Desdichado
Hero
Well, my wife has been out of town this weekend with the two younger kids to go visit a cousin's three year old birthday party. Since I was left with the older kids, this afternoon I decided to introduce them to the concept of roleplaying games. And since they were very familiar with the concept of Star Wars, I decided to make that the setting to play in. I helped them make some characters using a very simplified ruleset (I used a modified version of The Window which has the added benefit of allowing them to use pretty much all of the various dice. In fact, that turned out to be the hardest part of the game; teaching them to recognize which dice was which. My eight year old boy (Spencer) did better, and ended up helping his little sister (Jessica, 6) by the end of the game. Their character sheets only had 8-10 items on it, including the names (which they picked themselves) and a few other things; I fit it on an index card, and that ended up being easy for them to read.
It seems to have been a success; my son was clamoring for me to run something else immediately which I told him I wasn't going to do. Then he insisted that we still play something later today when I was trying to defer until later in the week sometime. In the meantime, the adventure, which only took about 45 minutes or so to run, has been typed up here for your amusement; it was really straightforward and easy for two young kids who were new to roleplaying to get. I'm not sure I exactly got the blow for blow with the Sith gal (the kids had just watched Clone Wars on my PC, so I thought a familiar villain would help get them excited.)
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Yoda called the two young padawan’s into his office – the slight young man Dracula and the blond, blue-eyed Alea. Both were known for their distinctive lighsaber colors; Dracula had a brilliant orange one, while Alea’s was a soft baby pink.
“Your help I need,” the aged Jedi master said. “Princess Cyd Charisse has been captured and is being held captive on Ilium. Bring her back you must.”
“Don’t worry, Master Yoda,” Dracula said. “We’ll make sure she comes back.” Suddenly the two young Jedi leapt from Yoda’s skyscraper office window, plummeting like rockets through the crowded Coruscant atmosphere, to land lightly on a landing platform far below.
A small, black R2 unit was waiting for them, as well as a man who was refueling their shiny reddish ship. “It’s all set for you,” he said. “Hyperspace coordinates are plugged into the R2 unit there to take you to Ilium.”
“Great!”
The two Jedi blasted up from Coruscant as soon as the R2 unit was loaded into the ship. “What’s that?” Alea asked once they were in space. Behind them was an odd-looking ship that appeared to be following them.
“Nothing, just local traffic,” Dracula dismissed. He punched in the command to jump to light-speed.
When they arrived at Ilium, it was a grayish white world, covered in snow and ice. On the surface a blizzard obscured most of their vision, but they could see a tall tower with a lighted beacon at the top.
“I sense that the princess is inside,” Alea said, so they both walked confidently inside. There, shiny silver battle droids lowered their gunfists and launched blaster bolts at the two Jedi. Alea and Dracula blocked the bolts with their lightsabers as they moved to attack position, cutting down the droids like weeds. Alea took a minor hit to her shoulder, but it did not slow her.
They ascended the stairs to another room, this time with columns of laser light being the only illumination. Alea, again the sharpeyed one, noticed several Frisbee like droids winging towards them. Dracula went to go have a look and was blasted in the shoulder for his trouble. He waved his hand at the flying droids, and they scattered to smash against the walls. Alea used her baby pink lightsaber to slash through another group of them, although she also took another hit. Scanning the room again, she noticed a small box on the wall. Inside were three medical injections – she put one in her leg and immediately felt refreshed. There was another staircase moving upwards.
At this level, it was extremely dark. “I sense a disturbance in the force…” Dracula says; he can feel that some dark presence has entered the tower.
They climb again to the next level, and here they face more battle droids. Alea uses the force to cause a chunk of the wall to fly forward and hit some of them, scattering them like bowling pins. Dracula similarly chopped his to shreds with his lightsaber.
When the battle droids were disposed of, Alea spotted a trapdoor high above them in the ceiling. The two Jedi used the force to jump fifty feet into the air to check it out, but found it locked. Alea attempted to slice it open with her lightsaber, but missed. Dracula was more successful; he cut the portal wide open and climbed up through it. Alea then jumped again, torpedoing through the trap door to land nimbly on her feet.
Inside this next level, they could see a small cage at the far end of a very large, open room. The cage had a pinkish force field at one end, and inside was a young girl. The rest of the room was very open; large glass windows covered all sides, and the ceiling was very high. The girl looked up at them as they came into the room and a wide smile crossed her face. “Are you here to rescue me?” she cried.
But it wasn’t going to be that easy… four destroyer droids rolled into place in front of the Jedi, shooting away with their twin blaster arms. Both of the Jedi took a hit before they were able to ready their lightsabers for defense. Dracula used the force to smash one of them against the floor, while Alea deflected their blaster bolts to destroy two more. Dracula cut down the last of them finally, then the turned to go see about the princess.
Just then a blurry figure shot up through the trapdoor, and while in the air, pulled two red lightsabers off her waist. She landed lightly between the Jedi and the girl they were hoping to save. This new person was pale white, with a bald head. Both the Jedi felt a strong disturbance in the force as she appeared; she was bad news.
“Leave the princess where she is,” the woman hissed at them, “and I might let you live.” Alea and Dracula brought up their lightsabers, and rushed in for the attack. The woman moved like lightning, and even with two opponents, she gave as good as she got, tagging both of the Jedi lightly with her twin pistol-grip red sabers. Dracula saw an opening and extended his hand, the force pushing the woman back to slam against the side of the building.
She in turn raised her hands, and the ceiling began to crumble, dropping in large chunks on the Jedi. Alea jumped out of the way, clear up to the ceiling, but Dracula took a heavy blow to his shoulder. The Sith witch leapt high up in the air to attack Alea, but she deflected her blast, and pushed her back with the force to slam heavily on the ground below. Dracula also moved in with his saber, catching her off guard and cutting her again.
The three of them commenced the dance of death again, their sabers flashing, humming and crackling in fast motion. Then the Sith witch raised her hands again, and all the glass that made up the walls of the huge room shattered to rain down in a deadly hail. Alea and Dracula were able to hold a hand above their heads and stop any glass from hitting them, and Dracula pushed the Sith one final time, causing her to slide completely out of the room and plummet to the ground below.
Their sabers were ineffective for opening the princess’ cell, but Alea spotted the control panel and they were able to open it. After taking the final two medical shots, both Alea and Dracula were in much better condition; in fact, as good as new. The took the princess back to their ship, and Dracula spotted a dip in the snow, apparently where the Sith witch landed. She was gone, and footprints led away into the blizzard. He was thoughtful as they flew back through hyperspace to Coruscant to bring her to Yoda…
It seems to have been a success; my son was clamoring for me to run something else immediately which I told him I wasn't going to do. Then he insisted that we still play something later today when I was trying to defer until later in the week sometime. In the meantime, the adventure, which only took about 45 minutes or so to run, has been typed up here for your amusement; it was really straightforward and easy for two young kids who were new to roleplaying to get. I'm not sure I exactly got the blow for blow with the Sith gal (the kids had just watched Clone Wars on my PC, so I thought a familiar villain would help get them excited.)
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Yoda called the two young padawan’s into his office – the slight young man Dracula and the blond, blue-eyed Alea. Both were known for their distinctive lighsaber colors; Dracula had a brilliant orange one, while Alea’s was a soft baby pink.
“Your help I need,” the aged Jedi master said. “Princess Cyd Charisse has been captured and is being held captive on Ilium. Bring her back you must.”
“Don’t worry, Master Yoda,” Dracula said. “We’ll make sure she comes back.” Suddenly the two young Jedi leapt from Yoda’s skyscraper office window, plummeting like rockets through the crowded Coruscant atmosphere, to land lightly on a landing platform far below.
A small, black R2 unit was waiting for them, as well as a man who was refueling their shiny reddish ship. “It’s all set for you,” he said. “Hyperspace coordinates are plugged into the R2 unit there to take you to Ilium.”
“Great!”
The two Jedi blasted up from Coruscant as soon as the R2 unit was loaded into the ship. “What’s that?” Alea asked once they were in space. Behind them was an odd-looking ship that appeared to be following them.
“Nothing, just local traffic,” Dracula dismissed. He punched in the command to jump to light-speed.
When they arrived at Ilium, it was a grayish white world, covered in snow and ice. On the surface a blizzard obscured most of their vision, but they could see a tall tower with a lighted beacon at the top.
“I sense that the princess is inside,” Alea said, so they both walked confidently inside. There, shiny silver battle droids lowered their gunfists and launched blaster bolts at the two Jedi. Alea and Dracula blocked the bolts with their lightsabers as they moved to attack position, cutting down the droids like weeds. Alea took a minor hit to her shoulder, but it did not slow her.
They ascended the stairs to another room, this time with columns of laser light being the only illumination. Alea, again the sharpeyed one, noticed several Frisbee like droids winging towards them. Dracula went to go have a look and was blasted in the shoulder for his trouble. He waved his hand at the flying droids, and they scattered to smash against the walls. Alea used her baby pink lightsaber to slash through another group of them, although she also took another hit. Scanning the room again, she noticed a small box on the wall. Inside were three medical injections – she put one in her leg and immediately felt refreshed. There was another staircase moving upwards.
At this level, it was extremely dark. “I sense a disturbance in the force…” Dracula says; he can feel that some dark presence has entered the tower.
They climb again to the next level, and here they face more battle droids. Alea uses the force to cause a chunk of the wall to fly forward and hit some of them, scattering them like bowling pins. Dracula similarly chopped his to shreds with his lightsaber.
When the battle droids were disposed of, Alea spotted a trapdoor high above them in the ceiling. The two Jedi used the force to jump fifty feet into the air to check it out, but found it locked. Alea attempted to slice it open with her lightsaber, but missed. Dracula was more successful; he cut the portal wide open and climbed up through it. Alea then jumped again, torpedoing through the trap door to land nimbly on her feet.
Inside this next level, they could see a small cage at the far end of a very large, open room. The cage had a pinkish force field at one end, and inside was a young girl. The rest of the room was very open; large glass windows covered all sides, and the ceiling was very high. The girl looked up at them as they came into the room and a wide smile crossed her face. “Are you here to rescue me?” she cried.
But it wasn’t going to be that easy… four destroyer droids rolled into place in front of the Jedi, shooting away with their twin blaster arms. Both of the Jedi took a hit before they were able to ready their lightsabers for defense. Dracula used the force to smash one of them against the floor, while Alea deflected their blaster bolts to destroy two more. Dracula cut down the last of them finally, then the turned to go see about the princess.
Just then a blurry figure shot up through the trapdoor, and while in the air, pulled two red lightsabers off her waist. She landed lightly between the Jedi and the girl they were hoping to save. This new person was pale white, with a bald head. Both the Jedi felt a strong disturbance in the force as she appeared; she was bad news.
“Leave the princess where she is,” the woman hissed at them, “and I might let you live.” Alea and Dracula brought up their lightsabers, and rushed in for the attack. The woman moved like lightning, and even with two opponents, she gave as good as she got, tagging both of the Jedi lightly with her twin pistol-grip red sabers. Dracula saw an opening and extended his hand, the force pushing the woman back to slam against the side of the building.
She in turn raised her hands, and the ceiling began to crumble, dropping in large chunks on the Jedi. Alea jumped out of the way, clear up to the ceiling, but Dracula took a heavy blow to his shoulder. The Sith witch leapt high up in the air to attack Alea, but she deflected her blast, and pushed her back with the force to slam heavily on the ground below. Dracula also moved in with his saber, catching her off guard and cutting her again.
The three of them commenced the dance of death again, their sabers flashing, humming and crackling in fast motion. Then the Sith witch raised her hands again, and all the glass that made up the walls of the huge room shattered to rain down in a deadly hail. Alea and Dracula were able to hold a hand above their heads and stop any glass from hitting them, and Dracula pushed the Sith one final time, causing her to slide completely out of the room and plummet to the ground below.
Their sabers were ineffective for opening the princess’ cell, but Alea spotted the control panel and they were able to open it. After taking the final two medical shots, both Alea and Dracula were in much better condition; in fact, as good as new. The took the princess back to their ship, and Dracula spotted a dip in the snow, apparently where the Sith witch landed. She was gone, and footprints led away into the blizzard. He was thoughtful as they flew back through hyperspace to Coruscant to bring her to Yoda…
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