Greetings! This post recounts the second stage of my efforts to use Under A Black Sun (a Free RPG Day adventure for Star Wars: Edge of the Empire) to run a solo RPG session. In the first stage (found at https://plus.google.com/108400930009696755479/posts/DaVpRmVQEAS?sfc=true ), I introduced our protagonists, a quartet of morally questionable beings working for the Pyke Syndicate. The scenario: another Pyke agent went to distract the police by setting fire to a protected warehouse but is now somehow in trouble. Our protagonists’ goal is to find the operative and aid him or her in any way that they can.

Greetings! This post recounts the second stage of my efforts to use Under A Black Sun (a Free RPG Day adventure for Star Wars: Edge of the Empire) to run a solo RPG session. In the first stage (found at https://plus.google.com/108400930009696755479/posts/DaVpRmVQEAS?sfc=true ), I introduced our protagonists, a quartet of morally questionable beings working for the Pyke Syndicate. The scenario: another Pyke agent went to distract the police by setting fire to a protected warehouse but is now somehow in trouble. Our protagonists’ goal is to find the operative and aid him or her in any way that they can.

Now that our protagonists have arrived, it’s time to see what sort of trouble this operative has gotten themselves into. They might be: captured by the police, in a firefight with the police, trapped inside the warehouse, or fighting with the warehouse’s hired security. My D4 roll gives me a 1: captured by the police.

As this situation suggests conflict, it would be useful for to know how many police there are and what state the operative is in. For the number of police, there could be: four police droids, three Coruscant Underworld Police, eight droids or four droids with three Underworld Police. For the operative’s state: conscious, stunned (loses their free manoeuvre until end of encounter) or unconscious.

My D4 roll for police is a 2: three Coruscant Underworld Police. The D3 roll for the operative’s condition is a 3: unconscious. As the agent is out for the count, I imagine that they have been placed inside the police vehicle, possibly cuffed. The policebeings are at a medium range to our protagonists, with the vehicle in between. I imagine that the imposing policebeings are facing the warehouse, organising the attempts to control the fire.

Now that the scene is set, it’s time for a plan. The agent’s current state suggests that hijacking the police vehicle would be the best. As this involves breaking into the alarmed police vehicle and alerting the nearby policebeings, I think it expedient to take the initiative and have Sin distract them first. This should allow the others to take cover behind the vehicle and prepare for combat.

Sin jogs around to come at the policebeings from the left and begins waving her arms around in an excitable manner, speaking rapidly in Rodian. This will be an Average Deception check to distract the policebeings so they don’t notice the other protagonists moving into position behind the police vehicle.

The roll gives me a net result of two successes and a threat, meaning that the policebeings don’t notice Sin’s colleagues but also that one has drawn a stun club and has begun to wave it menacingly at the Rodian. Sin makes for her weapon and combat has begun.

Firstly, I’ll determine the initiative slots. Our prepared protagonists will be making Cool checks, whilst the Undercover Police will roll Vigilance. The rolls gives me the following slots, from first to last (P for protagonists, N for policebeings): N, N, P, P, P, N, P.

The policebeing with the drawn club goes first and uses the aim manoeuvre to gain a boost die. The club slams into Sin, dealing her three strain and imposing a setback die on her skill checks for two rounds and a further setback die on her next skill check. A second policebeing whips out his club and smacks it into the writhing Rodian, dealing her three strain, adding a boost die to the next allied character’s skill check. An Advantage generated by the roll causes the policebeing to notice the other protagonists hunkered down behind the police vehicle.

Will our protagonists prevail against the instruments of Imperial justice? Find out tomorrow!