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Hey there Gamer Nation,
I'm interested in sending my group in a galaxy-wide pursuit of a powerful artifact of some sort in an Indiana Jones type adventure. They would, of course, be trying to find this artifact or location before the Empire. I have most of the adventure set pieces thought out, including interactions with natives, a dig site encounter, and some interstellar chase scenes, but I am having trouble coming up with what this artifact or site actually does.

What would be a good ability and item/location for the heroes to search for? I know that over the course of the adventure the Force-sensitive hero will begin to hone her skills in manipulating the Force, so I'd like it to reveal some sort lost Force knowledge to her. (She has no interest in becoming a full Jedi.) But I also need it to have a tangible use for the Empire.

For context, the campaign has a very Original Trilogy/Dark Horse Comics Empire/Marvel Comics tone to it, with high action, lightheartedness, but very low Force use or Jedi references. Because of this, I do not think that a holocron or anything Sith related would be appropriate.

Help please!

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"...and the trick usually lies in not thinking too hard about whatever you want to do, but just allowing it to happen as if it were going to anyway."

There's many places you could go with this, from an artifact of another Force tradition or even something from the Dawn of the Jedi or the first schism. Hell, maybe it's a Rakatan artifact from the distant past that has been recently rediscovered and is in the process of being excavated.

Just a couple of ideas to chew on.

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My thoughts would be to look to other media sir. And then star wars the hell out of it.

Or just come up with something awesome and run with it.

A few questions before I start a giant tangent though.

1.) what scale are we talking? Do you want something like a holocron but not? Or do you want a huge planet that is actually like a star maker or some such?

2.) Exactly how Indiana jones do you want to go?

3.) Is the goal to acquire the item or keep it out of imperial hands? Primarily that is I mean which is more important?

The issue here is that I'm trying to draw mostly from Rebellion-era sources. I feel like most of the Dawn of the Jedi and other Ancient-era stuff, while it does have its place, doesn't fit too well with a rag-tag band of Rebels flying around on a beat up Corellian knock-off.

As for the alternate, ancient Force-tradition, I like that idea. It will certainly be incorporated into the final item some how.



Something personal-sized like a weapon or a holocron, all the way up to a lost city I'd say. I guess the city could be planet spanning, if that is the direction I decide to go...



Pretty much all they way, keeping with the Star Wars feel. The heroes work for the Alliance, but aren't archeologists in any way. I plan on having them recruit a bookish one as part of the adventure, or at least be provided one by the Alliance. He will also be able to start introducing the Force-sensitive hero to her powers I think.

As far as the mythical perspective, I would like their to be mystical properties for this holocron, yes.



I'd say keep it out of Imperial hands, likely by destroying it or locking it away forever. If it is a weapon or resource that could change the face of the war, I'd presume keep it out of Imperial hands. I'm trying to keep things relatively canon timeline wise, so the Rebellion obtaining a super-weapon wouldn't fit so well.

For more context, this adventure would be run within a year after the Battle of Yavin.

Right now, the idea of an ancient, lost civilization based on Force worship is attractive to me, but how their discovery would help the Empire still needs work. What did this long lost civilization have that the Empire now needs?

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"...and the trick usually lies in not thinking too hard about whatever you want to do, but just allowing it to happen as if it were going to anyway."

Taken from Star Trek The Next Generation episode:

There was a civilization that had the ability to open a portal to anywhere else in the Galaxy. No ships or hyperspace needed. You can send the military right through and conquer any planet.

Maybe a device like that?

EDIT: Another idea: A device that prevents travel through hyperspace! How devastating would that be!

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Lost ship/fleet is always a favorite among EU. Some Jedi expedition into the unknown region went missing a long time ago. Its now crashed on some distant planet full now and of unknown knowledge waiting to be found.

You could some person in core space wind up dead with some piece of tech or random item with an insignia from said ship found on his person. Who killed the guy and why, and where the hell did he get it. The investigation is afoot and obviously someone is already one step ahead.

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May your feet move faster than the thing that is chasing you.

The Sunrunner Legacy- a Star Wars Roleplaying Campaign

As an idea, a Rakata-based energy source that, when fully assemebled, be no larger than your average astromech, but produce enough energy to power a planet on the tech level of our own for a century. Just imagine what the Empire could do with something like that, particularly if they could siphon that energy into creating new, vastly more powerful weapons of war. Hydra's tesseract-powered guns from Captain America: First Avenger anyone?

However, one of the key components is a proto-holocron, containing the recording image and memory of a Force adept (doesn't have to be a Rakata, could be a long-extinct near-human species). This will enable your Force-sensitive PC to learn about the Force without being driven to the Jedi path, but could also provide info to the other PCs about what sort of risk the assembled device would be; while it was designed with peaceful intent to provide power ala the Arc Reactor from the first Iron Man movie, the main Rakata leadership saw its weapon potential.

Fortunately, the device was disassembled and thrown to the far flung corners of the galaxy before it could be fully completed & activated. But now that the Empire knows that such a device exists, they'll stop at nothing to get it. However, there's some design flaw that nobody knows about that makes putting this thing together and turning on a Really Bad Idea (tm). Just what that flaw is, only the GM knows, but there may be scattered hints and clues that will lead the PCs to solving this particular riddle, one the Imperials in charge of the efforts either never investigated or simply disregarded as "primitive non-Human nonsense."

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"If you've never seen an elephant ski, then you've never been on acid."
- Eddie Izzard

Contributing Author of the GSA
Dono's Gaming & Etc Blog
Follow me on Twitter at @donovan421

A few suggestions:

1) Dono's idea of a "portable" super-energy source is brilliant. Think about your timeline. 1 year after the Battle of Yavin. What is the (remnants of the) Empire thinking about? The hall has come crashing down - but they've still got the will do to anything to prop it back up again. The Death Star would have worked to keep the galaxy under their control (they believe), but it had several problems. First - it was HUGE. It had to be. That makes it a giant target. Furthermore, it's EXPENSIVE. To maintain, and power (one of the reasons for its size). The collapsed Empire doesn't have the control anymore to siphon funds into a money-sink like a Death Star. But they've still got plans and half-completed prototypes for other "planet-killer" weapons. They just need... an energy source. Ancient. Mythical. The size of an astromech - but enough to give Death Star-size power. With it - they could power a small planet-killer at no cost. Hell, they might be able to replicate it, and have a FLEET of them!

Having your Force-user "learn" something of the Force from the artifact is a great idea - but if you make it a "forcey" artifact, you're going to loose a lot of the era/style feel you're going for.

2) A true McGuffin. The Empire thinks they know what it is - but it isn't quite that. You can even lead the PCs to figure this out as the adventure progresses. (Similar to the way the original Halo game story led the player to "discover" that this secret "holy" weapon the Covenant is trying to uneath is actually a galaxy-destroying biological weapon they can't even control.) This also lends leditimacy to the idea of your players choosing to destroy this thing, rather than let it fall into Imperial hands; and you can introduce wonderful "Boromir-esque" moments into the Rebell Alliance, as some mis-guided leaders want to "use it for ourselves!". This can really ratchet up the tension as the heroes might be forced to be at-odds with their own organization as the adventure progresses.

What could it be?

An ancient biological weapon is the easiest route. Rakghoul virus, anyone? (You can see how the Empire would totally think they could "control" it, but it would end up decimating them. And could lead to cool scenes where if the PCs arrive "too late", they come to an imperial facility that's been gutted and overrun by Rakghouls!) Another option might be an artifact that allows the wielder to "control the minds and thoughts of others". A Force artifact. But the Empire has no idea that it actually houses the spirit of an ancient evil, and IT controls minds, and hungers to return to the galaxy! (Maybe not force-related, but a vastly powerful form of AI?) The other (easy) route is an ancient form of technology that can supposedly grow on its own, to create powerful ships and weapons that can re-stock the Empire and bring them to glory! But in reality, it's a millenia old Yuuzhan Vong probe. And - oh yeah - the Empire "activates" it. Then... you've got a whole alternate history campaign on your hands.

3) Now... for a simpler option - and one that you might not have considered. A person. That's right - a live person. Suspended in some time of frozen animation and "lost" for thousands of years. Maybe in an early form of Carbonite Freezing? Maybe a stasis pod (a la Celeste Mourne)? But this person might be someone mythical, powerful, or legendary. Maybe a war-lord, or super-force-user. Someone who has no idea what's going on in the galaxy today. And if the Empire wakes him/her up, they can convince him (since they're "technically" the "evolution of the Republic") that they've been overthrown by rebels and dissidents who've fractured the galaxy into anarchy. If the Rebellion finds him and wakes him up, they can convince him of the opposite. Who is he? Maybe, as suggested, a powerful Force user. Maybe a hero so mythical he can rally the galaxy with his presence? (Sort of a Star Wars Alexander the Great or Charlemagne or Captain America.) Maybe he's a ruthless warlord hero (like Genghis Khan or Attilla) who was never defeated in his lifetime, and the Empire want to recruit him to the cause? Maybe he's an ancient Einstien of an engineer who's brain holds the secrets to forgotten powerful technology or doomsday weapons?




Just some ideas, man.

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Peace, Love, and Good Gaming!

Or a Phoenix/Jean Gray from Xmen 3. An extremely powerful being, but very difficult to control.

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Ahhhhh, combining the 2 best things in the world you now have my ear sir.
X-men combined with star wars holly schnikies.

A Phoenix force esque force creature would be epic. And this creature could be freed from the heart of a lost city/moon. They could be chasing it thinking it's the previously mentioned unlimited energy majiggy due To rumors prophecy etc etc.

Probably not what your going for but it would be really fun.

What I like about inserting the Phoenix/Jean Gray into an RPG is that whoever actually gets her on their side will THINK that they have an awesome weapon. What they don't realize is that what they have is something extremely dangerous and unpredictable. "She is nothing but rage and passion," as described in the movie by Prof. Xavier(?). So even if the Empire gets her, they had better be VERY careful, because she can turn on you in a split second! If the players encounter her, they also better be VERY careful.

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Yes, indeed ( both of my children are named for x men, much easier to get the wife to go along with than my star wars or hellboy names I pitched my daughters middle name is grey for jean grey and my son's Xavier for prof.x) also the Phoenix force comes with it's own luggage like through a star wars lens there would probably be an ancient force tradition who senses it's awakening and now hunts it and any who posses it/ it possesses, they themselves seeking to avert disaster and re-entomb the pheonix

That's it!

Summary: An ancient civilization creates an tiny unlimited power source with a dangerous side effect which ultimately destroys them. An order of Force-sensitives from the civilization, which tried to warn the civilization of its coming demise, has committed itself for thousands of years to protecting its secret and location. The heroes must now find the ancient planet before the Empire, in order to protect it from reaching their hands.

Plot Element 1: The heroes explore a primitive planet where the Empire has set up an archeological expedition, utilizing slave labor. Here the heroes must partner with the natives to beat the Empire to their goal, an key or map leading to the ancient planet. Meanwhile, the secret order begins to take notice.

Plot Element 2: The heroes must find a way to interpret the map or key, likely by partnering with a historian who has fallen out of the good graces of the Empire. Locating and freeing him could be the next goal. They are either assisted or harassed by the secret society, maybe even capturing/meeting one of their members.

Plot Element 3: The heroes and the Rebellion make their way to the planet, only to learn that they have been followed or betrayed or otherwise tricked by the Empire! In a battle in the ancient city, they must escape with, protect, or destroy the ancient technology and deal with the consequences.

Additional Option 1: But some in the Alliance believe the technology could be turned against the Empire, creating a splinter faction that must be stopped. Or joined!?!?

Additional Option 2: The order of Force users, now spread throughout the Galaxy in hiding in order to contain the secret, is able to lend some of their knowledge and training to any Force-sensitive hero. Perhaps eventually, the order offers them a position in their secret society.

So I'm not all about the sentient power source or weapon, but I do like the idea of it having a dangerous side effect. I feel like the above adventure contains a good blend of Marvel/WEG Star Wars and Indiana Jones elements.

The final question would be what kind of danger the power source has, beyond exploding.

Finally, I feel like I've got a pretty comprehensive adventure already! Feel free to steal it if you wish!

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"...and the trick usually lies in not thinking too hard about whatever you want to do, but just allowing it to happen as if it were going to anyway."

Dude. This plot is shockinly similar to the KOTOR Campaign that GM Brev ran for our crew. Down to the "ancient power" and the order of "secret" force users who guard against it, and making the PCs a part of that group.

It was an epic campaign. You should totally email/PM him about it. He'd probably be able to give you some good tips/advice/trouble areas he encountered with the scenario.



1. If it uses the Force AS the power source - it could create an area of "negative force" that permanently destroys that area of space from being able to have the Force used there.

2. Maybe it creates a pinpoint, semi-permanent rift to hyperspace, and draws its energy from there? But the act of doing this causes catastrophic damage to both hyperspace (and local realspace) in that area. In the short term, this mean any ship entering hyperspace near the device (e.g., same system) explodes. In the long term, effects could start to "leech out" into realspace, creating maelstroms of cosmic energy that will tear apart a system.

3. Ooooh... maybe it does the above... but by opening a gateway to otherspace?? No space-destroying side-effects, but it draws the attention of the Charon species who live there, prompting them to expand the gateway and invade! A whole galaxy of things for them to kill.

4. Mind control/alteration. Maybe long-term exposure to the device radically alters nueral pathways (maybe due to some crazy/unknown form of radiation) - making organics exposed to it for any reasonable amount of time into drooling vegetables, or with animal sentience... or... OR!!!! Turns them into hyper-aggressive violent psychopaths! REAVERS!!!

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Peace, Love, and Good Gaming!

Hell, with this idea, you already have a powerful artifact that you can tie into and extrapolate on with the Void Stone. Maybe the meteorite that the Void Stone originally came from is the ancient power that crashed into a planet in Real space millenia ago about the same time the Void Stone was fractured from it, and while it is what the Void Stone is from, it instead provides perpetual energy instead of deadening the Force around it. But get the two together and it's not quite chocolate and peanut butter as Otherspace and Real space begin to merge (ala Outworld and Earthrealm in the Mortal Kombat games).

The time frame is about right to introduce the Void Stone as well. Maybe even the Charon on the colony where the Void Stone is hidden is also looking for the meteorite that everyone else believes that the stone is essential for unlocking higher levels of power from the rest of the meteorite, but instead are looking to cause a gateway big enough to bring an invasion Force through. Then suddenly you have a third (or fourth faction depending on how things go with the Rebel splinter group) that may very well force the Empire and the Alliance to join together, at least briefly. That would make for one hell of an Alt-U story.

I hope that babbling made some amount of sense.

Damn... now I may have to go and plan ANOTHER campaign.

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