| Story/Background: RPG Intro: ">From the Ashes" The characters are three Jedi Knights, recently given that rank. They trained together at the Jedi Academy on Correllia. They are friends from when they were young and are also bound together by a common goal. Fifty years ago, transmissions from the galaxy Farrina's Web arrived regularly. Though intergalactic transit remained too expensive to be useful, it was nice to keep up with the times. Forty-nine years ago, those transmissions suddenly ended. The last transmission gave news of a Yuuzhan Vong attack force, but not a major one. You all want to know what happened to the colonists in Farrina's Web, yet your fellow Jedi refuse to act. Something about the place frightens them. Well, now you're going to do something about it. You are not the first to have thought along these lines. Four years before, Stephanie's friend from the Jedi Academy, Dustin, set out on a personal mission to solve this mystery. He went alone, and has not been heard from since. What could have happened? High above the galactic plane is a lonely station called Exgal-5. This station houses intergalactic communications equipment as well as a few of the remaining hyperspace rockets, kept in working condition just in case. <Mission 1> Your plan is to steal one of those rockets and head to Farrina's Web, find out just what's wrong, and fix it. Perhaps Dustin is still alive and in need of assistance, or at least a ride home. As a side-goal, you may want to raid the station's computer archives and find out a bit more about where you're going before you set off. When questioned about Farrina's Web, your own masters have told you that the place is very dangerous, and it's best not to think about it, and that the Jedi Council has matters in hand. But the way they say this with no conviction stinks of cover-up. But for these three heroes, the truth must be told. What You Know About (summary): -Exgal 5: The station has a small open-to-public area, but most of the station is off limits to the casual observer. There is very little military presence there other than base itself, so you shouldn't have to worry about space combat. Hopefully you'll be able to sneak out with the rocket before anybody notices you're here. -Farrina's Web: Nobody likes jumping blind into a firefight. Here is what you've managed to put together from your investigations. -Farrina's Web was colonized about 400 years ago by several different species from the New Republic. They set up a democratic government in one small corner by forging trade alliances with the local space-faring species. Transportation involved hyperspace rockets like the one you're about to steal. -There was some sort of war or emergency 250 years ago which required a Jedi emissary to be sent, by the name of Ambassador Thorin Solo. This is the last known person to make the crossing, though at that time the colonies were still thriving. -50 years ago, the Yuuzhan Vong launched a minor attack. Analysts in Farrina's web didn't believe it would be a serious threat, but there has not been a transmission since then. -Local politics: -It's been 450 years since the fall of the Empire. Then the Yuuzhan Vong invaded. About 400 years ago, the Republic began establishing intergalactic colonies. These were not as big a success as was hoped, but they still all exist. -At the moment, things are so peaceful you could just scream. The Jedi of course run about and mediate the typical local conflicts, but the galaxy is not about to tear itself up about anything. Science plods along slowly, but since Star Wars is mostly fantasy rather than sci-fi in nature, I'm considering these advances negligible. Unless I tell you otherwise, assume the books and movies are a representative sampling of the technology. Ships designs and ideas have changed of course, but things are different rather than better. -There is something weird involving the Jedi Council and a few ostracized but not actually evil Jedi. Celi may know something about this, as she seems to know a lot of Jedi history. -The Republican senate is currently dominated by a conservative trading coalition. They believe the government's role is to keep everything peaceful so that people can go about the business of making themselves prosperous. They've been very good at this limited job. The Republican military is rather small as there has been little to fight in a very long time. -Yuuzhan Vong: -They're among the last things mentioned in Farrina's Web, so here's some background data on them. Ask me for more if/when you think it's relevant. Anything in the books on Yuuzhan Vong can be considered an accurate portrayal of their nature at that time, though they may have changed since then. -Yuuzhan Vong are extragalactic invaders. Nobody knows where they came from, but they're violent expansionist religious fundamentalists. Think of them as the Crusaders, basically, only more effective. They hate machines and rely exclusively on biotech. -They are outside the Force. They are not resistant to it so much as unaffected by it. Yuuzhan Vong do not leave empty spaces the way Ysalamiri do. However, it is possible through deep meditation for Jedi to tap into the psychic matrix they use to communicate with their bio-machinery. Don't tell them they use bio-machinery, or they'll kill you. -They like killing, enslaving, egregious causing of pain, self-mutilation, and cricket. It's the cricket that really defines them as villains. -They killed Chewie. For that alone, they deserve to die. Also you should know about: -Midi-chlorians: I assume you've all seen Episode 1? Well, these little buggies have been rediscovered by now. Assume all Jedi, a few scientists, and only very rare lay people know what these are. Oh, what are they? -In the words of your own teachers: "Midi-chlorians are little symbiotic creatures that live in the bloodstream. They give us our connection to the Force, because something as simple and elemental as the Force can't really interact in a meaningful way with something as complicated as a sentient life form. So the Midi-chlorians are the mediators. More midi-chlorians gives a stronger potential connection to the Force. Note the use of the word potential." -Midi-chlorians have never been artificially produced, cloned, immitated, or bred in captivity. For all intents and purposes, the Force is still effectively magic. Stuff the players might have heard of but their characters surely haven't: -Spider Demons. You have no idea what these are. Just a friendly reminder from your DM. They couldn't possibly be important to the plot of a game whose main galaxy has the word "web" in it. <cough> <cough>. -Farrina, Arriella, Mortarrius. Ditto. -The Devil Bunny: That's in Fluble. I just thought I'd better mention it, just to see if you're still paying attention. |
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