NationStates Jolt Archive

So, I'd like to put together a tabletop pencil/paper rpg, and I want to set it in the Star Wars Universe.

Thing is, if the players are onboard, I'd like to run it as a group of Imperial Navy officers. The premise is, a badly wounded Star Destroyer escaped the battle of Endor with a terrible misfire of its Hyperdrive system. The ship limped to a previously undiscoverd system inhabited by an industrialized humanoid species with spaceflight limited to their own system.

The Star Destroyer has not been discovered by the system natives yet, but it will be, and the hyperdrive is shot. Strange properties of the star make a call for help impossible. To make problems worse, the Captain commits suicide for unknown reasons.

I'm thinking each player will get certain access codes and control over certain parts of the ship depending on what their position and skills are. They now have to figure out a way to get access to resources of the locals to repair the ship. Interacting with the local political and cultural is difficult, because the Star Destroyer is an advanced technology, but is severely depleted. Thus, the PCs can't just strongarm what they want, they'll have to cut deals.

Then, when the players have a handle on the locals, I'm going to have the clues come up that the Stormtroopers were involved in the Captain's mysterious suicide, and there might be a mutiny.

The things is, I'd really like the whole thing to not degenerate into backblasting and interparty sabotage. How do I give the players a reason to cooperate and be loyal to eachother? At first I just thought I'd say "You're all friends from the academy and you care about your mutual welfare", but there's always one or two players that have to be the center of attention by working against everybody else. Any GMs out there with any nifty techniques for party cohesion?

So, I'd like to put together a tabletop pencil/paper rpg, and I want to set it in the Star Wars Universe.

Thing is, if the players are onboard, I'd like to run it as a group of Imperial Navy officers. The premise is, a badly wounded Star Destroyer escaped the battle of Endor with a terrible misfire of its Hyperdrive system. The ship limped to a previously undiscoverd system inhabited by an industrialized humanoid species with spaceflight limited to their own system.

The Star Destroyer has not been discovered by the system natives yet, but it will be, and the hyperdrive is shot. Strange properties of the star make a call for help impossible. To make problems worse, the Captain commits suicide for unknown reasons.

I'm thinking each player will get certain access codes and control over certain parts of the ship depending on what their position and skills are. They now have to figure out a way to get access to resources of the locals to repair the ship. Interacting with the local political and cultural is difficult, because the Star Destroyer is an advanced technology, but is severely depleted. Thus, the PCs can't just strongarm what they want, they'll have to cut deals.

Then, when the players have a handle on the locals, I'm going to have the clues come up that the Stormtroopers were involved in the Captain's mysterious suicide, and there might be a mutiny.

The things is, I'd really like the whole thing to not degenerate into backblasting and interparty sabotage. How do I give the players a reason to cooperate and be loyal to eachother? At first I just thought I'd say "You're all friends from the academy and you care about your mutual welfare", but there's always one or two players that have to be the center of attention by working against everybody else. Any GMs out there with any nifty techniques for party cohesion?


I've always resorted to the "two-party adventure". It certainly makes my life easier.

I've always resorted to the "two-party adventure". It certainly makes my life easier.

The Two-Party adventure? Sounds interesting, can you elaborate?

what is there to elaborate? take the ass holes, and put them in one party. then take the non-assholes and put them in another. as GM its up to you to make them interact only some of the time, but enough so that they both move the story along.

Keeping the party together has sometimes been hard for me too. Some things I have tried:
-Requring some sort of reasonable motivation (no, you can't shoot Eric, your character is lawful good!)
-Intervening forces (This might have a harder time working in Star Wars, but you could have surgical implants that make them work together or something)
-Making them give the reasons why they won't kill eachother before the game when they make their characters (haven't tried it yet, but I think it just might work)
-Distracting them (hey, look over there!)

So, I'd like to put together a tabletop pencil/paper rpg, and I want to set it in the Star Wars Universe.

Thing is, if the players are onboard, I'd like to run it as a group of Imperial Navy officers. The premise is, a badly wounded Star Destroyer escaped the battle of Endor with a terrible misfire of its Hyperdrive system. The ship limped to a previously undiscoverd system inhabited by an industrialized humanoid species with spaceflight limited to their own system.

The Star Destroyer has not been discovered by the system natives yet, but it will be, and the hyperdrive is shot. Strange properties of the star make a call for help impossible. To make problems worse, the Captain commits suicide for unknown reasons.

I'm thinking each player will get certain access codes and control over certain parts of the ship depending on what their position and skills are. They now have to figure out a way to get access to resources of the locals to repair the ship. Interacting with the local political and cultural is difficult, because the Star Destroyer is an advanced technology, but is severely depleted. Thus, the PCs can't just strongarm what they want, they'll have to cut deals.

Then, when the players have a handle on the locals, I'm going to have the clues come up that the Stormtroopers were involved in the Captain's mysterious suicide, and there might be a mutiny.

The things is, I'd really like the whole thing to not degenerate into backblasting and interparty sabotage. How do I give the players a reason to cooperate and be loyal to eachother? At first I just thought I'd say "You're all friends from the academy and you care about your mutual welfare", but there's always one or two players that have to be the center of attention by working against everybody else. Any GMs out there with any nifty techniques for party cohesion?

A big problem I've found in GMing Star Wars campaigns is that, invariably, one or two stubborn people bitch and moan about wanting to be Jedi until you can't take it anymore and cave in.

Keeping the party together has sometimes been hard for me too. Some things I have tried:
-Requring some sort of reasonable motivation (no, you can't shoot Eric, your character is lawful good!)
-Intervening forces (This might have a harder time working in Star Wars, but you could have surgical implants that make them work together or something)
-Making them give the reasons why they won't kill eachother before the game when they make their characters (haven't tried it yet, but I think it just might work)
-Distracting them (hey, look over there!)

I like #3 a lot, let them work it into their own character design. I'll try that. As to the Jedi thing, I guess they could have latent Force Affinity that develops during the game or something. I was hoping to steer clear of it, but if I say "Come play Star Wars", there are gonna be Jedi character players...heavy sigh. Maybe I should bill the game as a "Sci-Fi Space Opera" setting, and leave it at that. Anyway, thanks for the suggestions, everybody, I'm going to use some of these.