Gamemaster's Guide to VSD Subjugator (SF)

Main Page: Starfall

Because running an adventure in a setting as vast and intricate as a Victory-Class Star Destroyer presents unique problems and challenges, this guide is presented for ease of play.

The storyline follows the most logical route for the heroes to take through the Star Destroyer. It is also the route suggested by Walex Blissex. This path is detailed with mood, descriptions, encounters and events. If the heroes decide to deviate from this route, let them. But in order to fully describe every corridor and chamber in Subjugator, we would need a book many times larger than the one you are now reading. Instead, this Gamemaster’s Guide presents some general descriptions about the Star Destroyer, taking into account its condition at the start of the adventure.

One further note. If your players do deviate from Blissex’s route, you will still need to use the encounters and events presented in the adventure, as those advance the story. Just have them occur wherever the heroes wander.

Handling the Curious Player

One of the drawbacks of providing players with such an open area to explore is that they feel obligated to wander every which way. While PCs should be free to roam far afield, excessive wandering can slow an adventure’s plot to a dead crawl. That isn’t in the spirit of Star Wars. In this adventure, we have built in a number of “plot devices” to prevent excessive wandering. One plot device is the pressing time constraints the PCs operate under. Not only is the Star Destroyer falling apart around them, but the Rebels quickly discover that the vessel has been set to self- destruct (which will destroy the PCs and the approaching Alliance fleet). These time constraints are constantly brought to mind by NPCs and “cutaways” throughout the adventure.

Some of the more curious players may still wish to explore a good deal of the giant Star Destroyer, however. In this case, you should let them — to an extent. Troop concentration, heavy damage, or simple inaccessibility should keep the PCs away from places you don’t want them to go. For example, if a particularly gung-ho group decides that they want to take over Subjugator's bridge, they will almost definitely meet with more resistance than they can handle. But keep in mind that, as heroes, they should always be left with a chance to succeed, no matter what the odds.