GoD: FAE Star Wars

Sunday 2 August 2015: 10 am Games on Demand: Fate Accelerated Star Wars

GM: Morgan Ellis, "The" Morgan Ellis

I have no idea who the other players were, but they played:

• Gaan Pohar, Hidden Jedi
• Kayda Nice, Liaison (spy)
• Lady Tala Evonbar, Young Senatorial

I played Lord Candur Farlance, Arrogant Noble

Morgan asked us to describe our characters, something I'm not usually good at, but as this started on the other side of the table from me, I had an answer by the time it was my turn: Lord Candur Farlance was played by Cillian Murphy.

This was a two hour slot, I think, and my notes say "Jedi or Rebels?" If that was a question about what we wanted to play, we clearly answered "Rebels". My notes also say "Avatar, distant past". I'm not sure what that meant.

Morgan gave a quick rundown of the rules. Instead of Skills, Fate Accelerated has 6 Approaches: Careful (which tends to be the dump stat for a lot of people), Clever, Flashy, Forceful, Quick, and Sneaky. There are Stunts, which allow for a bonus in specific situations. And, there are Aspects. He explained that the Aspects chosen for one's character sheet are Always true, such as Mountain of a Man. He touched on Compels, Trouble, and other ways to complicate a character's life.

Morgan: Really -- making your lives complicated is fun! Trust me.

Player: In a game.

Well, yes. Morgan also introduced his House Rule. I don't recall whether he uses it for campaigns, or just for 2 or 4 hour one shots.

Rule: You cannot use Fate Points on Defense Rolls. If you take Stress, you take Stress.

I think I like this rule and would like to play with it more often to see if I'm right.

This game was a love letter to the original D6 Star Wars game. The pregenerated characters were the ones from the back of the book who never got played. These included Lan, the Loyal Retainer, who didn't get chosen as a PC, but was attached to Lord Candur. As he usually does, Morgan left one blank space for an Aspect for each character, saying that this was to be used to create a connection either with one of the other PCs or with someone to talk to at the party everyone would be attending.

Lady Tala: Kayda is my rebel contact. Gaan: Lord Candur is my informer. Kayda: I keep Jak Sa's secret. (Jak Sa is Gaan's real name.) Lord Candur: I have to look after Lady Tala. (She might have been his cousin.)

Everyone started with 3 Fate Points and 1 Force Point. A Force Point was like a Fate Point, but doubled. One could use it for:

• Getting +2 and another +2
• Getting a reroll and a +2
• Getting a reroll and another reroll

Jedi started with 2 Force Points.

Morgan: And more, if you want...

After all, the Dark Side of the Force is quick, easy, and seductive.

Morgan: In Jedi game, this makes a lot more sense, but they're here. (to player of the Hidden Jedi) Especially for you!

The game was set between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. (And, in real time, this was before The Force Awakens came out.) The Senate was debating on Corsucant, trying to check the power of the Emperor -- and of his servant, Darth Vader!

Kayda and Gaan arrived in a rickety freighter, much easier to hide.

GM: This is the Nightside of Corsucant -- and, therefore, of course, ABLAZE with light!

Gaan was human, played by Chris Pike. He wore workman's clothing, something close to the uniform for a UPS-style delivery person, brown, very simple. He had a vest cloak rather than a full cloak, almost like a rain slicker, which reached to about the center of the back of his knees. It was also useful when it came to hiding the blaster on the back of his trousers.

Kayda was a blue skinned humanoid in fairly elaborate clothing. The secret to Kayda's success was that the clothing was customizable, with the Star Wars universe's equivalent to velcro. This meant that Kayda could change very quickly.

Gaan's player: Gaan might need to change for party.

Kayda: I did say to bring a change of clothes.

Gaan: Yeah, well, we'll have to find something on the way.

I think the idea was for Gaan to dress up like The Help.

At this point, my notes say:

"You don't have to convince me" -- one of my pet peeves -- trying to explain <hacks?>

I am not sure, but I think that this may have been Morgan assuring us that we didn't need to convince him that our characters could do cool things that were in genre and served to move the plot along, and that trying to explain these or having to explain them was annoying.

Regardless, Kayda tried the Sneaky approach, one of the six Approaches / Skills of Fate Accelerated. Unfortunately, the player rolled -4 on the dice. However, Kayda's player paid a Fate point to invoke an Aspect. Because Kayda had Been All Over the Galaxy, the player got to reroll.

The total was 2. Kayda had just scored some Suitable Clothing, which meant that Suitable Clothing was now an Aspect with a checkbox for a single free Invoke.

There was now a WIPE leading to the next scene.

Scene: BIG PARTY at the top of a skyscraper

Scene Aspects:

• High Class Party
• Everyone Seems to Be Here
• Hotbed of Rebellion

Senator Amatar was the host of the party, which was at his home. If you suspect the good senator might have some sympathy with the rebels, why, you would be correct!

Lady Tala was there. She was human or close to it. I'm not sure if my notes are describing her as driven or if they're explaining that she had a driver, or if they're saying something else altogether. She had "blond crazy hair like senators always have", which I'm fairly sure was the player's description. Her hair was in braids, and there were odd cutouts in her dress.

GM: Is there anyone you want to talk to? Senator Amatar? Anyone else?

Lady Tala was keeping an eye out for her contact.

At this point, we learned that Kayda looked like a blue version of Original Star Trek's Orion slave girl. And, Lord Candur arrived, obviously played by Cillian Murphy.

GM: Who drove?

Lord Candur (who is actually an excellent driver -- I think I took a Stunt for that): Lan and I had a ... discussion. He most of the way, me the rest.

GM: Ah, that's what that screech was.

Lord Candur: I was trying to blend in with the music.

Someone, possibly the GM: Tell me he has a cape!

He didn't, but he did have elaborate robes over a silk white shirt and pants with only a _little_ embroidery. He also wore practical boots.

Senator Galen Amatar was being a good host, introducing people to each other. That is, he was pushing rebels together with his networking skills.

GM: He does know who everyone is -- and that _might_ be a problem.

Then again, it's not as if there were any hardliners at the party. Well, at least not until Eric Scarfall arrived. He was a captain on the rise in the Imperial Military. And I'm not so sure he had been invited.

Captain Scarfall: Do you have a hologram projector? The Emperor is about to give an announcement. I think you'll find this interesting, _Senator_ Amatar.

The senator had his hologram projector set up. The Emperor's announcement was that he had proof of the rebellion of the Senate. Therefore, he was Disbanding the Senate!

Lady Tala: Can he _do_ that?

Yes, he could! There was now a new Aspect: The Senate Disbanded!

And, of course, it had a checkbox for a single free Invoke.

Stormtroopers came marching in. Kayda congratulated Captain Scarfall on an amazing performance on Kandar 5.

Captain Scarfall: And who are you?

Kayda: Undersecretary Rice.

Kayda was trying to Create an Advantage, rolling with Clever against the captain's 4. After an initial failure, the player used a Fate point, I think invoking Tenacious. However, the rerolled total was merely a 3.

Lord Candur: Obviously, with the new order, you need this more than I.

He removed his elaborate robe and tossed it over Captain Scarfall's head.

At first, I got a 1 to the Captain's 3, but I Invoked one or more of Headstrong, Romantic, and Flamboyant -- I cannot tell from my notes at this late date if this was a single Aspect or three. I suspect it was a single Aspect, whatever it was actually called. In any case, I created an advantage with a single free Invoke.

Aspect: Robe Over Captain Scarfall's Face

Lady Tala jumped on a table and gave a Speech, a very Flashy one. The players got a 4, and only needed a 3, and she used the free tag on Hotbed of Rebellion for a total of 6 -- Success with Style! We now had the Aspect: Rebellious Crowd and it had 2 checkboxes, not just 1.

Gaan spilled a drink on the captain, and my notes say:

2 vs Quick Defense 2
-) Boost -- Flustered B

I'm not sure what "Flustered B" means, but I think you can picture the scene of mingled chaos and determination at Senator Amatar's interrupted party.

I think Gaan opened the servants' passage, and Lady Tala tried to get the guests to leave. This required an Overcome roll. The player used Clever, and got a +1 due to assistance of some kind from Kayda, resulting in a total of 4, which overcame the difficulty of 3 to sway the crowd into leaving.

Aspect: Pack of Senators

GM: What good Senator wouldn't have an escape shuttle?

And we were in combat at this point. As each person went, we turned our character's name tag to its side and chose who went next.

Lord Candur was firing his blaster Flashily at Captain Scarfall and his troops. I had a total of 5 vs 3, and Invoked his Noblesse Oblige to get a 7 and Success with Style.

Lady Tala: It looks like Lord Candur has this covered. I'm a little surprised.

GM: On the other hand, it _is_ a chance to shoot a blaster flashily. So maybe not that surprised?

Lady Tala: I look to Lord Candur. Are you --

Lord Candur: I got this. Get them out of here.

Gaan was taking Senator Amatar to the Onyx. I think that may have been the ship that Gaan and Kayda had used. My notes get a little confusing here, but Gaan got a success at a minor cost, and the question was whether to go to the Onyx or to the shuttle.

GM (I think) The Onyx is down below.

Gaan (I think): No way to get there unless we hijack a speeder.

I think Lord Candur volunteered Lan's services. I think Gaan, our Hidden Jedi, thought that the shuttle was a good plan, but had a Bad Feeling about going that way.

Gaan: Scatter the rest of the senators to the wind.

Lady Tala: We need to keep them safe!

The GM handed her a Fate Point to make this a Compel. Yes, it was Absolutely True! The _PCs_ must do this!

Kayda: Get Senator Amatar to the landing bay.

Kayda would help Lady Tala with the rest.

There was some question about Kayda hijacking a vehicle.

Lady Tala: Lan! Find us a bus!

Lan: Yes, m'lady!

Somewhere around here, someone jumped from some high towering point on Corsucant onto a car. At this point, the Stormtroopers and Captain Scarfall had an ally, Inquisitor Tremaine.

Gaan leapt off and hung out of the speeder. The player rolled +4, getting a success with style, which meant that Gaan had just made a move not seen since the Clone Wars.

Someone: What the hell's going on?

Someone Else: For the Rebellion?

Kayda moved to get in and cause distraction with the shuttle.

GM: I'm envisioning Lan as the Transporter Dude.

And my notes say something about Sensors and a Quick -2 roll, and inbound fighters. I'm not sure what any of that means.

Eventually, the captain rejoined the stormtroopers who were shooting it out with Lord Candur.

Lord Candur: What took you so long to catch up?

Captain Scarfall: It never struck me that you would bother to be a rebel.

The Stormtroopers got a -2.

GM: They roll like Stormtroopers.

However, the captain succeeded in Creating an Advantage and there was now an Aspect favorable to the Stormtroopers: Orders

Lady Tala sent a message to Lan to keep her updated.

Lan: Yes, m'am. I'll be there in a tick.

Lady Tala shot at the enemy using Quick, getting a 1 to their -1. The player spent a Fate Point to invoke the Aspect: Rebellious Fireband. Bringing her total to a 3 meant Lady Tala had a Success with Style.

Gaan swung around to pick up the senator in the speeder.

GM: And that's when that sense of foreboding clicks in as Inquisitor Tremaine appears.

The inquisitor had a red light saber and was holding it to Senator Amatar's neck.

Inquisitor Tremaine: Senators are like rats.

Gaan: Rats only leave a sinking ship -- that's what's happening to your empire.

Again, after all this time, my notes are confusing. I think Gaan got a +4 to distract with Quick. Lady Tala Quickly tried to avoid, by batting away laser blasts, but this was not quick enough to deflect them.

Someone got a Boost, which meant that Inquisitor Tremaine was off balance.

Someone got a 3 with a weapon that my notes describe as "full on Blaster".

Lord Candur caught his breath long enough to respond to Captain Scarfall's quip.

Lord Candur: Yes, terribly inconvenient! Let's end this!

At this point, my notes are full of numbers I don't quite follow, but I think Lord Candur managed to take out, but not kill, Captain Scarfall, and there's a reference to someone's cybernetic shoulder.

At this point, the Stormtroopers were unusually effective, getting a 5 vs Lord Candur's 2, and a free Invoke on the captain's Orders brought that to a 7, resulting in damage of 5.

And, of course, I couldn't spend Fate Points to reduce that. So, I checked off Lord Candur's third Stress box, reducing the damage to 2. As one can only check off one Stress box for an attack, I had him take a Mild Consequence to absorb the remaining two points.

Someone, possibly me: This just got serious!

I think I suggested calling the Consequence: Ouch! That Hurt! I don't recall whether Morgan agreed, but we definitely agreed that the end result was a leg wound. Lord Candur was annoyed.

Lord Candur: Those were my favorite trousers!

Kayda made a roll, I think against Inquisitor Tremaine, getting a +2 from Invoking the Aspect: Protect Jak Sa's secret, for a total, ultimately, of 6 against 2, I think. So, Kayda blew up the landing platform under Inquisitor Tremaine, who took a Major Consequence: Falling to His Doooom...

Kayda: Senator, get in _now_!

The senator was holding onto the edge of the platform, I think. Kayda played decoy for him and Gaan / Jak Sa, getting a total of 6 on Sneaky. The opposition was well and truly fooled!

Opposition (I think following whatever vehicle Kayda is in -- or possibly a vehicle Kayda is not in, but has made it appear that Senator Amatar is in): Don't let 'em escape!

Gaan / Jak Sa drove up and tried to haul the senator in Forcefully.

The GM Invoked or Compelled Hidden Jedi at this point. The senator started to fall, and Gaan / Jak Sa had no choice but to use Jedi Powers. The player still used the Forceful approach for that, because it just looks cooler, and got a 6.

Senator Amatar was successfully hauled into the vehicle.

But... Inquisitor Tremaine looked up while falling, with a gleam in his eye, no doubt sensing Gaan / Jak Sa's use of The Force!

GM: If we had four hours, this would be the set up.

Meanwhile, Stormtroopers shot at Lady Tala, getting a 4. She had to defend herself Quickly. Alas, she only had a total of 0, so she took 4 Stress. The player checked the number 3 Stress box and took the remaining point as the Mild Consequence: Winged.

Lan: I've got the bus.

Lady Tala: I'm shoving senators into the bus.

The GM asked something about blowing up the gas main "to really stop the senators" according to my notes, but I think that may have meant to stop pursuit of the senators. Clever with a result of 3 meant a Big Explosion and fire blocking the way.

Lan pulled up in the bus. Lord Candur swung aboard.

Lord Candur: I've always wanted one of these.

Lan: I don't think we'll be able to keep it long

Lord Candur: Then let's have some fun!

And I rolled +4 for a total of 7 for Flashily getting away.

GM: They were _not_ expecting a bus!

While we'd have loved to have had more time, this was a total blast!