[SWRPG] GMs, what's your secret?

[ForceUser]

Hi all,

I'm preparing to kick off a Star Wars d20 campaign set late in the Rise of the Empire period.

I have attempted to run two previous Star Wars campaigns over the years but both ultimately fell flat because I felt forced to run the sessions like movie episodes: fast-paced, adventurous, and non-stop. While this works fine for some sessions, over the course of the campaigns I reached the bottom of the action barrel, so to speak, and ran out of ideas early on in both attempts. The books always stress a movie tempo, but time and again I have found it hard to maintain.

This time around I'm just going to run it like any other RPG. There will be moments, but by and large the pace will not be as fervent as in the past. I want a campaign with replayability and longevity, and I don't think a Star Wars-esque pace lends itself to that. I think you almost have to run it as though it was NOT Star Wars for a campaign to be successful without covering the same ground every session.

Also, I'm initially setting the campaign in a sector of space completely from my own imagination so I will have a better understanding of the place without having to stop mid-session and dig through resource material for information. I am initially denying the group a private starship as a means to keep them from bouncing all over the galaxy before I've set the tone and general story arc in place. There's a lot happening in my tiny sector of the galaxy and I want them to be involved in that, rather than zip off to Tatooine or Coruscant at a whim.

One of my largest struggles as a Star Wars GM in previous campaigns was keeping up with the player group. There can be only so many hyperdrive malfunctions and Interdictor cruisers keeping the group on track before they start groaning and rolling their eyes. I don't want to box my group in, but at the same time I want them to go places for good reasons (I.E. I have at least some sparse planning ready) rather than to randomly seek out planets for adventure (which is difficult for me as a GM).

Anyway, does anyone who has led a successful Star Wars campaign have any advice for maintaining a long-term campaign without burning out the GM or irritating the players?

 

[NMC]

(SWRPG) Starting a Campaign

During character generation, I ususally grill my players for certain information regarding their characters:

1. Major character motivations/goals
2. Character background story
3. Connections with family members, friends and other characters

With this information its a good deal easier to direct characters without them feeling a heavy GM's hand.

In addition, characters can generally pursue these goals in ways that don't necessarily require running lightfights, speeder chases and starship battles. Once the heroes acquire a starship (a good call not letting them start out with one), it's amazing how much time they can spend tweaking the little details regarding its modifications.

 

[Jack Haggerty]

If you find your players running amok in the galaxy try...

Tying them to an organization. Make them a team of gunslinging hopefuls who have just been inducted into the Bounty Hunting Guild. Make them part any military organization. Make them thugs for a Crime Lord. They'll responsibilities and orders to follow, and so can't just go traipsing off without grave repercussions.

If you want them to be free... I just started a PBP based on a crew of independent traders... Then, it's simple. Where ever they go, that's where the adventure is. They want to go to Tatooine, right? Well, halfway there, they have to stop to gas up the starship, and that's when things start going wrong.

Can you provide us with any insight into your upcoming campaign? Or are your players reading this?

 

[ForceUser]

Thanks for the advice.

Here's the background information I sent my players:

"The campaign starts on the industrial planet of Rillivane in the Tygor system, during the era known as the Rise of the Empire. The Tygor system has three planets: Rillivane, an Earth-like world famous for building starships, Tygor, a gas giant with methane seas that are farmed for hyperdrive fuels, and Omulak, a small barren rocky planet mined for it's precious ores. The Tygor system is the chief rival of the Kuat system and it's famous driveyards and shipbuilding facilities. The Empire maintains a large presence in the Tygor system. An Imperial Governor administrates from a garrison in Tyco City, the largest urban area on Rillivane. Orbiting overhead, shipyards build many starships, including Imperial Star Destroyers. The population is generally content with Imperial rule, although some dissidents of late have caused great trouble by blowing up Imperial starships under construction and forcing tight security across the sector.

As player characters you will all have some permanent connection to the Tygor system. Either you are a native, or you work in-system, or you have a good reason for being there. You might be an Imperial loyalist or a revolutionary. For the record, at this period in history the Empire is in good renown for bringing Order to the universe and the Rebel Alliance does not yet exist. The atrocities of the Luke Skywalker era are unheard of."


___________________________________________________
And here's the Star Wars introduction that kicks off the campaign:



"A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...

STAR WARS: EMPIRE ASCENDING

THE GALACTIC REPUBLIC is no more. CHANCELLOR PALPATINE, with the support of the Senate, has abolished the Republic in favor of an Empire, with himself elected by the Senate as Emperor. Armed with strong public support from hundreds of member worlds, Emperor Palpatine has unified the bickering worlds of the former Republic using the political, economic, and military tools at his disposal. Imperial Governors have been installed on most member worlds, along with Imperial Garrisons to safeguard the populations of those worlds. Imperial warships patrol the spacelanes, protecting free trade and the rights of legitimate spacefarers throughout the fledgling Empire. Universities have been opened that teach Imperial Law, and Arts, Education, and HOLONet have been infused with the spirit of a unified Imperial state.

Yet all is not well. Rebellious dissidents, thought to be supported by traitorous Senators and Huttese criminals, mar the perfection of the Emperor's benevolent vision. These terrorists denounce Imperialism and embrace anarchy, spreading dissent through propaganda and lies. Their voice is small yet growing, bolstered by preposterous claims of injustices done to Imperial citizens across several Imperial worlds.

Rillivane is one such world. Thought to harbor an infestation of anarchists and Jedi sympathizers, this once prosperous planet has come under siege by rebel terrorists, led by the imfamous Lars Needma, who seek to deprive their countrymen of the benefit of Imperial Law. The Emperor, in his wisdom, has sent one of his best officers, Commander Chek Darmoth, to apprehend the criminals and restore order to this troubled world..."

 

[Jack Haggerty]

"As player characters you will all have some permanent connection to the Tygor system. Either you are a native, or you work in-system, or you have a good reason for being there. You might be an Imperial loyalist or a revolutionary."

My first question would be... With characters that could be from such incredibly diverse and conflicting backgrounds, how will you get them to work together?

You need to give them some sort of focus...

Maybe they are "troubleshooters" working for the local Mining Guild offices, and they are there to investigate the sabotage attempts. Since the starship construction setbacks are causing the Imperials to consider taking their business to other shipyards, which would cause a drastic descrease in ore sales in that system.

Maybe they are Imperial ISB agents sent to hunt down the Rebel insurgents that are causing such mayhem in the system.

Maybe they are the amateur Rebels who got lucky enough to blow the ships in the first place. (This would allow them to have fairly diverse backgrounds.) They never expected it to go this far, and now they are in over their heads. Now, their act of resistance against the Empire is causing reprisals against the general populace and it's all their fault... What to do now?

Or what if the each of the characters had a relative or friend working aboard the ship that was destroyed in the sabotage? (The aquaintances need not all be dead, some could be merely maimed.) Is it the Rebels fault for blowing up the ship? Or is it the Imperials fault for building warships there at all?

Present some options to your players and find out what type of scenario they would like to play.

 

[Voneth]

I converted DarkStryder. It's a military/exploration campaign where the players are assigned to a backstabbing crew.