The Nagai, Part 1

The current main 'bad guys' in my now post-post-college campaign are a race of beings from another Galaxy who call themselves the Nagai. I admit freely that I stole the name and indeed the original idea from the Marvel Star Wars comics. I had originally pondered the idea after running my players through the Thrawn campaign, but then our gaming group broke up (moved, graduated, etc.) and I never had the chance. And then Vector Prime and all the other Star Wars novels featuring the Yuuzhan Vong came out. I saw a lot of similarities in the overall plot: the Vong too were a race from another galaxy, invading the Star Wars galaxy. Due to my original (and continuing) underwhelmed reaction to these novels, I determined early on that I wouldn't be using the Vong exactly as presented, but they did spark the idea of the Nagai again, and that's what this post is about: My version of the Nagai.

And before continuing, I should point out that my campaign timeline diverges from the 'canon' timeline pretty much right after the Jedi Academy trilogy. The characters who began the game in their twenties are now in their mid-thirties. Han and Leia's kids are still kids and aren't the main focus of the story. Luke's Academy is growing much faster than in the novels. And, most importantly, the New Republic is a functioning and actually rather well-run government (unlike the prematurely corrupt and inept one presented in the Vong storyline). 

I should also point out that the details presented in this file are those that my players have discovered in-game, and may not be the 'final story' as far as the Nagai are concerned.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS:

The Nagai are slender, pale-grey-skinned humanoids with dark black or blue-black hair and slightly pointed ears. Despite their apparently 'slight' build, they are incredibly strong and resilient—with bone and muscle density far exceeding humanoid standard. They are surprisingly quick and graceful in movement and quite beautiful in appearance—though the latter is often marred by the usually cold glint of their eyes. Their senses are more acute that most humanoids, with vision extending into the infared and ultraviolet spectrums. 

Nagai have been seen wearing a combination of form-fitting outfits with flowing cloaks or robes over top. In battle, they wear a form-fitting crystalline-based battle armor. They seem to enjoy body-decoration in the form of tattoos and piercings, but also in a rather masochistic form of ritual, decorative scarring. 

All Nagai thus-far encountered seem to be masters of melee weaponry—specifically bladed weapons. Considering their reported long-lives, it is possible that their level of training with such puts even the least of them on par with the grand-masters of the known galaxy. 

And finally, the Nagai physiology has a unique reaction to pain and injury. Rather than being hampered by such, Nagai are actually able to operate on a super-normal level when injured—growing more and more physically fast and powerful the worse they are injured. Evidently, this is the result of natural stimulant hormones secreted in response to pain.

PSYCHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS:

Nagai are incredibly intelligent, operating at genius level or beyond. They seem to be lacking, however, in the areas of scientific creativity—though this seems more a sociological thing than physiological: most are just not interested in scientific matters. 

Nagai are quite charismatic, displaying high degrees of self-confidence. When necessary, they can be very persuasive, intimidating or even charming. Most Nagai seem to suffer from at least some form of megalomania. Though they are aware that they are, indeed, mortal, they still consider themselves 'gods' among lesser beings. They seem to hold all races but their own in utter contempt—as servitors or playthings, but nothing more. 

In battle, the Nagai employ complex, innovative tactics, often based on deception or mis-direction. At first glance, this may seem to go against their self-perceived superiority, but the Nagai do realize that even their superior technology can be overcome if employed recklessly. Plus, they seem to enjoy the challenge of overcoming enemies—the chance to prove just how superior they are. The Nagai, for all their strengths, seem to exhibit a 'childlike' sense of petulant frustration when facing severe and unexpected setbacks. 

As a race, there has been some inclination that the Nagai feel threatened by anything that can challenge their claims to perfection—things such as Force Powers. Thus far only one Nagai (Nom Anor—see "History" below) has exhibited talent with these powers—and despite his usefulness to their cause, his own people seemed to view him as a 'defective' mutant. The Nagai tolerate the Sith, because these dark-siders 'serve' them. The Jedi are viewed with loathing, and perhaps jealousy.

HISTORY:

The Nagai were genetically engineered in another galaxy by a highly advanced race known as the 'Ancients'. They were  bred to be 'perfect', physically and mentally—and they don't fall too short of that mark. They are extraordinarily strong, resilient, agile, beautiful and long-lived. They are incredibly intelligent, perceptive, strong willed and charismatic. The Ancients delighted in their creations at first, creating an idyllic world for them to inhabit. Whether by design or not, the Ancients became the de facto 'gods' of this society, some going as far as manipulating events to 'guide' their creations along paths they wanted. 

While many Nagai were content to live in this supposed utopia, a few of the most willful began to resent the manipulations of their 'gods'. Like spoiled children, they wanted 'more'. More control, more power, more...purpose. Before they could comprehend the monster they had created, the Ancients were undone. The Nagai, spurred on by malcontents in their own ranks, rose up against their masters. Despite their vast technological power, the Ancients were unprepared for this eventuality and were too few in number. One by one, they were destroyed by their children in an orgy of blood and violence. 

Having destroyed their own 'gods', the Nagai found themselves stained by the experience, warped into reveling in that blood and in their own superiority. For indeed, if they had destroyed their gods, did that not mean that they were the gods now? The Ancients had left all manner of wondrous technologies behind, based on crystalline technology and genetic engineering. Unfortunately, like children, the Nagai did not completely comprehend these technologies. They could use them, to be certain, but they lacked the knowledge to expand upon them, or even to fix them when they broke. 

Using the stolen technology of their progenitors, the Nagai began to explore their galaxy. As they did, they found the purpose they had been looking for—a purpose warped by their own sense of hubris and lust for blood. There were hundreds, thousands of sentient races, none of whom could equal the level of technology the Nagai now wielded. Thus began their reign of terror. The Nagai cut a swathe through the galaxy, conquering and destroying all in their path. They slaughtered, enslaved or sacrificed billions, every 'victory' further reinforcing their self-deification.

And then it happened. Suddenly, there were no more worlds to conquer...no more races to enslave. They had won complete domination of their galaxy. There was no more fuel for their egos—no blood to satiate the violence they had come to worship. They were at a loss. Without purpose. Some turned against their brethren, sparking a series of vicious civil wars. Others went insane, retreating back into self-created utopias. But a few, those with more vision than the others... had a plan. There were other Galaxies, were there not? Even those were seemingly beyond the reach of the Ancient's technology, at least for the immediate future. But they could still be reached. 

In their journey of domination, the Nagai had encountered anomalies—wormholes and the like. Piecing together what they could of the Ancient's knowledge, they figured that such things might be gateways to other Galaxies...places where they could once again launch their crusade of blood. And so several of their own were chosen and flung themselves into the voids of these anomalies. Even the Nagai don't know what happened to them all.

Thousands of years passed before the Nagai finally heard back from one of these 'heralds'.

Nom Anor came to the known Galaxy some 4,000 years prior to the current timeline. He would come to be considered a 'mutant' by his own people, since his long years of contact with the races of the Galaxy had given him a link to the Force through its dark side. Such powers are, thus-far, unknown to the Nagai—and in fact are an affront to their own perceived perfection. Working behind the scenes for all these Millenia, Nom Anor finally managed to achieve his goal—manipulating several generations of 'lesser-race' scientists, he was able to create at least one stable Wormhole Gateway to his home galaxy. The long-awaited invasion could finally begin.

As the Nagai made final preparations and began to cross over in secret, Nom Anor was able to pave the way for the invasion. Utilizing a network of spies and assassins, and allying himself with the Sith Order, he launched a campaign of terror and disruption across the entire galaxy—destroying several key alliances between the New Republic, the Empire and other factions. Fortunately, Anor was brought down by a joint team of Jedi and Imperials before he could do even more damage. 

But the death of any one individual could not stop the invasion. Utilizing both their advanced technology and strategic cunning, the Nagai were able to lure the New Republic and Imperial fleets into a devastating series of defeats at Sernpidal and Dubrillion. Maintaining a fragile alliance, the Republic and Empire were able to stem the tide of the invasion, but were slowly being pushed back. Republic agents worked diligently both on the front lines and beyond, recruiting other powers to help in the fight—going so far as to overthrow the Nagai-Sith puppet government of the Corporate Sector to bring them back into the fight.

In a short-lived but fortunate turn of events, the Republic was able to destroy the Nagai's primary wormhole gate and to send a small team to the Nagai's home Galaxy. There, the team tracked down a clue to a single, surviving 'Ancient'—whom they were able to recover from a Sith strike team hoping to do the same. The Republic team returned and with technical advice from the Ancient, the Republic was able to help offset the disparity in technology—though they couldn't negate it entirely. Unfortunately, the Ancient was slain shortly thereafter by a Nagai strike team as part of a renewed series of 'headhunter' attacks against vital targets deep within the Republic and its allies. 

Spurred on by the Nagai and the Sith, many old enemies across the Galaxy have suddenly turned on the Republic while its attention is diverted. The Ssi'Ruk, Yevethans, Geonosians and Chiss have all launched attacks, while the Trandoshan/Wookiee enmity has degerated into all-out war. The Hutts, evidently trying to ride the fence again, have openly signed a 'non-agression' pact with the Nagai—going so far as to allow Nagai vessels to visit their space.

The Jedi Academy on Yavin became a target to a large Nagai task force—but the infiltration team assigned to take down the planetary shield generators was thwarted by a small group of Jedi and Republic agents and all students were evacuated to Coruscant.

Days later, the Nagai abandoned their broad-front approach, concentrating in two separate 'spike' assaults. The first was launched into Imperial space, threatening Bastion, the heart of the Imperial Remnant. This caused the Empire to pull its troops out of the allied front to defend their own territory. Weakened now, the Republic had to scramble to gather up a fleet large enough to stop the second spike- launched down the Hydian Way—a major hyperspace route leading into the core—to Coruscant itself.

As the Republic fleet made its stand at Arkanis, blocking the hyperlane to the core, the strike team responsible for saving the Academy on Yavin put a desperate plan into motion. The Home-One battlecruiser was brought out of its museum-retirement to serve as the power source for an alien and experimental 'dimensional drive' that had been previously recovered in the alternate dimension of 'Otherspace'. General Cracken and top Republic scientists frantically worked to modify the craft to cause a disruption in the hyperlane. As the Republic fleet withdrew, the Nagai jumped and found their entire assault fleet diverted into the Otherpspace dimension. 

It is too much for the Republic to hope that the Nagai will be trapped forever, but it may just buy some breathing room—some time to turn against the sizable Nagai force still occupying nearly a fifth of the Galaxy. Though Bastion was subsequently relieved by the Republic, the war itself remains undecided...

The Clone Wars Cartoons, Part 2

I will continue my discussion of the Clone Wars cartoons by turning now to the new (2008) animated series. Before delving into it, however, I should point out that I have only (as of the time of writing this) seen five episodes of this series and did NOT see the feature-length pilot movie released in theaters. Even so, I think I've seen enough to make some observations.

In contrast to the traditional, 2D animation of the first Clone Wars cartoons, the new series is done in computer-generated 3D. As such, it is truly some of the best computer animation out there. It is no wonder, considering that Lucasfilm's own animation studio is in charge of it. Except for the stylized treatment of the characters, the rest of the animation (scenery, space-battles, etc.) looks as though it was taken right out of the prequel trilogy films. In a way, I'm glad the animators kept the 'stylized' look of the human(oid) characters, because thus far, nobody has really been able to capture 'realistic' people in 3D animation—most come off looking creepily plastic. 

I have to admit that my initial critique of this show as going to be a lot more negative, but in the effort of being fair, I had to take a step back and really look at the show for what it is. And in doing so, I can't say that it is bad. In fact, it has a few things that recommend it. I think my initial disappointment with it comes from the fact that I really did like what Tartakovsky did with the first series, and to have him pushed aside like that irked me. He is certainly a much better director of action than whoever is in charge of this 3D series. The fights here come off as a lot more machine-like and less kinetic. And I imagine a lot of that has to do with the fact it is computer generated. There is that distinct 'inorganic precision' when characters move that is the downfall of a lot of CG stuff.

In fairness, I have to recognize that this cartoon was obviously designed to appeal to a younger (8-11yr) audience. Because of this, the series has a distinctly 'corny' feel to it, from the incredibly over-dramatic narrator who opens each episode (he sounds a lot like the "Meanwhile...at the Hall of Justice" guy from the Superfriends) to the incredibly goofy battle droids, who are played heavily for 'comic relief '("roger roger" and even more nonsense of that sort). Fine. Okay, so its a cartoon made for kids. And I have to admit that if I were thirty years younger, it might appeal to me more. 

There is this strange duality to it all—its a kid's show, only it has an awful lot of death in it. Not just droids are being taken down. Clone troopers die in just about every episode, and they make no effort to conceal the fact that clones ARE people. I can't imagine this show being allowed past any children's television censors from the 70's or 80's.. or even 90's. So I think even the producers of this show may be a bit confused—its like they're trying to appeal to kids, but are including factors that are perhaps a bit more violent than the younger range of their demographic should be exposed to. As a result, it leaves me a bit confused. Why make things wacky and goofy one minute to appeal to kids, then violent and serious the next to appeal to adults? Well, okay. I understand. Its called having your cake and eating it too, and (despite how stupid a saying that is) its a problem. 

As far as story lines go, this series is hit and miss. It is hampered a bit by its target audience, dumbing things down to the point where they may be just a bit too obvious even by 8-11 year old standards. As mentioned before, the 'comic relief' droids are VERY prevalent (and annoying) in this show but they pale in comparison to the use of Jar Jar binks. First of all, let me say that I never hated the character in the movies. Annoying? Yes, but I never cared enough about him to hate him. That being said, after ONE Jar Jar episode of Clone Wars, I now hate this Gungan. Though played for comic relief, Jar Jar's 'wacky antics' (he couldn't figure out how his seatbelt worked) wound up directly causing the death of a Republic senator and about a half-dozen clone troopers. Wow. Yeah. That's funny. Hah. Ha. ha. Again, its another direct example of the odd duality of this show. Slapstick is okay for kids. Slapstick that causes death? That's just.. unsettling.

The things that I've seen that recommend this show include the relationship between Anakin and Obi Wan. Finally, we see that the two of them do seem to get along. They do seem to be friends finally, instead of snippy rivals as they're shown in the movies. Likewise, the other Jedi characters (such as Yoda and Plo Koon) are shown to have emotions and personalities other than just your stereotypical jedi master. In the episodes I've seen, both of them show a very reassuring concern for the fates of the Clones under their command. Yoda even seems to know his troopers on a personal level, and has a nice little pep-talk where he points out that though they may be clones, they are people too—distinct and important. 

In fact, the Clone troopers (and the ways they're handled) are proving to be one of the more interesting aspects of this series. One episode places a good deal of focus on the Clones trying to find a traitor in their own ranks. It showcases a bit of how these soldiers interact, how they distinguish themselves and their personalities and even how they feel about their 'forced servitude' to the Republic. It was a refreshingly 'adult' look at a subject nobody ever brought up before—but then again, a subject like this is a bit over the heads of their target market so...yeah. I'm confused again.

Overall, I am a bit more optimistic about this series than I was when it came out. It has tackled some interesting subjects and (if I can get past the droids and Jar Jar) it may be worth it to stick with it while it develops. So far, most of the stories seem to fit in nicely with the continuity of the universe—and without stepping all over the original series. That is something I can appreciate.

Oh, and P.S.: Anakin's spunky 'tween' apprentice? Meh. I don't dislike her. I don't like  her. So far, she hasn't really impressed me as a character, and she comes off as somewhat gimmicky. But we'll see. 

The Clone Wars Cartoons, Part 1

In speaking on this subject, I would like to make the distinction between the two Clone Wars cartoon series. The first was a traditionally animated series by Genndy Tartakovsky—a very talented artist responsible for the very unique 'Samurai Jack' series. The second was the 3D-Animated series created by Lucasfilm's own animation studio.

Both series take place in the time between Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Both series deal with the exploits of Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi during the war against the separatist confederation, led by Count Dooku, General Grievous and Asajj Ventress. And that's really about where the similarities end.

Tartakovsky's series was highly-stylized and simplistic in its presentation, focusing more on motion and mood than on detail. The series' plot was almost entirely action-based, with only brief moments of dialogue and character interaction between sequences. But despite this, the storytelling was masterfully done. Characters were given depth by their actions as much as their words. Memorable sequences include Anakin and Padme's farewell at the start of the Clone Wars—done entirely without dialogue, where Anakin presses his metallic hand against the canopy window of his fighter as Padme watches from afar. Even as simply drawn as the characters were, you could see the emotion with just a few drawn lines- the downward curve of their mouths, a furrowed brow. Anakin's Knighting ceremony is likewise emotional, and equally light on dialogue—you see the simple pride in Obi-Wan's eyes as he looks on, and the excitement and gratitude in Anakin's as he looks back. It is understated, but  understandable. It is subtle and feels 'real'—a strange irony considering the over-dialogued live-action movies that book-end this series.

The action in this series is likewise well done. It is fast-paced and visceral—characters move /fast/. Things develop /fast/. You don't have time to ponder what will happen next because it already happened. Anakin's first duel with Asajj Ventress is a prime example of this. It is intense and brutal, and makes clever use of Force powers (such as when Ventress hurls a large stone block at Anakin, only to be surprised when he slings it right back at her). Likewise, when Shaak-Ti is battling Grievous (and getting beaten badly) she manages to slyly tie his cape to a train-car using her telekinesis—and then activate the train, yanking Grievous along with it. We're shown new and interesting ways of Jedi fighting: like Yoda's massive force-pushes, clearing out entire swathes of battle droids, and Windu's unarmed technique, where he destroys dozens of droids with just his fists and feet and even an unnamed Ithorian Jedi's force-enhanced sonic-blast. It seem like Tartakovsky is indulging in all the 'what ifs' of being a Jedi, showing us things we haven't yet seen before. My only criticism of this is that sometimes, the Jedi powers are just a bit too much to believe (even if they are visually interesting)—I mean, Windu 'riding' a captured droid fighter, steering it via wires he ripped out of its access panels? Just a bit over the top. Again, there is a strange Irony in all of this—because in the live action movies, we only really get 'more of the same' when it comes to fight scenes.

And finally, one of the places where this first animated series shines is its treatment of the villains. You get to see a bit more of Count Dooku, his ruthlessness being grandly portrayed in one sequence where he dispassionately watches an entire arena of viscious beings slay eachother for the chance to be his disciple. The winner of this competition, Asajj Ventress, is then brutally beaten by Dooku just to remind her of her 'place'. It both shows just how cruel Dooku is, and how powerful. 

General Grievous is given his grand introduction to the Star Wars mythos in these cartoons—and what a memorable introduction it is. He has a group of Jedi pinned down in a crashed starship. They still aren't quite sure what they're up against. One of the padawans can no longer take it and charges out, only to be literally crushed beneath Grievous' taloned feet. From there, he goes on to decimate this entire group of Jedi, all by himself. Only the timely arrival of a special squad of clone commandos saves some of the Jedi. Even as Grievous flees, one of the Jedi Masters is frantically ordering the Clones to kill the general before he can escape. To see such fear in the actions of a formidable Jedi really drives home the point of just how big a threat Grievous really is. This is only reinforced by the scene near the end of this series when Grievous breaks into Chancellor Palpatine's office. Several Jedi flee with the Chancellor while the clone troopers try to hold Grievous off. The battle is once again sharp and brutal—though we as the audience see only a portion of it. In a truly inspired move, Tartakovsky moves the camera out into the hall, where the Jedi wait anxiously for the elevator as the sounds of horrific combat come from beyond the office door. At one point, one of the Jedi hastily mashes the 'call elevator' button over and over, trying to make it arrive faster. This is funny, sure, but it also helps show the fact that the Jedi DO fear Grievous. 

In watching these Cartoons, I feel almost short-changed by Grievous' appearance in the movies. All he does there is run away and get defeated. It's sad, really, to make a character who could have been a truly terrifying opponent and reduce him to a card-board-cut-out who just looked a little scary. But then, the movie didn't really have any time to spare for Grievous—which makes me wonder why they introduced him at all. They could have just kept Dooku around and developed his character...but...oh well.

Before closing, I would be remiss if I didn't mention another very artful and powerful moment in this first animated series: It is a 'vision quest' that Anakin takes on the planet Nelvana. He goes into a cave and finds a series of paintings on the wall that represent stories from the natives past. The primitive paintings seem to come to life in Anakin's vision, telling the story of a being who gains a strange power which he uses to defend his people from evil—even at the cost of his own hand. The story—told entirely with this cave painting style—continues with the hero's power being perverted, turning against both the people he tried to protect and himself. In the end, it destroys his family—and as the 'dark power' spreads across the wall of the cave you see the stylized image of Darth Vader's mask growing within it. Again, all of this is done without dialogue, but its meaning is creepily clear to everyone. Even Anakin seems shaken by it. I know a lot of criticisms of this series come from the stylized artwork of it, but honestly? You don't need more than this if you have a solid story and know how to tell it visually.

Considering the length of this post, I'll continue later with my discussion of the second (CG) animated Clone Wars series. Yes. That is the sound of the other shoe about to drop.

Galactic Military

I've been interested in military stuff ever since I was a kid and got my first set of little green army men. Its no surprise then that the military aspects of a movie like Star Wars would capture my imagination. From the Star Destroyers and Stormtroopers to the X-Wings and Rebel soldiers. All of it was just so 'cool'. As I grew up with Star Wars, I often pondered the various aspects of it—just how were the various militaries organized? There were lots of hints in the original three movies, of course, and from these I was able to piece together what I thought was a rational explanation for most of it. Then the prequels happened—and along with them the Clone Wars cartoons, and...well, things just didn't seem to add up. That's what this post is about—how the various Star Wars militaries are presented in the movies, and how I think they would 'really' be.

First of all, I simply reject the notion that the Republic in the prequel trilogy had no military whatsoever. It is ridiculous to think that any government could survive in a 'competitive' environment without a military—even a relatively small one. It is clearly the case that the Republic is NOT the only power in the galaxy—the Hutt's seem to have their own independent state, and I don't think they're the 'live and let live' sort. If they had the muscle to take over the Republic, they would. Obviously, there's something keeping them from doing so. And it also obviously isn't the Jedi, since Windu himself said there were too few of them to fight a war by themselves.

Likewise, there are all sorts of lower-level threats that would require some kind of military to hold them back. Pirates would certainly require a navy, as would overly aggressive corporate powers (like.. oh, I don't know.. the Trade Federation?). When you add to this the fact that the Old Republic obviously has a military tradition (as seen in the Knights of the Old Republic series) it would only go to reason that there was a military in existence before the start of the Clone wars. In fact, considering the size of the Republic, the military would have to be quite extensive.

It reasons then that there was a Republic Navy prior to the clone wars. It was a large one, but probably very spread out, patrolling the space lanes. It would have ships and equipment geared towards this kind of duty: mainly patrol vessels, but likely with at least some heavy ships to back them up in more serious confrontations. Though the prequels may not support this, the Zahn novels do—namely with the whole Katana fleet which was sent out BEFORE the Clone Wars and represented only a fraction of the total fleet strength of the Republic.

For the reasons listed above, it also seems likely that there would be some form of army as well—at the very least some marines, deployable by the navy, but also likely including planetary militias of various sorts.

The second assumption that the prequels and Clone Wars cartoons seem to make is that Clones comprise the bulk of the republic military—if not its entirety. Again, this seems unrealistic and impractical. Just how many clones could the Kaminoans have made prior to the war breaking out? And how many could they continue to produce? When you're looking at things on a galactic scale, even the output of an entire planet (that's assume the entire world of Kamino was devoted to just making clones) is relatively insignificant. 

Again, it seems more likely that the Clone Troopers would serve as the elite fighting force of the Republic, the 'tip of the spear' as it were. A lot of the 'grunt work'—especially in the early stages of the war—would have had to fall on the shoulders of the Republic Navy and various militias. As the war went on, it goes to reason that the republic would expand these 'conventional' forces in direct relation to their Clone forces—especially when you consider how hard pressed the republic seemed to be. Simply put, they couldn't rely on Clones alone, and it would be foolish of them to do so.

I guess one of the main reasons I had to work all this out for myself was because the prequels (once again) seemed to be contradicting the original trilogy. I mean, you had all these Generals and Admirals in both the Rebel and Imperial militaries (Dodonna, Rieekan, Veers, Ozzel, etc.). They had to have come from somewhere? It was assumed (by more than just me, I imagine) that many were veterans of the Clone Wars. And yet, in the prequels? Nope. Just clones fought in the Clone Wars. But I think that my personal theory explains this all away without too much difficulty. 

Simply put, in the movies (and even in the Cartoons) we are seeing only some of the most pivotal battles of the war and the most elite fighting forces. Therefore, we see the various elite all-clone task forces in action. Elsewhere, off-camera, mixed clone, non-clone forces continue to hold the line against the separatists. So that's where Dodonna and the others must have been. Make sense to you? Does to me. 

Review: Strike Force Shantipole

>>> SPOILERS FOLLOW <<<

In my mind, many of the very first adventure modules for Star Wars were in fact the best modules produced for the system. Of course, as the game matured, 'modules' like this were seemingly phased out altogether in favor of collections of shorter adventures or entire 'campaign packs'. But in my campaign, and in my concept of the Star Wars game, these modules were the blueprint to writing my own adventures. 

Strike Force Shantipole is no exception. In this adventure, the Characters are assigned to help retrieve a prototype starfighter from a Rebel research outpost in a remote asteroid field. Of course things don't go as planned and before long, the party is infiltrating an Imperial occupied asteroid fortress to recover not only the fighter, but their own stolen starship. In the end, it comes down to a showdown between the Characters in the prototype versus an Imperial blockade.

The adventure includes the standard 'Cut Away' framing format utilized by all early Star Wars modules, but in a story line that is a lot more fast-paced than other contemporary adventures (Tatooine Manhunt, Otherspace, etc.). Characters are quickly thrown into the middle of the plot and its combat, with little time to catch their breath between escaping and sneaking and attacking. This is a double-edged sword, though, as there aren't quite as many opportunities for NPC interaction as there are in other adventures. 

That having been said, however, the module does introduce several very interesting things: The first of which is the Verpine, a race of insectoid aliens sympathetic to the rebellion. As allies, they prove to be both useful and a bit comical (if played right)—talkative, a bit naive about human interactions, great tinkerers, etc. The Verpine proved to be one of the more popular alien races created by West End Games, appearing in many subsequent adventures and sourcebooks, and even in the Heir to the Empire novel trilogy. 

The second interesting thing introduced in this Module is the Character of Bane Nothos—a ruthless Imperial ship captain that the characters have to deal with in order to make their final escape. In and of himself, Nothos isn't particularly interesting, but this adventure is a great set-up for the Otherspace module, in which Nothos winds up a prisoner of the Rebel Alliance. This continuity between modules wasn't necessarily a common thing, but it was an interesting twist—giving the character's 'history' with a villain, so that they will have a personal reason to hate each other the next time their paths cross.

And finally, you get introduced to Commander Akbar. Yes, THAT Akbar, and yes, he is just a Commander at this point in the timeline. See, he's the Rebel in charge of the Shantipole project. The Characters get a chance to rescue him and his staff, as well as recover his lost fighter. Being able to interact so closely with a Feature character adds a nice flair to the adventure, forming an instant link between it and the movies. In fact, by the end of the Adventure, the Characters will see Akbar promoted to Admiral and will themselves become a part of the 'history' of the Star Wars galaxy by having the (dubious?) distinction of being the 'team of rebels' mentioned in the history of the B-Wing starfighter—the team responsible for saving this design.

As a game master, the whole idea of the characters rubbing elbows with movie characters and actually making galactic history struck a chord with me. And in my own adventures, I strove to make those same kind of connections. More than one Rebel social occasion involved Akbar, or Wedge, or Luke. But for the most part, I kept these interactions of the social variety. As this module showed, it is good to work WITH feature characters but not alongside them—afterall, the PCs are the heroes, you don't want them to get overshadowed in their own stories.

As stated before, this is pretty much a straight-out action adventure, with a little bit of sneaking thrown in. Therefore, it may be a bit shallower in plot than some of the other adventures, but that doesn't stop it from being interesting. This limited plot and the aforementioned limited NPC interaction are really my only criticisms of the module—well, that and the fact it set the stage for a recurring theme in an inordinate number of adventures: i.e. the old "You lose your ship" gambit. Seeing how it is integral to the plot for the players to do so, you may have to be very heavy-handed in taking away the character's ship. Thankfully, the Character's get a chance to get their ship back—unlike so many other adventures where it begins with the player's ship crashing.

Overall? Shantipole is a good adventure to run in the early portion of any Star Wars 'Rebel' campaign.

Marvel Star Wars

Around the time of the release of the first Star Wars movie, Marvel Comics produced a comic-book adaptation of it. They continued from there, picking up after the movie left off, telling their own stories of the journeys and exploits of Luke, Leia, Han and the rest. It was the beginning of what would come to be called the 'Expanded Universe'. Fans of Star Wars who grew up in this era tend to have strong feelings about these comics, one way or the other. Personally? I have mixed feelings, but overall, I have a soft spot for them.

At the risk of damaging my 'geek cred' (not likely), I never was an avid comic book collector. Oh, I read them from time to time, sure, and would even buy one when the cover really appealed to me, but it was rather piecemeal. With the invention of the internet (thanks Al Gore) I've been able to do a lot of 'catching up' by reading synopses and the like. But though I have only partial 'direct' knowledge of the subject, I think I know enough to comment on them as a whole—and I certainly have my own feelings on how they shaped my concept of the Star Wars universe.

I'll start with what I consider the 'bad' aspects of the Marvel comics. The first of these, even to my eight-year-old eyes was the style of artwork. It was a funky 70's kind of style that threw me for a bit of a loop. It was very much in the vein of superhero comics of the day, with far-out costumes and over-exaggerated poses. I remember strongly just how bizarre Chewbacca appeared in the early books- like some great ape/sasquatch/hulk crossbreed—as wide as he was tall. As the series progressed, of course, the art changed along with it, but a lot of the comic book hokiness didn't. Therefore, you had this really strange mix of actually quite good artwork with stilted soliloquies and over-dramatic exposition. Plus, it seemed to take years before Luke, Han or Leia ever changed their clothes or hair-styles. I mean, it was just like they were superheroes, they always wore the same costumes.

Another negative, especially in the early comics, was a tendency towards the truly bizarre—a carnivorous green rabbit-humanoid named Jaxxon? A porcupine-guy? A crazy old man (jedi) named Don-Wan Kihotay? Yes, the early Star Wars comics had all these things (in the came comic, actually). At face value, it all seemed rather silly and even a bit disrespectful of the genre in general.

That having been said, however, there was something beneath the surface of this silliness that was intriguing. If nothing else, the Marvel Star Wars storytellers were bold—taking the Star Wars galaxy that Lucas had only just introduced and pushing back its boundaries. Jaxxon, porcupine guy and Don-Won were all actually part of a storyline reminiscent of the Magnificent Seven (in fact, the story-arc was called 'Eight for Aduba-3'). And actually, when you think about it, that setting fits well. A good old space-western. 

As with many things in the Expanded Universe, you have to absorb the things that make sense to you and discard the things that don't. I think its actually kind of cool that Han and Chewie got into a Magnificent Seven type plot, duking it out with a gang of swoop-riders on a remote desert planet. The idea of a crazy old man who THINKS he is a Jedi is interesting, too (apparently lots of people agree, since not only was the idea re-used in ANOTHER Star Wars comic, it also appeared as a character template in the Star Wars RPG—the Quixotic Jedi). Green bunny-men? Umm.. well. Sure. But.. lets just keep those guys in the background huh?

The marvel comics series matured as I did, both in artwork and in literary complexity (okay, so..it never really got past adolescent, but at least it stopped focusing on the bunny-men). Oh sure, they had a lot of stories that were derivative (one story arc took the heroes to a planet very much reminiscent of Edgar Rice Burrough's Barsoom), but to me, it was a strength, not a weakness. It showed just how broad the Star Wars galaxy was—how inclusive it could be to just about any story you wanted to tell. 

Strangely enough, I don't remember a lot of the story arcs nearly as much as I remember the characters in them. To me, that says something. As with the movies, it isn't the setting that's important as much as it is the characters and their memorable moments. The Marvel Comics gave us such memorable characters as Valance the Hunter, Fenn the Mandalorian, Kiro the Brash Jedi-Adept, The Hiromi, the Nagai, Dani the Zeltron hottie, Lady Lumiya the Sith Whip-mistress (okay, so.. maybe the last two just appealed to young men...). 

I could go on for pages about each of these characters, but I'll save that for other postings. Suffice it to say that it was Marvel Star Wars (even with all its hokiness) that really pulled the veil back from the universe and got me thinking about just what kind of stories could exist within it. I know the ideas presented in these comics greatly affected my Star Wars campaign—spawning entire sub-campaigns based on Fenn's Mandalore and the Nagai themselves. But, yeah...still haven't included the green bunny-men.

Nemeses

In thinking back on the various characters and adventures in my campaign, I can think of a lot of interesting relationships that brewed up organically from them. Some of the most interesting of these were the various characters and their personal nemeses.

Once I really started getting into Star Wars, I began to realize the value of trying to keep villains around for an adventure or two—to build them up, just like the characters. In retrospect, it should have been a no-brainer, but when you come from a D&D tradition, the 'enemy' is usually killed at the end of the adventure and you go on to the next one.

Since I don't feel like forming a coherent argument or rational discussion at the moment, I'm just going to list the various characters and what I remember of their nemeses.

1) Arianne Volar: Her first real nemesis was Bane Nothos—whom she first encountered obliquely in the adventure 'Strike Force: Shantipole'. She ran into him again in Otherspace, and then once more in Otherspace II (even though she had accidently 'killed' him in Otherspace). The two of them were 'ship captains' so the animosity kind of had a nice symmetry. But it wasn't until Bane's niece, Rina Nothos, showed up that Arianne really found her mirror-mirror image. Rina even went as far as to gather a group of rogues around herself, specifically designed to be a match for Arianne and the whole Vermillion crew. The two showdowns that these groups had were both very memorable. To my delight, the first encounter was a complete victory for the villains. Dramatically, the second encounter found Rina and her crew taken down QUICK by the this-time-prepared vermillion team. Rina somehow escaped, though, only to be 'lost' later into a time vortex (the same one that got the mandalorian, Oman). She of course returned and sought vengeance on Arianne—this time managing to kill her father. Arianne managed to track down and capture Rina again, but...well, she's not dead, so who knows what the future stores.

2) Adren Olin: Wow, could she make enemies. Though, truth be told, her main line of work was to 'convert' bad guys to good—something she managed to accomplish with a would-be warlord: "Faarl the Conqueror" and a disillusioned Imperial Admiral (Kermen). As far as a true nemesis goes, however, Adren had two. The first of these was the increasingly obsessed and insane ISB Agent Barezz—a man dedicated to eradicating the 'impurity' of Force powers from the human race. He experimented with all manner of anti-force technologies and genetics (a hybrid human-ysalamiri critter). He was also an avid cloner. This took the form of actually cloning Adren (with the intent of using her against herself) and making copies of himself. "Barezz" has "died" several times now—but he keeps coming back. Kind of like Agent Smith (if you'll forgive the Matrix reference). As formidible as he was, though, Barezz wasn't Adren's only nemesis. Lord Qar, the foppish, narcissistic, swishy and thoroughly corrupt sith Lord is the one who REALLY pissed Adren off the most. And he was an especially frustrating villain because nothing seemed to phase him. Very much like the Joker from Batman, he was a maniac and sociopath who had nothing to lose and inflicted woe upon Adren simply for his own pleasure. He too was apparently 'killed', but the circumstances of that death were strange indeed (another time-travel adventure) so.. who knows.

3) Rick Oman (aka Mandalore). Strangely enough, the 'nemesis' through most of his early career turned out to be his future wife—Zardra, the femme fatale from Tatooine Manhunt and Otherspace. It began as an uneasy and short-lived partnership between Zardra and the Vermillion crew to escape Otherspace. She showed up from time to time as a bounty-hunter, usually working against the group. And then she totally sent the group into an ambush, one that took them to a darkside nexus (Domain of Evil). When she encountered Oman afterwards, she actually felt guilty about it (and was secretly impressed that he'd managed to survive). Thus /really/ began their relationship, and it remains an interesting one. Only much later in his career did Oman develop another real nemesis, and sadly this was rather short lived. Boba Fett (who Oman had actually worked uneasily with before) tried to assume the title of Mandalore, determined to lead the clans into a hopeless but bloody blaze of glory. Oman opposed him. The battle was of appropriately titanic proportions. Fett died. 

4) Horatio Flynn. As a late addition to the team, I've never really had the chance to develop a nemesis for Horatio, but I think he's managed to develop one for himself: Arianne Volar. It all began with a playful scheme to hit on Arianne's adopted ward, Reen. But then it turned into a relationship with said ward. Exactly how serious it is remains to be seen, but Arianne is playing the role of protective mother-figure to the hilt. 

5) Bob the Tusken Shaman. Shame on me, but in all our adventures, I never really developed a personal nemesis for Bob. Oh sure, he squared off against Lord Stromm (see below) a time or two, and several other Dark Jedi types, but I'm not certain any of them could really be called 'his' enemy alone. It could be that Bob was one of the most laid-back of the Characters—in essence, he really was a good Jedi. He didn't hold grudges. But...well, like I said. Shame on me. I'll have to work on crafting him a rival. I guess the closest thing Bob had was his uncle Frank (a recurring joke in the campaign)—Yes, uncle Frank had 'anger issues' and would often go out and club young moisture-farmers then try to ransack their landspeeders. Bob has had several talks with Frank, trying to help him work through his issues.

6) Harry Hugganut. Harry was just too laid back to have any real nemeses. What he had were more...rivalries. The first of these that I remember was during the 'Captain Fandar' adventure. While trying to impress and recruit a pirate to the cause of the Rebellion, Harry could not resist making fun of the pirate's unblinking, devaronian gunman sidekick—nicknaming him "Blinky". And then there was Crisis in Cloud City, where Harry's player CHEATED IN REAL LIFE at a card game to beat out a disguised Lando Calrissian in-character. Thankfully, Lando had a chance to redeem himself. When a rogue droid crashed into the casino, and everyone went scrambling for cover, Harry (completely in character) tried to make a grab for all the loose credits. Much to his chagrin, Lando had beaten him to it! About the closest thing to a 'serious' nemesis Harry had was Rina Nothos' hired gotal gunman, but that never really had the time to develop.

And finally, there is one special case that should be mentioned: Lord Stromm. I created him to be the Sith Lord nemesis for the group—a 'mini-Vader' if you will. The first encounter went well enough—a battle between Stromm, Arianne and Bob that was indecisive, but managed to introduce the villain. But soon after came the dreaded 'M13' incident (which the Empire and Sith order both categorically deny ever happened).

I had manipulated the characters into trying to rescue an informant from a remote and 'lightly guarded' Imperial outpost (M13). Things were going well for the Empire. The characters reached their informant to find him dead—and were then suddenly attacked by Stromm's entire task force. An AT-AT, Two AT-ST's, a company of special Stromm-Troopers (dressed in black stormtrooper armor). A squadron of TIE interceptors and a Strike Cruiser. Yeah, I was really going to show the players who was boss!

And then, everything fell apart.

The details are hazy to me now, but the entire situation turned into a route for Stromm and his men. The high (low) point in this debacle was when Bob used his telekinesis to make a ramp for a landspeeder driven by another in the group (Harry, I think). The two of them rammed the AT-AT in the face, taking it down.

Unfortunately, this seemed to set the tone for the rest of Stromm's appearances. Every time, a combination of bad rolls and mistakes by me resulted in the Sith Lord fleeing for his life. In fact, his injury-prone lifestyle even prompted him to include auto-medpac-injectors in his armor. Sad.

In the end, he went out like a punk. The party was on a Super Star Destroyer and were, for some reason, split up. A perfect time for Stromm to strike! He found Bob alone with the NPC Reen. Stromm and Bob dueled—a duel which turned inexorably into a 'jedi fist fight' (as we came to call them). And then Reen stepped in, with her pitiful 4D blaster skill. She took a pot shot at Stromm as he batted Bob's limp form away. And my dice completely failed me. Stromm was taken down. Oh, his med-injectors assured he got back on his feet, but only just in time to get shot in the head by Oman (who had correctly guessed from afar that it was Bob who was the 'prone one'). Thus, with smoking blaster holes in his death's-head motif (TM) helmet, Stromm plummeted down the turbolift shaft to his death. 

He died as he lived—pathetically. 

So, he wasn't much of a nemesis, but he was memorable. That's something, right? In any case, a good (or even a bad) nemesis can spice up any campaign!