Download - WEG40009 - Star Wars D6 - Strike Force Sh Anti Pole

8/6/2019 WEG40009 - Star Wars D6 - Strike Force Sh Anti Pole

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r - - - - - - - " C Wffi~ Willlt'gS t r i k e F o r c e : S h a n t i p o leby Ken Rolston and Steve Gilbert

Development: Steve Gilbert Editing: Bill Siavicsek Star Warriors Scenarios: Doug KaufmanArt Direction: Stephen Crane Graphics: Rosaria J. Baldari, Anne Fink, Susan KramerTypesetting: Carl Skutsch Interior Art: Lucasfilm, Ltd. Map Art: Rosaria J. Baldari

Production: Steve Porpora Proofreading: Paul Murphy Rules Upgrade: Greg Gorden, Bill Siavicsek. TM & 1988 Lucasfi lm, Ltd. (LI'L) . All Right Reserved. Trademarks of LFL used by West End Games. Inc. . under authorization.

IntroductionWelcome to another Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game

adventure. If you want to be a player in this adventureyou should stop reading now. This book contains infor-mation for the gamemaster (GM) only. Players who readahead spoil the adventure for themselves and others.In ThisAdventure ...... a group of Rebels must rescue a high-rankingAlliance officer and his secret project from an embattledasteroid field. Hidden in the Roche Asteroid Field, homeof the alien Verpine, lies a secret Rebel base. Here Com-mander Ackbar* oversees the construction of a new star-fighter - the two-man B-wing. As the adventure opens,the project is near completion and AllIance Command hassent Rebel heroes to retrieve Ackbar and the prototypeB-wings. The Empire knows of their activity, though, andhas plans of its own lor this new starlighter.Can the Rebels rescue Ackbar, his team, the peacefulVerpine and the prototype starfighters from the attackingImperial forces, then escort them out of the asteroid fieldwithout falling to the terrifying power of an Imperial fleet?These are the challenges of Strike Force: Shant/pole.Running a Star Wars AdventureAlien beings wander to and fro, T[E fighters screamoverhead, blaster bolts whiz by - this is Star Wars, a uni-verse fulJ of action and excitement. To capture this feel-ing while roleplaying, the gamemaster must be familiarwith the adventure material. No one has any fun whenundramatic pauses invade a crucial scene."Two TIE fighters come screaming in on your port side;'explains the game master dramatically. "Umm, just let meread for a couple of minutes to see what they do next ... "So much lor maintaining the tension of the moment.Being unprepared spoils the fun and ruins the excitement

of playing in the Star Wars galaxy.Ifyou've only run a few Star Wars adventures, here aresome hints on how to handle Strike Force:Shantipole. First,

read through the adventure completely to familiarizeyourself with the characters and the storyline. Next, beforeyou begin play, go over the first two episodes carefully.In a typical evening of Star Wars: The Roleplaying Gameit'll take your players a full session (two to three hours)to go through two episodes (although you can stopwhenever you feel they've done enough for one evening).Once your players finish these episodes, stop play.As a suggestion, stop during some bit of action. Thiscreates a "cliff-hanger" ending that will leave your players

eagerly awaiting the next session. Before resuming play,read through the next two episodes. And so on. Beingprepared assures that you and your players will get themost out of every session of play. This adventure portrays Ackbar prior to his promotion to Ad-miral, For additional information about Ackbar, see page 76 01The Star Wars Sourcebook.

Preparing to PlayIf this is your first Star Wars adventure then you'll needto spend a lew minutes helping your players select andcustomize their character templates. Several space battlesoccur in Strike Force: Shantipole, so having a couple 01characters skilled in piloting or gunnery is highly recom-mended. Next, give each new character 1,000 credits forpurchasing equipment. In addition to purchased equip-ment, the Alliance provides the player characters (PCs)with a.modified light freighter, named Out Runner, at thestart of the adventure. If the PCs have their own ship, letthem use it instead of the Alliance light Ireighter.If your players already have characters, feel free to letthem use them. Remember though, a group of Rebels

without a skilled pilot or gunner will be at a distinctdisadvantage.Adventure MaterialsLet's take a moment now to go over the componentsfound in Strike Force: Shantipoie. In addition to the adven-ture booklet, you'll find: Star Wars Rules Upgrade. This four-page folder containsimportant additions and clarifications for Star Wars: TheRoleplaying Game. We strongly suggest using the rulesupgrade when running this adventure. The Pullout Section. The four-page pullout sectionincludes the script that starts the adventure, the maps 01Ackbar's Command Base and Research Station Shantipole'shangar bay, the key to the full-color map, and non-playercharacter (NPC) templates. The Full-Color Map. This map details the interior ofResearch Station Shantipole. The text tells you when todisplay it for your players. Additional Materials. Other items needed to play thisadventure include Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game hard-cover book, pencils, paper and lots of six-sided dice. TheStar Wars Sourcebook, The Star Wars Campaign Pack(which includes a gamemaster screen), Star WarsMiniatures Sets, and the Star Warriors starfighter combatgame are also useful, but not necessary for play.Difficulty Numbersand Game BalanceAs GM, you must modify this adventure to fit your par-ticular group of players using the Difficulty Number Scalefound in the rules upgrade.For example, if the text says that PCS need to make anEasy Dexterity roll to accomplish a given task, turn to the"Difficulty Number Scale" in the rules upgrade and assigna number between 6 and 10, depending on the level ofskill of your PCs.Attributes are capitalized and italicized, skills are onlyitalicized .In addition, the number and template types of PCs inyour group affects the outcome of each encounter. This


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= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = w ~ = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =Ri'adventure is designed for six beginning player characterswith a good mix of skills. If you have fewer pes, you mayneed to scale down the encounters accordingly.Adven tu re BackgroundThe months after the victory at Yavin were a time of

great hope for the Rebellion, Following the Death Star'sdestruction, volunteers and recruits from across the galaxypoured in to swell the Alliance's ranks. Among thoserecruits were Rebel pilots, who found lumbering Imperialconvoys easy pickings for their speedy starfighters. Man-power and supplies were on the rise, and it seemed thatthe dark days would soon be over.But all that changed when the Imperial fleet began torelentlessly hunt for the hidden Rebel base. To make mat-

ters worse, the Empire added a new vessel to its supplyconvoys - the powerful Nebulon-B Frigate.At 194 million standard credits, the Nebulon-B costs less

than one twentieth of the price of an Imperial StarDestroyer. With its 24 laser batteries, two TIE lightersquadrons and heavy shielding, the Nebulon-B is morethan a match for the lightly-armed Rebel raiders. Sincethe vessel's introduction, damage to raiding parties hasclimbed so dramatically that Alliance High Command hasdiscontinued all attacks on Imperial convoys. Supply pro-blems grow critical as the Rebellion slowly strangles intosubmission,The Alliance has one hope to counter the deadly escortfrigate. Everything depends on a daring plan proposed by

a Mon Calamar.ian named Ackbar. Ackbar learned of theNebulon-B while he was Grand MoB Tarkin's personalservant/slave. From what he saw of the vessel's overalldesign, Ackbar determined that only an equally powerfulcapital ship (of which the Alliance has precious few) orspecially equipped starfighters could hope to stand againstthe escort frigate in combat. lt was the decision of HighCommand to develop a new starlighter to handle Ihisproblem. And so, before the wreckage of the first failedconvoy raid cooled, Ackbar traveled to Roche system toseek the aid of a renowned race of shipbuilders - theVerpine.Using Ackbar's vision and their own design skills, theinsectoid Verpine began creating a technical work 01 arf- the B-wing star lighter. This heavy starfighter, capableof closing with an Imperial frigate and disabling Us TIEbays and hyperdrives, was to be the latest accomplishmentof the Slayn and Korpil hives. Soon, without effectiveescorts, the cargo transports would once again becomeeasy targets.

Under Ackbar and his team of Alliance engineers, thVerpine have completed prototypes of the two-man B-winstarfighter . .The two-man B-wing employs a unique firincompartment which allows the gunner to lire from a stablplatform while the ship conducts evasive maneuvers. Thresults in a starfighter with significantly enhanced ficontrol. In addition, the new B-wing carries more shieldinand more firepower than any other Rebel or Imperial stafighter in production.Recen t EventsThe Empire: Unknown to the Alliance, a memberAckbar's design team is an Imperia] spy. Salin GlekAckbar's lieutenant,. keeps District Commander BanNothos apprised of the B~wing's progress. Nothos coulhave crushed the Rebel project long ago, but insteadelected to wail until the starfighler prototypes wercompleted before capturing them for the Empire. Whilsomewhat risky, the district commander hopes this plawill lead to a promotion upon its successful completion.Three days ago, Nothos received the signal from Gleindicating that the time to move was almost upon themSince then, Nothos has pulled escort craft out of hdistrict's convoys to form a strike fleet. He has alsdeployed long range TIE recon-fighters to patrol the outeperimeter of the asteroid field. He now waits for Glekfinal signal. But just in case the spy Jails, Nothos haordered the strike fleet to prepare to blockade the entirRoche system. Even now they are moving into positionThe Alliance: Ackbar and a team 01 Alliance engineershave been working with the Verpine to upgrade thoriginal B-wing design to fit the Rebellion's current needTwo prototype two-man B-wings have been completedand await shipping to the Rebel fleet. Once there. construction of new B-wings will begin in earnest.Unfortunately, the Verpine's pacifistic nature keeps themfrom openly joining the Rebellion. As a result, the tasof replicating the B-wings williall on Rebel engineers whthough on hand throughout the design process, are harpressed to match the Verpine's natural talent for shiconstruction.Not surprisingly, Ackbar's second assignment isconvince the Verpine to join the Rebellion. The Verpin

empathize strongly with the noble Ackbar, a Calamarianpacifist turned warrior, but remain reluctant to commito such a warlike course.Now a group of Rebels are on their way to pick u

Ackbar, his team, and the prototypes. They should arrivjust prior to the Imperial strike fleet ...

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= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = ~ " A R : = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =Upisode OneInto Roche Asteroid

SummaryThe adventure opens with the Rebel pes approaching

the Roche Asteroid Field in Out Runner, a modified Ugh!freighter. They have orders to deliver a sealed and codedhero-disk to Commander Ackbar, leader of the Allianceasteroid base. As they near the field, three TIE. fightersjump them. The Rebels must dispatch the TIEs before con-tinuing on to Ackbar's base. When they arrive they learnof the new B-wing and meet Ackbar, the Verpine, and thetraitorous Salin Glek.On the hoI a-disk, Mon Mothma, commander of theAlliance, orders the PCS to escort Ackbar and the pro-totype B-wings to a Rebel rendezvous point in the Pothorsystem.Start the AdventureHand your players a copy of the script from the pulloutsecton and assign each player a part. The parts are labelled

"lst Rebel," "2nd Rebel," and so forth. If you have sixplayers, each player reads one part. If you have fewer thansix, assign additional parts as necessary.Read the section below out loud, then let your playersbegin the script.

R ead AloudA long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away ...These are dark days lor the Alliance ..Using the new

Nebulon-B escort frigate and its mighty armaments,the Empire has virtually ended all raids on cargo con-voys. Without the spoils from Imperia! convoys, Rebelsupplies have become dangerously low. This could spellthe end of the Rebellion.But all is not lost. On a remote base in the RocheAsteroid Field, Commander Ackbar and his team

desperately work to complete a new starlighler capableof neutralizing the Nebulon-BEven now a team 01 brave Rebels approach theasteroid field, under orders to pick up Ackbar, his team,

and the starflghter prototypes and return them safelyto Alliance High Command. If they fail, the struggleJor freedom may indeed be over ...

Point to the player assigned the part 01 "1st Rebel," Heor she starts reading the script aloud. When the script istinlshed, pick up the action with 'The TIE Patrol" below.

FieldThe TIEPatrolWhen the players finish the script, read the following

passage out loud.Three TIE fighters bank right, screaming toward

you in Ught formation. Your sensors indicate a highconce.ntrati.on of energy at the TIEs' weapon ports,just before blaster bolts lance across your ship's bow.The TIEs,.part of Nothos's advance patrol, have ordersto stop all craft traveling to and from Roche. P_Csmaking

a Moderate technology roll identify these as TIE/rc star-fighters .. They know that these craft are quick andmaneuverable but lightly armed. TIE./rcs can operate overlonger distances than their combat equivalents, makingthem perfect for reconnaissance missions.The TIEs lire warning blasts across the freighter's bow,then broadcast instructions ordering the ship to followthem. The TIEs want Out Runner to accompany them totheir command frigate on the outer edge of the system.If the PCs submit to these orders, turn to "Captured!"

If the PCs decide to fight, refer to either "RPG StarshipCombat" or "Star Warriors Combat" depending onwhether you're using the roleplaying stars hip combat rulesor the Star Warriors boardgame. As the battle nears itsconclusion, turn to "Finishing Off the TIE PatroL"RPG5tarship CombatThe Rebel ship begins the battle at medium range with

the TIEs and at one greater than long range with theasteroid field. The Rebels can attempt to escape into theasteroids or close with the TIEs. If they opt to ignore theTIEs, the Imperial ships chase them. It takes lour roundsto enter the field: one to close to long range, one to reachmedium range, one to reach short range, and one to enter.The TIEs continue their pursuit into the asteroid field.Inside the asteroid field, all ship pilots must make aModerate starship piloting roll every round (as one 01theiractions) to avoid slamming into an asteroid. Any ship thatJails hits an asteroid and rolls for damage (asteroids do3D damage).When attacking, the TIEs try to get as close as possible.They use all available combat options - speed, gunnery,combined lire, and evasion.Once two of the three TIEs are destroyed, the remainingTIE attempts to retreat back to its command frigate. Twosuccessful rolls to avoid asteroids,in two successive rounds,

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are required to escape the asteroid field. [I the PCS tottowthe TIE, they must make the rolls as well . Once in dearspace, the TIE attempts to increase its range to one greaterthan long range. II it succeeds, it reaches the escort frigale,The PCs can continue to dose, but wiUsee the large vesselin the distance, II they move closer, they are caught in theship's tractor beams. Go to "Captured!"Rebel Modified Light Freighter": Hyperdrive multiplierx2. Subl ight speed 2D; maneuverability 00; hull 40.Weapons: Two laser cannons (fire independently); fire con-trol 2D; damage 40. Shields: 10.TIE/re Starfighter: Hyperdrive multiplier: zero. Sublightspeed 50; maneuverability 2D+2; hull.20. Weapons: Onelaser cannon; fire control 20; damage 20+2. Shields:none.Starship piloting 40+2; Starship gunnery 40+2.S ta r War rio rs CombatTo fight this battle using the S ta r Wa rr io rs system, applyglue or rubber cement to the unprinted side of the pro-vided counter strip, then fold the strip in half. You nowhave two-sided counters. Cut along all solid lines toseparate each counter. For this battle you'll need threeTlE/rcs and the Out R un ne r counter.All three TIE pilots have 4D+2 piloting and 40+2gunnery. These statist ics are for Out Runner, the freighter suppl ied bythe Alliance. If the pes fly their own ship, use its Slats instead,

Requ ir ed Ru le s: Use the Standard Game, Pivot Gun (14.4),and Asteroid (24) rules with the following modifications Use only 12 regular asteroid counters and 18 irregulars. Asteroids move the following number of hexes, accord-ing to the die roll. Roll of 1 or 2, asteroids move one hex;roll of 3 or 4, asteroids move two hexes; roll 01 5 or 6,asteroids move three hexes.Set-Up: Place TIE/rc H I in hex 1023 facing hex 1123, TrE/rcIf2 in hex 1024 facing hex 1124, and TIE/rc "' 3 in hex 1025facing hex 1125 . Place Ou t R un ne r in hex 2640 tacing anydirection the players want. Place the asteroids on the tophalf of the board, between hex rows xxOl and xx21.Came End: The game is over when either the PCs sur-render or are destroyed, all three TIEs are destroyed, orone TIE escapes off the far end of the map. [f the pes sur-render or follow the TIE, turn 10 "Captured!" 'S pe ci al R ul es : The following special rules are used whenplaying this scenario. It is played with a static map, Asteroids dumped off the map by the move are resetanywhere between hex rows xxOl and xx21,. as per normalasteroid set-up rules, but not within three hexes of anyships. The freighter's two pivot guns have a limited field of lire.One can fire only into the Forward Left and Rear Left arcs,the other can lire only into the Forward Right and RearRight arcs.

T 1Elrc S TAR WARR IO R S S TA TIS TIC S ~===,.33327426398644

Ship Type; TIE/rcStarflghterPilot's Guns: SLFGunner'sWpns:Body:Speed Max:Turn No's:I23456789Stabilizer No,:\hLoop:

Slip:Roll:Jink:Bank:Overturn:Overspeed:Accelerate:Over Accel.:Decelerate:Over Decel.:Damage Ctrl:Pinpoint Fire:Snap Fire:Targeting:Angle Shields:No.of Shields:N o . o f A u x. Pow. :R2 Unit?

3/ 271/12113/23/24/35/45/5(G)l{S)(6)/(6)44

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= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = ~ ~ A ~ : = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =O UT RUNNER S TAR W ARRIO RS S TAT IS TICSShip Type: 0111 Runner Jink: 6Pilot's Guns: DMF Bank: 5Gunner's Overturn: IWpns: DLPx2 Overspeed: 6Body: 16/13 Accelerate: 3Speed M8J': 4 Over Accel.: ITurn No's: Decelerate: 3

I I I I Over Decel.: 92 2/2 Damage Ctr! : 63 3/2 Pinpoint. Fire: 54 4/3 Snap Fire: 55 (5)/(4) Targeting: 66 (6)/(5) Angle Shields: 4Stabilizer No.. 4 No.ofSbields: 6IIzLoop: 6 N o. o f A ux . P ow : 3Slip: 4 R2 Unit? NoRoll:. 6

Captured!If the pes surrender or are disabled by the T[Es, . i rnpro-vise the following scenes.The TIEs lead the Rebels back to their wailing commandfrigate on the edge of the system. Once close enough, the

frigate engages its tractor beams and reels the PCs'freighter in. Inside the docking bay, stormtroopers swarmaboard the freighter in search of contraband. If the PCShaven't hidden the halo-disk, the storm troopers find it. Ifsomeone did hide it, that person makes an opposedhide/sneak roll against a stormLrooper's search (skill of2D). If the PC rolls higher, the stormtroopers don't findthe disk.As the stormtroopers search the ship, an Imperial officer

questions the Rebels. He demands to know their businessin this sector, If the PCS surrendered without a light, letany reasonable story they make up satisfy the officer. Ifthey put up a fight, they need to come up with a very goodcover story and make a Difficult con roll. Once they con-vince the officer of their innocence, he gives them a war-ning and lets them go about their business. Continue withthe adventure.A weak cover story, a failed con roll, belligerent PCs,

or discovery of the nolo-disk puts the Rebels in jeopardy:While the lrnperlals attempt to break the disk's coding,the PCs are placed in the ship's detention block. You willhave to improvise. an escape attempt, or simply informthe players that they failed this mission. Let them createnew characters and try again.Finishing Off the TIEPatro.1As the PCs prepare to take out the last TlE/rc,. read thefollowing passage aloud:The final TIE darts away from your ship, trying touse its speed to .fuU advantage, Your gunner has it

in his sights, but it's quickly moving out of range.

The targeting arrows line up,a gentle squeeze of thetrigger, and the TIE fighter disappears In a colorfulfireball. Sparkling fragments fly by, fading into thesilence of space.Once the TIEs are defeated, the PCs can continue intothe asteroid field and on to the Rebel base. Their ship is

equipped with a receiver that will lead them to a homingdevice broadcasting from the base. .Even if the PCSwere able to stop the TiEs before contact

was made with their command ship, it won't be long beforethe Imperials arrive in full force. Already, Nothos's fleetismoving in and soon the asteroid field will be surrounded.

R oche Asteroid FieldThe Roche Asteroid Field is a cluster of rocks,varying in size from tiny meteorites to large planetoids,circling a small yellow sun.This extremely old field, located in the Roche system,

appears rather orderly for a whirling storm of spacedebris, Its asteroids travel almost predictable ellipticalpaths around the system's star.Of course, within an asteroid field, "almost predict.able" still means trouble for visiting ships. Pilots must

constantly be on guard against impacting asteroids thatsuddenly bounce into the path of their vessel, hull-piercing micrometeorites, and dense areas with noroom to maneuver. And in an asteroid field, enginefailure results in certain death.A patient pilot can pick his way through the Rochefield to the Rebel base by making four Easy starsbippiloting rolls. Pilots hurrying through the fie[d, or thosetrying to navigate while engaged in combat, must makefive Moderate starship piloting rolls to reach the base.Each failed roll results in a collision with an asteroid.Asteroids do 3D damage.Mynocksand space slugs inhabit the Roche field. Thefield is also home to the Verpine, a race of lnsectoidbipeds with a natura] talent for ship building and othertechnological pursuits. These aliens, allies of theAlliance, live within the honeycombed interiors of thelarger asteroids.Two Verpine asteroids have been modified to handle

the Rebel project. The Rebel Command Base housesAckbar and his staff 01Alliance engineers. They overseethe project from here. Bu! the actual testing and con-struction lake place at Research Station Shantipole, alarge asteroid deep in the heart of the field.

' . . . I i - . ~ . _ . . . I . . 4 , . ~ . . . ~,W"...". - . . '.' . 5


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= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = ~ A ~ ~ = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =Ackbar's Command BaseAckbar's Rebel Command Base is a strange cross

between a high-tech community and a cave. Control panelsand other machinery, built into stone walls, jut out fromthe most unexpected places. Corridors and ceilings haveno uniform width or height, and subdued track lightingilluminates the entire base complex.About 50 Verpine and a half-dozen Rebels live and workon the Command Base, coordinating the activity of the

other asteroid colonies involved in the two-man B-wingproject. All design and construction takes place on thelarger asteroid. Research Station Shantipoie, 'but otherasteroids are needed lor supplies and communications.Once the PCs have navigated Out Runner through the

asteroid belt by making the required number of starshippiloting rolls, they come upon an hourglass-shapedasteroid. The signal beacon they foUow originates here,

trom deep within the Rebel Command Base.Read out loud:You have followed the signal beacon to ahourglass-shaped asteroid. Points of light penetratethe asteroid's outer crust, highlighting air vents andrepulsor-beam projectors. As your ship circles the

spinning chunk of rock, you notice an opening in thasteroid's side. II appears to be a hangar bay, andseveral figures can be seen moving about within itlighted interior. As you approach, your com unicrackles to life. "Freighter, identUyyourselfimmediately and state your business;'If the Rebels give the codeword mentioned in the scripand then identify themselves honestly, they receive

clearance to land. I f they don't supply the codeword buidentify themselves as Rebels, they receive clearance buare met by an armed party when they land.

V erplneStrike Force:Shantipole introduces Verpine, anew allen race, to Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game.

A brief outline of their culture follows..Have each playermake an alien races roll to see exactly how much hisplayer character knows about the Verpine. A PC knowsthe information available at the level rolled, as weJl asa ll information available at lower levels. For example,a PC who rolls a 16 to 20 knows Difficult information,as well as Moderate and Easy information.Don't feel obligated to give your players all 01 theinformation listed below. Let them find out some things

by themselves as they interact with the Verpine.Easy Infonnation (roll of 6-10): Ver-whats? Can youspell that?Moderate Infonnation (roll of 1l.15): The Verpineare a bizarre race of highly-advanced insectoids wholive inside asteroids in the Roche system. Obviously theVerpine didn't evolve on the near-airless asteroids, buttheir exact origin is unknown. Some believe they camefrom another galaxy; others that the Verpine worldslowly disintegrated around them over the course ofthousands of years, leaving only the asteroid field asevidence that a planet once orbited Roche. A thirdtheory is that the Verpine destroyed their own worldin a catastrophic civil war and that they now live onits remains. It is further speculated that the memoryof this war forms the basis for their present-day corn-mitment to pacifism.Diffkult lnformation (roll of 16.20): Verpine arehighly-advanced technologically, displaying an almostchild-like sense 01 wonder when dealing with newmachinery. Each of their larger asteroids is a self-sufficient colony capable 01producing energy, food, andatmosphere. Most colony asteroids contain 20 to 100inhabitants, but rumors persist that colonies near theheart of the field house up to 1,000 individuals.

Verpine colonies use focused repulsor beams to avoidcollisions with other asteroids. When two asteroids docome in contact, each encounters the other's repulsor-field shel l and ricochets harmlessly away.The Verpine are brilliant ship designers, and whilenot active participants in the Rebellion, the Verpineopen ly sympathize with the Alliance's cause and haveproduced some ships for them, including the original

Bwing starfighter. The single-seater B-wing was design-ed jointly by the Verpine en gineers tram the S!ayn andKorpi! colonies.Very Difficult Information (roll of 21 to 30): Thereare two major forms of Verpine - the hermaphroditicdominant form and the sterile worker clone. The doneform is of no importance, since it is barely sentient andtotally subservient to the dominant form. The domi-nant form is known to most gaJactics and is extremelysoclal by nature.AU Verpme belong to one hive and share a form of

limited communal consciousness. This allows the Vsr-pine to arrive at basic policy decisions simultaneously.The Verpine have no government, but because of theirtelepathic natures any individual can speak for the hivewith complete authority:If the civil war theory is correct, then another hivemust have existed at one time and may still exist

somewhere. Verpine, while normally happy to discussany matter, are peculiarly close-mouthed on thissubject.These statistics describe an average Verpine in StarWars: The Roleplaying Game. To create a player-character Verpine, add a total of 6D to the giuensta tistics.DEXTE.RITY: 10+1KNOWLEDGE: 20 +1MECHANICAL: 2D+2

PERCEPTION: 10+1STRENGTH; ID+lTECHNICAL: 3D

6 . .... .' ~.' ..... . -, , '. .1 .......


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= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = " A ~ = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = :uB ec au se o f the h angar's sm alf s ize and the rapid ro tatio no f the as tero id, landing is tric ky. The pilo t must make aModerate starship piloting r ol l t o d oc k smo o th ly . If th e ro l!isn 't m ade, explain ho w the fre ighter s lam s into the s ideo f the hangar o n its w ay in . While o nly m ino r damageo cc urs , s uc h as sc raped pain t and sm all dents , th is b lundersho uld pro ve qu ite em barras s ing fo r the Rebel hero es as

th e a dv en tu re pro gre ss es . H ave Ackbar, hi s engineers, an dthe Verpine c om ment abo ut the ac ciden t th ro ugho ut theadventure , especially w he ne ve r th e n eed aris es lo r pilo tin gskills .A suc cess fu l ro ll m eans th e freigh ter lands s mo othly. Avo ic e o ve r th e c om u nit a nn ou nc es , "N ic e flyin g, fre ig hte rpilo t. P ark her anyw here . Feel free to s tre tc h yo ur legs .A n es co rt w ill arrive m om entarily."Once the Rebels debark, read the fo llow ing :The small ban gar bay appears functional and efficient. Acontrol tower juts out over the hangar deck.Apparently carved and hollowed out of the naturalrock, the bay barely holds your ship. While theceiling rises high overhead, the walls remain uncom-fortably close. A mixture of instrument panels,cooling veins, and patches of natural reddish-brownstone cover the baywalls. Awidestone passage leadsout .of the chamber, Asyou emerge from your craft,you are greeted by an excited squeak. Three talllnsectoids whicb you figure must be Verpine scurryout of the passage toward you.Whi l. e l ig h t f re i gh t er s are c ommon in mo s t parts o f theg al ax y, t he se Verplne have never s een o ne. The le ad V er-pine, Su skato o , has read extens ively c o nc erning alienc ul tu re a nd b eh av io r. H ow ev er, Ackbar's team w as th e firs tno n-V erpines he had ever m et. H is use o f G alac tic B as icis a lmo st unacc en ted, tho ugh in exc ited s ta tes he lapsesin to the garbled sentenc e patterns c ommon amo ngV erpin e s pe ake rs . F or m o re in fo rm atio n o n S us ka lo o , re fe r

to his c harac ter template in the pu llo ut sec tio n .The o ther tw o Verpine are junior eng in eers , bo thass igned to the Shantipole project . All three barrage thepes w ith ques tio ns c onc ern ing the des ign theo ry behindth eir s hip's e ng in es a nd c on fig ura tio n.Use th is perio d to in tro duc e your players to Verpinew ays . Ess entiaHy, the Verpine are a very likable rac e o fbeings who are fas c inated by techno lo gy. Suskafo o , as tuden t o f galac tic c ultu re , tries to res tra in him selfso mew hat, b ut the yo unger V erpine have no su ch inc lina-non s and rattle o n and o n. PCs who let them ou t o f theirs ight la ter lind the yo ung engineers po is ed o ver an o penh atc h,c hittering exc itedly as th ey s tream lin e Out Run-ner's po wer sys tem by th ro wing o ut all the u seles s w ires .If s topped, it w ill be up to the PCS to repair the damage( a Mode ra t e starship repair ro ll). If left to fin is h w ha t th eys tarted, the yo ung Verpine ac tually im pro ve the sh ip. In-c rease its sublight speed by 10.Suskafoo freely te lls the pes abo ut the two-man B-wingpro jec t and dis cu ss es its pro blem s w ith them. Verpine,b ein g o f o ne hive and s harin g a c om munal c onsc io us ness ,c an no t even c onc eive o f lyin g. Suskafoo r e ad il y d is c u s se sP ro je c t Shantipole w it h m em b er s 01 th e "frie ndly R eb elhive. '"S us ka fo o a ns we rs a ny re as on ab le q ue stio ns concerningthe lifes tyle and c ultu re o f the V erpine. H e ls v er y in te r-es ted in the Fo rc e and ques tio ns Rebels w ith Fo rc e skillsa t le ng th .

V "F-;~~~~~~~~_jerpine like Suskafoo help the "friendly

Rebel hive" anyway they can.Keep up this in terac tio n fo r a few m inu tes un til the pesbec om e fam iliar w ith the V erpine, then m ove o n to theirm eeting w ith the tra ito ro us S alin G lek.

Meeting Salin GlekA fter a few m inutes w ith S uskaJo o and his as s is tan ts ,the Rebels meet Ackbar's c hief a id , the Quarren namedS ali n G l ek . If the PCs failed to give the c o dewo rd whenthey w ere asked to identify them selves o n the appro achto the base, G lek w ill have tw o armed human eng ineers

at his s ide. O therw ise , he is a lo ne. Read:Another figure, dressed in a simple brown tunicand matching cape, emerges from the corridor. Thefigure's bead resembles a four-tentacled squid. He

focuses his attention on Suskafoo and utters threesharp sounds. Suskafoo chirps an angry reply, wavesbis antennae at you, and quickly exits the chamber.His two companions mimic the farewell and followbehind him.The alien watches the Verpine disappear down the

corridor, then turns to you. "Greetings,1 am Lieu-tenant Salin G1ek,aide to Commander Ackbar," hesays in halting Basic."I trust you havea prime reasonfor jeopardizing tbe securlty of this base?"If th e armed engineers are w ith G lek, they level theirb las ters a t the pes . H n ot, G lek s im ply s tares accusinglyat them, daring them to respo nd.It's no t exac tly the kind 01 g reeting the Rebels ho pedfo r alter jum ping halfw ay ac ro ss the galaxy, figh ting o ffTIE figh ters , and flying thro ugh an as tero id belt, right?Fine, that's w hat yo u w an t. No t o nly sho uld th is g reetingm ake th em n ervo us , it s ho uld also m ake them dlslike Salin

G lek. Fo r m ore in fo rm atio n o n Glek , r ef er t o h is c h ar ac te rtem plate in the pullo ut sec tio n.Glek do es his b es t to get rid o f the P Cs . F irs t, he in quiresas to the purpo se o f their vis it. H e s ugg es ts th at they allo wh im to take an y m es sages th ey have to A ckbar pers onally,as the c ommander is extremely busy at th is time. If th eRebels m entio n the halo -disk, Glek's te ntac le s w ig gleexc itedly and he demands that they turn it o ver im -m edia te ly. H e o rde rs th em to c om ply, s ug ge stin g th ey c o m-plete their m is s io n quickly and be o n their w ay in c as etheir s hip w as trac ked.[f th e Rebels hand o ver the disk, see "Giving G lek th eDisk."

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j

/ f-. . . . .:,c ~ ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ~'--_--'ommander Ackbor, leader of the

Shantipole Project.II the Rebels refuse, Glek becomes angry, hissing andscreaming at them in a strange combination of Basic and

Quarren. Glek raves at PCs as he tries to intimidate them,but he ceases when a scar-faced human appears in thecorridor opening. The human, named Pollard, looks likea pirate, but he's actually another one 01 Ackbar'sli .eutenants (see his template in the pullout section). Pollarddemands to know what's going on. Once he finds out, hecalls Ackbar, notifies him of the pes' arrival, and escortsthe Rebels to the command center:In the Com.mand Center

I f the pes agree to accompany Pollard to meet Com-mander Ackbar, the lieutenant escorts them and Glekthrough winding tunnels without answering any questions.He says that Ackbar will explain everything. When theRebels reach the command center, read the following:Pollard leads you into a large circular chamber.Glek follows along, quiet and sullen. The walls of theroom are covered with monitors and control panels.A holo-projector tank fills the .floor space on the fa.r

side of the chamber.Across the room, hunched intently over a displayterminal, are Suskafoo, the two young Verpine, andaMonCalamari. Pollard leads you toward them, thenstops and announces, "Commander Ackbar. Theseare the messengers."

8

The MonCalamari turns and says, "Welcometo ourbase. I understand that you've traveled a greatdistance to see me. I trust your journey was anuneventful one?"If the Rebels tell Ackbar about the TIE recon fighters,

he expresses considerable concern about their presenceso near the base. Glek adds a biting comment about howthe pes' ship was probably tracked here. Pollard remainssilent.Next, it's up to the PCs to give Ackbar the holo-disk.When they do, read the following:Ackbar leads you over toa holo-projector presently

displaying the Roche Asteroid Field. "let's see whatyou've brought, my friends," says the MonCalamari.Heinserts the disk into the machine. The field disap-pears, replaced bya woman ina flowing white gownShe is Mon Mothma, Supreme Commander of theAlliance. The holo-image speaks."Greetings, old friend;' says Mon Mothma warm-

ly. "As you predicted, the Nebulon-.8 escort frigatehas put an end to our supply raids. Your report thatthe Shantipole Project nears completion could nothave come at a better time."The rest of this message is for your eyes onlyCommander Ackbar, and for the agents whodelivered it to you. Please pause the holo-disk untilall other personnel have left the area."Ackbar reachs out, tapping controls on the projector

tank and Man Mothma's halo-form freezes, Pollard and theVerpine take their leave immediately, but Glek waits un-Iii prompted by the PCs or Ackbar. When everyone hasgone, the commander again taps the proper control andthe message continues. Read:"The Alliance fleet is assembling in the Pother

system. Proceed there immediately with your designteam and your two prototype B-wings.Upon arrivalyou will assume the rank of Admiral. Youfirst dutyis to organize a mass production system for the newB.wing:'Mon Mothma continues, "To the agents whodelivered the disk: Thank.you for your service; the

Alliance owes you a great debt. ] must now ask youto perform another service for us. You mustsafeguard Commander Ackbar, escorting him and hisproject to the rendezvous point; the location codesare embedded at the end of this hole-disk. Do nottake thls duty ligbtly: our agents suspect that thereis an Imperial informer on the comm.ander's staff."To Commander Ackbar: Allow these agents tobring you, your team, and the prototypes to therendezvous polnt, Trust them as I do. I apologize forthe heavy-handed precautions, but we could DOt risk

interception of this message. The new starfighter itoo crucial to the survival of the Alliance. Proceedto the rendezvous point with all speed,and may theForce be with you."Hyperspace jump coordinates replace MonMothma.'s image, then the bolo-disk shuts off.

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'--_-J olin Glek, Ackbor's Quorren assistant, holds 0terrible secret that could destroy ProjectShontipole.

Let the Rebels question Ackbar about the assignment.The commander answers all queries to the best of hisability. Use this conversation to fill your players in on thebasic storyline. Tell them about the problems with theNebulon-B and the role the new B-wing will play in futureraiding parties.When the PC.., run out of questions, Ackbar signals forthe command center personnel to return. All of them do,

except Salin Glek. If the PC's inquire about Glek, Pollardsays he saw Glek walking toward the hangar bay. A lookat the hangar deck monitor shows an empty bay. There'sno sign of Glek or Out Runner.Giving Glek the DiskIf the Rebels give Glek the hole-disk, they have madea terrible mistake. First, they've disobeyed their orders to

deliver the disk to Ackbar personally. Second, they've

handed a top-secret communique to an Imperial spy. Ifthey believe their mission is accomplished and decide toleave, proceed with the storyline as follows.The pes head back out into space aboard Out Runner.Just as they prepare to jump to lightspeed, they receivean automated distress signal from Ackbar's base. Themessage, calling for assistance, repeals itself over and over.The PCs cannot raise anyone over their com unit. If theyreturn to the base, they arrive after the Imperials haveattacked. Go to Episode Two.There will be two unresolved problems for the PCs todeal with if the hole-disk remains in Glek's possession.

Problem number one: the PCS no longer have the rendez-vous coordinates for meeting the Alliance fleet. Problemnumber two: the Empire does have the coordinates andwill be waiting for the Rebels unless the PCs can somehowwarn Alliance High Commmand.

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pisode TwoThe Empire StrikesSummaryWhen Nothos lost contact with the TIE/rc patrol (fromepisode one) his instincts told him the time to strike wasnow.As usual, Nolhos has guessed correctly, arriving justas Glek gives the prearranged attack signal.Nothos launches a two-pronged attack. The main assaultforce targets Research Station Shantipole where the pro-totypes are kept. The second assault force, made up of

70 stormtroopers in an assault shuttle, attacks Ackbar'sCommand Base.Amid fires,explosions, and deadly storm-troopers, the Rebel pes must fight a desperate delayingbattle to save Ackbar and escape via life boat.Base AlertAs the PCs and Ackbar attempt to lind GIek, an alarmsounds. Read out loud:Warning sirens scream throughout the asteroidcomplex. Then a voice booms from the commandcenter com unit. "Hangar bay to Commander AckbarlSir, an unidentified craft is approaching this asteroid.It's closing fast, and it doesn't respond to our signals.Wait ... it's an Imperial assault shuttle I Repeat, anImperial ... "Two explosions rock the base, showering dust andsmall rocks upon you. The screens monitoring theasteroid's interior nash white and flic.k off. Ackbarturns to Pollard and says, "There's no way we canhold out against an attack. Wejust don't have enoughsoldiers. Give the evacuation signal:'Pollard complies, shouting into hi.s com unit,"Emergency evacuation! All personnel Immediate-ly report to the life boat bay. This is no driUl" Thebase shudders as the assault shuttle continues itsbombardment. With each explosion, the lights ruckerominously.Ackbar then turns to you. "U I don't retrieve thetwo-man Bwing configuration files from this com-puter, then everything we've worked for will be lost.I need some timel"Allow the PCs to volunteer to buy time, If tbey don't,Ackbar orders them to "delay those stormtroopers."Suskafoo and Pollard both volunteer to help the PCs.Pollard explains that he hasn't used a blaster in some time,but he knows all the accesscodes for the base's blast doors.

He calls up a holo display of the base. Show the playerthe map ofAckbar's base in the pullout, then read aloudPollard says, "Each blast doors Is 18 inches thickconstructed of enhanced titanium. It'll take thosestorm troopers quite a while to cut through one othem!'Then, as suddenly as it began, the bombardment stopAckbar surmises that the base has been invaded anstormtroopers must even now be approaching the command center.The defense of the base is the PCs' responsiblity. Thstormtroopers' attack plan is described in "The Assaultbelow.Ackbar needs 15combat rounds to finish retrievinhis flies. The PCs' must give him that time, then findway to get him safely off the asteroid.

Base Room DescriptionsThe following is a brief description of Ackbar's Command Base as shown on the map in the pullout sectionThis is by no means an exhaustive list of every item othe asteroid, but there should be enough for you to gea general idea of the type of equipment that mareasonably be found.The base is a converted Verpine colony asteroid. Moof the rooms consist of rock walls and floors, with cableand wires running along their length. Irregularly-shapedcorridors connect the various rooms together,Blast doors are located throughout as indicated on thmap. These can be closed or opened via control panelpositioned on either side of the doors, provided a persoknows the access codes. Without the codes, it takes 1rounds to cut through a locked blast door. Otherwise,Difficultsecurity roll isneeded to break the codes"Pollarof course, can open or close blast doors without antrouble, as he knows the codes.Regular doors can be locked from inside using a simplbolt lock. These doors are Easy to hit and have a Strengthof 2D. They can be smashed open if the damage rolltwice the Strength roll of the door. A normal door's locmechanism can be bypassed by making an Easy securityroll.1.Atmosphere Generators. The atmosphere generatorsit in tbis hollowed-out room, atop meter-thick bases oreinforced permacite. Dozens of pipes lead out of th

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= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = ~ . ~ ~ .= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =machine, disappearing into the rocky walls. If the Rebelsdecide to disrupt the base's air supply, this has at best anegative elfect on the battle, as the Imperial stormtrooperscarry their own artificial environments and few 01 the basepersonnel have time to don space suits. Three airlocks leadto the surface of the asteroid for routine maintenancework, and ]0 space suits are stored in a wall locker.2. Command Center. To one side of this room stands abolo-projector tank. Numerous computer displays line thewalls. Screens monitor the Roche Asteroid Field, theasteroids involved in the project, and the surroundingsystem. From the main console, any PC can open and doseblast doors throughout the base, provided they know theaccess codes or can circumvent then by making a Difficultsecurity roll.3. Communications Center. Control consoles with chairsline each of the walls. A large, dear plastic board standsnear the center of the room. Numerous Lines have beentraced across the board showing the trajectory of Roche'slarger asteroids.4. Living Quarters. Most of this area is open barracks,set up for communal living as the Verpine prefer. Severalsmaller rooms have been set up against the back wall forAckbar and his team.5. Hangar Bay. The hangar bay has tall ceilings butnarrow walls. This large, near-empty room has a controltower mounted to one wall, and two smashed asteroid hop-pers parked to one side (Glek damaged them as he left).Two exits lead out of the immediate area. The blast doorsbetween the hangar and the rec area are warped by theimperial's initial bombardment and they cannot be closed.6. Rec Area. This common room contains tables andchairs, a food dispenser, and a hole-chess game.7. Main Power Generators. Humming quietly, the maingenerators filJ this talJ, rocky chamber. The five-meter tallgenerators have catwalks running around their upperhalves. Two ladders lead up to the catwalks. Four meter-thick pipes lead out of the generators into the stone walls.A control and monitoring panel rests against the far wall.An Extremely Difficult Technical roll is required tosabotage these units. If the PO; are successful, thegenerators explode 20 combat rounds later, shattering theasteroid.S. Auxiliary Power. Two large machines, the auxiliarypower unit and the auxiliary power coolant system, fillthis room. A pressure valve leads directly from the coolantsystem to the outside. PCs making a Difficult Technicalroll can set the units to overload. The resulting explosionlive combat rounds later causes 60 damage to anyone inthe room.9. Storage. A medium-sized room with lots of boxes, thisstorage room contains both Verpine and Rebel supplies,Just about anything reasonable, except weapons, can befound here, including space suits. This is also a good placeto hide, and PCs stumble across a group 01 Verpine doingjust that when they start searching this area.10. Repulsor Beam Generators. Three tall, silvercylinders, interconnected by a maze of pencil-thinfilaments, fill this chamber. These are the repulsor beamgenerators, and each produces the energy that shields theasteroid from collisions with other floating rocks. If this

devlce is damaged, asteroids will begin smashing into thebase at a rate of one every three combat rounds. Fissuresappear in the walls and atmosphere can be heard leak-ing through the cracks. Fifteen combat rounds later thebase is pulverized in a collision with another large asteroid.Anyone still in the base dies.11. Medical Center. The base's medical center consistsof eight beds and one bacia-tank. A surgical area iscurtained olf in one corner.12. Life Boat Bay, Three medium-sized life boats arerecessed into the asteroid's outer wall, ready lor immediateescape. Each life boat holds 15 passengers. This bay alsohandles small craft and most of the asteroid hopper traffic.13. Auxiliary Command Center. Computer panels andcommunications equipment fill this area, which is usedonly in emergencies.The Stormtroopers' AssaultBelow is the timetable and attack plan for the storm-troopers. Reier to it as necessary. The stormtroopers have

a very precise schedule and are thoroughly familiar withthe layout 01 the base, courtesy of Salin Giek.Note: If the PCs are returning to the base after fallingfor Glek's ploy, they arrive at the beginning of combatround 6.Combat Rounds 1.5, Docking: During the first fiverounds of the battle, the Imperial assault shuttle pulls upalong side the hangar bay and lays a boarding tube intothe bay. Rebels who begin moving from the commandcenter to the hangar bay when the first explosion soundsreach the bay on round 3. 11they wail lor Ackbar's instruc-tions and take lime to check the command centermonitors, they arrive at the hangar no earlier than round 6.Rounds 615, Disembarking: At the beginning of round6, stormtroopers begin pouring out of the boarding tubeat a rate 01 live per round, up to a total of 50. The storm-troopers spread out and leave the hangar bay as rapidlyas possible, trying to overwhelm the opposition by sheernumbers.The first 20 storrntroopers are assigned to take thecommand center via the communications center. The next20 are assigned to capture the living quarters (one squadof 10 goes through the rec room corridor, the other squad

goes through the far hangar tunnel), The final 10 storm-troopers remain in the hangar in reserve.The storrntroopers' orders are to capture as many. prisoners as possible. (Nothos wants the Rebel com-manders alive lor interrogation.) The stormtroopers pushforward rapidly, combining their lire (in fire teams of live)on those Rebels who give them the most trouble.Rounds .1625: The Imperial assault shuttle disengagesfrom the hangar and swings around to the life boat bay.Once there (on round 20), it again connects its boardingtube and disgorges 10 more storm troopers. Four haveorders to take the medical center , 10Uf to capture auxiliarycommand, and two to remain in the bay as guards.Rounds 26+: The shuttle disengages and moves back tothe hangar bay. Inside the asteroid, the storrntroopersbattle the Rebels,. and move captured Verplne toward thehangar to load them onto the assault shuttle. Ten storm-troopers remain on board the shuttle in reserve and as

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= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = ' I ~ ~ = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =guards lor the prisoners. II the Rebels try to storm theassault shuttle, it disconnects from the asteroid and hoversout in space.Stormtroopers": DEX !D , blaster 3D, brawling parry 3D,dodge 3D; STR 2D (3D for damage purposes], brawling3D. All other attributes and skills 20. Blaster damage < l D .* These codes reflect armor adjustments.

Creating the .MoodWhen running this battle, keep the actionmoving. Don't give your players a lot of time to analyze

their actions. Show them what's going on by puttingtheir characters in your descriptions.For example:Blaster bolts explode near you, showering youwith blisterfngly-hot sparks. Frlght.ened Verpine

scurry by, jostling you and hampering your aimin thelr hurry to escape .. Then, through the par-ting clouds of smoke, you see the gleaming whitearmor of Imperial stormtroopers, Without heslta-tion the troopers charge your position, and soonyou can see nothing but the sparkling haze ofblaster Fire.Also, keep up the suspense. Don"! tell your playershow many storm troopers have invaded the base. Thatinformation is strictly for you. lnstead, reveal the

numbers to them as they encounter each group or waveof troopers. Let them guess the total number or sweatit out thinking they're lacing the entire Imperial fleet!And don't let on that Ackbar needs only 15 combatrounds to extract his computer files. If the PCs ask himwhen he'll be done, Ackbar tells them "just a fewseconds more" as another explosion rocks the base.These techniques build suspense, give the game amovie-like feel. and create the Star Warsmood.

Running the BaHleKeep track of the number of combat rounds that pass,and run the stormtroopers according to the instructionsabove. Other than that, just move the stormtroopersthrough the base and keep track of what the PCs are doing.Any time the storm troopers encounter PC resistance, theywade right in. If the PCs manage to cut down live or moreof them, the storrntroopers dig in, using any available coveror (ailing prone, then combine fire against one PC at atime.The obvious course for the PCs to take is to seal as many

blast doors as possible, attempt to contain the storm-troopers until Ackbar finishes his retrieval program, then

fight their way to the life boat bay (as Glek has run owith their ship). Of course, players rarely do the obviousso be ready lor anything. Let reasonable actions anheroics succeed, while foolhardy actions fail.Ending the Episod.eThis episode ends with the PCs and Ackbar escaping

the asteroid (most likely in a life boat) or being capturedby the Imperials. Escaping to proceed with the adventureis the ideal ending. With so many s torrn t roopers , howeverthere's always a chance your heroes will find themselvestrapped somewhere in the base. Here are a lew waysget them out of tight situations.Escape Through the Airlocks. Three airlocks lead fromthe atmosphere generator chamber to the surface of thasteroid. If the PCs don space suits, they can escapethrough the air locks and make their way, unobserved,across the asteroid to the life boat bay. Once there, all theneed do is overcome the guards.Verpine to the Rescue. Verpine colony asteroids consisof dozens of tiny rooms connected by extremely narrowcorridors. This asteroid, in addition to all the largchambers presented on the map, contains a number 0narrow corridors and sub-passages hidden behindventilation shafts and service ducts. Rebels trapped in aisolated area (such as the storage room) can be rescuedby the two young Verpine techs who were with Suskafooin the hangar earlier. They emerge (rom behind a venor duct and lead the pes to an adjoinlng room.Pollard's Dramatic Death, Pollard is a hero in the truessense of the word. His life has been long and hard, andeath holds little mystery to him. II the situation meritsPollard won't hesitate to give up his own life to distracthe stormtroopers and allow Ackbar to escape. Let Pollarcharge lorward, grenade in one hand, blaster in the otherHi s action buys the Rebels a few precious combat roundto make good an escape. If you use this scene, keepmind that later in the adventure the PCs will.discover thaPollard is still alive. Wounded during his heroic action, hwas captured and placed in Research Station Shantipole'sdetention area for safekeeping. See episode four lor mordetails.The EscapeBy the time the PCs reach the life boat bay, one of ththree life boats is gone, taken by escaping Verpine.The Verpine life boats have no steering or navigatlcn

controls. Instead, they rely upon pre-programmed cornpuler guidance systems to fly them to predetermined picup points.As soon as everyone climbs inside a life boat, Ackba

closes the door and presses the eject button. A smaexplosion sounds outside the cralt and a jarring leaplunges the ship into space.

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= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = ~ ~ . ~ ~ = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =pisode ThreeThe Trip to Shantipole

ESummaryA Verpine transport, searching for survivors of the

Imperial raid, picks up the Rebels' life boat. Once insidethe transport, a Verpine leads the PCs to the ship's bridge.The PCs learn that both Ackbar's Command Base andResearch Station Shantipole have fallen to the Empire.Furthermore, the entire sector is under naval blockade.TIE fighters constantly sweep the asteroid belt in searchof Ackbar and his team. It's only a matter of time beforethe Empire finds them.Ackbar assesses the situation quickly and formulates aplan. Soon the Rebels find themselves flying to ResearchStation Shantipole on a desperate mission to recover acombat vessel and destroy the remains of Ackbar's pro-ject. During the flight to the captured asteroid, the PCsmust battle probe Droids, navigate through asteroid storms,and elude TIE patrols. The episode ends just as the PCssee Shantipole in the distance.Rescued!Read:Time passes slowly within the drifting life boat.Without communicationequipment, sensors, or flightcontrols, you remain helpless, at the mercy of thevessel's automated controls. Occasionally the lifeboat makes a leisurely course adjustment, Notenough, you think, toavoid the hundreds ofasteroidsout there, yet no collisions occur. Only Suskafooseems unconcerned with the prospect offlying blindthrough an asteroid belt.As you contemplate the unpleasant situation, thelife boat shudders and becomes caught fast, asthough caught in the jaws of some great power vise.Ominous sounds echo through the craft. Then thesounds stop.The PCs should be ready for anything. They probably

think they've been picked up by an Imperial ship. They'rewrong, but let them sweat it a little. Build the tension,allowing the players' imaginations to run wild. Open thelife boat's hatch slowly, revealing an enormous dockingbay. Let them notice the two other life boats sitting uponthe open deck. Show them the dozens of Verpine skitteringabout at a hurried pace. Then let them see the distinctivearchitecture that marks this bay as part of a Verpine ship.The Rebels have been rescued by a Verpine transport, oneof many scouring the field for survivors of the Imperialraids.The Verpine in the bay seem oblivious to the PCs. Theyare worker clones and little more than automatons. Theycannot speak and are completely incapable of indepen-

dent thought. As such, they ignore the PCs and go abouttheir duties. Verpine have no trouble telling a worker clonefrom a dominant form, although other races can see nophysical difference.After a few moments, a dominant Verpine approaches.Read:Fromacross the bay a Verpine strides over tomeetyour group. "Please foUowme," he says in halting

Basic.He leads your group through several crowdedcorridors to the bridge. The command chair spinsaround and another, older, Verpine considers youand your companions. Ackbar steps forward andsays, "It is good to see you again, Speaker Jurfel."TheVerpine nods, "Mineis the pleasure CommanderAckbar.But danger threatens the hiveand wemustact quickly,"With the help of Speaker Jurfel, a Verpine elder whospeaks lor the entire hive, the Rebels get brought up to

date on the Imperial raid.

A Quick Note on Verpine ShipsAs traveling through an asteroid field involveslots of gut-wrenching maneuvers, it's small wonder that

one of the Verpine's earliest technologicaldevelopments was a ship stabilization system. Thissystem, sort 01 a gravity gyro,allows the crew andpassengers to travel more comfortably by keeping themain compartment stable while the rest of the shiprotates to compensate for any maneuver. The Verpinelife boat uses this system, as does the Bwing starfighterand most other Verpine ships.Unknown to the PCs, the "leisurely courseadjustments" they experienced while inside the lifeboat were actually violent maneuvers over, under andaround asteroids. If asked, Suskafoo describes thesystem to the pes.

Ackbar and Jurfel Tell AllThe following information can be presented to the

players as simply a series of facts , but we suggest revealingit as part of a conversation involving the pes, Suskafoo,Jurlel, and Ackbar. While the PCs and Suskafoo are presentin order to be brought up to date on the situation, theyare encouraged to ask questions and make suggestions.But most of the conversation is dominated by the twoleaders. With the help of a halo-projector, here's what Jude!and Ackbar reveal:

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= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = ~ : . ~ ~ = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =Jurfel Reveals: "One hour ago, the Empire broadcast asub-spacemessage on all frequencies, ordering the Verpineto submit or die. The hive has rejected the Empire'sultimatum and has decided to actively join the Alliance.The situation is grim, however. Imperial stormtroopershave captured Research Station Shantipole and, with it,the two prototype two-man B-wings.OUTremote sensorsreveal that a large number of capital ships have movedinto position around our asteroid field. TIE fighters aresweeping the area in regular patterns. Weare massing ourown fleet in an attempt to gather the hive for escape."Ackbar Reveals: "Those capital ships have' formed ablockade, effectively cutting off our avenue ofescape. TheTIEsare engaged in a systematic search that willnot enduntil they find what they are looking for - namely, thecomputer files I have stored within this data pad and allmembers of the Alliance engineering team."The Verpine fleet consists of unarmed shipswhich standno chance against the powerful Imperial vessels. But myanalysis shows a flaw in the blockade. Here, at this point,isthe weak link. A single escort frigate is the only obstaclein sector G147, where the asteroid trajectories form anatural corridor through the field.An armed vessel couldprovide cover fire and a distraction that would allow usto move the fleet out of the field and into open spacebefore the rest of the blockade could respond."With your ship missing, the only combat-ready craftin the immediate vicinity is my transport. Unfortunately,it isdocked in the Shantipole's hangar bay.A small strikelearn could sneak into the research station, recover theship, and eliminate any remaining evidence of our secretproject."If the PCs don't volunteer for this important yetdangerous mission, Ackbar orders them to undertake it.After all,they are the only real warriors Ackbar has (exceptfor Pollard, ifhe's still with the group). They are Ackbar'sonly hope.

W ounded RebelsNobody likes to be left behind, especially dur-ing an exciting part 01 an adventure. Here's how youcan keep your party together if some of them werewounded in the strorntrooper assault. Instead ofdiscovery by the Empire being imminent, have Ackbarannounce:"After analyzing the Imperial search pattern, Icalculate that we have a little less tban nine daysto make our breakout attempt. After that we'recertain to be discovered by the TIE patrols."Those nine days give the Rebels plenty of time toheal any wounded or incapacitated characters in Ver-pine rejuve tanks. Mortallywounded characters can besaved by the Verpine tanks, as per normal Star Wars:

The Roleplayin.g Game rules, but not in time to go onthe raid.

Ackbar's PlanWhile Ackbar cautions the Rebels to be ready to thinkfor themselves and modify the plan as they proceed, henevertheless outlines the mission as he sees it. Show youplayers the full-color map of Research Station Shantipolewhile Ackbar speaks.Ackbar calls up a holo-image of the asteroid field.The Verpine transport and the research station arehighligbted to show their relative positions. Tbeimage changes, zooming in to show tbe resear~hstation. He says, "You must fly through the asteroidfield to Research Station Shantipole, get insideundetected, and set the main generator to explode,I'll provide you witb the detonite and timers myself.A 30-minute fuse should give you a reasonable safetymargin. When the generator explodes it shoulddestroy the entire station, and the prototype star-figbters along with it. That explosion will be oursignal to move the fleet into corridor G147. If youhave not secured a combat vessel and begun yourdistraction maneuvers on the frigate, we shall try toescape anyway, but we'll be easy targets for the Imperial ship. Good luck, and may tbe Force be withyou."Ackbar hasn't been informed that the B-wings are inworking order. The engineer that reported to Glek didn'know the Quarren was a traitor, so Glek was the only onein the command base to receive this news.Suskafoo volunteers to accompany the Rebels. He canretrieve additional data filesfrom the base computer thawillsave months ofwork when B-wingconstruction startsOf course, if the PCs gave the hole-disk to Glek inepisode one, they have another problem to overcomeThey must recover the disk and broadcast the hyperspacejump coordinates to the Verpine fleet before they clearthe asteroid field's gravity well. Otherwise, Ackbar wilhave to guess at a safe jump destination and the muchneeded B-wing prototypes will not reach Alliance HighCommand until new coordinates can be provided.

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~=======PULLOUT SECTIONtrike Force: Shantipole

._______.dventure ScriptUse the following script to start youradventure. Your gamemaster will tell youwhat part (or parts) to read. When yourturn comes read your lines out loud, speak-ing the way you think your character would.Be sure to listen to what the othercharacters are saying as the script contains

important background information to startthe adventure.Start the ScriptIst Rebel: What's that red light mean?2nd Rebel: It's an Alliance signal receiver.When the light starts blinking, it meanswe're close to a broadcasting base-homingdevice.3rd Rebel: We just follow the signal to itsorigin. We should be docking in less thanan hour.4th Rebel: Good. The sooner we turn thishalo-disk over to Commander Ackbar, thebetter. Playing mail carrier to outer rimsystems isn't my idea of a glamorousassignment.5th Rebel: I believe this disk is much moreimportant than you realize. Alliance shipsare too scarce to be used on frivolousmissions.6th Rebel: And we were specificallyordered to hand deliver the disk directly toCommander Ackbar.2nd Rebel: Don't forget, I saw ManMothma back at the base ....6th Rebel: .. . talking to our commanderbefore the briefing. We know. You told us.2nd Rebel: No really, I did. Just before theygave us the code word.Ist Rebel: What do we need a code wordfor, anyway?

3rd Rebel: To identify us when we reachCommander Ackbar's base. You don't wantthem mistaking us for Imperials, do you?4th Rebel: Urn,what was that code wordagain?5th Rebel: Ibelieve the commanderpronounced it, "Ban tha pudu." According toour computer lexicon, the phrase originateswith the Huttese culture and means ...2nd Rebel: Not now! Plotting a course intoan asteroid field isn't easy, you know.1st Rebel: I never heard of an Alliancebase located in an asteroid field before.6th Rebel: If everyone heard about it, itwouldn't be a secret.3rd Rebel: It also happens to be the homeof the engineers working with Ackbar onhis secret project ..4th Rebel: Secrets, everybody's got secrets!Any idea who these engineers are?5th Rebel: They call themselves theVerpme, I understand the entire race liveswithin the asteroid field. Roche, I believethe name is.6th Rebel: They developed that weird-looking starfighter, didn't they?3rd Rebel: Weird-looking? The B-wingassault ship is one of the most heavily-armed starfighters in the galaxy ..1st Rebel: Hey, what's that red light mean?2nd Rebel: I told you, than the signalreceiver.4th Rebel: No, that's the full-spectrumtransceiver; Three TIE fighters areapproaching on our port side.5th Rebel: Imperials! Why does it alwayshave to be Imperials?

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ACKBAR'S CO MMAND BAS E- Blast Door

Regular Door,_ Damaged Blast Door

"

RES EARC H S T AT IO N S HAN TIPO LE H AN GAR BAY #1


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=============::::::;: . A M i ======= PULLOUT SECTIONUGAMEMAS T ER MAP:R ES EARCH S TA TIO NSHANT IPOLE.. Siormtroopers

Commander AckbarTemplate Type: Man CalamariHt.: l.8m Sex: MaleOEX 30+1 PER 20+1Command 60+1

STR 3DBlaster 40+1KNO 30+1Alien Races 50+1Bureaucracy 60+1MEC 20+1Astrogation 40+1Starship Piloting 40+1

TEe 3D+2

Physical Description: Ackbar is a bipedal, salmon-colored am-phiboid from Mon Calamari. He wears a white jump suit andspeaks with a watery gurgle.Equipment: Cornlink, data pad, minl-computer,Background: Enslaved by the Empire, Ackbar was taken fromhis world and given to Grand Moll Tarkin as a gift by an am-bitious fleet officer. Ackbar served with quiet dignity, all the whilelearning whatever he could about the Empire. Eventually rescuedby a Rebel strike force, Ackbar now serves as a valuable officerin the Alliance. He knows both the powers and the weaknessesof the Empire, and he works to exploit that knowledge to oneday restore the Old Republic.Personality: Ackbar is a peaceful man who has been forcedto learn of war by the Empire. Still, everything he does istempered by justice, honor, and concern. He will never askanyone to do something he will not do. He is quiet, firm, anda true leader. He never stops working for peace, but heunderstands the necessity of war.Quote: "We dream of a day when the galaxy will again be boundtogether by peace and justice."

Salin GlekTemplate Type: QuarrenHI.: l.8m Sex: MaleOEX 3D PER 30+1Con 50+1laster 50Dodge 50KNO 20+2MEC30Starship Piloting 4DPhysical Description: Like all Quarren, Glek's head resemblesa four-tentacled squid. He wears a simple brown tunic and cape.Equipment: Blaster pistol (damage 4D), cornlink.Background: Glek grew up in the bowels 01 a Man Calamarianfloating city, learning to despise his Man Cal neighbors. But henever showed any discontent. Instead, he joined the Allianceand worked up to a position of power. From there, with the helpof the Empire, he will make the Man Cals pay lor what he feelsare their crimes against his people.Personality: Glek is a bitter, hateful individual. but he hides itwell. He despises Ackbar and his Mon Cal dreams. He betraysthe Alliance not for money or power, but lor spite.Quote: "Pah, dreams are only useless illusions."

STR 30+1


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RES EARCH S TA TIO N S HAN T IP OLELower Level RES EARC H S TAT IO N S HANT IPO LE MAP KEY

C D Verpine Tunnelso Air lock #1C D Communications Centero Rec Area Mess 'Elevators(2 ) Command Center Computer Room Living Quarters@ Airlock #2@ Life Boat Bay@ Medical Center@ Repulsor Beam Controls@ Main Generator@ Power Converters@ Life Support

Atmosphere Generator Pilots' Rec Room@ Hangar Bay #1 Storage@ Maintenance Shop@ Damaged Maintenance Shop@ Damaged Hangar Bay #2@ Shield Generator@ Power Cells@ Storage@ Air lock #3@ Agrifactory@ Storage@ Research Lab@ Auxil iary Power@ Hangar Bay Sub-Level

RES EARCH S TA TIO N S HAN .T IP OLESide View

Lieutenant Pollard SuskafooTemplate Type: OutlawHt.: l.9m Sex: MaleOEX 40

Template Type: VerpineHt.: 1.9m Sex: MaleOEX 20+1Dodge 30+1KNO 30+1Languages 50 +IMEC 30+2

PER 2D+lHide/Sneak 30+1STR 2D+1

PER 2DCommand 30Hide/Sneak 20STR 30+1Blaster 50Dodge 50KNO 3DStreetwise 40 Brawling 40+1MEC 20+2 TEC 3DStarship Piloting 30+2 Starship Repair 40+1Starship Gunnery 40+2Physical Description: Dark and heavily lined, Pollard's laceisscarred and ageless. People first meeting him often lind himSinister,but his loyalty to good causes soon wins them over.Equipment: Heavy blaster pistol (damage 50), cornlink.Background: Pollard speaks little of his past. Instead, he existsin the present - watching the Empire's movements, counteringtheir plans, and keeping Ackbar safe. Pollard was one of theAlliance agents that participated inAckbar's rescue, and he hasworked with the Mon Calamarian ever since. He doesn't like ortrust Salin Glek, but he can', put his finger on anything solidenough to go to Ackbar with.Personality: A born leader, Pollardwould do well with a com-mand of his own. But he is not an ambitious man. He prefersto fill what he considers important secondary roles. He istough,wary, and dangerous-looking.Quote: "I wouldn't do that, if I were you."

TEC 4DComputer Prog. 50Starship Repair 60Physical Description: Suskafoo's tall, thin body is an evenlycolored pale green. His joints, like all Verpines, are somewhatawkwardly articulated causing Foo to appear ungainly in hismovements. Suskafoo's most striking aspect is his dark,featureless eyes. When speaking Suskafoo twitches and chirpsexcitedly, his antennae moving in time.Equipment: None.Background: Suskafoo ("roo" to his friends) lived his early lifeon an asteroid on the edge of the field. The Verpine had dealtwith galactic traders for many years, but Foe's asteroid was thefirst contacted by the Alliance. Foo used his programming ex-perience to quickly master Galactic Basic. Since then, Foo hasworked as a mediator between his hive and the "Rebel Hive'Personality: Foo has grown to see that the Empire and theAlliance as something other than two opposing hives. There isa fundamental difference between them. Foo isonly beginningto understand the concepts of good and evil. Suskafoo, like allVerpine, is incredibly curious about technology of any sort. Heloves working on theoretical problems, but he doesn't alwaysrealize the consequences of some of his suggestions.Quote: "Now that you mention it, [ suppose that would causea thermob!ast. Forget I ever suggested it."


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= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = ~ . ~ ~ ~ = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

L-____Jmperial probe Droids hunt for Ackbor'steam.

Asteroid HoppersJurfel leads the strike force to a small docking bay inanother part of the transport. Waiting for the PCs ate sixcubes of detonite, three timers, space suits lor everymember of the party, and four asteroid hoppers. Anyadditional requests for supplies can be granted, withinreason, as long as you remember that the Verpine haveno weapons.The Verpine Speaker explains that each asteroid hoppercarries up to lou! people. These short-range repulsorliltcralt are ideal for traveling through asteroid fields, butcannot operate in deep space. They have been coveredwith a sensor-reflective material that should confuseImperial scanning equipment. The trip to the station lastsabout three hours, provided nothing goes wrong.Asteroid Hopper: Crew I; Passengers 3; Speed Code .20;Maneuverability 3D; Body Strength 3D. Weapons: none.Shields: none.

The Journey BeginsOnce the PCs are aboard the hoppers, have the pilotsmake Easy Tepa/sorliff operation rolls to start them up andlilt out of the transport's hangar. Read:The asteroid hoppers glide away from the Verpinetransport, Several dozen small- to medium-sfzed craftfloat nearby, all of them Verpine. A Ufe boat similar

to the one you arrived in is engulfed by one of thelarger vessels. You kick in the repulsorlift enginesand your hopper leaps away, leaving the gatheringVerpine fleet far behind.Belore the Rebels begin the raid on Research StationShantipole, they have to get there. That's not as easy as

it sounds. Below are two encounters which occur alongthe way. The first involves an Imperial probe Droid headedtoward the Verpine fleet; the second involves eithernavigating through an asteroid storm or dodging anImperial patrol.Have the pilots make Easy Tepa/sorliff operation rollsto simulate the journey. After the first hour, the encounterwith the probe Droid takes place. An hour later, the secondencounter occurs.Encounter One:The Probe DroidImperial probe Droids scour the field, searching for themissing Rebels ..Nothos has ordered their use because the

TIE patrols are ineffective within the more dense portionsof the asteroid field. The PCs intercept a transmitted reportfrom a pro bot that is on an intercept course with theVerpine fleet! A PC making an Easy secuTity roll deter-mines that the transmission is 01 Imperial origin. AModerate roll pinpoints and identifies the approachingpro bot, while a Difficult security roll breaks the code andreveals that the Droid has not yet discovered the Verplnefleet. But it will if it continues on its present course. Thepes should decide that the probot must be destroyed.Destroying the probe Droid won't be easy. The hoppercarries no weapons, so the pes have to either ram the

Droid or open the hatch to use their blasters, Rammingdoes 60 damage to the probot and 30 to the ship.If the probot ever receives enough damage toincapacitate it, it automatically self-destructs to avoid be-

ing captured.Alternately, the PCs can try to lead the probe off-course,Imperial probe Droids are programmed to investigateanything out of the ordinary. Allow any reasonablediversion to draw the probe Droid away.Probe Druid: STR 40, blaster 40,. search 40. Weapons:blaster cannon, damage 4D+2.Encounter Two:The Asteroid StormThe Rebels are near the end of their journey when they

pick up two things on their sensors. An unusually heavyconcentration 01 asteroids has appeared up ahead, anda TIE lighter patrol skims the edge of the field near wherethe hoppers travel. Suskaloo explains, "Asteroid storms arerather common. We usually just fly around them. However,with those TIE fighters patrolling the edge of the storm,I expect we would be spotted and quickly blown out ofspace."The PCS have two choices. They can fly through the

asteroid storm and risk being smashed to bits, or go aroundthe storm and risk encountering the TIE patrol.

", . , ':. ~ '.' ,, ~ '. ~ .. .: .', ,i,.

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= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = ~ A ~ ~ = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

V'--_----'erpine hoppers provtde the best means of fransportation through asteroid fields.Flying through the storm requires three Difficultrepuisorlitt operation rolls. The players can add thehoppers' maneuverability dice to their skill roll, Failing a

roll means an asteroid has struck the ship. doing 3D 01damage to the hull. A hopper that cannot move becauseof damage continues to be pounded by asteroids untildestroyed. Rebels within an unmoving hopper takedamage from asteroids along with their craft.If the PCSmaneuver around the storm, they must movetoward the outer edge of the asteroid field (going furtherinto the field means traveling through even heavier

concentrations 01asteroid fragments). They immediatelyspot the two TIE fighters. If they stop to discern their patrolpattern (and make a Moderate Perception roll), they realizethe TiEs are repeating the same criss-crossing flight patternas they scan lor Verpine ships. PCs can fly around theasteroid storm and between the TIEs by making aModerate repu lsor li tt opera t ion roll. The players can addthe hoppers' speed code dice to their skill rolls. II the pesdidn't discern the patrol pattern, they must make a VeryDifficult roll 10 avoid being detected. pes who don't makethe roll are spotted. The TIEs swoop in, blasters blazing.II the Rebels dive back into the asteroid storm they canescape the Imperial ships. But now they must deal withthe crashing asteroids, See the previous paragraph fordetails.

2 0

Next Stop: ShantipoleOnce past the asteroid storm, the rest of the journey is

uneventful. Then Suskaloo suggests a final look at theresearch station layout. He projects the image onto eachhopper's heads-up display. Show the players the full-colormap again and read:The asteroid station appears on your heads-updisplay, slowly rotating to show you Its batteredsurface. Then the surface cuts away, revealing theinterior. "I'm afraid," explains Suskafoo, "that thisimage is being produced from our computer librarytapes. Itdoes not show any damage sustained by therecent attack, We won't be able to determine theextent of damage until we're within visual range."Shortly thereafter, the hoppers reach Research Station

Shantipole. From their angle of approach, the PCScan seethe flames and smoke rising out of what used to be hangartwo. There is other evidence of a violent attack, butnothing else quite as prominent as the destroyed hangarbay. The Rebels must decide how they will enter the stationbefore they move closer and alert the patrolling TIEfighters to their presence.

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= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = w . ~ : = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =psode FourTo Retake Shantipole

ESummaryAfter their harrowing journey through the asteroid fieldthe Rebels arrive at Research Station Shantipole, They

must figure out a way to get inside the station undetected,reach the main generator and set their detonite timers,then find the hangar where the combat craft are stored.Shantipole belongs to the Empire now, guarded by a horde01 storrntroopers, Any mistake by the PCs will alert thestormtroopers and almost certainly make their missioneven more difficult - perhaps impossible!Research Station ShantipoleBefore the Empire arrived, Research Station Shantipole

was the Alliance's largest base in the Roche system. Here,Verpine engineers worked far nearly five months design-ing and canstructing the new two-man B-wing. Now Shan-tipole is under Imperial control.Commander Nothos has ordered his stor rntroopers tadismantle the entire operation. The stormtroopers havethe same statistics as those in episode two. They travelin squads (eight troopers and an officer) or details (threeto five troopers). Verpine who didn't escape during theassault are being rounded up far shipment to Imperialdetention centers, and the protatype B-wings are beingmoved to Nathos's flagship. (Note that stormtroaper officershave skills and attributes 1D higher than normal troopers.)The asteroid, originally a Verpine colony, is considerablylarger than the one that housed Ackbar's Command Base.

Before the assault about 200 Verpine, as well as the rest

of Ackbar's engineering staff, lived and worked here. Thefacility has three levels, as depicted on the lull-calor mapand the map in the pullout section.Observing the AsteroidAs the pes draw near the asteroid, Suskafao suggests

landing on a tiny rnoonlet that orbits nearby, as that wouldbe a convenient vantage paint lor observing the station.Once the Rebels land, read the following:The research station rotates slowly before you.Several airlocks and repulsor-beam units are visible,haphazardly spaced across the asteroid in typicalVerpine fashion. As the asteroid turns, two hangarscome into view..The first, obviously a target of theEmpire's attack, is in shambles. Frayed wires andother debris noat freely within the shattered con-fines, drifting lazi.lyinto space througb the now-deadforce field.A blackened ship lies twisted against onewall. Five Imperial techs in full vacuum suits moveabout the bangar's semi-darkness, apparentlysurveying the damage,The second hangar is well-lit and undamaged ..Dozens of stormtroopers stand guard whi.le unar-mored technicians load boxes on a large l.mperiaJshuttle. Asecond ship, a MonCalamari freighter, sitsunattended in the corner.

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= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = ~ ' i ~ : = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =Each PC who makes an Easy Perception roll noticesone of the following:

Glistening ice-crystal deposits can be seen in spots allover the asteroid. [I the same PC makes an Easy survivalroll, he or she realizes that the ice indicates atmosphericdischarges such as when an airlock opens. Investigatingany 01 these ice deposits reveals a standard airlock hatch(areas 2, 10, and 27 on the map) or a small opening thatleads into the Verpine tunnel system (area 1 on the map). A large dome rises out of the top 01 the asteroid.Suskafoo explains that this dome covers the colonyagrifactory. Four T[E lighters hang suspended from the undamagedhangar's ceiling on a temporary TIE docking platform, andone mobile laser cannon has been set up near the hangar'sentrance.Give the players some time to plan their raid on the base.

Occasionally they see an asteroid deflected away by thebase repulsor beams, but otherwise further observationreveals very little. The techs in the damaged hangar workthroughout the day.[f the PCSdecide to wait for an extended period of time,

have Suskafoo remind them that the Verpine fleet is indanger 01discovery and time is crucial, RebeLs who delayfor more than 12 hours receive an emergency messagefrom Ackbar stating that the Verpine fleet is under attack.From that moment, the PCShave just 30 minutes to recovera battle-ready ship and come to Ackbar's rescue.Getting InsideAlter spending some time observing Shantipole, theRebels must begin making their way to the capturedasteroid. A Moderate hide/sneak roll is required for each

hopper pilot to reach the asteroid unseen. A failed rollmeans a storrntrooper or tech sees something suspiciousand reports it. Increase the station's alertness level by one(see "Shantipole Defenses" below).There are two good routes into the asteroid: throughthe hidden passage into the Verpine tunnels, and throughthe damaged hangar. Both routes hold promise for enter-ing the base unobserved, but both also hold danger. In

the damaged hangar the pes must avoid or deal with liveImperial technicians. The tunnels contain a much moredangerous obstacle. Unknown to the Verpine or the Im-perials, a space slug has taken up residence within thehidden passage. The space slug has been preying on themynocks which inlest the icy passage, but it won't hesitateto supplement its diet with a Rebel or two.Other less suitable but still plausible routes open to theRebels include one of the three airlocks or through thefunctioning hangar bay. Both are well-lit and guarded, 01-Iering little chance for entering unnoticed.EntryVia the Hidden PassageBy exploring ice-crystal deposits on the surface of theasteroid, the PCs discover a hidden passage. Suskafoo ex-plains that the presence of ice indicates that an airlockor Ventilation system still operates somewhere within thepassage. That's the key to -entering the research stationfrom this area. .From the moment the Rebels enter the hidden passage,the ice crystal formations become considerably larger. Asthey travel deeper into the asteroid, footing becomes more

and more treacherous (-10 to all Dexterity-based ski lisBy following the trail 01ice (and making three Easy searchrolls), the PCs eventually come across the still-operationalvent. A panel recessed in the stone wall controls magneticseals that can be activated to provide an atmosphere-safecorridor into the Verpine tunnel system. A Moderatesecurity roll is needed to operate th