Star Wars - Stuck behind the shield

On a routine medical delivery the Akbar's Trap crew were assured would be both well-paying and safe, the party found themselves defending a royal fortress shortly after landing their medium freighter. An Imperial star destroyer was turbolasering the area from orbit, but the fortress had good ion cannons and other weapons, as well as shields that went up shortly after the party landed and were still holding up against the energy barrage. So the Empire, following their typical routine sent drop ships full of stormtrooper demolition crews, AT-AT and AT-ST walkers, hovertanks, etc.
The party had to defend the power generators so that the shields would hold in order to prevent the inevitable TIE bomber wave that would follow if it did. Fortunately, the fortress also had a good steelcrete wall and royal guards to fill the gaps; but the party's help was definitely needed. Jaina, Destro, Jon's Jedi, and the Bothan (played by Shawn S.) all fought very fiercely while Pieda set up a triache area under the ship to protect and treat the wounded. Destro got behind enemy lines with his flutterpack and took out at least three officers and two vehicles. Jaina showed prowess with her rifle, and also blew up a light grav tank with a rocket. Jon's Jedi used his lightsaber to keep too many stormtroopers from coming through the gap closest to the power generators, often deflecting their own shots back at them, and taking out as many as three in a round, and causing a bit of hesitation for others.
The Bothan consistantly took out a stormtrooper each round, though he was badly wounded toward the end of the battle. At one point, Pieda lightsabered a stormtrooper in half because he was shooting at patients. Jarn, using a comport Destro installed in a drop ship officer's computer, was able to forge a retreat order that confused about 25 stormtroopers for a round or two. Then, 10 royal Corellian Corvettes arrived and decimated the remaining Imperial ground troops and vehicles, forcing the Star Destroyer to fall back. Destro, from an AT-AT he had captured, gave the surrender order and narrowly avoided becoming a victim of friendly fire.
XP: 3,000
Ship Fund Credits: Net 500,000 (gross 2,000,000 minus 1,500,000 expenses)
Source: Hideouts & Strongholds (West End Games)
Current character levels: 8th-11th or so
Next session: Sat, Aug. 11, 2007 2-8pm

Note: For D&D in the near future, I am going to be running Pathfinder, which will be a new campaign. I'm guessing I'll be ready to start running it in October or so with new characters. I would like come to a stopping place in my current D&D campaign story line before that, so we should probably run 3 hr./3 hr. split Star Wars/D&D sessions (like we used to) for a while. I'm really looking forward to running Pathfinder, because the Paizo people have done excellent work with Dragon and Dungeon magazines and I just want to go along for the ride for once. I'm sure I will have adjustments I will make to the material, though. Ask me about it next time you see me; I will have some early player information and you might want to think about what your new character will be for this exciting new campaign!

Star Wars -- The Books & Dice Role-Playing Game

So anyway... I ran Rod, Rob, Carson, Phil and Marshall through an 8-hour session of Star Wars yesterday. Dabbo the Hutt directed the party to investigate the Empire's strength in a backwater sector of the galaxy. After visiting half a dozen worlds intimidated by the mere threat of Imperial attack, and learning that the Imperial presence in the sector was limited to just one star system, the party worked its way there. As is typically the case, each world had bits of local interest, alien races and cultures, potential allies and enemies and trade opportunities. Law levels varied from draconian to lax. Cap'n Gracus sold spice and old inventory from the ship's cargo hold. Destro, Jaina, Gracus, Were-Rat and the Bothan collected a few bounties: a Devaronian slave runner, a human spice run payment-skipper, a rogue droid murderer named Necron, and a Twi-lek thief. Several of the worlds were mere fuel stops along the way to the final confrontation with the Empire's presence in the sector.

Ultimately, the group reverted to one of its oldest and best tricks in dealing with the Empire: joining it as high-ranking agents. Using Jarn's amazing computer skills and Gracus' and Destro's incredible skills of deception and manipulation, the two rival star destroyers in the system were each turned against the sector's main weapons platform and disabled. In the case of the first star destroyer, Jackpot sabotaged the power and hyperdrive systems by reducing the hyperspace field generator reach area and activating it, putting power and propulsion systems in hyperspace while leaving the rest of the star destroyer floating dead in space. Meanwhile, Gracus charmed the pants off the savvy female star destroyer cap'n. Destro, through a series of simple bribes and some misdirection, elegantly orchestrated Imperial intelligence to turn the weapons platform administrator against the two star destroyers and vice versa. Yes, it all sounds crazy but it actually worked. In terms of power and military hardware, the Imperial weapons platform is easily capable of controlling the sector. But now, with its corrupt administrator influenced by Destro's bribes, Hutt interests in the sector will not only be allowed, they will be protected.

XP: 5,000
Next session: Sat. July 28, 3-9 pm