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  • Unknown's avatar

    giorgis 1:12 pm on June 28, 2019 Permalink | Reply
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    Solo StarWarsD6 pt04: A Daring Escape 

    System: Star Wars D6 by West End Games.
    Setting: Star Wars Era of the Rebellion.
    Characters: Royxand Handscul ‘Roy’, Corporate scout
    Luca Delste, Smuggler
    Solo Tools: MUNE , donjon
    Books: Star Wars The Roleplaying Game Second Edition (West End Games), Galaxy Guide 8: Scouts

    “Yes, I-“ Roy was interrupted by the man “Hopefully it won’t come to that.” He paused for a moment. “Man the copilot seat.”

    The old man powers up the ship, initiating takeoff procedures. He presses the comm button. “This is the Red Rancor requesting departure clearance. TransVere has been submitted.”

    Q: Does starport control give clearance?
    A: No, and they try to stop the Red Rankor from leaving.

    No answer comes from the other end. Meanwhile Roy sees the Viltro soldiers in front of the ship, blasters aimed at the freighter.

    “I repeat this is Luca Delste, captain of the Red Rancor, requesting departure clearance. I am transporting unstable Rusya crystals. Every minute counts before my merchandise turns to dust.”

    “Hold on Red Rancor” starport control responds.
    Luca looks at Roy. “Like hell we will.” and powers up the thrusters.

    “Red Rancor cease your flight actions now and surrender your passenger! You are harboring a-“ Luca shuts the comm off.

    “By the way, name’s Luca, boy, what’s yours?”
    “Roy” He mutters as the Red Rancor starts hovering off the hangar floor.

    Q: Is there defensive weaponry at the ready in the hangar? (Unlikely)
    A: No
    Q: Are there starfighters nearby?
    A: Yes, and 2 Z-95 are right outside the starport.

    Here I have another intervention, and the roll brings up: New entity.
    Q: Is it another crew member?
    A: No
    Q: Is it friendly?
    A: No
    Now I decided to run a portent to find out more. I had trouble resolving the words that mattered and had a few rerolls to get something that made sense. I came up with ‘combative agreement’ which tells me it’s an ally of Viltro that assists often in military matters.

    Q: Is it Imperial?
    A: Yes, and it’s the Imperial Customs Frigate from before
    I decide that it will appear from hyperspace in 2D6 rounds=5

    “I am picking up hostiles boy. I see 2 Z-95s right outside” Luca said.

    Now I want to see if the Red Rancor has any modifications.
    Q: Is the Red Rankor modified for speed (likely)
    A: No!
    Q: Does it have upgraded weapons?
    A: No, but it has improved shields (+1)
    I will be stating difficulty rolls like this Rolled Result/Target Difficulty Number
    Maneuver: 27/15 Success

    Luca pilots the ship quickly out of the hangar bay. The Red Rancor maneuvers left and right, around the starships lined up in queue, staying on the blindside of the Z-95s.
    She flies smoothly outside under the controls of Luca.

    The patrol pilots of the Z-95 scan for the Red Rancor. Sensors: 17/10 Success

    The patrol detects the Red Rancor.

    Combat begins.
    Initiative:
    Red Rancor: 24
    Z-95: 10

    Q: What is their distance?
    A: Short
    Q: Is there other ship traffic? (Likely)
    A: Yes

    Based on the Rulebook I decide on a moderate difficulty for space flight maneuvers.

    “Blast them Roy” Luca says to Roy. Roy uses the controls to aim the front laser of the Red Rancor to one of the Z-95s.

    Round 1:

    Luca makes one move towards the Z-95
    Roy shoots at the Z-95 #1
    To hit 20/13: Hit!
    Damage: 16/13: Shields blown

    Z-95 #1 shoots at the Red Rancor and makes 1/2 move
    To hit 18/18: hit
    Damage: 7/15: no damage

    Z-95 #2 shoots at the Red Rancor and makes 1/2 move
    To hit 13/18: miss

    The starfighters move closer and start exchanging laser blasts. For brief moment the Z-95 gets into Roy’s crosshairs, and he pulls the trigger. It is hit, reducing its energy shields to nothing. The Viltro pilots shoot back, but they fail to do any damage.

    Round 2:

    Since the combatants’ spaceships have passed each other, and they are on their tails, Luca performs a quick bootlegger turn so that the Z-95’s tail is again in the fire arc of the Red Rancor’s laser cannons. He also activates shields to front.
    Maneuver: 18/20: slight slip in control, -1D to actions for the rest of the round.
    Roy fires another shot at the 1st Z-95.
    To hit 17/13: hit
    Damage: 17/9: lightly damaged, ship loses 1D from its shield code

    Both Z-95s perform a bootlegger turn to get the Red Rankor in their sights, and shoot at it.

    Z-95 #1
    Maneuver: 14/20: serious control problems, -3D for all actions this round, -1D for next round
    Z-95 #2
    Maneuver: 7/20: minor collision

    Q: Does it hit its wingman?
    A: Yes

    The dual maneuver fails and the two starfighters glance off each other.
    Damage to Z-95 #1: 5: lightly damaged, the missiles weapon system is inoperative
    Damage to Z-95 #2: Shields blown

    As the starfighters pass in front of each other they all turn back for a second pass. Luca miscalculates a nearby space tug, and jerks the Red Rancor a bit while flying. Roy has the enemy again in his sights, and this time his shots manage to turn the Z-95s missile system inoperational.
    The enemy pilot pair tries to turn in a synchronized maneuver, but they fail, and the two fighters glance of each other, thankful that it wasn’t a worse crash.

    Round 3:

    Luca will perform a full dodge while moving towards the Z-95. Roll: 17+13 diff: 30
    Roy shoots again the first Z-95
    To hit: 17/13: hit
    Damage: 14/13: controls ionized -1D that round and next, controls frozen for two rounds

    Z-95 #1: Controls are frozen, maneuver roll must be made
    Maneuver: 8/13: Serious control problems, -1D for next round

    Z-95 #2: shoots at the Red Rancor and makes 1/2 move
    To hit: 15/30: miss

    Luca performs evasive maneuvers amongst the traffic to avoid the enemy fire. Roy is on fire! He hits the enemy craft once more, ionizing its controls. A power surge runs through the starfighter, freezing all controls, and it moves straight forward helpless.
    The second pilot is no match for Luca’s skill and fails to damage the Red Rancor.

    Round 4:

    As the two Z-95s again fly past the Red Rancor, Luca turns to Roy “Let’s do a final pass, then let’s get out of here. Punch in your ships coordinates”.
    He again performs a quick bootlegger turn so that the Z-95’s tail is again in the fire arc of the Red Rancor’s laser cannons.

    Maneuver: 25/13: success
    Roy shoots again the first Z-95
    To hit: 13/13: hit
    Damage: 13/3: Heavily damaged, the Z-95 loses the laser cannons weapon system.

    Z-95 #1: Controls are frozen, maneuver roll must be made
    Maneuver: 11/13: slight slip in control, -1D to actions for the rest of the round

    Z-95 #2: Bootlegger turn and shoots at the Red Rancor.
    To hit: 2: miss

    Roy hits the helpless Z-95, destroying its laser system. Now it’s no longer a threat.

    Round 5:

    Luca moves the Red Rancor at 3/4 speed towards the asteroid belt.

    Maneuver: 11/13: slight slip in control, -1D to actions for the rest of the round.
    Roy shoots the second Z-95
    To hit: 15/13: hit
    Damage: 16/5: Heavily damaged, the Z-95 loses the concussion missile weapon system.

    Since the Z-95s are damaged and haven’t managed to score a hit at the Red Rankor, I ask
    Q: Do the Z-95s break off?
    A: No, but only the second one follows

    Z-95 #2: Bootlegger turn and shoots at the Red Rancor.
    To hit: 2: miss

    Roy switches targets, and hits the second enemy, destroying the starfighter’s missile system.

    Suddenly out of hyperspace, an Imperial Customs Frigate appears.
    Red Rancor passive Sensors: 16/8: Success, detected.

    Q: Does the frigate appear between the Red Rankor and the starport?
    A: No, and it is blocking the Red Rankor route’s to the asteroid belt.
    Q: Is it aware of the recent events at the starport?
    A: No, but, it is a matter of short time before the Viltro Syndicate notifies them
    Q: Are there enemy reinforcements arriving?
    A: Yes, and in increased numbers, 2 Z-95 squadrons.

    “Friends of yours Roy?” Lucas asks as he sees an Imperial Customs Frigate appear in the sensors, blocking their exit to the asteroid belt. “Scratch our plan to hide in the belt. It’s time to hit the hyperdrive. I wanted more time, but we ain’t got a choice”.
    Roy verifies the coordinates, its a hasty entry, and he can’t forget that it was a well calculated entry that got him in this predicament.

    Round 6:

    Frigate initiative: 21

    Luca performs the hasty entry astrogation calculation and engages the hyperdrive.

    Here I decided to roll the moderate (x2) difficulty and not call it, in order to be objective.
    Astrogation: 25/8: Success

    The Red Rancor enters hyperspace, leaving behind all those meaning harm to her crew, and Roy breathes out a sigh of relief.

    Session Background: First time running a space combat with theater of the mind. It didn’t help much, so next time I will try to have a map or tokens of sorts to visualize it better. Also I need to get better acquainted with the space combat, so that I can apply the rules better. On a side note, the bad luck that Roy had on his 2nd hyperjump turned to good luck on their escape. Now there is time for Roy to get to know his host.

     
  • Unknown's avatar

    giorgis 6:25 pm on June 26, 2019 Permalink | Reply
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    Solo StarWarsD6 pt03: Fight or flight 

    System: Star Wars D6 by West End Games.
    Setting: Star Wars Era of the Rebellion.
    Character: Royxand Handscul ‘Roy’, Corporate scout
    Solo Tools: MUNE , donjon
    Books: Star Wars The Roleplaying Game Second Edition (West End Games), Galaxy Guide 8: Scouts

    Q: Did someone notice the distress signal?
    A: Yes, but by the time they will arrive the pod will be far away.
    Q: Did they notice the pod?
    A: Yes, but they will go to investigate the beacon first.
    Q: Is it safe to reach the belt in the pod?
    A: No, but the dangers can be evaded.

    Roy watched from the small window canopy into the void of space.

    Perception roll failure.

    He saw something far away heading towards his abandoned scout ship. Pirates? Smugglers? Or just a figment of his imagination?
    A steady beep was heard from the pod controls. Proximity alert! Roy switched to manual control to evade the space rocks heading towards the pod.

    Space transport piloting success.

    The pod controls were stiff, but Roy managed to evade successfully and the pod continued its course.

    Q: Does the pod reach the Anan Belt starport before the distress signal search party catches up?
    A: Yes, and the search party could not follow up with the escape pod.

    A few hours later Roy saw the huge asteroid base through the canopy. Freight starships coming in and out of the main hangar, lined up in a queue.
    He slowed down the pod to avoid any collisions.
    Some moments later the of jerked. A space tug had grabbed the pod with its magnetic claws and was hauling it to the starport hangar.

    The tug dropped the pod in a low traffic part of the starport. Roy catches a glimpse of the huge hangar before his attention is turned elsewhere.
    The pod door is secured from the inside, but after a few banging noises and the sparks of a plasma torch, an opening is created where the door should be.

    ‘Step outside. Keep hands visible at all times!’ A voice was heard from a loudspeaker.

    Roy steps out slowly, palms facing outward, to be greeted by three men in Viltro Syndicate red uniforms. The stripes on one of the men make him out to be an officer.

    Here I wanted to change the flow, and as a good GM give the player a chance to avoid a hard fate. The way the story was unfolding Roy was heading to the brig and the story would not be a space opera… Nevertheless I wanted to be fair and I asked the Oracle first.
    Q: Is everything as expected?
    A: No, there is a distraction.
    Q: Is it an explosion?
    A: Yes.

    The trio is looking closely at Roy, the soldiers nodding their blaster pistol barrels, signaling him to move on.
    ‘Step it up!’ The officer shouts angrily. A split second later, a loud explosion is heard through the hangar. A spaceship has turned into a fiery ball of flame. The men look at it startled.

    Roy does not wait to ponder what or why has happened. ‘This may be my chance’ he thought as he dashed a sprint through the hangar.

    ‘Quick! Get him!’ Shouts the officer.

    I am making some adjustments to the combat mechanics. Star Wars D6 has action declaration order which has no point in solo play so I decide that the action and declarations happen at the same time.
    Initiative Roy: 11.
    Initiative enemy: 8.
    Round 1:
    Roy moves first 4 moves x 10 meters.

    Roy sprints and hides behind some crates.

    Q: Do the soldiers shoot?
    A: Yes, but their weapons are on stun
    This is long range shooting since Roy sprinted and is at 40 meters away, the base difficulty is 20. 1/2 cover roll gives a further +14 to difficulty. I will be using the stars for Imperial Army Troopers for the soldiers while the officer has a further +1.

    Soldier 1: roll 22.

    The first soldier hits the crate Roy is using as cover.

    Blaster pistol damage 19 vs cover 8 = 11

    Crate is heavily damaged and the damage passes through reduced to Roy.

    Blaster pistol damage 10 vs Roy 13. No damage.

    The blast damages Roy’s cover and he feels the heat on his shoulder, but he doesn’t get hurt.

    Soldier 2: Roll 13, miss.

    The second soldier shoots but misses.

    Officer: Roll 21, hit cover.
    The officer hits the crate as well.

    Damage 15 vs damaged crate 6 = 6.
    Crate is severely damaged and damage passes through to Roy.
    Damage 11 vs 10, Roy is stunned.

    The blast further damaged the crate and this time Roy feels a strong hit numbing his neck and arm.

    Round 2:

    Q: Is there more cover?
    A: Yes, but Roy needs to moves 1d4=4 moves to get there.

    Roy sprints once more to get behind another crate. The distance between him and his attackers has doubled.

    Q: Do the troopers keep shooting, considering the increased distance?
    A: Yes, and they switch the blasters to full power mode.

    “Kill him!” The officer yells as he switches the blaster pistol from stun to regular damage.

    Soldier 1: Rolls 16, miss
    Soldier 2: Rolls 14, miss
    Officer: Rolls 17, miss.

    The trio shoots at Roy, but they fail to hit him.

    Right now, I realize that Roy needs to find a way out if he is to survive, since he is severely outnumbered, even if the enemy is inferior. So I ask the Oracle.
    Q: Is there an escape route visible?
    No, and the hangar blast doors are closing.
    Q: Is there any starship nearby available? (I.e door unlocked)
    A: Yes, but the crew is still inside.
    Q: Is the starship star fighter scale?
    A: Yes
    Q: Is it a transport?
    A: Yes, and it is field up and ready
    Here according to MUNE, I have an intervention. I roll a 2, positive entity.
    Q: Is the entity Roy?
    A: No
    Q: Is it the crew of the ship?
    A: Yes
    I use a portent for the crew: steamed sobriety.
    Now I got stuck a bit, a lot of questions, no action and I had to move on.

    Roy looks around for a way to escape. His sprint has got him away from the hangar blast doors that are slowly closing in. He doesn’t know if it’s because of him or the earlier explosion and he doesn’t intend to stay to find out. He looks to his left and there is a weary Ghtroc Freighter. The fuel lines detached, and the cargo bay door still open. ‘That’s my chance’ Roy thinks as he tries to sneak away from the soldiers into the ship.

    Round 3:

    Roy sneak roll 12 vs soldier perception 9+6 advantage due to the soldiers being aware of Roy’s general location.

    “He’s trying to get away!” The soldier shouts pointing at Roy, so much for sneaking in.
    Roy hops aboard and comes face to face with the resident, an old man, staring at him.

    Using UNE I got the following for the ships crew: Defective chieftain, acquire discretion. I combine this with the steamed sobriety portent to get a mysterious smuggler who used to lead a smuggling ring but left, and tried to keep his whereabouts hidden.

    “Help me” Roy says, “they’re after me, I did nothing wrong.”

    I roll on UNE NPC bearing lies and focus superiors.

    “Are you lying to me boy?” The man asks “Are you not a spy sent here by your superiors?”

    “No, no please listen, my ship crashed and I got stranded here by mistake. Get me out of here and whatever you may find on my ship is yours”.

    Q: Does the man get swayed?
    A: Yes, and he is willing to fight their way out of there.

    The old man pushes the button to lift the boarding ramp. “Do you know how to shoot a laser cannon?” He asks as he moves towards the cockpit.

    Session Background: It seems that Roy alone had some trouble especially considering the rocky start he had. Now a mysterious old man has joined him at the promise of a reward, and I’ll have to see how their relationship will play out. Maybe it’s a chance to get back to the track of the original mission, who knows?

     
  • Unknown's avatar

    giorgis 10:35 pm on June 24, 2019 Permalink | Reply
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    Solo StarWarsD6 pt02: Rupture 

    System: Star Wars D6 by West End Games.
    Setting: Star Wars Era of the Rebellion.
    Character: Royxand Handscul ‘Roy’, Corporate scout
    Solo Tools: MUNE , donjon
    Books: Star Wars The Roleplaying Game Second Edition (West End Games), Galaxy Guide 8: Scouts

    Q: Is the rupture sealable? (Unlikely)
    A: No
    Q: Are the ships comms working?
    A: Yes
    Q: Is the cockpit damaged?
    A: No, and all sensors and diagnostics are operational

    Roy slowly headed to the cockpit. Everything was intact here. He ran the ships diagnostics. Full engine failure. All power was coming from emergency power cells. ‘Time to see the damage with my own eyes’ Roy thought and walked to the engine room.
    A huge gaping hole in the hull lay where the engine used to be. The scout ship was no longer spaceworthy. It was time to abandon ship.

    Q:Are there any planets?
    A: No, and he is in an asteroid belt, the ship could be hit again any time

    Back to the cockpit. Sensors were still working, scanning all around showed no planetary bodies, but a lot of small asteroids in a collision course to the ship. ‘Crap, I’m on limited time’ he thought.

    Q: Is there a lot of time until the asteroids reach the ship?
    A: No, and the nearest asteroids are not big enough to land safely.
    I also rolled 1D6x15 minutes for ETA with a result of 2=30 minutes

    Roy hit the distress signal button and an emergency beacon was activated and jettisoned into space.
    Then he calculated the collision ETA to at least 30 minutes with the first smaller asteroids.

    Here I thought of using donjon system generator which by luck showed an asteroid belt!.

    Astrogation data show that he is in the Anan Belt system. Probably at the far end as sensors did not detect any of the known planets.

    Roy doesn’t know whether to thank or curse his luck. Anan Belt is populated, and it even has an Imperial Class Starport. But it is home to the Viltro Syndicate. A rival to his employer, Karflo Corp, eager to get profit in any manner of ways possible.

    Q: Is the escape pod damaged?
    A: Yes, but repairable
    I rolled a successful easy Starship Repair to perform diagnostics, A failed moderate Starship repair for 15 minutes, and a successful retrial. That was cutting it close!

    ‘Back to the task at hand’ he thought, gathering his gear to the escape pod. An orange warning light flashes in the pod. The label states Power. Some fuses and power circuits must be fried.
    Using the repair tools, 15 minutes later he has only managed to replace the burnt fuses. Working with the vac suit isn’t easy.
    Roy spends another quarter of an hour to repair the power circuit board. Power is rerouted and the escape pod is finally operational. He shuts the door closed, pulls the lever and breathes out a sigh of relief as the pod heads safely for the belt with its automated thrusters.

    Session Background: After a rough start for Roy (he rolled a 12 in astrogation mishap! In part 1) this play was quite uneventful. Mostly had to do with gathering info of the surrounding system and ensuring survivability.

     
  • Unknown's avatar

    giorgis 5:05 pm on June 22, 2019 Permalink | Reply
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    Solo StarWarsD6 pt01: A Scout’s Odyssey 

    System: Star Wars D6 by West End Games.
    Setting: Star Wars Era of the Rebellion.
    Character: Royxand Handscul ‘Roy’, Corporate Scout
    Solo Tools: MUNE , BOLD
    Books: Star Wars The Roleplaying Game Second Edition (West End Games), Galaxy Guide 8: Scouts

    Used the BOLD waylays to define the adventure.
    Rolled misunderstanding, unforeseen. Solution favored skill.
    So I decided that a mission that should be given to someone else was given to Roy and it will play out later on. His Scout skills are his best strength so in spite of the mistake he might get away with it

    Day 0:
    Roy had already completed the scouts training in Karflo Corp. several months ago, but still he was performing map data analysis in HQ. Day in, day out he was still waiting for his opening. That mission which would give him a promotion and maybe an increase in salary.

    His datapad blinked. Incoming message. Encrypted! He entered his credentials to decrypt it and read through it with anxiety.

    At last! A Scout mission! “Investigate PG-39X. Outer Rim Unknown regions. Scout transport KF23 will be ready and equipped with standard mission gear in 18 hours. Coordinates have been uploaded to the Nav Computer.”

    The Unknown Regions of the Outer Rim, he thought. That would take several weeks time to arrive. Roy finished his job for the day, went home to prepare, and notified his friends and family about his imminent leave.

    Day 1:
    Roy arrived at the Karflo hangar bay. KF23 was a retrofitted Sienar Ships Lone Scout A with Karflo markings.
    A droid at the airlock handed him the manifest. He perused the contents and signed off on the responsibility of the ship and equipment ownership.
    Among others there were 20 weeks worth of rations, a claim beacon, multi pack, a light scouts armor and a DL-18 blaster pistol.
    A blaster pistol? The return to reality hit him hard as he boarded the ship. The outer rim is dangerous, his life was at stake.

    As he initiated the ships start sequence he went through the Astrogation data. The Nav computer had plotted 3 microjumps to reach PG-39X, but the coordinates of each jump would be unlocked in sequence as he arrived to each destination. Standard Karflo procedure to safeguard confidential corporate information.

    His Lone Scout left orbit, and in a few minutes with the help of the Nav Computer he performed the astrogation calculations and was entering hyperspace.

    He saw the calculated ETA. 10 days. That’s a lot he thought. It was the first time he was so far away from Raiys, his home planet in Tingel Arm sector.

    Q: Was the jump completed OK?
    A: Yes, but a ship is there.
    Q: Is it a combat ship?
    A: Yes
    Q: Is it imperial navy?
    A: No, but it is Imperial Customs

    Day 11:
    The jump from hyperspace was as expected. Roy didn’t get the time to get back to the cockpit and he was already being hailed.

    “This is the Imperial Customs Service. Unknown vessel prepare to be scanned. Maintain speed and course.”

    Imperial Customs here? Roy wondered. “Greetings. I shall comply, you may commence the search” Roy answered over the comms while performing a scan of the so called Imperial ship at the same time. Pirates were more likely to be here.

    His scans identified the ship as an Imperial Customs Frigate, verifying their identity. But still there was no further response on the other end. Where the Imperials satisfied or did they think he was some smuggler?

    He hailed them again “My name is Royxand Handskul, employed as a Scout by Karflo Corp. on official corporate business. Is everything all right?”

    Q: Are the imperials satisfied?
    A: Yes

    “Move on.” The frigate operator responded bluntly. Roy relieved, prepares the Nav Computer for the next jump.

    The coordinates have been unlocked, the course is calculated and KF23 enters hyperspace. ETA 5 days.

    Here the game astrogation mechanics are at work. I failed the astrogation roll by 9 points with a wild mishap die. Then I rolled a 12 on the astrogation mishap table with the following terrible results.

    Day 15:
    A loud noise is heard and the ship rumbles. A collision! Asteroid debris flies away as the ship drops to realspace. The red alarm light of a ruptured hull flashes through the ship.
    Roy needs to move fast the rupture is nearby, and he must get to the survival suit, as his life is in imminent danger!

    Calmly, as if in a training he pulls out the suit from the emergency box. He puts it on, seals it and starts taking a few breaths before deciding what to do next as the oxygen leaves the ship.

    Session Background: I decided to go with the Star Wars D6 system for a few reasons. First of all I have hard copies of the books I am using which is a great help. Secondly the system allows for stories that are revolving around one character be it a Scout, a Smuggler, a Jedi, a Pirate Captain or a Bounty Hunter. If extra support is needed droids can fill in the gaps without requiring serious background information. Finally the space opera feel of the system is great and there is a plethora of information both on Star Wars and on D6.

     

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