Intrigue Campaigns

Reference Book: Star Wars Saga Edition Galaxy of Intrigue

In addition to The Force, the galaxy is bound together by one other factor- intrigue. Republic Senators bluster and pontificate in the Senate Rotunda on Coruscant and engage in secret deals behind closed doors. Criminal masterminds scheme for profit and power, sometimes behind a facade of legality and legitimacy. Corporate CEOs try to maximize profits and expand their market shares while trying to force the competition out of business. Even a simple avenue in an obscure settlement on Tatooine can hold a wealth of secret deals, power struggles, and tangled relationships- all potential hooks for adventure.

An Intrigue Campaign can occur during any Era of Play, so Gamemasters have full leeway in when and where the game can take place. During The Old Republic Era, corporate power expands and The Sith operate openly. The Rise of the Empire Era is thick with intrigue, espionage, and intelligence gathering, not only between the Republic and the Separatists, but also among neutral or otherwise unaligned planets and organizations- each with its own motives and agendas. The Dark Times are rife with paranoia and treachery, with the heroes facing the unbelievable might of the Empire. The Rebellion Era pits The Rebel Alliance against Imperial forces for years, leaving tremendous room for any intrigues the Gamemaster and players develop.

In an Intrigue Campaign, the heroes delve into the tangled skein of intrigue to foil plots and expose the truth. As with Fringe Campaigns, the heroes do not have to be the most law-abiding or altruistic individuals, and in fact, characters who strictly adhere to legal behavior can derail a campaign to a certain degree, since breaking and entering, assassination, extortion, and illegal slicing are standard themes. In most cases, the heroes are the underdogs, going up against powerful political organizations, corporations, or criminal networks. Secrecy and duplicity are the tools of an Intrigue Campaign, and even trust can be employed as a weapon. Nothing is as it seems in this type of campaign, as layers are peeled away to reveal deeper, darker secrets threatening the safety of the galaxy and the balance of good and evil.

A Gathering of Heroes

Although getting heroes together for an Intrigue Campaign can be relatively easy, assembling a group of the right types of heroes and players for this type of campaign takes a bit more finesse. After all, some heroes, especially Nobles and Scoundrels, naturally fit into games where cloak and dagger maneuvering, political intrigue, and double crosses are commonplace. However, other heroes, such as Scouts and Soldiers, are better suited to the wilderness or the battlefield. A player who wants to portray a martial hero might change his or her mind upon hearing the type of campaign the Gamemaster has planned, and while the player ultimately decides the type of hero to play, the Gamemaster should clearly indicate that any Heroic Class is appropriate in the campaign and that a variety of characters will be necessary for the adventuring group's survival.

If the Gamemaster and players have the time, allowing each player to begin the campaign with his or her own solo mini-adventure can help to craft the web of how the heroes' backgrounds and destinies are intertwined. When they finally adventure as a group, elements from each hero's past come forward, binding the heroes together.

Shared Hero Backgrounds

In a game where intrigue is the dominating theme, bringing the heroes together is considerably easier than in most campaigns. After all, the essence of intrigue is the intricate weaving together of plots and lives. Heroes from vastly different Species, cultures, social classes, and Heroic Classes can be thrust together with a common event or patron. Indeed, part of the fun of an Intrigue Campaign can be figuring out what the heroes have in common- unraveling this mystery then leads to further adventures.

For example, the heroes are thrust together into an adventure when a local official is assassinated. Although they come from different backgrounds and classes, they begin to unearth clues and hints that tie them together. Each is related to the victim. The Noble once worked for the official as an advisor, and the Soldier was hired by another party to break the legs of the official's companions. The official framed the group's Scoundrel long ago as a scapegoat for a crime they didn't commit, and so on.

However, unless the adventure revolves around the heroes' backstory, avoid weaving too intricate a web of relationships among the heroes. Allow the players to determine their characters' histories, and then build their ideas into your own plans. A simple, if broad, way to join the heroes together is to have them come from the same homeworld or belong to a large organization.

Common Origins

The heroes might commence the first story arc operating with some common elements. The Gamemaster should divulge common information relating to the first story arc during the players' precampaign discussion, encouraging them to work the features into their heroes' backgrounds.

Below are short examples particularly well suited for Intrigue Campaigns. They should help the Gamemaster generate opportunities for the players to build common bonds.

• The heroes belong to a mercenary contingent hired by an anonymous but high-paying patron to perform a variety of shady paramilitary activities on a war-ravaged planet without getting involved with either side of the conflict.
• The heroes are assigned as the entourage, bodyguards, and troubleshooters for a powerful Core World noble. They are constantly on the move and ordered to take on varied, dangerous, and sometimes bizarre assignments to advance the noble's cryptic agendas.
• The heroes are spies ordered to go in deep undercover to unearth secrets about a corporation's plans to create super weapons and sell them to the highest bidder
• The heroes are crew members of a luxury yacht that shuttles VIPs to different worlds. They overhear secrets and become unwittingly entangled in the schemes of their passengers.

A campaign idea that railroads the players into creating certain kinds of characters is less than ideal, and a Gamemaster should avoid imposing limitations on character types because of the kind of campaign being run. One hero in the mercenary contingent, for example, could be a Jedi sent to gather intelligence and discover the identity of the patron sending mercenaries to a neutral planet's civil war. The luxury yacht crew could be a loose association of Scouts, Scoundrels, Soldiers, Nobles, and even a Jedi. Players' enjoyment of the campaign depends more on how they define their heroes' motivations and what secret information, if any, they arrange with the Gamemaster.

Allies

Patronage, favors, mentors, and obligations are the key elements of an Intrigue Campaign. Any number of a hero's allies could have their own connections, sometimes obvious, other times not, to the allies of another hero in the group. Depending on the relationship, a hero could be asked, begged, or ordered to do a favor on the ally's behalf, introducing them to the other heroes to form the adventuring group. However, in an Intrigue Campaign, an ally has the potential to turn into an adversary.

Allies can provide information, transportation, access, and credits to the heroes as needed. When the heroes are on the run, allies might grant them a safe haven or use political power to call off the pursuit. Nothing comes for free, though, and the heroes are expected to return the favor whenever and however they can, creating hooks for new adventures in the process.

• The heroes all have ties to local law enforcement and are sometimes called upon to lend their unique skills to help in an investigation.
• The heroes have access to a representative of The Galactic Republic through blood relatives, old familial ties, or the time that they spent under the representative's tutelage.
• The heroes perform favors for a smuggler who makes runs for extremely wealthy and powerful individuals. The smuggler gives the heroes the use of a ship and provides access to the movers and shakers of the galaxy.

Location

Heroes might visit a location that generates intrigue. Certain places, such as royal palaces or the Senate on Coruscant, are prime settings for secret deals and skullduggery. Intrigue might be only a conference room away, or secret meetings might be occurring in hidden passageways. Even a chaotic battlefield can be full of intrigue. The heroes might be spies who must infiltrate a capital city during a vicious firefight, passing themselves off as members of the enemy force. Or in the middle of fierce house-to-house fighting, the heroes could stumble upon the corpse of an enemy courier carrying a cryptic message that reveals traitors within the heroes' unit.

This central location could later serve as a headquarters of sorts for the heroes to return to. Guildhalls, palaces, and other government facilities are all excellent venues for the heroes to come together and become surrounded by the sort of intrigue that sets off adventures.

• The heroes are all members of a house of bounty hunters, headquartered in a hollowed-out asteroid located near the Hydian Way.
• The heroes are employees of the same government, granted special authority to travel freely on its behalf.
• The heroes are all undercover agents who work from a secret field office, complete with a legitimate front.

Event

A single event can set a plot in motion, with the heroes either being integral elements or unwitting participants who must unravel the plot, restore their sullied names, or do the bidding of their patron. The heroes might have different motivations or reasons for uncovering the truth, but they must work together to achieve their goals.

Countless events in Star Wars can draw heroes together, such as the prolonged conflict of the Clone Wars, the annihilation of Alderaan, or the Blockade of Naboo.

• The heroes witness an epic battle between two mighty Force users, resulting in the death of one of the combatants. As witnesses to the duel, they might be questioned about the event, or others might try to have them killed to keep the death of the Force user hushed up.
• The heroes are passengers aboard a small freighter bound for The Core Worlds. Upon waking, they find that the captain has been murdered in his locked cabin. The crew immediately blames the heroes for the crime, but the heroes suspect several NPCs with mutinous motivations.
• The heroes work on behalf of the Republic when Order 66 is carried out. After the deaths of untold numbers of Jedi, the heroes are surrounded by scores of now-hostile Clone Troopers.

Adversaries

Setting up a common adversary is a great way to draw heroes into an Intrigue Campaign. The heroes bring to the table their own motivations and grudges, and they find that the best way to bring an antagonist down is to cooperate. The adversary can be anything or anyone, from a single powerful individual to a criminal cartel, a corporation, or an entire government. Of course, in an Intrigue Campaign, an adversary might be an ally who betrays the heroes or one whom the heroes discover to be responsible for reprehensible acts.

Remember, however, that adversaries are not necessarily out for the heroes' blood. A rival corporation or intelligence organization might be more interested in subverting or capturing the heroes to learn what they know. Of course, if the situation becomes messy, violence is bound to happen, but the cleverest of adversaries try a variety of tactics in their attempts to dominate the heroes, including blackmail, extortion, and going after the heroes' loved ones or associates. The old adage "My enemy's enemy is my friend" applies to this situation, uniting heroes from seemingly opposing ideologies or mindsets to bring down a particular adversary.

• The heroes owe money or obligations to a crime lord noted for cruelty and a willingness to hurt the families and associates of those who do not repay their debts.
• The heroes' home planet has been slowly poisoned by the illegal dumping of toxins by one of the Banking Clan's numerous subsidiary manufacturing corporations. Corruption and public apathy has kept this information from the rest of the galaxy, so the heroes must find the damning evidence that could bring the polluters to justice.
• The heroes belong to different, but allied, intelligence organizations, each of which is tasked with undermining a regional office of Imperial Intelligence. Tackling such an imposing foe requires them to band together, combining their skills and resources.

Campaign Elements

The most satisfying campaigns blend combat, chases, and hair-raising escapes with investigation, NPC interactions, and other roleplaying aspects that do not involve violence. After all, Star Wars isn't Star Wars without blaster fights and lightsaber duels, but a Gamemaster can easily incorporate the randomness of combat into the planned story arc.

An Intrigue Campaign is probably best initially portrayed as something else entirely. The heroes go on adventures oblivious, at first, to the machinations slowly drawing them into a plot. Once engaged, however, the heroes can find the world turned upside down- allies turned enemies, enemies turned allies, secret knowledge brought out into the light of day, and seemingly unrelated events revealed as part of a vast conspiracy. Intrigue occurs everywhere, so the heroes might become involved with the upper echelons of society in one encounter and then with the seediest parts of a spaceport in the next.

The Halls of Power

The Republic Senate, the noble houses of the Core Worlds, the board of directors of The Techno Union- each of these groups is involved in making decisions that have immense implications for untold billions of sentient beings throughout the galaxy. Within the palaces, boardrooms, and Senate chambers of the galaxy, those in power make deals and advance their agendas. These actions usually occur in the light of day, where bills are voted upon and debates take place to sway the opinions of their comrades. However, much also occurs behind closed doors, with secret alliances, political maneuvering, and even assassination attempts lurking just beneath the veneer of civility.

In an Intrigue Campaign, the heroes might be members of a powerful group or might represent the interests of a particular cause. They meet with kings and tribal leaders, corporate CEOs, or crime lords to broker deals, often within the gilded halls that represent the power of the people. Although grand and plush in appearance, these buildings where the powerful meet and craft agreements are in fact hotbeds of deceit. The heroes might spend their time traveling from one of these places to another, or the might spend an entire adventure in a single location attempting to unravel a mystery.

Those who walk the halls of power have vast resources, influence, and money at their command- enough so that the heroes might think that making an enemy of one of these VIPs is tantamount to suicide. To be sure, the Gamemaster should use these resources to put pressure on the heroes, just to let them know what they are up against, including opponents that use political maneuvering or the courts and bureaucracies to block investigations. Although the heroes can use the system to fight the system, Star Wars is not about campaigns littered with court documents and injunctions. Situations involving red tape should be resolved with a few Knowledge or Persuasion checks, leaving the rest of the time for cloak-and-dagger work.

Adventure Hook

The heroes are part of the entourage of a junior Senator, recently and hastily appointed after his predecessor was gunned down on the streets of her home planet. They travel to Coruscant, where the Senator must submit legislation to gain assistance against the pirates who have turned his system into a lawless zone. However, the new Senator is completely out of his element in the rough and tumble political cyclone of the Senate Chambers. The heroes find that they must protect the vulnerable Senator, both from the predations of politicians who seek to suborn him and from physical harm as well, as a cartel of corrupt officials that are bankrolling the pirates to do their best to prevent the Senator from submitting his plea for help.

Everyone Has Secrets

Even the most minor NPC in an Intrigue Campaign can have a backstory and motivation that the Gamemaster and heroes can take advantage of during the adventure. Everyone has something to hide, whether a secret shame, a criminal background, a family scandal, or some other bit of information that they would rather not have out in the open. An Intrigue Campaign presses this theme as much as possible, with characters taking extreme measures to keep secrets hidden or to uncover the dirty laundry of others. Corporations- especially those that deal in weapons manufacturing, drugs, medicine, or other technologies with the potential for abuse- spend millions of credits to keep the skeletons in their closets locked away from prying eyes.

In an Intrigue Campaign, the heroes quickly discover that everyone has a secret and that their own pasts might come back to haunt them. The heroes can be manipulated with blackmail, as outside forces use scandalous information to lead the heroes to do their bidding or force them to pay an exorbitant price to keep it hushed up. Of course, if the heroes are unscrupulous, they might find that blackmail works in their favor as well. Even The Jedi, with their codes of conduct, know that using information to leverage a situation can be the best solution to a problem, especially if it averts violence. Heroes who insist that they have nothing to hide can still run afoul of dirty secrets- perhaps not their own, but those of their comrades, families, or patrons, who plead with the hero to conceal the secret or to silence those who might bring it out in the open.

Adventure Hook

After a battle in space, the heroes are forced to land their damaged Starship on a barren planet far from help. Dangerous beasts and fierce windstorms make repairs difficult. The next day, a strange but friendly man emerges from the storm, claiming to have seen the ship's descent and offering assistance. He says that he is a hermit who came to the planet to contemplate The Force and to live in harmony with this hostile planet, but the heroes soon discover that the hermit's promised aid is a clever ruse, since he is actually a mass murderer on the run from his crimes. The hermit attempts to draw the heroes away individually, setting them up so that their possible deaths appears to be caused by native animals or exposure to the elements.

Power, Corruption, and Scandal

Any student of The Force can tell you that power corrupts. As nobles, Senators, and leaders grow in power, so too does the temptation to glean a few extra credits along the way or to use their influence to push through decisions that serve the few over the concerns of the many. In some cultures- especially those in The Outer Rim- graft and corruption are built into the system, with kickbacks and bribes as an integral part. No one blinks an eye at throwing in a few hundred additional credits to obtain a license or to pay off a law-enforcement officer. In other cultures, the mere idea that money or favors can be traded to push a particular agenda is anathema, although the temptation is there.

Corruption can be an important element of an Intrigue Campaign. Not every official is on the take, but the heroes should not be surprised if they are expected to pay through the nose or if they must do some favors to gain the trust of key individuals. Corruption is all a matter of scope, of course. A wealthy diplomat might laugh at the idea of the heroes offering less than hundreds of thousands of credits for influence with his or her government, while a city clerk might grant the heroes an hour of access to government computers for something as simple as a packet of spice or an old, beat-up landspeeder.

With corruption comes scandal. When secrets are dragged out into the light for all to see, formerly altruistic and trusted officials become mired in shame or charged with criminal wrongdoing. Religious leaders might be revealed as heretics, and beloved nobles might be exposed as traitors against the people they rule. For politicians, the threat of scandal is part of doing business. They do their best to keep their scandals and those of their associates hidden from view, while striving to uncover their opponents' scandals. Every day, The HoloNet features scandals ranging from the absurd to the monstrous. As such a scandal unfolds, the accused finds that friends and allies become hard or impossible to reach, and even simple tasks, such as traveling, become more difficult since they are dogged by reporters, law-enforcement officials, or victims looking for vengeance. As the heroes go about their adventures in an Intrigue Campaign, they might realize that their own reputations and honor are precious commodities.

Adventure Hook

The heroes are employed as personal servants for a noble, well known and beloved for providing food and medical relief to refugees during the Clone Wars. During a particularly crucial mission, word spreads over The HoloNet that she has been using the relief organization as a front to provide intelligence and supplies for the Separatists. Although she vehemently denies it, the heroes are presented with evidence that makes her claim of innocence suspect. They have seen the good that her efforts have provided, but if the rumors are accurate, the heroes are considered accomplices unless they turn her in or help hide her secrets.

Spies and Espionage

Every organization with a political agenda has its own spies, informers, and moles to ferret out information about rivals. Saboteurs, assassins, and enforcers do their best to disrupt the agendas of their enemies. Even during the most tranquil and enlightened times, spies work behind the scenes on behalf of their patrons. Indeed, the eras of relative quiet are still rife with intrigue, as the paranoid prepare for the coming decline or unscrupulous groups and individuals look to exploit the sleeping masses.

In an Intrigue Campaign, the heroes might be part of an intelligence organization dedicated to any of these assignments. Different missions require different skill sets, so a diverse adventuring group can be an advantage. Nobles and Scoundrels have social skills, and Scouts are treasured for the ability to sneak into locations. Soldiers provide the necessary muscle when subtlety does not do the trick or when things go wrong and comrades need protection. Although Jedi strive to avoid politics, many of their missions can be considered espionage because they gather information, follow up reports of corruption, and troubleshoot situations that threaten the peace of the Republic.

Adventure Hook

After a cell of undercover operatives on New Plympto is discovered and terminated, Alliance Intelligence approaches the heroes individually to replace the cell of spies. However, the heroes are unaware that although the cell was indeed eradicated, the Empire had infiltrated it prior to its destruction. The heroes' handler, the Imperial mole, sends them on missions to uncover secrets of the Empire, but all for the purpose of locating additional Rebel spies and contacts. After the heroes gather enough information for the mole, he intends to set up an ambush to bring them in for questioning and detention. If the heroes learn of his secret beforehand, however, they can use it to their advantage, providing false information and setting a trap for the mole instead.

Secret Knowledge

Sometimes the heroes uncover knowledge that has been long forgotten or kept hidden from prying eyes for untold millennia. Secret societies and special-interest groups quietly remove mention of certain planets from public records or hush up the discovery of an ancient Sith Temple, perhaps for the common good, but more often to keep the forbidden knowledge- and the power it provides- for themselves.

When confronted with previously secret or forbidden knowledge, the heroes must decide whether to release the information to the public, regardless of its impact on the galaxy, or to keep it to themselves and possibly capitalize on it for personal gain. Uncovering secrets stirs up a hornet's nest of trouble, as rivals, officials, criminals, or others come asking questions or demanding it for themselves.

Adventure Hook

During the course of the campaign, the heroes discover that a corporation has been funneling resources and manpower to a moon clearly labeled off limits by the Republic. After infiltrating a corporate freighter, they make their way to the moon and find a massive archaeological dig revealing a staggeringly old Starship buried in the crust. The ship's origins are unknown. However, the intact but nonfunctioning technology on board could throw financial markets and the balance of power in the sector into chaos. Do the heroes try to shut down the operation, inform their superiors, or attempt to take it for themselves?

A Matter of Trust

Just as in Fringe Campaigns, trust and betrayal are important in an Intrigue Campaign, and require additional mention here. In a campaign in which alliances might be nothing more than clever ruses and everyone has something to hide, players can soon fall into a trap of no longer trusting anyone, regardless of their apparent friendliness or helpfulness. A campaign can quickly fall apart if the Gamemaster's plans involve the heroes trusting a particular individual. The easiest, although least effective, way to circumvent such a possibility is to arrange for the heroes to have no choice but to deal with the NPC in question. However, trust is rarely given in such circumstances, so the heroes can probably see the NPC's betrayal far in advance.

The reverse is also true, in that alliances can shift, sometimes without notice, turning adversaries into potential allies. As the heroes uncover secrets, they can use them to their advantage, perhaps by presenting useful information to an enemy, since those with a sense of business or political savvy know that even an opponent can be a useful resource if approached in the right manner. Players should be encouraged to use their skills, wits, and diplomacy to find common ground with their enemies whenever possible, opening the door to additional adventures down the road.

Lastly, in a game rife with intrigue, the heroes might even begin to view each other suspiciously. If the heroes are thrust together with little unity to begin with, the campaign could possibly unravel as the heroes accuse their comrades of duplicity and holding back secrets. Although a certain amount of paranoia and suspicion is to be expected in a game of intrigue, the Gamemaster should be ready to step in before the situation gets out of hand and the heroes refuse to trust each other enough to even adventure together.

Adventure Hook

The heroes' mentor provides them with intelligence, gear, ships, and other resources. Over time, though, the mentor contracts a disease that even the best Medical Droids and physicians cannot cure. The mentor sends the heroes on increasingly lucrative, but dangerous, tasks in a desperate gambit to raise additional funds for his treatment. Eventually, the mentor sells the heroes out to their enemy for a big payoff and promise of access to expensive experimental care. Although the mentor loathes himself, he has little choice. If the heroes show mercy, they might be able to help him with his treatment.

Building an Intrigue Campaign

Creating adventures for an Intrigue Campaign requires a little more foresight and planning than for other types of campaigns. Although it should also present opportunities for prolonged blaster fights, harrowing Starship chases, and Jedi bounding about with Lightsabers in hand, an Intrigue Campaign focuses more on uncovering secrets, on the intricate pull of power and corruption, and on helping shape the galaxy's destiny through subterfuge, negotiation, and investigation. The players and the heroes they portray find that asking questions, remaining alert for clues, and using deductive reasoning advance the story.

Pacing

Pacing is a crucial element in any Intrigue Campaign. If done correctly, the heroes discover tantalizing clues as they progress through their adventure, revealing previously unknown connections, unearthing the motivations of NPCs, and realizing that all is not as it appears, leading to a satisfying epic conclusion. Each session should combine social interaction, investigation, and deduction along with a healthy dose of action and combat to keep the game lively and interesting.

A Gamemaster should first determine how long the campaign will run. If the Intrigue game is intended to last for just a few sessions, then the clues and revelations should come rapidly and clearly, giving the heroes obvious paths to pursue during a session or for future sessions. If possible, each session encapsulates its own mini-arc, with a well-defined beginning, middle, and end, giving the heroes a sense of satisfaction at figuring out a vital piece of information. For example, during the first session of the campaign, an Imperial spy has managed to infiltrate the Rebel base that the heroes call home, unearthing vital strategic information and details about troop movements. The heroes must determine how the spy got into the facility in the first place. Then they uncover clues indicating where the spy escaped to, and they travel there for further investigation. For the last portion of the session, the heroes confront one of the spy's contacts, resulting in a gun battle as the contact tries to escape. Upon capturing or killing the contact, they discover just how vital the information was and what it means for the Rebellion. During the next session, they head off to their next location and plunge deeper into the intrigue laid out before them.

If the campaign is intended to take place over the course of several sessions, then the adventure should move at a slower- but no less exciting- pace with numerous sid e treks and intertwined plots, both to keep the heroes guessing and to keep the game from bogging down if they are stymied by a particular avenue of inquiry.

Layers Upon Layers

Even mundane scenes of a Intrigue Campaign can contain the seeds for intrigue, so each encounter should relate to some scheme or plot. Masterminds hatch intricate plans with both minute and wide-sweeping scopes. Look at how each encounter fits into the overall arc of the story. Sometimes the players themselves help write the story in ways that are unanticipated but work well to add another layer of intrigue. With a little creativity, even a seemingly random encounter can be used as a stepping stone for further adventures or to advance the campaign. For example, a burglary unrelated to the heroes uncovers their secret plans, putting them in jeopardy when this information is sold to the highest bidder.

Conversely, the heroes' actions can have repercussions. Perhaps they interrogate a shopkeeper to find the location of a local crime boss. The Gamemaster decides on the spot that the shopkeeper- now fearing retribution for revealing this information- decides to pay local thugs to stop the heroes from finding the crime boss and revealing the transgression. If the heroes kill or injure the thugs, local law enforcement arrives and brings the heroes in for questioning. Once they are detained, the heroes discover that the police captain is in the pocket of the crime lord.

In another example, the Jedi Council asks the heroes to look into the disappearance of a Jedi Knight and a Padawan sent to handle a dispute between a Mid Rim planet and a nearby system. Upon arrival, the heroes quickly discover that the Jedi met with the planet's authority figures and then disappeared- the rulers accuse the other system of kidnapping the Jedi to disrupt negotiations. However, the heroes quickly realize that the planet boasts an unusually high number of servants with the characteristic traits of slavery, which is illegal in that sector of the galaxy. When the evidence of slavery is brought up to the rulers of the planet, the situation quickly takes a turn for the worse. Assailants capture the heroes and shuttle them up to a waiting slave vessel with a crew from the other system. If the heroes escape to reveal that the rulers of the supposedly warring planets are actually in partnership, gathering slaves to be sent to the fighting pits of Nar Shaddaa, they then draw the ire of The Hutt Kajidics, who in turn send bounty hunters to silence the heroes permanently.

"A Figure Bursts Through the Door with a Blaster..."

A common theme from the noir genre is a lone assailant bursting through a door blasting. The motivation for the attacker could be almost anything. Perhaps the attacker is a lackey of the main villain or a person with a grudge. This sort of random encounter spices up a scene that has slowed down with investigation or too much talk among the players. It spurs action and opens the door to finding out the attacker's identity and motives.

Of course, this technique should be used sparingly, or else the players might see lulls in the campaign as a setup for an ambush. You can vary the theme with a damsel in distress or a courier bearing a summons for the heroes to come before the Republic Senate.

Pitfalls to Avoid

On e key to creating a campaign of intrigue is the judicious use of suspense to keep the players on the edge of their seats. However, creating suspense can be a tricky affair, balancing expectation with realistic results or decisions that might derail the outcome that you intended.

Pacing is Everything

Intrigue works best when information is revealed in a timely manner that keeps the heroes both guessing and hungry for more. To walk the fine line between interesting and dull, incorporate the uncovering of information along with action. For example, in order for the heroes to find out the identity of a traitor who has been shipping weapons to the Separatists, they must break into their own organization's computers without revealing their actions to their superiors.

Provide Tangible Results

Avoid burying the campaign in so many layers of intrigue that trying to sort out the truth is almost impossible, and worse, boring. A Gamemaster should look at each encounter and figure out exactly what sort of information or result the heroes should learn at its conclusion, clearly indicating that they are making progress. An apparently meaningless, random event might later be revealed to be a crucial element, but using that technique too often, or making epiphanies too subtle, can frustrate players. Allowing the heroes to winnow out red herrings in a solid and undisputed way also helps them feel that they are making progress. If you find that the heroes are following an incorrect conclusion for too long, help them get back on track. Even the simple task of having your players roll a Wisdom check can make them realize that they are chasing a dead end and lead them back to the more relevant path.

Encouraging the players to make full use of their characters' Skills, especially when utilizing the Skill Challenge system, provides concrete and clear results for success.

Savvy Players

Unless you are a true mastermind, the players might see right through the intrigue you have laid out, coming to the correct conclusion on their own well in advance of the point you expected. Such a result is particularly likely in situations requiring only a single answer- identifying the professor's murderer or determining what the corporation is building on that secret moon base, for example. Several techniques can mitigate this problem:

• Shift later events so that the heroes' conclusions are close, but not exactly correct.
• Create a separate encounter or adventure that prevents the heroes from seeing the conclusion of the original adventure until later on.
• Make their conclusions an element of yet another, larger conspiracy leading to further adventures.

If your players are particularly insightful and solve the riddles early, they should be rewarded for their keen perception and deduction!

Intrigue Campaign Arcs

Even with all of the general guidelines Galaxy of Intrigue provides, coming up with an intriguing storyline that uses many of the elements presented here can be a challenge. In order to help you envision what an entire campaign based on intrigue might look like, this section presents several new campaign arcs. These campaign arcs describe the basic premise of a campaign, and then walk you through the general events that take place over the course of the campaign, eventually culminating in the climax of the campaign. You can use these sample campaign arcs as the basis for a campaign, or just as inspiration when crafting your own campaigns.

Plot and Metaplot

This section on Intrigue Campaign Arcs is intentionally written as era-neutral. However, most of the eras in the Star Wars story have their own metaplot to deal with; that is to say, they have their own overarching story that defines what the era is all about. The Rebellion Era has the struggle against the Empire, The Rise of the Empire Era has the Clone Wars, and The New Jedi Order Era has the Yuuzhan Vong Invasion. When using one of these campaign arcs, it is important to make sure that you use the trappings of that era's metaplot, but then make the main plot of your campaign your own. These campaign arcs work best when they are tweaked to fit in with the overall story of the era, and if you adapt the story to the era then it is less likely that your heroes will focus on the idea of "Being in an intrigue-based campaign" and more likely that they will feel caught up In the story. Feel free to change who the villains are, who the heroes' allies are, and the specifics of certain events such that they blend with, not stand out against, the era's meta plot.

The Secret Revolution

In the Secret Revolution campaign, the players become swept up in a web of intrigue meant to cover up the fact that a secret organization is planning to overthrow the galactic government. This campaign works best during a time period when the galactic government is mostly benevolent, such as during the days of The Old Republic, so that the players feel some reason to keep the government from being overthrown. The primary conflict in this campaign involves the heroes coming up against the revolutionaries, and hopefully stopping from harming the Republic.

The campaign opens when the heroes respond to a bounty posting on an Inner Rim world, with a bounty on the head of a Senator's aide (wanted alive) who has supposedly gone underground after betraying the Senator. As it turns out, the aide was actually kidnapped by a cabal of disgruntled soldiers, and the bounty was actually a plot to have the aide rescued from kidnapping. The heroes discover that the bounty was put on the aide by a member of The Senate Guard, a Human named Bail Falcris, and he thanks the heroes and pays them to continue working for him. The aide reveals that his kidnappers took him after he discovered that his Senator had been communicating with someone called Domino, who has been hiring criminals and kidnappers on The Outer Rim for months. Over the course of the next few levels, the heroes try to find out who Domino is by posing as mercenaries for hire, but just as they are getting close their benefactor, Falcris, is recalled by the Senator that had been suspected of dealing with Domino. Now facing bureaucratic roadblocks, the heroes must find hard evidence (beyond the testimony of the aide) that the Senator was dealing with criminals under the table. They do so, and the Senator is arrested and imprisoned.

As the second act of the campaign begins, the heroes are meeting with Falcris when an attempt is made on the Senate Guard's life. Republic Intelligence traces the attack back to a former Padawan that washed out of The Jedi Order and who now runs a semi-legitimate information brokering business out of Nar Shaddaa. When the heroes arrive, they find the Padawan already dead, and the computers containing the Padawan's stores of information stolen. This leads the heroes on a chase around the galaxy, always finding themselves one step behind the mysterious Domino. Their break comes when the heroes are contacted by a member of Domino's organization- a Sullustan slicer- who has decided to turn over a new leaf. The arranged meeting turns out to be a trap that leaves the Sullustan dead, but also sees the heroes recovering a computer core that the slicer had brought with him, rich with information on Domino's communications habits.

It is in the third act of the campaign that the full extend to the revolutionaries' plan is unveiled. The computer core that the heroes recovered contains communications between the mysterious leader of the organization and a number of undercover cells throughout the galaxy. Each communique seems to be setting up the assassinations of literally hundreds of Senators. After conferring with their contact in The Senate Guard, the heroes discover that each of the assassinations targets a Senator that is scheduled to be away from Coruscant at the same time. More frightening is the inference that Domino has some plan in place to take out all of the Senators on Coruscant during a Senate meeting. The heroes' final missions in the campaign require them to travel to distant stars and warn Senators of the plots against them, foil attacks on those Senators, and uncover the nature of the plot against Coruscant. The heroes finally discover the true identity of Domino when they go to warn a Senator about an impending assassination attempt, only to find out that the Senator was safe all along- because he or she was Domino all along.

The climax of the campaign takes place when the now-revealed Domino informs the heroes that the tragic deaths of nearly every other Senator is unavoidable. Domino reveals that Senate building is going to be the target of a tragic Capital Ship laser misfire, and that revolutionary forces are going to be on hand to finish off anyone that escapes. Domino also informs them that The HoloNet has been brought down to keep them from interfering with his or her plans. With the heroes on the far side of the galaxy, and the true nature of the attack on the Senate now revealed to them, the heroes must race against time to make it back to Coruscant, disable the sabotaged Capital Ship that is going to be firing on the Senate, and then aid The Senate Guard in protecting the Senators from revolutionary forces.

Hostile Takeover

The Hostile Takeover campaign is a bit different from the others presented here, in that its scope is limited to a single sector of space. This kind of campaign can work during any time period, and in fact since the action is relatively confined in the galaxy it can work in conjunction with a second campaign arc as well, with the heroes alternating between plots. Though this campaign arc also somewhat relies on the heroes feeling amicable toward the government of the sector, you can adapt the story of the campaign such that the heroes might have other reasons for not wanting to see the government fall. For example, in The Rebellion Era this campaign arc might take place In a sector of space that is filled with Rebel sympathizers, and planets that have joined the Rebellion, meaning that the heroes won't want to see the government fall since it is largely sympathetic to their cause.

At the start of the campaign, the heroes are working in a remote sector of space when they receive a distress call from a Starship that has come under attack and needs assistance. When the heroes arrive, they discover that the ship was attacked by pirates. As they investigate further, they find that these pirates have seemingly come out of nowhere, with significantly more advanced technology and resources available to them than other pirates. As reports come in from across the sector of similar attacks, the heroes discover that the pirates have significant financial backing, in the form of a group of powerful corporate entities whose wealth is spread throughout the sector. Realizing that those companies' ships never seem to run afoul of the pirates, the heroes also discover that the pirate threat is coming from a nearby asteroid base, and have a chance to stop the pirates once and for all.

With the pirates dealt with, the second act of the campaign involved the heroes' investigation into the involvement of the corporations who backed the pirates. Initial clues seem to indicate that the pirates were but one part of a larger plan, and through several adventures the heroes uncover other parts of that plan: sabotaging planetary weather control systems, inciting criminal riots in major cities, and staging attacks against well-populated areas by brigands and mercenaries. Over time, the heroes come to realize that these corporations are trying to incite unrest in the population, and in particular are making it seem like the sector governments cannot protect the people. The second act culminates when the heroes stop a major attack on a highly populated city, foiling a plan that was to be the corporations' capstone in a campaign to discredit the government.

As the campaign draws to a close in its final act, the heroes have not only stymied the corporate group, they have also become targets themselves. The corporations leverage their clout to portray the heroes as villains who were trying to perpetrate the very act they tried to stop in the second act, forcing the heroes to go underground rather than continue to fight. The heroes struggle to clear their names, and eventually discover that the corporations involved in the plan all seem to be under the influence of a Dark Jedi, and her evil apprentice. The two Dark Force-users have been manipulating the corporations in order to destabilize the sector, and have planned to install their own puppet government once the sector government falls.

The climax of the campaign comes when the heroes infiltrate the towering structures controlled by the Dark Jedi and her apprentice, ending in a final showdown with the villains in the transparisteel-walled towers. With the Dark Jedi defeated and her schemes revealed, the heroes' names are cleared, and the villainous corporations crumble as their sedition becomes public.

Invasion from the Unknown Regions

In the Invasion from the Unknown Regions campaign, the heroes find themselves confronted with knowledge that no one in the known galaxy possesses- the knowledge of a secret invasion force poised to strike at civilization. This kind of campaign can work during pretty much any time period, though similarities to the Yuuzhan Vong Invasion might mean that the campaign has a bit less impact during that time. Of course, you can always adapt the campaign to involve the Yuuzhan Vong Invasion itself, but that might require some serious alterations to the conceits of the plot.

As the campaign opens, the heroes are traveling through The Outer Rim near the fringes of The Unknown Regions when they experience a Hyperspace anomaly. More specifically, they are pulled out of Hyperspace by a large object that simply shouldn't be there. As they enter Realspace, they find themselves drifting at the edges of a massive fleet of ships, all of a completely alien design. It soon becomes clear that this is an invasion fleet, poised to strike at the galaxy, but when the heroes try to warn the government they find that the fleet seems to have simply vanished. Over the course of several adventures, they follow a trail of sightings of this phantom fleet across The Outer Rim, and soon discover a frightening truth: the invasion has already begun. The invaders from The Unknown Regions have recruited many beings across the galaxy and have bribed them to sabotage planetary defenses across The Outer Rim. At the conclusion of the first act of the campaign, the invasion fleet launches attacks across The Outer Rim, and the heroes must quickly locate the saboteur on their own world in order to protect their planet from being invaded.

As the second act of the campaign opens, the invasion has begun, and countless worlds across The Outer Rim have fallen under the control of the invaders. Yet once the initial assault is over, the invaders seem to sit on their laurels. All space traffic and communications into, and out of, the captured worlds is cut off by the invaders. Weeks pass, and no further advancements are made. Since the heroes have been on the front of the invasion, they are tasked with infiltrating a captured world and finding out the next step in the invaders' plans. They do so, and spend several adventures infiltrating a captured world and insinuating themselves into the invaders' organization. Over time, the heroes realize that the invaders seem to lack any leadership at all, and at the climax of the second act they discover the truth: the invaders have no leader, for he, she, or it was killed during the initial invasion. This fact has been kept from the invaders' forces by a cabal of officers, who fear that the invasion will fall apart if it becomes clear that their glorious leader is dead. As the heroes are about to reveal this fact to the galaxy, the invaders' leader miraculously reappears, and commands the invaders to launch a renewed assault against Mid Rim worlds.

In the final act of the campaign, the heroes begin by discovering that the seemingly reborn leader is, in fact, a Clawdite imposter who was brought in by the cabal of conspirators. Worse, the Clawdite is a Black Sun Vigo, and now the invaders have one of the galaxy's most powerful criminal organizations on their side. With the invasion driving closer to the core every day, the heroes must find some way to reveal the Clawdite imposter and crush the spirit of the invasion. They find help in an unlikely place- a disgruntled Black Sun Vigo who doesn't want to kneel to invaders any more than he wanted to kneel to the galactic government. The heroes must recruit this Vigo, convince him to support their efforts, and then reveal the Clawdite imposter (likely by killing him and revealing the truth about his shapeshifting abilities).

The climax of the campaign comes shortly after the heroes make their revelation. As the invasion force begins to crumble under the knowledge that their sacred leader has died, the desperate cabal initiates one final parting shot against the galaxy. The mothership of the invasion fleet has been set on a Hyperspace collision course with a major galactic metropolis (Coruscant, Empress Teta, Eriadu, Lianna, or Taris). The heroes have mere hours to stop the ship from slamming into Coruscant (even with planetary shields up, the death toll would be incredibly high just from fallout), and with that done the final threat to the galaxy from this invasion is put to rest.

Creating Villains of Intrigue

The Star Wars universe is full of villains who play the game of intrigue like master dejarik players, pulling innumerable strings to shape the destiny of the galaxy to their own twisted agendas. Count Dooku masterfully manipulates The Confederacy of Independent Systems to act as pawns for the Sith Lord Darth Sidious. Prince Xizor carefully and studiously shapes Black Sun into a personal empire that threatens that of the actual Empire.

When creating an Intrigue Campaign, the Gamemaster should spend time crafting the prominent villains. Most villains are able to hold their own against the heroes in combat, but a villain with considerably fewer levels than the heroes can still have access to sufficient influence, power, and resources to make the heroes' lives miserable. For example, the main villain of a campaign could be a child regent with only a few levels in the Noble Heroic Class, but with a high Intelligence score, a full army of soldiers, and a coterie of spies to call upon.

Motivation

Determining the primary Motivation of the villa in goes a long way in determining how that villain can serve as an antagonist for the heroes. Is the villain a wealthy merchant who views competition as merely part of business, bereft of personal feelings? Did the heroes wrong the villain in some way, bringing shame and dishonor that must be avenged? Or is the villain driven by the influence of The Dark Side of The Force? A villain who regards the heroes as mere obstacles or annoyances can perhaps be bought off or negotiated with, but a villain driven by emotions might refuse to rest until the heroes' heads adorn the front of a luxury speeder.

Jedi as Villains

Jedi are staunch defenders of liberty and dedicated to maintaining peace within the galaxy, so they are usually considered good guys. Jedi uphold ideals that are considered noble and rarely take sides. However, conventional wisdom can be turned on its head, making a Jedi the primary villain of your campaign. Jedi are not universally respected or loved throughout the galaxy. Some regular citizens consider The Jedi to be meddlers or mere muscle to enforce the Republic's corrupt policies.

This setup works best when the heroes are portraying antiheroes, as described in detail in Fringe Campaigns. If the heroes' party consists of smugglers, mercenaries, con artists, and disgraced aristocracy, then Jedi might likely butt heads with the heroes' agenda. A Jedi sent on the trail of the heroes can be a challenging foe.

If the main villain of the campaign is a Jedi, then the heroes will be in a uniquely uncomfortable position. Perhaps the villain is teetering on the edge of slipping over to The Dark Side, or perhaps a Jedi hero is accused (rightly or not) of deeds consistent with The Dark Side. Part of the adventure might involve the Jedi hero attempting to clear his or her name, all the while avoiding capture by the Order he or she belongs to.

Resources

The most effective villains are those with access to a large repository of Resources, such as a personal army, vast family wealth, or powerful political clout. A wealthy or powerful villain has enough minions- typically Droids, soldiers, or thugs- to send against the heroes, ensuring that they will have someone or something to fight when the game becomes too easy or the adventure gets too sluggish. However, as the heroes advance in level, the large number of low-level thugs required to make an encounter challenging can become unwieldy.

Beyond mere thugs, villains also have minions with superior skills and abilities, making them serious challenges on their own. Palpatine trains Darth Maul as his Sith Apprentice, powerful enough to kill a Jedi Master in his own right. Count Dooku directs the relentless Asajj Ventress to do his bidding. Darth Vader hires a crew of bounty hunters to hunt down the Rebels, with Boba Fett capturing Han Solo. Powerful and interesting minions can both distance the villain from danger and confuse the issue of who ultimately is operating behind the scenes. Setting up a few encounters in which the heroes must deal with a skilled minion without knowing his or her Motivation is a great way to make your villain seem more mysterious and powerful.

Political power can be a serious problem for heroes, as adversaries frustrate the heroes' efforts with simple inconveniences such as docking fees or with greater threats, such as by branding them as traitors to the Republic. Although realistic, overuse of a villain's political or financial power can frustrate players who find that their heroes can never directly confront their enemy because of laws, denial of access to their funds, and the like. However, using this power occasionally can force the heroes to become creative when their usual avenues are denied. But Star Wars is about action, and no one wants to have his or her character spend the adventure going from bureaucrat to bureaucrat just to secure the proper documentation to leave the planet.

Methods

Once a villain's Motives and Resources are determined, then the Methods that the villain employs come next. Is the villain a mastermind who prefers to sit behind layers of false fronts and minions, pulling on the strings of the heroes' destinies from afar? Or is the villain more aggressive, preferring to get up close and personal with the heroes? Once this aspect has been factored in with the villain's Resources , adventures can seem to write themselves. For example, a relatively poor but charismatic and determined gang leader might not have a lot of credits to spend on bounty hunters or on bribing officials to make life difficult for the heroes, but she probably has access to dozens of loyal minions who can harass the heroes. On the other end of the power spectrum, a wealthy Senator can use political contacts to foil the heroes on many avenues, possibly using violence as a last resort.

Choosing your villain's classes can influence the methods used when confronting the heroes. A villain with many levels in Soldier would probably use military-style tactics and resources against the heroes, while a Scout villain might hunt the heroes as if they were prey in the wild, setting traps or shooting them from afar. Noble and Scoundrel villains work the social angles, using influence and their charismatic personalities to turn allies into enemies or to set up the heroes in political ambushes. However, you do not have to determine a villain's Methods solely by class. Playing against type can make truly memorable villains, such as a Soldier who uses his clout in the Senate to make life miserable for the heroes or a Noble who feels that only personal combat can avenge a transgression committed by the heroes.

Contingency Plans

One crucial element when creating a villain- especially if that villain is a criminal mastermind- is determining how he or she handles the inevitable disruptions caused by the heroes' meddling. When creating adventures, break down the encounters and think ahead to the logical conclusions that might occur, just as the villain would. Taking into account possible failures as well as successes will keep your adventure from being derailed by the unexpected. The villain might have a vessel or escape pod ready to flee the scene if the situation goes wrong, or a patsy might be set up to take the fall if the heroes present the authorities with evidence leading to the villain's arrest. Just as generals on the battlefield must plan for defeat, so too must the villains of your Intrigue Campaign be prepared for setbacks.

For example, a villain plans to blackmail a politician into releasing the villain's main minion from a prison moon. However, the villain's plan is foiled if the heroes, after having heard about the villain's intentions, break into the prison themselves and kidnap the minion or leak the politician's corruption to the news media, making the blackmail attempt pointless. Realizing that the heroes might get to the politician before he does, the villain arranges for the politician to be assassinated, preventing the villain's plans from being exposed and diverting attention away from the plot to release the minion. Alternatively, if the heroes break the minion out on their own, then the minion directs the heroes to a hidden location for a prearranged ambush by the villain.

Fighting the Powers That Be

In most Star Wars roleplaying campaigns, the heroes' ultimate solution for dealing with a villain involves a climactic battle of blasters and lightsabers. In an Intrigue Campaign, however, the consequences for such behavior can be severe.

The Repercussions of Heroism

In many Star Wars campaigns, the violent actions of the heroes are glossed over in the aftermath. For example, if the heroes bring a crime lord to justice, they receive their reward and move on to the next adventure, and no one asks any questions about the dozens of corpses left behind in the aftermath of the combat. In an Intrigue Campaign, however, such events should not go unnoticed. The Gamemaster can add law enforcement into the mix, perhaps with an intense investigation afterward in which Sector Rangers question the heroes about several bystanders murdered in the confrontation. Alternatively, friends, relatives, or colleagues of the crime lord's servants might come looking for revenge against the heroes.

Heroes should consider the consequences of kicking in the door of the main villain and gunning him down, especially if he is an unarmed politician or other noncombatant. Heroes who disregard the law so blatantly might find themselves under arrest or marked for bounty by the villain's constituency, corporation, or other affiliations. If the heroes continue to use violent means they could be labeled vigilantes. And although their motives might be pure, life will never be the same for the heroes if they become the targets of law-enforcement agencies, The Jedi Order, or hordes of bounty hunters.

Not every encounter or adventure should result in mass inquisitions. Star Wars is about action and heroism, not courtroom battles, but occasionally following up an adventure with a lot of questions from the authorities can send the heroes a signal about consequences. Use this feature to your advantage when making campaigns. If the heroes find themselves in hot water after completing an encounter, perhaps they then must clear their names or become more deeply entangled in layers of intrigue as their heroic deeds are instead twisted by the media into something horrific.

Removing the Villain

When building your Intrigue Campaign, consider what might happen if and when the heroes kill the main villain sooner than you intend. After all, if your adventure hinges on a climactic showdown against the villain and the heroes shoot down his ship as he attempts to flee an early encounter, then you are left without a way to keep the adventure moving along. Here are some suggestions for dealing with the repercussions of a villain being removed from the picture earlier than anticipated.

Replacements

One way to keep an adventure on track after the unintended demise of the villain is to create a replacement. The logical choice is one of the villain's trusted minions who is privy to key plans and has a deep understanding of the layers of intrigue set in place. The downside, of course, is that minions are weaker than the villains they work for. So when that climactic battle occurs, you might need to adjust the replacement villain's statistics, increase the number of his or her minions, or add an additional element to make the encounter more difficult for the heroes.

Depending on the Era of Play, clone technology can be another solution for bringing the villain back into the campaign. For example, Emperor Palpatine returns as a clone after the destruction of the second Death Star. Of course, cloning is logical when the villain is powerful or wealthy enough to access such advanced technology. If your main villain is a petty warlord or young upstart politician, then cloning stretches credulity. Use this tactic sparingly because it dilutes the heroes' efforts to bring down their opponents, and it can be demoralizing, causing the heroes to wonder why they should even bother when the villain keeps coming back healthy and full of revenge.

Dealing with the Aftermath

If the heroes defeat the villain sooner than expected, you probably still have several unresolved plot threads that can occupy the heroes. The villain's trusted allies, contacts, and minions might continue to advance the cause or take it in a new direction, albeit with their own personal touches. Between gaming sessions the Gamemaster should consider how events would play out without the villain's involvement. Even with the villain's demise, secret weapons labs continue developing the ultimate weapon, assassins follow through on orders to kill their targets, and bribes and blackmail attempts continue as if nothing was amiss. Of course, the assassin expects someone to pay after the job, or the weapons researchers might decide to test the weapon on the intended target without approval. Each of these factors gives the heroes a significant amount of cleanup to do even after the death of the villain.

Another solution to the premature loss of a villain is to allow the heroes to revel in their success, moving them along on another, completely different encounter. Then, as they progress in the adventure, slowly reintroduce elements of the villain's scheme back into the scene. For example, after killing the villain in an early encounter, the heroes believe that the threat is over. The Gamemaster begins a new chapter completely unrelated to the previous storyline. After a few sessions, the heroes receive a cryptic note about "Unfinished Business" from one of the original villain's comrades, drawing them back into the intrigue that they thought was concluded.

Designing an Intrigue Adventure

So far, this chapter has discussed how to create Intrigue Campaigns in general and how to create villains to populate them. This section goes into more detail about how to create an adventure that is rife with intrigue and that fits in with the other concepts introduced in Galaxy of Intrigue.

Most adventures contain some degree of intrigue. The heroes don't know who is behind the kidnapping of Wookiee slaves, or they stumble on plans for a secret battlestation. What separates an adventure based on intrigue from other adventures is that, from beginning to end, the entire purpose toward which the heroes are working is either a secret they must keep or a mystery they must unravel. Whether the heroes are proactive or reactive, or whether the adventure involves a lot of combat or very little, everything the heroes do is either part of a clandestine operation or is part of a plan to unravel a well-hidden secret.

From there, the adventure can progress like most others, with a few modifications. An intrigue-heavy adventure acts as a microcosm for the way the larger campaign plays out, and it uses many of the elements discussed earlier in the chapter. This section will construct the basic outline of an Intrigue Adventure, with an example of each element.

Start with a Secret

The core of an intrigue-based adventure is a secret. At its heart, an Intrigue Adventure should revolve around secrecy and protecting valuable knowledge. There are two major kinds of secrets that the heroes of an intrigue adventure must deal with: the secret objective, and the secret charge. A good secret, of either kind, on which an adventure can hang is more than just a passing bit of information; its revelation should have major repercussions not only on the heroes but also on the whole galaxy.

A secret objective is something that the heroes are trying to uncover. This could be a secret they know to exist- the true identity of the assassin that killed their Senator benefactor- or it could be a secret that they didn't even know existed beforehand. The latter kind of secret is often treated as a surprise twist or reveal at some point in the adventure; a good example of this secret twist is the revelation that Darth Vader is Luke's father at the end of The Empire Strikes Back. Luke was unaware that the secret existed, but once it was uncovered it radically altered the way that he saw the conflict between the Empire and the Rebellion, and forever changed his Destiny.

A secret charge is a secret that the heroes have been given the opportunity to protect. Often, this secret is merely the secret of their actions. For example, if the heroes are planning to raid an Imperial weapons depot, they will want to keep their plans, and even their actions, secret in order to avoid drawing unnecessary attention. In an Intrigue Adventure where the heroes have a secret charge, their protection of that secret should be of the utmost importance. Regardless of whether or not their actions succeed or fail elsewhere, revelation of the secret they have been charged with should seem like a failure to them.

When coming up with the secret at the core of an Intrigue Adventure, use these simple guidelines:

• The secret should be something that has wide repercussions as a consequence of its revelation. Simple secrets don't make great adventure hooks.
• Choose a secret that creates opportunities for dangerous situations. Discovering which Hutt crime lord hired the Senator's assassin can be dangerous; discovering who is spreading rumors about a local Moff probably isn't.
• The secret should be something the heroes care about. If they have no attachment to the Jedi Master who is secretly still advising the government on his home planet, the heroes won't be drawn into the adventure.
• The secret should be something that is not easily uncovered. Layers upon layers should separate the secret from its revelation. This goes for secret charges as much as secret objectives.

Example

The heroes have spent a few adventures finding the location of a secret weapons manufacturing facility where a Hutt crime lord is producing arms for a mercenary army. As agents of the Rebellion, they know that those weapons could prove extremely valuable to their cause, and plan to steal them. The basic secret of the adventure is the secret mission the heroes are about to undertake; if either the Empire or the Hutts discovered their secret plans, they would surely be ambushed and captured or killed.

Provide Ample Skill Opportunities

Once you have the core of your adventure (its secret) in hand, you can begin constructing an adventure around it. Intrigue Adventures usually provide players with lots of chances to use their Skills in creative ways. While covert assassinations and other combat scenarios are certainly part of Intrigue Adventures, open violence is often too messy or too high profile to be an effective weapon in an Intrigue Campaign. Instead, you should try and focus on challenges that the heroes can use their Skills to overcome, giving the players encouragement to do more than just go in, blasters blazing.

One of the best ways to design adventures that make heavy use of Skills is to take a look at which Skills the heroes are Trained in and which ones they have Skill Focus Feats for, and to design the challenges around those Skills. Your heroes have invested valuable resources in obtaining those Skills; let them use them. Likewise, don't be afraid to design challenges that cater toward lesser-used Skills. Your Soldier with a high Intelligence might have Trained in Climb or Endurance, two Skills that often see less use than Deception, Persuasion, or Use the Force. It's OK to construct situations where heroes with those Skills can shine, even if they might seem a little out of place at first. Just because the heroes are infiltrating a party aboard a star yacht doesn't mean that those Skills couldn't come into play. Maybe the Soldier needs to climb up to a secret smuggling compartment high in the cargo hold, or forcibly hold a door open for several rounds while other heroes slip in, and then out, with whatever they came for.

Lastly, make it obvious when Skill use could be a good solution. Many times, players can overlook the opportunities you set in front of them, and it's OK to offer suggestions during game play. When crafting your Intrigue Adventures, don't be afraid to put notes in your descriptions that highlight individual Skills for use in that section.

The Challenge of Investigations

When the concepts of secrets and Skill use are thrown together in an adventure, it's tempting to fall back on the age-old investigation adventure. While this can be rewarding, there are a few pitfalls that you should be aware of before designing an entire adventure around investigation. First and foremost is to not overuse the investigation adventure; if the heroes spend every adventure going through the same kind of investigatory routine, they are quickly going to get bored with investigations as a whole. Setting a mystery in front of the heroes and turning them loose can be fun every once in a while, but over time the players might feel like they are playing "Find the Plot Hook" every adventure.

When you do decide to create an investigation-based adventure, follow the advice about providing Skill opportunities, above, and make sure that a wide swathe of Skills are available as solutions. Although it's tempting to say that investigations are all about Deception, Gather Information, Perception, and Persuasion, there can be much more to investigations than that. Using Skill Challenges is a good way to encourage your players to be proactive during an investigation, as it can help them see tangible results even when using unorthodox skills.

Lastly, failing a Skill Check or two should never derail the entire adventure. If your players fail to persuade the Imperial officer to let them see the prisoner in the brig, make sure there are other ways for them to get in and get the information they need from that prisoner. Whenever your adventure depends on the heroes learning something through investigation, make sure there are multiple ways that they can get the information they need. One failed Gather Information check shouldn't leave the heroes clueless. Even in failure, the players should be directed toward another solution. Continuing the example above, when the officer rebuffs the heroes, perhaps the Scout sees on a monitor console behind the officer that there is an air duct leading into the prisoner's cell that the Scoundrel might be able to sneak through.

Example

Raiding a Hutt weapons factory has to be more than smash-and-grab; the factory is well protected, and only authorized ships are allowed to land and offload supplies to the factory. The heroes will need to find someone who knows the security protocols (Gather Information, Perception), create false credentials or buy them (Deception, Persuasion), steal a cargo vessel destined for the factory (Pilot, Stealth), slice into the plant's security system to hide from sensors (Use Computer), and then reach a watchtower and disarm the guards there (Climb).

Put the Heroes in Danger

So far, a lot has been said about secrets and skills, but perhaps the most important part of an intrigue adventure is the sense of danger. A secret is just a piece of information that the heroes don't know... until there is danger involved. When danger surrounds a secret, it makes the secret more exciting, builds tension, and can increase the heroes' desire to pursue that secret.

Putting the heroes in danger doesn't always mean pointing a blaster at them (although it can). The heroes might be in danger of being revealed as Rebel agents working undercover on a Core World; although that would eventually bring more direct danger (stormtroopers kicking down the door), the simple threat of Imperial reprisals is enough to raise the tension during an adventure. Threats to the heroes should always be visible and present. Otherwise, the PCs might not even be aware of the danger they face, which drains the tension out of the situation. The heroes should know that they are in danger, and they should know that the danger is directly tied to the secrets they are trying to uncover or protect.

Intriguing Combat

One of the easiest ways to throw some danger into an Intrigue Adventures is with combat. However, a good combat encounter in an Intrigue Adventure has more going on than simply defeating the enemy. When designing combat encounters for Intrigue Adventures, keep in mind that other objectives are at hand. When Stormtroopers kick down the door, the heroes have to do more than defeat them; they have to defeat them, stop them from calling for help on the Comlink, and keep witnesses from calling the Imperial garrison to report the firefight. Likewise, when the heroes finally make their way into the weapons manufacturing facility, they have to do more than just kill the guards; their objectives include stealing weapons as well as hiding their own identities. After all, it does them little good to pull off the theft, only to be pursued by bounty hunters hired for reprisal.

Combat should be used to reinforce the danger of an adventure, but it can also move the plot forward. Perhaps the heroes need to dispose of a local Moff- quietly- before he can order the execution of an informant carrying critical information. Combat in an intrigue adventure need not be flashy or on a massive scale; a short skirmish with Czerka Corporation enforcers in the lobby of a high-rise on Taris can be just as exciting as a Starfighter dogfight, especially if the heroes have to keep the enforcers from sounding the alarm. Remember, when adding tension to the adventure via combat, to make sure to give the heroes plenty of chances to succeed in ways that keeps the adventure moving forward. Failing in a combat encounter should be like failing a Skill Check; even in failure, another way of accomplishing the heroes' goal should be revealed.

Example

Besides the obvious danger that they face when infiltrating the weapons factory, the heroes discover that they are not the first ones to try and raid the Hutt factory. A group of mercenaries tried the same thing and were slaughtered when they arrived. It turns out the mercenaries were betrayed by one of the very people that provided them with information or with help in making it to the manufacturing facility. The heroes now have to figure out who the traitor is before they launch their own attack, balancing their need for help against the knowledge that someone might betray them.

Twists and Revelations

As the adventure begins to draw to a close, it becomes time for secrets to be revealed. As with all adventures in an Intrigue Campaign, there are layers within layers within layers of secrets, and as the adventure progresses some secrets should be revealed, while others should turn out to be quite different from what the heroes expected. It's important to let the players feel like they are uncovering critical information, or succeeding at protecting it, in tangible ways. Even within the context of a single adventure, there should be moments of revelation: the heroes discover that the bartender at the cantina has been selling secrets to The Hutt Kajidics, or the party's slicer finally uncovers the secret access codes that will allow them to bypass automated security satellites. These particular revelations don't open up the plot of the entire adventure, but they do amount to progress, which is very important during an adventure involving a lot of secrets.

Likewise, an unexpected twist, when used judiciously, can not only bring the plot forward but also alter the way the heroes perceive the situation. However, there is a fine art to introducing a twist, and too blunt or too severe a twist can be jarring to the players. A twist in an adventure should be just believable enough that the players buy it, but it should also be shocking. The twist in The Empire Strikes Back when Lando betrays the heroes is shocking, because he is likable and an old friend of Han's, but believable thanks to Leia's suspicion and the clear power that Darth Vader has over him. When crafting a twist, look for places where story could conceivably go, and then eliminate any of the ones that seem too obvious. What you're left with is a series of twists that are believable, yet likely won't be expected.

Example

Part of the premise of the adventure is that the Hutts are hiding their stockpile of weapons from the Empire, which is one reason why it is shrouded in so much secrecy. A good twist for this adventure would be that the Empire, or rather a powerful figure within the Empire, actually knows about the Hutt weapons plant and is having the weapons crafted for a private army of his or her own. Then, when the heroes arrive, they face not only thugs working for The Hutt Kajidics, but small groups of well-trained Imperial forces.

One Door Closes, Two Doors Open

When the adventure is finally done and the heroes have achieved their goals, there is one more important technique that you should use when wrapping up the adventure. Each adventure will answer some questions, or allow the heroes to keep their own secrets safe, but after each success two (or more) secrets should be introduced. Although eventually you'll need to reveal all of these secrets, a successful Intrigue Adventure leaves the heroes wanting to know more. Moreover, it helps lend credence to the idea that nothing is ever as simple as it seems, and that there are always wheels within wheels in any intrigue-based campaign.

The kinds of secrets that you might introduce can be either secret objectives or secret charges, and most will set the stage for subsequent intrigue adventures. However, these need not always be adventure hooks: some of the questions these secrets raise might be little more than insights into the backgrounds of the heroes' allies, or questions about events that, at the time, seemed simple and straightforward. For example, at the conclusion of an investigation adventure, the heroes have discovered the information they were looking for; at the last minute, however, they discovered that their enemy for that adventure was only a pawn in someone else's scheme. Who that enemy served, and what the larger scheme is, can be the basis for future adventures. Alternately, this revelation can be used not to expose a larger plot on behalf of their enemies, but to make the heroes question the allies and benefactors who put them on the trail in the first place.

Example

To conclude our sample adventure, the heroes eventually make it to the weapons factory, defeat the Hutt's thugs and the Imperial forces alike, and make off with the contraband with the secret of their identities intact. However, they discover two new mysteries in the process. First, they learn that someone on the inside disabled the factory's communications system, keeping it from calling for help; someone wanted the heroes to succeed, but who? Second, they learn that the powerful Imperial agent that commissioned the weapons does not actually exist; someone fabricated the existence of a Moff, but for what purpose?

The Art of Indirection

One way to really alter the feel of an intrigue-based campaign is to always keep in mind that, when it comes to secrets and plots, nothing is ever direct and to the point. Enemies come at you from odd angles, allies never tell you everything they know, and simple acts have wide-ranging repercussions. An Intrigue Campaign is all about using indirect methods to accomplish goals, because indirect methods are usually best for maintaining secrecy. When knowledge is power, any method that preserves knowledge- or creates false information- can be the difference between being powerful and being powerless.

Below, you will find some general advice on creating situations where indirect methods come into play. Like the section on building campaigns, villains, and adventures above, this section is intended to provide some basic guidelines for creating interesting events that occur in your campaign. Think of these suggestions as directions for constructing an individual scene within an adventure. Mixing and matching the advice below can produce memorable sequences that reinforce many of the themes of an Intrigue Campaign.

Enemies Target the Innocent

It is almost a given that the heroes' enemies won't come directly at them when it's time to strike, at least not at first. Enemies in an intrigue-heavy campaign know better than to try and take the heroes on with direct attacks and violence; savvy heroes will overcome such challenges quickly. Instead, such enemies try to hit the heroes where they are most vulnerable: through their allies. While a hero walks around in Powered Battle Armor or wields a Lightsaber with amazing skill, he or she has little control over the lives of allies or over the lives of innocents. An opponent in an Intrigue Adventure will likely try to target those who can't defend themselves, to use as leverage against the heroes. The bounty hunter doesn't attack the heroes; he kidnaps their mentor and holds her hostage, offering to trade her life in exchange for turning over one of the heroes' party.

This kind of indirect attack works on almost any scale. Grand Moff Tarkin, a master of intrigue, uses this technique with Princess Leia to try and get her to reveal the location of the Rebel base: he knows his threats against her do no good, so he threatens Alderaan with The Death Star instead. The threats do not always have to be of physical violence, either. A powerful corporate executive might threaten to bring financial ruin to the heroes' benefactor, or an unscrupulous Senator's aide might threaten to reveal that Senator's dark past on the eve of a critical vote. For the most part, villains use these indirect attacks to get the heroes to do something, or to not do something, that the villain wants.

Occasionally, the villain strikes out at the innocent or the heroes' allies as a reprisal for the heroes' actions. This can be used as a deterrent against future actions by the heroes, or simply to reinforce the fact that the villain is, in fact, their enemy.

Proxies, Liaisons, and Masks

It is common for those involved in heavy intrigue to keep their identities and the identities of their allies a secret. Anonymity ensures security, and security is something everyone in this kind of adventure should be aware of. In an Intrigue Campaign, it is common practice for both allies and villains to make use of proxies and liaisons during contact with the heroes. The heroes might not meet a mysterious benefactor, but instead deal only with a Droid sent in his stead. An informant might refuse to come herself, instead sending a street urchin to deliver a message to the heroes. Enemies will often refuse to involve themselves in schemes personally, instead using pawns to direct their operations from a distance.

Disguises are equally common among those with secrets to keep. Exposing one's true identity is always a risk, and one that few with important secrets are willing to take. The Star Wars setting offers ample opportunities for such indirect contact. Villains can appear as holograms. Crime lords can send Protocol Droids to deal with the heroes, while others might hire shapechanging Clawdites to impersonate them, never making contact directly. Regardless of the actual method, allies and villains alike should erect barriers between themselves and the heroes, making extensive use of both proxies and technology to keep at a distance.

Trust Doesn't Come Easy

Much of the above advice on proxies and masks is a result of trust issues. When it comes to the intrigues of the galaxy, there is little room for trust. Trust often leads to betrayal, which can put months or even years of hard work to ruin. It should come as no surprise after a while that not even the heroes' allies will trust them, and in turn the heroes shouldn't give out their trust easily. Trust, in an intrigue-heavy campaign, is something that should be won, and winning trust isn't easy. It's important to remind the players that their allies have a hard time trusting them; if the heroes sense insecurity in their allies, it can help make those allies seem more real, and likewise make the heroes' own lack of trust seem less like paranoia and more like good tactics.

This is one area where the line you must walk as a GM is very fine. If the allies show too little trust in the heroes, the heroes might lose interest in working with them. The heroes should see some progress in earning the trust of their allies; each time they successfully complete an adventure, for example, they earn a bit more trust, and their next interaction with a certain ally should reflect that. The ally might be more forthcoming on details, or might finally offer to meet them in person. Building trust takes time, but the heroes should feel as though they are actually building it and making progress in their relationships.

Decoys and Misdirection

A favorite tactic of those steeped in intrigue is to let others do the dirty work. Sending your own agents in to complete a job is all well and good, but the preferable solution is to convince someone else to do it for you. Not only is this typically cheaper, it also means fewer ties between the people performing the mission and those that set it into motion. Although a benefactor that manipulates the unwitting heroes into doing his or her bidding might be cliche, there are also other ways that decoys can be used in an Intrigue Campaign. Villains might use this tactic on others among the heroes' enemies, making the heroes think that an attack came from one source when the truth is that the villain caused it. Similarly, a villain might dupe one of the heroes' allies into doing his or her bidding. Introducing an aspect of betrayal, even unwitting betrayal, into the game is a way of creating greater tension.

At some point, though, a villain has to take direct action in order to further his or her goals. When this happens, the best weapon in the schemer's arsenal is misdirection. Even if a villain convinces someone else to do the dirty work, that villain will still need to exercise cunning to keep the heroes from tracing the deeds back to him or her. This is something that anyone skilled in the art of subterfuge knows: one of the best ways to hide your trail is to make sure that there is a trail leading somewhere else. Enemies might lay down false clues to lead the heroes (and others) away from their trail, but be careful with using this tactic too much. In a roleplaying game, the players rely on the Gamemaster for much of their information, and if that information turns out to be a false trail or a red herring too often, the players will begin to second-guess everything the Gamemaster says.

The Art of Being Seen

Tied to the concept of misdirection, the art of being seen refers to a technique where one provides false information simply by making it appear as though one thing has happened, when it truly hasn't. A favorite tactic of those with exceptionally good resources at their disposal, this kind of deception often relies on disguise, forgery, and other similar techniques to create a scene that is meant to be witnessed, either by the heroes or by others. One of the things that make a deception like this so effective is that these are not just rumors being whispered in dark cantinas; the witnesses see and hear these things themselves.

For example, the heroes have had a Falleen crime lord in their sights for a long time, and have become a thorn in his side. No longer able to operate without the heroes watching his every move, the Falleen puts a plan into motion to create a scene that the heroes are intended to witness. The crime lord offers to turn himself in to them, and arranges a meeting place where the deal can go down. As he is turning himself in, a crazed woman leaps out of a nearby crowd and guns him down, claiming to be a widow of a man the crime lord has executed. The Falleen lies dead before the heroes, and now they no longer have to worry about him.

Or do they? Perhaps the woman was a plant, and the whole scene was staged. Maybe the Falleen turning himself over was a Replica Droid, or a shapechanger, or a talented con artist. Maybe the Falleen was wearing armor and only meant to look dead, and when carted off to the morgue he stops playing dead and slips away unseen. Now, because the heroes think he is dead, the crime lord is free to act without their interference. The Falleen created a deception that he wanted to be seen, planting false information that is less likely to be scrutinized because the heroes saw it firsthand.

Clashing Factions

One final way to flesh out the events in your Intrigue Adventures is to understand the maxim that while manipulating individuals is good, manipulating factions is better. The entire concept of noble houses jockeying for position is based around this principle, and it is one that anyone with any skill in intrigue knows. It is for this reason that most politicians and powerful people tend to ignore the individual and instead try to maneuver large organizations into doing what they want. It's not just a matter of scale, but a matter of effectiveness; organizations are made up of individuals, and by convincing an organization to act in one way, it becomes easier to manipulate the individuals associated with the organization into acting along the same lines.

On a more practical level, this means that the enemies the heroes face aren't just going to be content with dealing with the heroes' small group, and instead will try to target any larger factions the heroes are a part of or are allied with. If the heroes are members of The Jedi Order, for example, their enemies will attempt to trick not just the heroes but the entire Order into taking action or into indecision. Although larger organizations are more difficult to manipulate, that won't stop the heroes' enemies from trying. If an enemy can pit one faction against another, that becomes the ultimate misdirection. To continue the example above, the villain might fabricate evidence that a crime syndicate is secretly being run by a resurgent Sith Order, pitting The Jedi Order against the crime syndicate while the villain continues to make his own plans, now free of the heroes' scrutiny while they are engaged in the faction conflict the villain manufactured.