Inspiration strikes in many different forms. A lot of mine happens to come from music. I listen to a lot of it in my day job, and every so often a particular title, song lyric, or story told within a song strikes me as having a strong concept for an adventure. The most recent one is a Star Wars adventure that comes from the recent Flogging Molly release, The Guns of Jericho, though it can be pretty readily adapted for most any genre and game you are running.
Jarr’ko is a planet located smack in the middle of the Expansion Region, a planet that was colonized more for necessity of having some place to put prospective colonists than for any need for what the planet could offer them. The planet itself is diverse enough and produces enough resources that the people are largely able to sustain themselves without the need to import much. They were largely left to their own devices during the waning days of the Republic and the planet was mostly untouched by The Clone Wars. Life went on largely the same after the reorganization of the Republic into the Galactic Empire. But changes started coming slowly – a regional governor was installed to rule the sector instead of having a voice in the Senate. Imperial troops began to be garrisoned on the planet in greater numbers. Various industries were taken over by the Empire, and the people charged higher taxes on the goods produced by the industries that weren’t put under Imperial control. Some people accepted, and in fact even liked the greater sense of stability and order that the Empire provided them. Others chafed against it. Tensions have been rising between the pro- and anti-Imperial citizens for the past few months, and rumor has it that the Imperial troops have been put on higher alert due to a few clashes between the factions within the cities.
The regional governor has announced a visit to the planet in order to give a speech about unity and the need for order in these trying times. It is believed that he will also be bringing with him a stronger military presence in order to quell any possible rebellion that is beginning to foment on the planet.
There has never been a better time for the Rebellion to gain another foothold in the region. Several arms shipments have been diverted towards Jarr’ko and a team of operatives sent to make sure they make it there, organize resistance cells on the ground, and arm them. A victory here could destabilize the rest of the region, making it easier for the Rebellion to make further progress in the region.
Of course it’s never that simple. While the PCs may have little to no trouble smuggling the weapons planetside, they will have to avoid detection from an increased Imperial military presence as well as loyalists present in the cities that may have infiltrated various Rebel groups. They may also be forced to deal with deciding which groups get the limited number of weapons. Do they arm the more radical ones and risk collateral damage or even all-out civil war on the planet? Or do they act more conservatively and arm the more moderate partisan groups knowing that they may not fight as hard against their own population that has thrown in with the Empire or compromise as much in what needs to be done? What happens if their actions strain relationships between the radicals and the moderates, turning it into a potential three-way standoff? And what is the morality behind arming these agitators that have very little military training in the first place? Will the Rebellion be able to control and leverage these freedom fighters after they secure their own independence? And what of the innocents that are just trying to live their lives uninterrupted? And what exactly does the victory look like, and how far are the PCs willing to go to achieve their goals. The opportunities to raise moral questions within this adventure are numerous and can serve to really test that moral fiber of the PCs.
As stated above, this adventure seed came out fully fleshed for Star Wars Age of Rebellion. But the adventures could very easily be adapted for Edge of the Empire by making the PCs the smuggler who have been sweet talked into distributing the weapons for a greater payout from the Rebellion instead of direct agents of the Rebellion.
Also, the adventure can be easily adapted to a fantasy game by simply turning the planet of Jarr’ko into a local province or barony under the bootheel of an emperor or other autocratic regime. Instead of bringing in shipments of blaster rifles, the PCs are smuggling in steel and other weapon grade material the rebellious citizens can forge into weapons and arm themselves with to fight against the soldiers that have been garrisoned in and around the countryside. The governor can be played by any functionary within the government that you so choose and can serve as a great kick off to a rebellion themed DND game. The game can also work in a modern game with very few changes. Again, change the planet to a small country or even a single city-state that can be destabilized by the rebellion taking hold, modernize the weapons, and the rest of the adventure can be run the same.
So there you have a game that can be run in a single session or easily be stretched out over several depending on how deep into the local politics you want to go.
Ben Erickson
