Sunday, December 31, 2017

Star Wars:Saga Edition: Episode VII-Notes for the players.

Please raise your characters to Level 13.  Any Talents, Feats, Prestige classes and Force Powers from the Core Book may be used without review.

Talents, Feats, Prestige Classes and Force Powers from Starships of the Galaxy. The Force Unleashed*, Scum and Villainy, Jedi Academy, Galaxy at War, Galaxy of Intrigue , and The Unknown Regions may be used with GM Review.  Most likely I will say yes to your requests.  No other books will be used. (*Note: No Unleashed abilities will be allowed.)

Please make sure to know where your equipment is, on your person, waiting on your starship or onboard the Resurgence.




Synopsis of the game for far.
Very long.


Episode I : The Traitor’s Gambit.

The story of the Dawn of Defiance campaign opens over the Core World of Brentaal, on a little space station called Sel Zonn Station. After a brush with some agents of Bail Organa, the heroes find themselves drawn into a conflict with the Empire. Delivering vital information to the Senator on Alderaan earns the heroes his trust, and soon Bail Organa sends them on a mission of his own. It seems that a former Imperial Admiral by the name of Gilder Varth has been funneling information about the Empire to the Senator for some months now, though he has gone silent since being arrested and imprisoned on the planet Felucia. The heroes travel to Felucia, encounter some of the natives, and locate the Imperial prison facility where the Admiral is being held. After making their way through the facility, they rescue Admiral Varth and take him to a safe location. The rescue not only cements the heroes as trustworthy agents (earning them more aid and work from Bail Organa) but also marks the first step in building a resistance against the Empire.


Episode II: A Wretched Hive

Freed by the heroes from the Imperial prison facility, Admiral Varth once again begins revealing valuable information on clandestine activities of the Empire. In particular, he mentions that he was responsible for funneling money and resources to something called the “Sarlacc Project.” Among those he sent funds to was a Hutt crime lord named Darga, who operates out of a ruined city on Cato Neimoidia. Traveling to the Neimoidian colony world, the heroes manage to infiltrate Darga’s palace and step into a den of vile debauchery. While in the palace, the heroes attempt to obtain more information on the Sarlacc Project while avoiding the wrath of the Hutt gangster. The heroes’ searches lead them to a startling discovery: Darga has been keeping a Jedi Master and veteran of the Clone Wars in a coma in the dungeons of his palace. After the heroes free Master Denia, she helps them deal with the Hutt’s majordomo, a Force-sensitive criminal who has been using the Force to rise in power within Darga’s organization.

The heroes overhear a conversation between the majordomo and Imperial Inquisitor Draco, which introduces them to one of the main villains of the campaign. By the time they handle the majordomo, the Hutt has fled (not wanting to engage in direct conflict with a Jedi Master), and the heroes leave Cato Neimoidia.


Episode III :The Queen of Air and Darkness

After dropping Master Denia off with their Alderaanian allies, the heroes learn that Darga the Hutt has fled to the famous world of Bespin—more specifically, to Cloud City. Still needing the information the Hutt possesses, the heroes travel to Cloud City only to discover that their quarry has vanished. However, in their search for the crime lord, they discover that another Imperial officer who dealt with the Hutt will be visiting Cloud City to take part in its annual sabacc tournament. The majority of the adventure centers around the tournament. The heroes can choose to enter the tournament, work for the tournament’s administrator as hired help, or simply observe the tournament in order to get close to the dirty officer. After a series of event-based encounters, the tournament ends and the heroes convince the Imperial officer to reveal the Hutt’s location. When they go to confront the crime lord, they discover that he’s attempting to make his getaway. The heroes face Darga in the hangar bay of his personal luxury yacht and learn the awful truth—the Hutt was using his contacts in the Tibanna gas industry to funnel large amounts of the gas to the Empire in exchange for slaves. 3 Chapter In fact, one such transaction was supposed to take place under the cover of the tournament, but the heroes’ involvement spoiled those plans. Now, the Empire is determined to erase any trace of the transaction by crashing a slave ship into the Tibanna gas hauler in orbit, destroying them both. The heroes, commandeering Z-95 headhunters, race against time under fire from Imperial starfighters to stop the crash and save the slaves’ lives.


Episode: IV : Echoes of the Jedi 

After a bout of downtime the heroes are gathered by Master Denia. Their encounter with the slave ship over Bespin indicates that the Empire is trafficking in slaves, but the slaves were members of a species that Denia had never encountered. To discover more about these mysterious slaves (and perhaps unravel the mystery of the Sarlacc Project), She sends the heroes to the planet Almas in the Cularin System, once home to a Jedi academy. There, the heroes must retrieve a lost Jedi holocron that can teach Denia special farseeing techniques, which she hopes will lead her to the mysterious aliens. The heroes arrive at Almas to find the academy in shambles, having been destroyed from orbit when the Empire rose. The heroes dig their way down through the ruins to reach the academy’s archives. Along the way, they discover that the dark side has grown strong in the ruins of the academy, and it has become a domain of evil—much like the cave on Dagobah where Luke fought the false Darth Vader. The heroes face dark side spirits and their own fears as they press onward into the wrecked temple.  

 As they approach the archives, they discover that they are not the first to explore the ruins. A small contingent of Imperial troops has arrived ahead of them and defends the archives with lethal force. Eventually, the heroes confront the leader of the Imperial contingent, Inquisitor Draco. They defeat him and retrieve the holocron, which they take back to Denia.


Episode V:  The First to Strike

The holocron taken from the ruins of the Almas academy proves helpful, and Master Denia is able to use the Force to locate the mysterious alien slaves. They were members of the Nazren species from the planet Nizon in the Maldrood Sector. The heroes travel to that world to see if they can discover more about the Nazren, but they find the planet under Imperial occupation. Even more troubling, the Empire has allowed Trandoshan slavers to harvest slaves from the planet at will, provided that they also transport some of the slaves to Imperial projects. A core resistance group of Nazren has formed, but they seem to be waiting for some kind of catalyst to begin their open opposition. The heroes are just the catalyst they need. Working with a charismatic Nazren resistance leader in the capital city, the heroes incite a riot against the Imperial oppressors. The city erupts into violence, and the heroes assist the Nazren in overthrowing the Imperial invaders, rescuing Nazren slaves from Trandoshan slavers, preventing the riots from claiming innocent lives, and seizing Imperial facilities to help defend the planet. The heroes help the Nazren reclaim their world for their own.


Episode VI: The Core of Corruption 

While on Nizon, the heroes discover Imperial transmissions regarding the Sarlacc Project. The messages indicate that the engineers of the project are in an Imperial facility on Coruscant—and that is where the heroes must go. Traveling to Imperial Center, the heroes sneak past the world’s defenses and take their first steps on the capital planet of the Galactic Empire. Under the watchful eye of the Empire, the heroes pinpoint the location of the project’s architects and travel to a massive skyscraper still under construction. Moving up through the skyscraper, the heroes soon come face to face with the engineers of the Sarlacc Project. Unfortunately, they are all being watched by several members of the Inquisitorius, who fight the heroes to the death. When their defeat seems imminent, the Inquisitors detonate explosives at the base of the skyscraper, which begins to collapse. The heroes must fight their way back out of the collapsing building and make their way to safety. However, the heroes finally learn the details of the Sarlacc Project. The Empire is constructing a massive new starship 12 kilometers long— many times larger than a Star Destroyer, and an early prototype (though not the final version) of the Super Star Destroyer. The new vessel will serve as the flagship of the Imperial fleet, and the Sarlacc Project nears completion.  

Friday, November 3, 2017

GMing doldrums, sort of

I'm currently running two prewritten campaigns,  a D&D 5E: Rage of Dragons and Star Wars Saga Edition: Dawn of Defiance.   I hate to say sometimes I get bored as a DM.  This boredom effect both games but since I have developed other problems with SW, I'll just focus on the 5E game. 


My problem is my players, they are wonderful. They create deep PCs and that are attached into the world,.  Most modules assume the PCs follow the pattern of itinerant wanders looking for adventure, or in the vernacular "Murder Hobos".  The campaigns do offer a broad story and a clear path from start to finish.    They also trap the DM, and to a lesser extent, in a narrative.

 While I can mitigate some of this by changing the encounters,  the're still are on rails.  The story may change but end is known.  While I do add things special for the PCs,  I don't feel that this allows for the to plum the depths of the their story, the world and/or the lore. 

I am going to finish both campaigns, but the next one I do will be self written. 

Sunday, September 17, 2017

Campaign/Organization Idea-The Nameless Legion

In pop culture there's a trope called The Legion of Lost Souls, with notable examples of the French Foreign Legion and The Night Watch from The Song of Fire and Ice. It's  military unit where people to go to start a new life fresh without burden of their past, they hope.     You don't join a unit like this out of honor,  patriotism or glory;  you join to escape a prison, the stain of dishonor, or to forget the pain.   Here is my take on them.   

The Nameless Legion.
The Affiliation of Independent Systems  spans over a hundred stars.   Ever expanding,  the Frontier grows larger each year.  Warp ships exist, making the trip between systems a matter of weeks and the frontier a matter of month. Carrying communications between systems

While not a true central government, the Affiliation requires its members to standardize their currency, weaponry and normalize trade.  The affiliation does maintain a space fleet and an army. and the systems each have their own militia. After a disastrous operation in 3582 it became clear that something need to fill in the gap in the middle between the Affiliation military and the militias,  an asymmetric force to solve asymmetric problems. Tthese problems are the mission of the Nameless Legion.

The Legion is small compared to the fleet, underfunded compared to the planetary militia, and have a 95% casualty rate. So why do they join? For a chance of new start, the affiliation will seal all records for anyone who enlists. Bank records, criminal files in business deals, it doesn't matter. You get a new name and a new life. If a Legionnaire survives long enough they will get a discharge.


Saturday, July 15, 2017

D&D Campaign Lore - Time Line

During what we know now as the Age of Rebirth, the noted historian Publius Junius Dacien codified the system that we use for history today.   Ages have no set years, rather they evoke the major influences that happened.   Times mark the end of Ages.   The 4th Age ended when Emperor Maxen X sundered the runic sigils and brought about 100 years marked by fire, plague and famine.




Time Line

The Age of Dreams
The Time of the Fall

The Age of Serpents
The Time of the Avatars

The Age of the Ancients. 
The Time of the Dawn War

The Age of Wyrms
The time of the Brobdingnagians.


The 1st Age of Man, The Age of Glory
Time of Song

The 2nd Age of Man, The Age of Heroes
The Time of Testing

The 3rd Age of Man, The Age of Rebirth
The Time of Apotheosis

The 4th Age of Man, The Age of Turpitude
The Time of the Sundering


The 5th Age of Man, The present

Saturday, February 25, 2017

#126 Button Hook Cocktail

Tonight we have the Button Hook Cocktail.   I've never worn button on boots nor do I think I ever will need to own button on boots, so I'll never need to use a button hook. The fashion of  this style of footwear was started by Queen Victoria.
Now let on to the cocktail.


Made with Creme de Menthe (White), Apricot Brandy, Absinthe Substitute, and Brandy. Take a  1/2 oz of each and shake.

You have a beautiful golden color and a little bit of froth on it. The Taste is kind of fruity and well-balanced. It is a little bit sweet for my taste but I'd highly recommend you try it.









Next up the Cafe the Paris Cocktail. Looking forward to the recipe I see that it has......oh no... not again........egg white.

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

#110 Brazil Cocktail

What I hear the name Brazil the first thing I think of is the Terry Gilliam movie about a
dystopian future,  after that I think of the bombshell Carmen Miranda, Carnival, soccer, corruption, poverty, and pollution.  Now this cocktail has nothing to do with any of those things.

I'm thinking that some of theses cocktails are archaic,  that is to say they were made very much at the time the writing this book but here we go with Brazil cocktail.


Made with Dry Vermouth, Sherry, Bitters and Absinthe Substitute. Stirred with cracked ice and served in a cocktail glass.


It certainly looks nice with a very pleasing caramel color a little hazy but that's to be expected. The taste however is underwhelming. The flavors didn't merge well. I wouldn't spend money on it but it wasn't awful.


 Next up the button hook cocktail.



Sunday, February 12, 2017

#77 The Bombay cocktail. (Not the Mumbai cocktail. )

I'm getting back into this, and  I don't know why. Maybe the muse has hit me,  maybe it's just boredom or maybe it's at the place I keep all my liquor is really really full.    (Mostly the latter to be truthful.)  So,  I'm going to be sticking with one main type of liquor in this case and then move on to the next.   We are starting with  Absinthe Substitute.*


Tonight's drink contains both types of Vermouth, Pernod's, Brandy and Curacao. Unfortunately it's going to look a little weird because the only course I have is blue.  I could probably use Triple Sec instead however I'm going for taste overlooks and I have the Curacao.  Now on to the drink.




It has a very nice green blue look to it but it smells overwhelmingly  like licorice.  It tastes like sweetened licorice as well.      Yuck!  

I might of made the drink incorrectly as the Pernod and Curacao amounts were minuscule.  I'm not going to try this one again.

One other book had a recipe for this, but only called for lemon juice
, East India Punch and served in a Pimm's No.1 cup.  I have no idea what the punch is nor have I ever seen a Pimm's cup of any number.  








*A note on absinthe substitute. At the time of the most of these books were published absinthe was not available in the United States as stated above I am trying to be as accurate to the recipes as possible.  This is why I'm not using absinthe in any of the cocktails.