a tinfoil sheet about 18 inches long and smear Elmer’s style craft glue on it. Add another sheet of foil and repeat until you have built up four to five layers. Ensure good surface contact by placing books while it dries. Fold and wrinkle it to simulate a rock face. Long diagonal creases at different angles will appear like elongated cracks or fault lines in the slabs. You can crease up the edges to hold in a quarter to a half-inch deep pour of plaster, or you can continue with the next step.

Choose a piece of Styrofoam that will form the center of your hill. Hills are seldom perfectly round so form it into an irregular shape with slopes for sides. The Styrofoam edges will be covered by plaster so there’s no need to use the good expanded insulating foam. Feel free to use that crappy bubbly white stuff you were going to throw away. Then pat yourself on the back for helping save the environment.

Shape a Styrofoam Core and Weigh it Down in the Center of the Tinfoil Mold

Of the two hills that I made for this project, one Styrofoam piece was two inches thick, the other was a single inch, (I play Battletech with mine, so these are perfect for level 2 and level 1 hills respectively).

Pouring in the Plaster Around the Core

If you want ‘flat-topped’ hills so your miniatures can rest on a relatively level surface, you can save some cleanup time later by pressing some of the creases out of your foil in these areas now. It can also be done by pressing hard on the Styrofoam core to flatten the foil mold beneath it. It doesn’t need to be perfect as you will see later. Press the Styrofoam against the top and weight it down with a heavy object, (I used a brick,) to keep it from floating in the plaster. Now shape the foil up and around the Styrofoam but leaving a gap between the core and the foil walls for the plaster. Remember the plaster is heavy, so crease the edges of the foil together so it doesn’t collapse your mold and leak out. I also put several supports (using various objects) all around under the foil edges to help support the mold’s walls which will want to give under the weight of the much heavier plaster.

Mix the plaster of Paris in accordance to the instructions on the packaging and add in the space between the Styrofoam core and the tinfoil mold. Fill up the mold until it is slightly past the edge of your Styrofoam core. Tap the Styrofoam and the outside of the mold to help release air bubbles in the
plaster. Believe it or not, you can remove your hill from this mold in about an hour. This will assist in drying. I let it sit overnight for good measure.

Pour the Plaster Just Over the Edge of the Styrofoam. Curl the Edges of the Tinfoil so it Doesn't Collapse. It Dries Quickly. 

I used a serrated edged steak knife to chisel off high points on the bottom and carve out the few little air bubbles I had into longer ‘cracks’. Set it on a flat surface and find the high-points that need trimming. I also cleaned up the top surface, fully exposing the Styrofoam core because I knew I was going to cover that surface with flock. Rub the piece down with your hands, and break off the tiny brittle edges before you paint.

Use a Knife to Knock off any Brittle Bits or High Points.

Remove Unwanted Portions and Sharp Edges that are Likely to Break Off Later.

First Coat, Level 1 Hill

Don't Forget to Coat the Bottom Too

Plaster of Paris needs to be sealed or it will leave white, chalky marks where ever you place it. I painted it with 1 part black, 1 part brown (cheap craft paints) mixed with 2 parts Elmer’s glue (PVA) and a very tiny bit of water to make it spread easy. Apply with a large brush. PVA is famous for making hills warp but the plaster will remain ridged so use it liberally to protect your hill. Make it very dark and be sure to get all the recesses which will represent the ‘shadowed’ areas. Don’t forget to seal the bottom with it too. I place it in front of a fan to speed up drying time. It should be done in 10-15 minutes.

Other Coats are Dabbed with a Sponge 

Add some white paint to the paint mix you already made, lightening up the color just a shade. I use a cut up kitchen sponge and dab the slightly lighter gray over 90% of the surface of the hill. Set in front of fan to dry. It should be done in 10-15 minutes. Add white paint again, lightening up the gray, but this time sponge on to approximately 80% of the surface. Don’t try to get the recesses, leave them darker. You are targeting only the higher points. Dry in front of the fan. Keep repeating this process with a lighter shade each time until only the very highest points on your hill are receiving the lightest shade of gray. By the time you are applying the final shade of very light gray, you will only be trying to cover about 5% to 10% of the surface. You could get a satisfactory result with just a few coats but it will look much better with the recommended 6-8 applications. If you use a fan to speed up drying time, you can keep the same paint mix going in between coats, adding just a little white between each one. This will speed up the process and your hills will be finished extremely quickly.

Six to Eight Coats Later, Each Getting Progressively Lighter, Our Gray Hills are Nearly Finished!

There are other painting techniques for plaster of Paris hills using washes. I feel that if you are going to be handling the hill, transporting it to the club and traipsing your minis all over it, the paint really needs the PVA mixed in with it to protect it and keep it from leaving chalky markings.

Add glue to the top surface and flock. If there are any horizontal creases or cracks in your surface where you can imagine grass or weeds growing from, you can place glue there as well and sprinkle with flock. I choose these spots by imagining seeds blowing in the wind and landing on a particular location on the hill. If the seed would take root and grow, I flock that area. If it would roll down the hill and perhaps get caught somewhere else, then I flock that spot instead. This really makes the hills ‘pop’ with eye-catching detail. Water down some more PVA (50/50) and a few drops of dish soap to help break the surface tension and drip or spray it onto your flocked surfaces to seal them. It may appear a bit milky at first but it will dry clear.

Two Finished Hills. Less Than One Hour of Crafting, Not Including Drying Time.

Battletech Miniatures, Trebuchet and Spider for Scale. 

Battletech Miniatures, Trebuchet and Spider for Scale.

Pathfinder Miniature Gnome Summoner, Surrounded by Warhammer 40K Orks

Here's is a Hill I Made by Gluing Plaster Chips to Styrofoam, then Spackled and Filled Between the Gaps. Loose Rocks Added for Rough Areas. Nice Result, but Very Labor Intensive (Over Four Hours of Work, Not Including Drying Time).

The advantage of the tinfoil mold method is that you can create very nice-looking hills with rock details exceeding that which is usually achieved using the expanded polystyrene foams. The finished product has a bit of heft to it and stays in place nicely on the table. I find they helped weigh down my grass mat as well. I can make a pair of hills like the ones seen with less than one hour of labor (minus the drying time, of course). The only disadvantage is that plaster of Paris is a brittle medium when compared to insulation foams and if the terrain is dropped from a significant height, it will probably break, (though I have never broken any). You are also restricted by the size of the foil mold you can make, though larger molds could be made by gluing the sheets accordingly and I plan to experiment further with 'foil skirting' on larger pieces.

None of these techniques are new, but I haven’t seen them combined in this manner which is why I wanted to share them. I may be mistaken, so feel free to post links to your findings or if you discover similar builds, place them in the comments below!

My cost breakdown for these hills was approximately one US dollar each:

4-5 sheets of tinfoil at $0.26 (reusable for several plaster projects)
2 lb plaster at $1.36 (enough for two hills)
Cheap craft paint (black, brown & white) under $0.30
Elmer’s Glue under $0.14
Approximately 1 ounce of Woodland Scenics Flock $0.24

Finally, no one accomplishes anything by themselves and without the help of teachers and
mentors. Gamers are a community and I must recognize that the foundation of my (very limited) terrain building and game craft knowledge comes from the list of amazing Youtubers below. If you have any questions regarding terrain, dungeon crafting, tabletop wargaming, models or dioramas, you will want to check out these channels and support their efforts!

Mel the Terrain Tutor:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCx_aro8CTHw7ZD5H661hC6Q

Lukes Aps:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsmD5774MOQhjYBkXqu3Jdw

The Crafting Muse
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC92IlSbAqZY-TQv5pa4V1nQ

Kathy Millatt
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK-tzXpJ-rgXugc-eJfCtxg

Luke Towan
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjRkUtHQ774mTg1vrQ6uA5A

Digging Deep for an NPC: The Murder of Trini Bezz

Role players go to many places to find inspiration for their characters. Movies, books and Pinterest, or heroic idealized versions of themselves. I knew a guy who only played characters based on his pets, (the Tabixi bard was particularly interesting). But what if these still fall short? Have you ever modeled a character after people you know?  With a bit of research, actual people and other real-life encounters can be crafted into the best fantasy characters. The following is a story of one such journey.

"Trini Bezz" by artist Rick Harris as she
appeared in Royalty and Rogues, FASA 1994. 

Trini Bezz first appeared in Royalty and Rogues, a Mechwarrior 2^nd edition scenario pack for the Battletech universe published by FASA in 1994. I played the module (many) years ago and I wanted a similar Non-Playing-Character for our current Battletech campaign.  We needed a regular jumpship captain that would transport the characters around from star system to star system and, I had been creating a murder mystery as a break from the normal ‘contract work’ the mercenaries usually received. I expanded the Trini Bezz character with some additional details:

Born on An Ting in 2972, Trini was a brilliant mathematician and technical engineer. She and her lover, took positions on an interstellar jumpship, Inception VII, she as the ship’s chief navigator. They saw the stars together and eventually married. In an effort to save a group of noble passengers from a pirate attack, her partner was killed. Trini was heralded as a hero, and backed by new and gracious noble investors, was awarded a captain’s share in aging jumpship called the Distant Apogee. However, she made the difficult choice to leave Alexi, their one year old daughter with Trini’s sister to be raised on An Ting.

In 3028, while performing routine repairs on the Hephaestus Station, Alexi was killed in a terrorist attack. The mastermind was never caught and Trini spends the rest of her free time tracking down her daughter’s killer. Trini wasn’t very present in Alexi’s life, (this created tension between her and her sister on An Ting,) but she saw even less of her granddaughter, Aurora.

In 3049, Trini Bezz is diagnosed with an aggressive cancer. She puts up a good fight, but because she has spent so much time in space at zero-G, she can’t receive proper medical attention on gravity normal worlds. Her treatments on remote hospital stations threaten to put the ship in the red. With only a short time to live, she wishes to reconnect with her granddaughter Aurora, who has followed in her mother’s footsteps as a promising aerospace engineer.

3051, (present). Trini has tracked down her daughter’s killer, and fearing that the authorities won’t consider her evidence compelling enough, plots to frame him for her murder. Furthermore, she has a life insurance policy, (with clauses that exclude suicide and her pre-existing condition of cancer,) which she wills to her granddaughter with hopes that she uses the money to pull the ship out of arears with the creditors.

This model from the Advanced Style 

blog inspired our ‘modernized’ conception 

of the Trini Bezz character.

Trini Bezz is a wonderfully flawed and tough character. Fragile of body, (not just because of age and deteriorating health, but also because of muscular atrophy from a lifetime spent in microgravity,) yet she makes up for it with a hardened will, focused mind and a laser tongue. She keeps her crew in line with her foul mouth and by staying one step ahead of everything. Yet, with age comes wisdom, and she was reaching out in ways unfamiliar to her, trying to ready those few that mattered to her for her impending death. I fell in love with her character concept.


We have all had players simply ‘not care’ about plot hooks before and go off on tangential threads of their own. I blame this on poorly conveyed NPCs. There can be a dozen other reasons of course, but at least this answer puts some control back into your hands as a game master. You want your players to WANT to pursue your story line, and since I was enamored with this character’s story, I needed to do her some justice. I wanted it to be as real as real can get.

Some of the players already had several endearing experiences with her aboard the Distant Apogee. A couple of years ago, (both in game and out of game), the characters had brought onboard cute furry pets called kooz-kooz they purchased from a shady merchant. The fuzzy creatures mimicked whatever they heard like parrots but they looked like a ‘Furbie’ toy with feathery antennae. Like the classic Star Trek episode, Trouble with Tribbles, the kooz-kooz had a knack for escaping their containers and rapid reproduction. Before too long, they had infested the entire jumpship. After the characters made several failed attempts at population control, Trini finally ordered everyone to suit up and space the entire ship. The characters spent the greater part of a day push-brooming the asphyxiated fur-balls out an air lock. Yes, it was some comedic relief, but the point was made: Trini Bezz doesn’t mess around.

Now, with two new women playing at the table, I really wanted to make Trini resonate, especially with them. Trini was dying and suddenly willing to share some deep wisdom. I wanted them to have some ‘Trini-time’ and heartfelt discussions with her. Something important, no, crucial. Nuggets of wisdom to pass along to young women, up and coming in the galaxy. What the hell would Trini say?Where was I to go when my own life experiences have been so different? There’s a million blogs articles on “Three Ways to Make NPCs your Party Will Remember.” That’s all good and fine for those quick, impromptu NPCs you need when your party spontaneously decides they want to put on a wedding or open a shop rather than explore the dungeon delve you’ve spent three weeks detailing. Do I simply copy a humorous movie grandmother? Use a prop or practice up a new accent? Certainly, I could do better than that. This will sound mawkish, but I wanted to find the REAL Trini Bezz. I searched my friends list to see who I could interview, starting with family.

My mother drives an old clunker and I’ve been trying to get her into a new car for years. It’s not the money, she’s just stubborn because it reminds her of dad who passed away. I’ve listed off all the logical reasons for a new car, safety, reliability and modern aesthetics. She just smiles at that one:

“I don’t care what other people think about me.”

It’s a simple declaration, one we all make from time to time but don’t really mean. Mom, however, does, and she lives it too. It’s probably the strongest statement I’ve ever heard, and from a woman that IS ‘resilience’. I watch people’s opinions wash over her like salty waves on a jetty. That is her independence, her freedom and her strength.

I was told by an older friend that she experienced a moment in her life when she realized that most men had stopped listening to her. On one hand, she found it refreshing, that her looks were no longer always being scrutinized, but conversely, her opinions and requests were now ignored. Men who used to look her in the eye and hung on her every word, now belittled her with ‘terms of endearment’ as if she had reverted to childhood. Older men, by contrast, are carefully heeded due to a perception that with age, they have unlocked secrets to wealth and power. Your mileage with ageism may vary, but as I observed the world around me, I found this phenomenon to be absolutely true. Her testimony affected me for many reasons and on various levels, but it makes you realize that other people’s life experiences are not just dissimilar, they can be fundamentally different from our own.

I used to play cribbage with my wife’s grandmother between classes at college. She’s gone now, and I really treasure those moments I got to spend with her. She was an amazing card player and could peg the living hell out of you. Didn’t matter where she was on the board, you were never safe. She was also an incredible shit-talker. I had summoned some courage (maybe it was the hand?) and zinged the old woman. I honestly can’t remember the exact jab, but it challenged her ‘wholesomeness’ if you will and I’m sure a descriptor similar to ‘tramp’ was used. As usual, she never missed a beat:

“Oh please. I was giving blowjobs in the parking lot of a McDonalds long before you were a twinkle in your father’s eye.”

Wow. She even removed her oxygen tube to accentuate the delivery. She snorted and laughed hysterically, (word choice intentional). It’s a retort you don’t try to answer because you can’t beat it. You just lost, and you probably the card game too. Fact was, GG just doesn’t keep up with the big dogs, she IS the big dog – and don’t forget it.

A few years later, after she had passed, I related the story to some of the family. The grandkids loved it and they had some similar, tales of lewd remarks made by Grammy, but the aunts didn’t believe me and didn’t want to hear it. I tried to explain the context: that we were talking smack, bantering back and forth and that maybe that was just her way of pulling one over on me. They told me I was lying and remained pretty upset by the whole thing. Whatever, I was there and I know what she said, and now I was feeling even more honored because I got to see a side of her she didn’t always share with everyone.

Time to dig again. I interviewed a couple of female friends and explained my situation, how that I, a middle aged male, could have no idea what this veteran jumpship captain would tell someone, (not just anyone, but a group of young women, who were newly up-and-coming heroines of the galaxy). Were they willing to share any truths or advice they received from a grandmother or another powerful woman that profoundly changed their outlook or positively affected them somehow? My friends do not disappoint.

One woman was surprised when her grandmother abruptly started advising her about sex:

“Keep your tits, pits and cooch clean, and always keep a new pair of underwear in your purse. You just never know.”

My friend confessed, “In hindsight, I shouldn’t have been shocked, and I hope my reaction didn’t offend her.” This wasn’t some ‘cute thing’ Grammy said, (and nothing would be more insulting to her grandmother than to frame it as such). Just because sex changes for us as we age, our need for affection doesn’t, and to devalue someone’s knowledge of a topic based on their age is preposterous. She was very touched that her grandmother was thinking about her wellbeing, and it was an important lesson: you don’t always know when the opportunity for intimacy will pop up. You may not have expected it, so you got to be ready.

Moving on.

Another friend related a story told by her mother who had passed away when she was in her teens.

“Find your dreams and let them take you wherever you want to go, but do it because you want it. Don’t chase someone else’s dream.”

It was difficult for her to tell me this story because she feared her mother was relating some regret. It takes time for some of us to sort through what other people want of us and what we truly need for ourselves as people. Whether we realize it or not, this is a dilemma we all face. Maybe some only realize it fully, after it’s too late. Actually, it was something I needed at that exact time to hear.

Trini could swear with the best of them. How do you keep a seldom paid crew, working long hours, and lightyears from their homes from becoming mutinies? Intimidation. Her voice and accent was inspired by another [unnamed] friend. She’s a southy from Boston and she knows cuss words that can cut the paint off a battleship.  It’s frightening and endearing, all at the same time. The crew of the Distant Apogee was quick to remind guests to mind their manners while travelling with Trini Bezz.

             "Don't let her size fool you. The Captain can kick the balls of a bull in zero-G."

No one wants to be labeled, or have the broad assumptions applied to them that go along with those labels. Belonging to an age group, says nothing about a person as an individual, and it is just as unfair as making speculations about a person based on their race or ethnicity. The players stumbled over this more than once. Unbeknownst to the heroes, Trini had orchestrated the passage of the man suspected of killing her daughter: the destroyer of the Hephaestus Station. She excused herself from the breakfast table after grabbing an emptied plate and juice cup from him and headed towards the kitchen. One of the characters followed her, trying to be helpful but full of inaccurate assumptions.

“Is there anything I can do to help with dishes?” He said.

“Dishes? Shut your whore-mouth! I’m the captain of this fucking ship, you think I’m doing the dishes?” She snorted.

“No, er… I’m sorry Captain Bezz. I just wanted to help.” He stammered.

“You wanna help? Don’t fucking patronize me, kid.”

She stomped off with the plate and cup towards her private quarters, (a clue). She had taken them to get a DNA sample of the man she suspected to be her daughter’s murderer. One last confirmation before she made her move and sealed his fate.

In the end, Trini lured the man to the gravity deck where she confronted him with a data disk of military records, traced bank accounts and a DNA profile. He denied everything of course, and though the evidence was convincing, it was still largely circumstantial. She swallowed some pain meds and played the ‘kindly old lady’ one last time. “Could you adjust the gravity down a bit? It’s hard for me to breath.” As the security cameras later showed, he moved to the console to work the controls. Instead of lowering the gravity, the system had been cleverly rigged. The deck spun faster and faster, increasing its RPMs and the centrifugal forces grew stronger until the killer was 4.2 times his normal weight, pinned to the floor. Trini, frail from a life in microgravity, lost consciousness and was soon crushed. Murdered, as it appeared.

Minutes later, the grav deck stopped spinning and the destroyer of Hephaestus Station fled the bloody scene with the data disk in hand. Of course, he was later discovered trying to destroy the disk and after an exciting attempt at escape, the party took him prisoner to be handed over to proper authorities.

There were other suspects on the Distant Apogee that needed to be investigated: repossession specialists from the Bank of New Avalon, a jealous 1^st Mate and mysterious Comstar personnel, but in time, they were cleared. Though it appeared he had worked the controls to sabotage the grav deck, the players eventually realized that Trini Bezz was not murdered, but carefully orchestrated her own suicide. What to do now? Do they tell the truth about the ‘murder’ or allow the insurance money to be collected by Aurora? What would you do for a friend?

I was able to pull off some nice moments with Trini and the characters before the incident on the grav deck occurred. Most of the real life conversations above occurred in some form or another plus a few others when the party asked questions. I had spent so much time thinking about Trini, it wasn’t hard to deliver impromptu conversations in harmony with her many difficult life events.  

“I left her on An Ting because I wasn’t good enough to be her mother. I ran to the stars because I wanted to be.”

‘The Murder of Trini Bezz’ arch took three sessions to unravel, a bit long for a murder mystery but the players remained engaged. After she was gone, the party was pretty shaken up and eager to right an injustice. In the end, I think the character of Trini Bezz filled her role in furthering the plot, but also came across effectively in a manner that touched the party. Of course, you can’t spend hours researching every character in your game. They don’t get enough play time to warrant it, and there’s only so much energy in your daily grind for NPC creation.  

It’s a cliché perhaps, that it’s about the journey, not the destination, but in the case of creating Trini Bezz, nothing could be truer. I would like to think that all of these remarkable real life women I spoke to or learned about through the voices of those they touched, all shined through in some way. Certainly they impacted me as I learned about them. As creators of the gaming experience, we don’t get to portray a character as a player. Our NPCs are our outlets, and the process of writing their story really feeds my creative urge. Learning and exploring their world gives them life, and I believe I learned something about the real world as well.



Image Sources:

"Trini Bezz" by Rick Harris as featured in Royalty & Rogues, FASA 1994 

2011, December 6. DO WE LOSE THE LONGING FORSELF-EXPRESSION AS WE AGE?