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Development: Michael Stern Editing: Bill Slavicsek From a sto ry by: Michael Stern and
BillSlavicsek Graphics: Cathleen Hunter Cover Art: Ralph McQuarrie
Interior Art: Lucasfilm, Ltd. Playtesting: Scott Rogers and the Cincinnati Group
Publisher: Daniel Scott Palter Associate Publisher: Richard Hawran Assistant Publisher: Denise D.PaIter Editorial Director: Bill
Slavicsek Associate Editors: Greg Gorden, Douglas Kaufman, Paul Murphy Editors: Jonatha Ariadne Caspian, Michael Stem, C. J.
Tramontana Art Director: StephenCrane Graphic Artists: Rosaria J. Baldari, Bernadette G. Cahill, Jacqueline M. Evans, Cathleen
Hunter, Sharon Wyckoff Production Manager: Steve Porpora Sales Director: Martin Wixted Sales Manager: Fitzroy Bonterre Sales
Assistant: Tony DeCosmo, Maria Kammeier Special Projects Manager: Ronald Seiden Treasurer: Janet Riccio
ntroduction
The soft m urm uring of an im patient crowd dies Vreen stole the ExOne. Then, in an effort to put
down as the lights in the th eater dim. The curtain the Droids incredible abilities to work, he hooked
slowly rises even as the first images are pro the m achine into the citys Com puter Core and
jected over it, and a familiar studio logo gently program m ed it to convert the peaceful floating
fades into an even m ore familiar field of stars. m etropolis into a giant weapons platform.
Everything around you begins to disappear as But in its quest to carry out the programming as
you are wholly drawn into th e w ondrous experi efficiently as possible, Exo interpreted the com
ence th at is Star Wars. mand in its own hideous way. Now the twisted
This adventure provides you with everything m achine is taking com plete control of the city,
you need to be draw n into th at w ondrous experi while at the sam e time plotting to upgrade
ence once more. Crisis on Cloud City is an adven Cloud Citys hum an population into a society of
ture filled with m ysterious m urders and terrify Droids loyal only to itself.
ing technology. It is another episode in the con Can th e Rebels figure out the maniacal Droids
tinuing saga of Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game. plan, track it to its deadly lair, and prevent it from
If you want to be a player in the adventure, stop killing every living being on Cloud City? This is
reading now. This book contains information for th e challenge that m ust be faced in Crisis on Cloud
the gam em aster (GM) only. Players who read the City.
details contained within will ruin th e adventure
for them selves and their fellow players. Preparing to Play
Any players who dont have existing player
In This Adventure... characters (PCs) m ust spend a couple of minutes
...a Rebel escort team is sent to the floating selecting and customizing character tem plates
m etropolis of Cloud City to protect Dr. Issan Len, from the rulebook. Otherwise, feel free to use
th e creator of a rem arkable new Droid prototype characters from your ongoing campaign. You
called the Exo-ExOne (XO-XI). Exo, as the fan will find this adventure particularly satisfying if
tastic m echanical is known, could be a valuable your players use characters th at have experi
asset to the alliance, but a dangerous w eapon if enced th e published adventure Starfall, as cer
it falls into the wrong hands. tain familiar non-player characters from that
Upon their arrival on the city in the clouds, the adventure make a second appearance here. Cri
heroes discover th at som eone has killed the sis on Cloud City is an entirely separate adventure
scientist they seek and stolen his valuable crea however, and it is not necessary to play Starfall
tion. Framed for the m urder them selves, the first.
Rebels have no choice but to find the m urderer As gam em aster, you should read and become
and the prototype in order to clear their names familiar with Crisis on Cloud City before attem pt
and salvage w hat is left of their original mission. ing to run it. Players may choose to stray from the
Along the way, they becom e entangled in a pre-arranged plot outlined in the adventure, and
perplexing m ystery involving underground thugs, the only way to respond to such circum stances is
renegade Droids, and an Imperial agent. Travel to have read it thoroughly.
ing from elegant casinos to the seedy underside
of the floating city, the Rebels slowly piece to Adventure Materials
gether clues which paint a bizarre and compli In addition to this adventure book, Crisis on
cated story. They find that Dr. Vreen, the assis Cloud City includes:
tant of the scientist they were sent to find, took
the Droid prototype for his own selfish ends. The Pullout Section. This four page section in
In the hope of im pressing an Imperial agent cludes the adventure script, non-player charac
whom he invited to w itness a dem onstration, ter (NPC) tem plates, and handout props to be
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given to the players when the text indicates it. During the initial testing, Len visited Bioniip
Sabacc Card Game. An adaptation of the classic Laboratories, a biocom puter research and pro
card game of the Star Wars galaxy, this card deck duction facility based on Cloud City. While there
is for use with this adventure or as a game of its he met Dr. Vreen, a young expert in artificial
own. The sabacc card game includes a rules intelligence who had a great desire to work with
sheet and 84 cards. Len on his exciting new project. Vreen im pressed
Len with his enthusiasm , and the elder scientist
To play Crisis on Cloud City youll also need the hired the specialist away from Bioniip to assist
following items not included with this adventure: him in creating a working prototype of the Droid.
copies of Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game and The The prototype was named Exo.
Star Wars Rules Companion; paper, pencils, and Each man, however, had his own reason for
lots of six-sided dice. The Star Wars Sourcebook, wanting to build such a Droid.
The Star Wars Campaign Pack (which includes a For Len, a Droid capable of constantly re-de
gam em aster screen), Galaxy Guide 2: Yauin & signing and re-building starships and space sta
Bespin Planet Profiles and Star Wars Miniatures tions would be able to increase efficiency and be
Sets are all recom m ended but not necessary to adaptable to any situation. Why, the Droid could
play this adventure. not only rebuild a ship to deal with changing con
ditions in deep space, but it could also transform
Running a Mystery the ship into a settlem ent colony during explora
Each episode in Crisis on Cloud City contains tion. The possibilities w ere staggering.
certain clues that the Rebels m ust obtain to go But his m ost serious practical consideration for
from one section of the adventure to the next. As the ExOne was that it might help Lens friends in
GM, you should be familiar with what these clues the Rebel Alliance. His new Droid could take
are and how the story works as a whole. If the much of the painstaking work out of finding and
Rebels wander from the scenario as presented, preparing a suitable rem ote base, or even finding
you can either gently push them back onto the safe havens for those wishing to escape the
proper path or simply allow the necessary infor Empires brutality.
mation to be distributed by a different source Dr. Vreen, however, had far m ore personal am
than those detailed here. bitions for the ExOne than Dr. Len. He saw the
But whatever path your players choose, re Droid as a tool to gain the recognition he thought
mem ber that they m ust have certain information he deserved recognition he wanted from the
in order to solve the mystery, and it is your job to Empire. He knew the Droid was a perfect tool for
make sure they are able to gather this informa comm anding the Empires battle platform s and
tion. Try not to make things too easy for your Star Destroyers. In fact, he re-created the Battle
players, but also make sure that they are given of Yavin in com puter sim ulation and discovered
the clues they need. Ideally, you want the mys that if an ExOne Droid had been controlling the
tery to be perplexing and challenging, but solv Death Star, it would have discovered the Rebels
able. plan of attack and built the proper defenses
necessary to tem porarily seal the therm al ex
Adventure Background haust port, thus winning the day. In his view, an
ExOne Droid would be a m aster technician of
Several standard years ago, Dr. Issan Len, the
war, constantly refining weapon designs and using
most renowned Droid specialist in the galaxy,
instrum ents of destruction to their greatest po
arrived on Cloud City to set up a laboratory and
tential.
begin work on his new Droid series called the
And so, one evening Vreen attended a party at
ExOne. The primary design objective of the ExOne
Cloud Citys Holiday Towers. Here he met the
series was to make it capable of single-handedly
brilliant Imperial engineer Lira Wessex, daughter
controlling complex multi-faceted system s (such
of Walex Blissex and wife of regional governor
as those found on space stations and starships),
Denn Wessex. Vreen overheard Lira discuss her
a task far beyond the capability of previous Droid
desire to build a starship that could command
technology.
itself, and he quickly pulled her aside and ex
The initial tests of the new programming ex
plained his work to her. The ambitious engineer
ceeded Lens wildest dream s. The Droids brain
was very interested, and Vreen knew his moment
was so advanced that when hooked into a me
of glory was nearing ...
chanical construct, it would not only take con
trol, but begin to re-design, modify, and even re
build the construct to increase its overall effi
Vreens Plan
ciency. The prospects for such a Droid were far Vreen knew that the Empire was fond of im pres
beyond Lens original conception. sive displays of power, and that if he wanted its
attention he would have to come up with som e
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thing spectacular. After a bit of thought he real m ands. He also asked Blissex to arrange for the
ized th at the perfect display of Exos capabilities Rebel Alliance to protect the new Droid, for the
was right before him. He would install Exo-ExOne scientist knew th at if the m achine fell into the
in the citys Com puter Core and have the Droid wrong hands it could becom e a powerful tool for
re-construct the floating m etropolis into a giant evil.
w eapons platform. From the Com puter Core Exo At th e sam e time, Vreen secretly contacted Lira
could control the citys life support system s, W essex and invited her to come to Cloud City on
m achinery (such as turbolifts and locks), and behalf of the Empire.
virtually all Droids in the city (linked via restrain The night before Lira arrived Vreen stole Exo
ing bolt to the citys com puter networks). from the lab, worked his way through the mainte
With these elem ents under its control, Exo could nance corridors (using his forged card keys), and
have the city re- tooled in no time. If Lira saw that installed Exo in the Com puter Core. He activated
Exo could take over an entire city, she would the Droid, using programming that he designed,
certainly realize the Droid could handle a m ere and directed Exo to turn Cloud City into a giant
battleship! w eapons platform. The programming was de
Investigating the feasibility of the plan, Vreen signed so th at the Droid could sta rt analyzing the
discovered that the citys Com puter Core could situation as soon as it was activated, but could
only be reached by following a series of m ainte not begin any action until Vreen had returned to
nance corridors. But the path through the corri the Com puter Core with Lira.
dors was blocked by seven locked security doors, But Exos analysis of the situation and interpre
and the keys w ere under heavy guard at the tation of the new programming was slightly dif
A dm inistrators Palace. Rather than risk alerting ferent them w hat Vreen intended. Under the pre
the authorities on Cloud City with an attem pt to tenses of this programming, Exo reasoned that
steal the keys, Vreen decided to use the few the organic lifeforms on Cloud City would inter
m onths remaining before Exo would be com fere with the transform ation of the city into a
pleted to put a subtle plan into action. w eapons platform. In fact, Exo discovered that in
Vreen accessed the citys original construction their present organic state, the inhabitants of
files and got th e serial num bers of the seven Cloud City were wholly inefficient and would
security locks leading to the Core. He then hired therefore need to be rebuilt to serve its needs.
Helm Iskraker (a none-too-bright but fairly cheap Responding to its built-in directive to use every
thief) to travel to the Indellian system , w here the thing around it as efficiently as possible in order
security locks had been m anufactured by Secu- to accom plish a task, Exo overrode the safety
riCo. Sneaking into SecuriCo, Helm broke into the catch in Vreens new programming, and de
com panys data files and stole the card key plans cided th at it would put Vreens specific talents to
th at m atched Vreens serial num bers. Although work as well.
Helm was sloppy enough that the theft was dis With this in mind, Exo trapped the scientist in
covered, no one at SecuriCo was able to trace the the Core and req u ested information. The sur
stolen plans back to Cloud City. prised and terrified man at first refused to speak,
Once in hand, Vreen turned the plans over to but Exo used Droids now under its command to
Bellum, an electronic forger who works out of pull forth the information it desired. Eventually
Cloud Citys Port Town. Bellum spent a week the beaten scientist answ ered every question
constructing the keys. Although she had no idea Exo asked. The Droid learned of its own develop
w hat locks the keys opened, it was one of her ment, the world outside the Computer Core,
easiest jobs since she had the actual key plans to Vreens work at Bioniip, and m ost im portantly it
work from. All she had to do was rebuild the learned the names of everyone who knew of its
identical electrom agnetic maps as were imprinted existence.
on the original keys. Although the keys were It occurred to Exo that with a facility such as
given to Vreen, Bellum stored th e plans and Bioniip under its command, it would be able to
serial num bers in her data files in case Vreen design and build the m eans of upgrading the
w anted m ore copies made. hum an population of Cloud City. A m icroscopic
Droid, conceived and designed by Exos brilliant
Recent Events mind, th at was capable of manipulating m atter
As work on Exo neared completion, Len and on the atom ic level would serve Exos purpose.
Vreen each sent out an invitation for a dem on Such Droids would be able to transform living
stration of the prototype. tissue into inorganic material, and could thus
Len sent a holo m essage to his good friend modify an organic lifeform, making it, in effect,
Walex Blissex. Walex, Len knew, could design a a Droid. Since, in its own mind, this process
ship th at would be able to perform construction would make the lifeforms infinitely m ore effi
on itself in response to an ExOne Droids com cient, Exo called these knew Droids Evolution
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Droids, or (E-Droids, for short) for they would lira Wessex: After her defeat by Rebels on board
bring organic life along to th e next step of perfec th e Star D estroyer Subjugator, W essex has looked
tion. for a coup to raise her standing in the Empire
Exo forced Vreen to head a team of scientists at once again ... and she believes Vreens Droid
Bioniip who would build the microscopic E-Droids may be the key. Liras m ission is a private one, as
according to its design. The Droids would then she w ishes to personally present th e ExOne dis
be released through the citys air circulation covery to the Empire. If the Rebels are th e ones
system and, after being inhaled, transform the she m et on Subjugator (see th e Starfall adven
citys organic population into a society of Droids. ture), she will be especially ruthless.
Exo then turned its attention to th e oth er people
Vreen had m entioned. It decided th at anyone Exo-ExOne: Exo is a brilliant piece of technology.
who knew of its existence might interfere with its Its drive to im prove technology at any cost,
plan. With this in mind, Exo set out to eliminate how ever, does no t allow it to perceive the
anyone who Vreen had connected to th e ExOne lifeforms on Cloud City as anything but ineffi
project Dr. Len, Lira Wessex, Bellum, Helm, cient road blocks to its purpose. The Droid be
and, through a clue left by Dr. Len, the Rebels. lieves the transform ation of organic life into
m achinery is a positive step for everyone in
Adventure Synopsis volved. Its intentions are not evil it only wishes
The adventure begins with th e Rebels escorting to rebuild Cloud City as the m ost effective weap
Walex Blissex on his trip to Cloud City. Their ons platform possible, as it was program m ed to
prim ary responsibility is the safety of Blissex, do.
but they also have orders to protect Dr. Len and
his new Droid prototype. As they arrive, Exo Dr. Vreen: When the Rebels first encounter Dr.
sends several of its Droid servants to destroy Vreen, he is dying from a m echanical disease
them, and the Rebels m ust fight their way through a disease th at will kill him as a man, but rebuild
the dangerous m echanicals to get to Lens lab. him as Droid. H undreds of thousands of Evolu
Delayed by th e attacks, th e Rebels arrive too late. tion Droids are inside his body, busily transform
They find Len m urdered, the Exo-ExOne proto ing his flesh into metal. In the final stage of the
type stolen. But before the heroes have a chance illness, the Droids build internal restraining bolts
to do anything, Lando Calrissian show s up and into Vreen and he falls com pletely under Exos
orders them to find the k iller... or be arrested for power.
the m urder of Dr. Len!
Following a trail carefully plotted by Exo, the Lando Calrissian: Calrissian is Cloud Citys Baron
Rebels work against time, Lira Wessex, and a Adm inistrator. Although a scoundrel and rogue,
dangerous assortm ent of m echanicals in a har he is dedicated to Cloud City. Lando discovered
rowing quest to reach the Exo-ExOne prototype th at Vreen and Lira had been in touch, and be
before it takes total control of the city and its cause of this he is hesitant to enter into the
human populace. situation he doesnt w ant his city involved in
any Imperial entanglem ents. Instead, Lando
The Main NPCs decides to blackmail the Rebels into saving the
day. But, secretly, he gives the Rebels help along
See the various episodes, and the pullout sec
the way.
tion for m ore information.
Walex Blissex: Blissex is a respected m em ber of Lobot: Lobot is Cloud Citys com puter liaison
officer. By controlling Lobots cybernetic link to
the Alliance and has m any contacts within the
galaxys scientific community. Fearing th at the the Core, Exo effectively blinds Lobot to the
stolen ExOne Droid could be horribly abused by th reat coming from th e Core.
the Empire, he is m ore concerned with finding
the Droid prototype than the killer.
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pisode O ne
Arrival
Sum m ary Two red herrings, or false leads, are also put
The adventure begins with the Rebel heroes before the Rebels. One, th at Len was having dif
racing tow ard Cloud City to protect Dr. Issan Len ficulties with Vreen (he was, but the note the
and the Droid prototype he created. Delayed by Rebels find actually refers to Lens concern about
Droids Exo has ordered to kill them , the Rebels Exo, not Vreen); two, that the Exo-ExOne proto
arrive at Lens lab just in tim e to hear the scientist type was stolen (Vreen took th e Droid out of the
being m urdered behind the labs locked door. lab 12 hours earlier the Rebels wont learn this
After breaking into th e lab, they are confronted until episode three).
with two m ysteries: who is the m urderer and The second red herring is the m ore im portant
w here did he go? of the two. When Lando confronts the Rebels, he
The Rebels have a few m om ents to examine the makes it clear he believes that whoever mur
lab, but quickly find them selves surrounded by a dered Len has th e prototype, and so the Rebels
detachm ent of wing guards led by City Adminis will probably think this as well. Let them. They
trato r Lando Calrissian. Hanging the threat of might quickly assum e th at Vreen stole the Droid
arrest for the m urder of Dr. Len over their heads, and som ehow had Len killed, which is partly
Lando introduces the Rebels to a delicate game true. If they think this, have Lando agree that it is
of political intrigue involving the Empire. a possibility. Remember that part of the fun of a
m ystery is slowly crossing off one hypothesis
Back at the Computer Core ... after another until only the truth remains.
When the Rebels first arrive on Cloud City,
Exos pow er is limited to the Droids it has taken Start the Adventure
over at Bioniip Labs and a few com puter informa Hand out copies of the adventure script found
tion networks. in the pullout section and assign each player a
Some of its Droids, arm ed with blasters, are part. The parts are labelled 1st Rebel, 2nd
forcing Vreen and other scientists to build the Rebel, and so forth. If you have six players, each
Evolution Droids it has designed. The process of player reads one part. If you have fewer players,
building and testing this m icroscopic Droid virus assign additional parts as necessary. Begin with
continues into the beginning of episode three, the Read Aloud section, then pick up the action
but the Rebels dont know this. with the adventure script.
it is im portant to rem em ber th at since Exo has
no form of locom otion and no limbs, it is essen The W elcom ing Com m ittee
tially trapped in the Com puter Core. It can only As soon as the players finish the script, read the
learn of som ething if the information is available following passage out loud:
through the citys m achinery. This can mean
com puter netw orks or through the eyes and ears Four twin-pod cloud cars, arc toward your
of Droids it has taken over. But if the Rebels have ship and break off into attack formation. They
a conversation in a hall with no Droids around, swing toward you with uncanny precision, each
th ere is no way Exo can know of it. car keeping an equal distance from the others,
even as they turn. The lead car opens fire.
What The Rebels Learn
In this episode the Rebels discover that: 1) a The cloud cars begin at long range and close in
Droid killed Dr. Len; 2) the Droid is owned by on the Rebels ship unless the Rebel pilot maneu
Bioniip Labs; 3) th at som e so rt of bad program vers the ship to keep the vehicles at long or
ming got into the Droid; 4) Lando Calrissian is medium range. Each of the four cloud cars is
aware of the situation, but doesnt want to get piloted by a Bioniip Laboratories protocol Droid
involved; 5) the Empire is som ehow involved. controlled by Exo. Exo has re-program med the
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die. The Rebels may not w onder how the Droids If the Rebels fail to notice him, the Droid waits
in this episode knew to attack them , but if they do until the Rebels are 20 m eters across Walkway
get curious, a bit of thinking about the m essage A before firing. In this case Sixeftee surprises
screen should give th e answer. A M oderate Tech the Rebels, leaving the heroes w ithout cover.
nology roll alerts a Rebel to the fact th at because C haracters continuing tow ard the buildings
it had been sent som e tim e ago, the m essage may door discover it is locked (thanks to Exo). Two
have been traced. M oderate security rolls and a full minute of work
After reading the note, Blissex becom es quite is required to get the door open. During that time,
agitated. Read: while one Rebel works feverishly to open the
door, the group is com pletely exposed to the
My friends, it seems we may have arrived too security Droids fire.
late. Please. I know where the lab is, let us leave During th e battle, have the Rebels make Easy
for it at once. Perception rolls to spot the two ladders running
down either side of Landing Platform 643s tower.
Am bush The ladder leading to Platform 565 is fully ex
When the Rebels exit their ship, read: posed to the Droid. The ladder to Platform 566 is
blocked from th e Droids line of sight by Platform
A warm breeze washes over you as you walk 643s tower.
out onto the landing platform. Around you It should be clear to the Rebels th at if they climb
stand the spires and towers of Cloud City, now down the ladder leading to Platform 565, the
colored a deep red by the glorious Bespin Droid can continue firing at them , therefore, the
sunset. A walkway leads from the landing plat other ladder is the wiser choice.
form to a door set into the top of a large, round If the Rebels choose to descend the ladder lead
tower 40 meters away. ing to Platform 566, give them a minute or so of
peace, lulling them into a false sense of safety,
Ask th e Rebels for Difficult Perception rolls. until the last Rebel has stepped onto the rungs of
Anyone making the roll spots Sixeftee-Detoo (6FT- th e ladder. When this has happened, and the
D2), standing atop a building 100 m eters away, Rebels think they are out of danger, have Sixeftee
hoisting a blaster rifle to his shoulder. begin his second assault. The Droid uses a rocket
Sixeftee is a registered security Droid owned by pack to glide over to Platform 643 and continue
Bioniip Labs. Sixeftee and the Bioniip Droids his attack. Now he can fire straight down the
w ere the first to be taken over by Exo. If the ladder at the Rebels, but first he tosses a gre
Rebels sp o t him, Sixeftee opens fire immediately. nade over th e side to soften them up.
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actly w here their character is moving (it doesnt Droid programming roll is needed to succeed. If
m atter since the Droid m urderer has been deac the Rebels are w ithout Droid repair tools, they
tivated by Exo, but the Rebels dont know that). can find them in th e lab.
Looking in to the lab, the Rebels see it is well lit Once the characters have finished the program
and divided into two circular areas. At the center ming, F-3PO turns his head directly forward and
of th e larger area rests a short, wide, block of sta rts speaking as if in a trance. Read:
metal, used as an operating table for Droids.
Above the block is a circle of high intensity lights. Oh, says the Droid slowly. Yes, I can see
Against the wall are counters covered with preci something now, although it is very indistinct.
sion tools and small shelves with dozens of draw Black... tentacles of some kind, coming toward
ers. There are also several com puter term inals me. There are hundreds of them ... spreading
on the counters, plus one m ore term inal located out, growing in number... more and more. And
on a table near the door. Three closed doors now I see a body ... NO! It is too terrible ...
leading to closets are also visible from th e door Please stop it! Stop it! Turn me off! I can not bear
way. to ... The Droid suddenly shuts itself off.
At th e far end of the lab, in th e sm aller circle, are
larger tools used for Droid construction: arc- The re-programming allows the Droid to begin
w elders, tollo-w renches, m etal h y p ersh eers. calling up the dark m em ory of Exo entering his
There are also th ree piles of Droid parts about system . The Droid translates this into the image
two and a half m eters high. The center pile has he describes. The m em ory is so horrible, how
several parts scatteredaround it. ever, th at the Droid shuts himself off out of fear.
Let the scene play out until every hiding place in If th e Rebels activate the Droid again, he does
th e lab has been explored. Ideally theRebels will not recall his nightm arish m em ory or th at he just
becom e m ore and m ore agitated as they realize described it, and asks if the Rebels are having
th at the door they cam e in is the only way out of trouble with their Droid re-programming work. If
the lab, but the killer is now here to be found. the Rebels make another Droid programming roll,
If the Rebels search the pile of Droid parts, they F-3P0 goes into a trance once more, then shuts
find F-3PO, the only com plete Droid in the pile. A himself off again.
M oderate search roll is needed to find th e blaster The Rebels may choose to investigate the labs
he used to kill Dr. Len. com puter term inals. Rebels making Easy com
If the Rebels dont investigate the piles, ask for puter programming rolls are able to access the
Easy Perception rolls. Anyone who rolls success citys mainframe, indicating th at th e system s are
fully notices th at the Droid parts scattered at the still working. But Exo has already been inside the
base of the center pile probably m ade the noise labs com puter system to rem ove any traces of
they heard when they were working on the doors itself. The Rebels discover no files or docum ents
lock. This should lead them to F-3PO. pertaining to Vreen and Lens work. If the Rebels
The Rebels can quickly determ ine th at although do not com m ent on this fact, Blissex notes that it
the Droid has been deactivated, its system s are is odd th ere are no records of the scientists
still functional. On its chest is a restraining bolt work; som ething should be there, even if it had
m arked Property of Bioniip Labs. been coded or locked.
If the Rebels switch the Droid on, it flails about
as if startled and cries out: Blackmail
After the characters have had a chance to search
Oh, myl Well, Im glad thats ov er... Oh, dear! the lab and discover its clues, an unexpected
Where am I? Who are you people? What is this guest arrives. Read:
place?
Suddenly you hear the clatter of boots by the
If th e Rebels question him, Ef-Threepio explains labs door. A dozen blue-clad wing guards,
th at the last thing he rem em bers is working in the Cloud Citys security officers, rush into the
reception area of Bioniip Labs, though he cannot room with blaster pistols drawn. The men are
determ ine when th at event took place. He ex led by two figures you recognize from Alliance
plains th at he has th e strangest feeling th at there holo-records. The first, staring silently at you, is
are other things he should rem em ber, but cannot Lobot, the citys computer liaison officer. Be
access them . If th e Rebels do not suggest poking side him stands the City Administrator, Lando
about in his data banks to retrieve th e vague Calrissian. I hope youve got a very good expla
memory, the Droid suggests th e idea in an effort nation for this, he says grimly.
to be helpful.
The Rebels m ust spend several m inutes work After listening to the Rebels stam m er out a few
ing on the Droids m em ory system s. A M oderate w ords, Lando raises his hand for silence. He
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pisode Two
In the Cards
Sum mary episode is th at F-3PO was sold to Lira Wessex by
At the episodes opening, the Rebels visit Bi- Bioniip. Exo has the reception Droid at Bioniip
oniip Labs where, w ithout their realizing it, Exo say this so suspicion will shift from Bioniip to
secretly sends them out to find Lira Wessex at the Lira.
Royal Casino. At th e casino, they play an intrigu By the end of the episode, betw een Helm know
ing game of sabacc with several non-player char ing Vreen and the Bioniip Droids attack, the
acters who know Dr. Vreen. Credits and informa Rebels will m ost likely be convinced that Vreen is
tion are exchanged until Exo, who has carefully behind the death of Len. Let this belief continue
arranged for all of its top-priority targets to be in until the next episode.
the sam e place, launches a desperate assault to
kill them all. Cool Reception
After the Rebels announce that they are going to
Back at the Computer Core ... Bioniip Labs at the end of episode one, read:
Although F-3PO succeeded in killing Dr. Len for
Exo, the protocol Droid was discovered, suggest Cut to ... exterior, Bioniip Labs.
ing Bioniip w as som ehow involved in th e Before you are a pair of black metal doors with
scientists death. Since Exo needs the Bioniip the words Bioniip Laboratories written in sil
facilities to com plete the Evolution Droids, this ver letters. As you approach, the dobrs slide
could present a bit of a problem . But Exo is a open and reveal a spacious reception area. Sit
resourceful Droid, and in this episode it turns ting in the center of the room is a reception
this loss into an advantage. Droid. The Droid is humanoid in shape from the
Dr. Vreen m entioned under to rtu re th at he was waist up, but is actually built into the desk it
to m eet Lira W essex and Helm Iskraker at the works at.
Royal Casino. Unfortunately, Lira arrived on Cloud Greetings and welcome to Bioniip Labs,
City under an assum ed nam e so Exo cannot track says the Droid with practiced peppiness. If
her down through the citys com puters. there is any way I may assist you, please ask and
With this in mind, Exo plans to have the recep Ill do my utmost to help. Why hello Ef-Threepio!
tion Droid at Bioniip tell the Rebels th at Lira is at What are you doing back here?
the Royal sending th e Rebels out to find and
identify the Imperial for it. With F-3PO following Exo is speaking through the receptionist Droid
them , Exo will know when theyve found Lira. in an attem p t to m anipulate the Rebels. Ef-
When everyone it w ants dead has gathered at the Threepio, however, has been momentarily aban
casino, it will launch an assault against them, doned by Exo, and believes everything the recep
attem pting to slay them all in one fell swoop. tionist Droid says. During the scene he becomes
m ore and m ore anxious since he thinks he is
What the Rebels Learn failing his responsibilities to a m aster he cant
In this episode the Rebels learn: 1) Lira W essex even rem em ber. Read:
is on Cloud City; 2) Lira is on Cloud City to m eet
with Dr. Vreen; 3) Lira doesnt know w here Vreen I don't know, says the protocol Droid with
is; 4) several m onths ago, an alien named Helm great despair. I dont even know how I left!
Iskraker stole the plans for seven card keys from The reception Droid points its finger at the
a com pany called SecuriCo; 5) the stolen plans puzzled F-3PO.
w ere given to a forger so copies of the keys could Well, your new owner is frantic.
be made; 6) Helm knows Vreen; 7) Dr. Vreen is
currently at Bioniip Labs. If the Rebels ask about the new owner, the
The only red herring that Exo throw s out this reception Droid explains th at Ef-Threepio was
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recently sold by Bioniip, but is not at liberty to If the Rebels want to delay leaving until they get
say who. Exo has decided th at if the Rebels have into Bioniip, th e reception Droid makes it quite
to try to get the information, they will be m ore apt clear th at all the com panys exexs are booked for
to believe it. Therefore, make it seem th at the th e morning and th at the earliest appointm ents
Rebels have to work to get Liras nam e by making available are for later in the afternoon. If they
con rolls. Ignore the results of th e rolls, and have w ant an appointm ent, th e Droid makes one for
the Droid give them the name Lira W essex as the four hours later. If they attem pt to force their way
new owner of the troubled Droid after a few through th e blast doors, the Droid adds that
rounds of questioning. Bioniip has a registered security Droid with a
Upon hearing the name, Blissex heaves a heavy license to kill anyone breaking into the factory
sigh. If these particular Rebels have never en (one 6-FTP or a sim ilar model, to be exact).
countered Lira before, Blissex explains th at Lira
is his daughter. He tells them th a t she is a brilliant G am es of Skill
engineer in her own right, the designer of the When the Rebels enter th e Royal Casino, read:
Imperial-class Star Destroyer. She is also the wife
of Imperial Governor Denn Wessex. Walex is You stand on a broad landing of stairs leading
especially heart-broken to discover that she might down to the casinos first floor. Below, as far as
be involved in his friends death. you can see, gamblers are busy risking credits
Exo then takes control of Ef-Threepio again and in more ways than youve imagined. Sounds of
has the Droid say: excitement, suspense, triumph and anguish fill
the lavish halls. New arrivals rush past you, full
Why, yes. I remember now. My master was of expectation. Those who have suffered heavy
going to meet someone at the Royal Casino this losses walk slowly up the stairs and out the
afternoon. A Dr. Vreen, I believe. If we hurry we door, making sure to meet no ones gaze.
may find her.
While wandering around looking for Lira, the
Hearing this, Blissex insists th at if his daughter Rebels may decide to play a few games of skill or
is involved in the m atter they m ust travel to the chance, talking with their fellow players in an
Royal Casino and find her immediately. Since the attem pt to pick up som e information. If they do,
Rebels should not actually get into Bioniip until use the gambling rules on page 41 of Star Wars:
the next episode (everyone inside has been taken The Roleplaying Game. A few of their fellow play
hostage and Vreen is working on the Evolution ers vaguely rem em ber a woman m atching Liras
Droids), make Blissex very determ ined about description, and point the Rebels tow ard a sa-
going to the casino.
SHARON WYCKOFF
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While playing the sabacc game, the Rebels can At this point, even if he already denied it, Helm
ask Helm questions about the big score, and has to adm it he knows Vreen. (If the Rebels never
see if he knows anything about the Droid scien got around to asking, now they know). However,
tists. If the Rebels dont start, Lando begins prod he doesnt reveal th at the SecuriCo job was for
ding Helm to get the ball rolling. th e scientist.
If asked about the score, Helm explains (with
some bravado) th at he was hired a few m onths Mistress of Sabres
ago to travel to the Indellum system and steal the After Helm has revealed his information, Lira
plans to seven card keys from SecuriCo. He arrives. She sees her father (and any Rebels she
doesnt know w hat the keys w ere to, but it might recognize from previous encounters), but
sounded com plicated. All he was given was a list sits down to the game because she knows th at if
of serial num bers belonging to card keys. The job th ere are Rebels around she is safer in the crowds
was to steal the plans for the keys with the of the casino than she would be if she ran off
matching serial num bers. His guess is th at the alone into the streets. She also wants to know if
plans would be used to make copies of th e keys. the Rebels have anything to do with Vreen being
In turn, the keys would be used to open a series 40 minutes late for his m eeting with her. She just
of lock boxes leading to som ething his client checked her hotel desk for a m essage from Vreen,
wanted. and th ere was nothing there.
If the Rebels ask Helm about Vreen, have them In an attem pt to determ ine if her father knows
make M oderate Perception rolls. O bservant Reb anything about the ExOne prototype, she greets
els notice the alien shift his eyes a bit as he him as she approaches the table:
replies that hes never heard of the man. If asked
about Lira, Helm replies (honestly) th at h e s Father, what a pleasant surprise, Lira says
never heard of her. with a terse smile. I thought that you no longer
After the characters have played a couple of had an interest in building battle platforms.
hands, a one-m eter high ball of fuzz waddles up Dr. Blissex seem s a bit puzzled by his
to Helm and addresses him with a lisp and a daughters remark, but he nonetheless replies,
stutter: I didnt know you had an interest in killing
innocent scientists.
D ...d ... did Doctow Vween show up yet,
Hewm? Lira phrases her statem ent the way she does
Whirling around, Helm stares down at the because she thinks of the ExOne Droid as having
little alien and not-so-quietly whispers, What a single purpose comm anding battle plat
are you doing here? I told you we werent forms. Since this is the first tim e battle platform s
working together anymore! are m entioned to the Rebels, theyll probably
Why aw you yewwing at me? the fuzzball have no idea w hat sh es referring to. She cer
asks pathetically. I just wanted to know if you tainly w ont explain, and its simply another
we we aw wight. With that, the frightened alien m ystery for the Rebels to ponder for a few epi
wanders off into the crowd. sodes until explained.
A former associate, says Helm apologeti In return, Walex is trying to shock his daughter
cally. into revealing something. When Lira hears th at a
scientist has been killed, she is taken aback and
Walex is convinced she is involved.
ard Keys and Lock Boxes As the sabacc game continues, have Lira calmly
ask the other players if theyve seen Dr. Vreen.
____ The card keys used for Cloud Citys main Also, she asks why they are on Cloud City, and do
tenance corridors are m ade of synthplate. To they know what awaits them if she turns them in
keep track of the keys, each card has a serial to the authorities?
num ber printed on it which m atches the serial Remember th at nobody knows who the old man
num ber printed on the lock box it opens. is, so all com m ents are m ade cryptically in an
Within the plastic housing of a card key is a attem pt to keep the information in th e family.
m ap of electrom agnetic circuitry. The map This m eans th at the Rebels need to dig deeper to
exactly m atches another such map contained find out w hats going on.
within its lock box. When the key is slid into During the game, keep Helm involved in the
the lock boxs slot, the two m aps check to see conversation by having him pop in with ques
if their electrom agnetic patterns m atch. If they tions. Hes bright enough to realize som ething
do, the door unlocks. big is going down, but has no idea of what it might
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be. You can use him to bring up subjects the their wake comes a massive heavy labor Droid,
Rebels havent asked about yet. For example, sweeping its powerful mandibles from side to
Helm asks Lira if she knows Vreen, and she tells side, clearing everything from its path like so
him to mind his own business. This might prom pt much plasti-foil. Several impromptu attachments
th e Rebels to press her on th e m atter. have been spot welded to the Droids weath
Asking if F-3P0 belongs to Lira receives a look ered surface, the most intimidating of which is
of confusion. Lira states sh e s never owned a a focused beam cutter, which it levels menac
protocol Droid. For his part, F-3P0 keeps insist ingly at you as it advances.
ing th at he is Liras Droid, and becom es m ore and
m ore despondent the m ore she denies it. It probably w ont take very long for the Rebels
to discover th at their weapons dont work. They
Sudden Demise will have to think fast. The heavy labor Droid
After playing a round or two with Lira, ask the (under Exos control, of course) begins firing
Rebels for Easy Perception rolls. Rebels making away with his beam cutter, but it still tries to get
the roll notice th a t the speed with which the close to the Rebels so that it might be able to use
cards are changing their value is slowing down. its deadly m andibles to rend its targets limb from
Suddenly all the cards in all the hands change limb.
into the sinister image of a dark, flat hemi-spheri- Describe the scene as one of com plete pande
cal shape with tentacles coming out of it. As this monium and carnage people rushing for cover
occurs, tell th e players th at they feel a sudden in wild confusion, innocent bystanders scream
tingling sensation which sta rts at w hatever part ing in terror, stray beam cutter shots scorching
of their bodies are touching or are closest to the slot m achines and chandeliers, which in turn
table and w ashes over them . show er sparks and loose credits over the battle
This is caused by Exo entering the sabacc tables ground. During the fight, Lira and Helm maneu
com puter. The table com puter responded to ver around to different defensive positions, even
Exos presence, translating its probing into the tually leaving the Rebels line of sight.
sam e nightm arish image of Exo-ExOne th at F-3PO
had recalled in episode one. H4-5D Heavy Labor Droid (modified by Exo):
Once in control, Exo sends a powerful surge of DEX 3D; STR 8D; beam cutter 4D (damage 5D),
energy through th e table, causing the interfer m andibles 6D (damage 7D), all-terrain treads 3D
ence field in th e center of the playing surface (damage 8D).
(which is used during the game to stop the cards
from shifting) to intensify and spread outward A Quick Solution
from its central field. This field has tem porarily The berserk Droid is obviously a tough test for
neutralized all energized equipm ent carried by the Rebels w ithout their weapons. There is a way
everyone at the table (although they may not of re-activating their equipm ent, however. If the
realize it at first). Rebels who make Easy Percep Rebels are clever enough to figure out that it is
tion rolls at this tim e also notice F-3P0s glowing
eye sockets wink out as he is deactivated by the
effect.
Note: If you are running this scene using the
sabacc card deck, now is the tim e to make use of
the six special Exo symbol cards. Shuffle the
cards out of sight of the players. Place the six
special cards on top of the deck just before you
deal out the cards, making sure th at each player
gets at least one of them . Now you can sit back
and w atch their reaction to this oddity, but
rem em ber to describe the tingling sensation that
follows (as detailed above).
Master of Staves
As the Rebels ponder the significance of these
bizarre events, read:
pisode Three
Return To Bioniip
Sum m ary As the Rebels approach the doors this time,
however, they rem ain shut, immediately indicat
In this episode th e Rebels return to Bioniip
ing som ething odd is going on. In fact, Exo has
Laboratories only to discover th at Droids have
sho rted th e doors electrical system . Since the
sealed the entrances into the complex. After
controls are located on the o th er side of the door,
fighting their way past the Droid guards, they
th e Rebels m ust use brute force to enter the
find Dr. Vreen, now part m an and part m etal a
facility. A Difficult Strength roll lets the heroes pry
victim of Exos Evolution Droids. Although the
th e doors apart. Three characters can combine
Rebels receive a great deal of information from
actions on th e effort.
Vreen (including a m eans of destroying Exo),
Exo has arm ed th e reception Droid behind the
things quickly get w orse as Exo takes control of
door with a tri-m ounted blaster cannon. When
the citys life sup p o rt system s and plunges the
th e doors cure parted the Droid opens fire. If the
m etropolis into darkness.
Rebels actively try to guard against am bushes
from behind th e door, have them make M oderate
Back at the Computer C o re ... Perception rolls. Those th at fail cannot dodge the
As th e Rebels rush tow ard Bioniip, Vreen (un first round of shots.
der the watchful eye of Exos Droid servants)
finishes building the Evolution Droids. After test Reception Droid (re-programmed): DEX 3D, blas
ing th e process on Vreen, Exo sets Bioniip Droids ter cannon 4D (dam age 6D); STR2D+2 (due to the
to guard th e facility and distract the Rebels. desk). The Droid is attached to the desk and
While the Rebels fight th e Droid guards, Exo has cannot move.
th e Evolution Droids m oved out of the facility
through m aintenance shafts. Infiltration
With th e Droid virus com pleted and safely hid
Once the Rebels have dispatched the reception
den, Exo is finally free to exert its pow er through
Droid they m ust get through the blast doors at
out th e m etropolis. While the Rebels question
the other end of the room. Exo has locked the
Vreen and search th e lab for clues, Exo taps into
doors, and the Rebels need a M oderate security
the citys pow er and life sup p o rt netw orks, be
roll to successfully unlock the doors. As soon as
coming the m aster of Cloud City.
they succeed, however, the lock immediately re
locks itself. Exo is carefully m onitoring the door,
What the Rebels Learn and re-locking it as soon as th e Rebels have
In this episode th e Rebels learn that: 1) Vreen finished working on it.
was som ehow responsible for the crisis, but is no To w rest th e controls from Exo, the Rebels need
longer in charge of th e situation; 2) Exo is now an M oderate Technical roll to bypass Exos con
calling the shots all by itself; 3) Exo had Vreen trol of the lock unit, then a M oderate security roll
build a m icroscopic Droid virus called Evolu to re-program the controls.
tion Droids th at transform flesh into metal; 4) Once the door is opened, read:
Exo is in control of the citys life sup p o rt system s;
5) th e Rebels have a m eans of destroying Exo if A long, white corridor stretches before you,
they can find it; 6) finding Exo depends on getting lined with offices and conference rooms on ei
to a forger called Bellum, who owns a shop in Port ther side. Forty meters away the hall branches
Town. off in two directions. Signs on the wall indicate
that there are more offices down the right corri
Assault on Bioniip dor and lab stations down the left. The facility
When the Rebels last visited Bioniip Labs, the seems completely deserted.
com panys double doors opened automatically.
18
BMamHWIlWWilHBliHIl III IIII^HMlimiUMW " 7 7 '
liT A R . PULLOUT SECTION
.
UTART
GM (as Walex Blissex): Remarkable piece of 1st Rebel: Yeah, think w hat might have hap
engineering, dont you think? pened if one of th ese Droids had been com m and
ing the Death Star when our guys attacked it.
GM: Walex gestures out the viewport o f your ship,
indicating the majestic and breathtaking Cloud City 4th Rebel: It probably would have seen right
floating before you. through our plan and found a way to stop us.
1st Rebel: Its nothing com pared to w hat that 5th Rebel: You dont know th at for sure. Its just
ExOne Droid prototype is supposed to be ca a bunch of theories and speculations.
pable of. 1st Rebel: So was the Death Star at one time.
2nd Rebel: Controlling an entire capital ship or 3rd Rebel: Hey, if th e Empire gets its hands on
space station? Ill believe it when I see it. this m achine th ere s no telling w hat they might
3rd Rebel: Hey, Ive heard it can do m ore than do with it.
that. Something about being able to actually re 6th Rebel: T hats right. So keep in mind were
design and rebuild the ship its piloting. also supposed to look out for this Vreen charac
GM (as Blissex): In theory, th a ts w hat Dr. Len te r Dr. Lens assistant.
believes it can do, and th a ts why w ere going to 2nd Rebel: Does he have Imperial connections?
m eet him. Hed like me to design a ship to specifi GM (as Blissex): If he does, we have no record of
cally house ExOne Droids. But I need only design it. All th at Dr. Len told m e was th at he was acting
th e basic elem ents th e ExOne should take it suspiciously. But we cant afford to take any
from there, modifying the ship to m eet its own chances.
specifications.
6th Rebel: Speaking of taking chances, I think
4th Rebel: So a ship with one of th ese Droids w eve got som e company.
plugged into it might learn from its experiences
3rd Rebel: They look like Cloud Car escorts. Why
and actually re-construct the ship to adjust to a
havent they hailed us?
new environm ent?
5th Rebel: I have a bad feeling about this.
GM (as Blissex): Precisely. Since crew s would be
minimal, th ere should be extra room for recon 4th Rebel: If theyre onto us, they m ust be after
struction m achinery and m aterials. It should Dr. Len, too.
work out quite nicely. 2nd Rebel: Great. A nice relaxing visit on Cloud
5th Rebel: Why did Dr. Len ask for protection? C ity...
6th Rebel: Its a very powerful m achine. If it
should fall into the wrong hands ...
PULLOUT SECTION W AV
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/ V
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ring to Helm, who stole the plans for the locks, Vreen looks at the data pad, his metallic face
and Bellum th e forger, who m ade the card keys contorting with anger. Why do I need this?
from the stolen plans.) Soon my own brain will be able to process and
Exo tortu red him and forced him to make a new store more data than this pathetic machine!
type of Droid called an Evolution Droid. These What have I done! And with that scream,
m icroscopic Droids create a virus which turns Vreen pulls back his arm to throw the data pad
flesh into metal. The dead scientists in the lab at the wall.
were experim ented on to test it. Vreen was forced
to test the last batch on himself. If th e Rebels stop him, Vreen reluctantly hands
Some Droids took a canister of th e Evolution over the data pad. It is his personal one, where he
Droids out of the lab, but Vreen doesnt know has stored appointm ents and minor notes. If a
w here they went. Rebel makes a M oderate computer programming
Exo is controlling the Droids, but Vreen cant roll he or she can get into the appointm ent files
rem em ber how. and find Bellums com pnet ad. The com puter ad
gives the nam e and address of Bellum the Forger.
Clues Give the players Vreens Data Pad from the
Vreen is desperate to rem em ber what happened, pullout section. Since Vreen said that finding the
and helps the Rebels during th e questioning. Let woman is the only way he knows to track Exo
the players prom pt the above information with down, the ad is the prim ary clue which kicks-off
questions. If they get stuck, have Vreen rem em the next episode.
ber th e details listed above and begin rattling If the Rebels search the lab, read:
them off, begging th e Rebels to rem em ber what
he says because he knows he w ont be able to for You notice that the three computer terminals
long. He is aw are that the Evolution Droids are in the lab have all been smashed. Two of the
still rebuilding him. computer monitors are blank and non-func
If the Rebels press him on the woman with the tional, but the third is covered with a jumble of
black hair he states th at if she could be found, letters and numbers, which you recognize as a
they would be able to find the path to Exo. While computer code. If the machine is repaired, you
Vreen is trying to rem em ber the wom ans name, might be able to read what was on the screen
he reaches into his lab coat and pulls out a small when the terminal was damaged.
data storage pad. Read:
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pisode Four
A Night In Port Town
Summary shelter and waiting for the crisis to pass. You
While traveling to Bellums shop, the Rebels are now in Port Town, close to Bellums shop.
come across som e Droids who help clarify Exos The walls of the district are lined with blaster
plan. Then, at Bellums, they discover som eone scorches and the floors are covered with scrap
is one step ahead of them and th at som eone metal and assorted garbage.
turns out be Lira Wessex! Assassin Droids and
m eres stand in the way of the Rebels as they While walking through an intersection, have the
attem pt to find the clues th at can lead them to Rebels make Easy Perception rolls. Anyone mak
Exos base. ing it spots two silver worker Droids 15 m eters
down a side corridor. The Droids are placing
Back At The Computer Core ... som ething in an air vent. The Rebels also spot
During this episode, Exo is coordinating the th ree one-meter-high canisters resting on a re-
efforts of hundreds of Droids who are busy making pulsorlift handcart.
more and m ore canisters of Evolution Droids. These are Exos servants, placing canisters filled
Since Exo has cut all city-wide com m unication with Evolution Droids into an air circulation shaft.
and lighting system s, m ost people are seeking Although the worker Droids are not arm ed, they
shelter within their own living areas. This plays are escorted by two defense Droids.
directly into Exos plan. Within hours it will re Defense Droids are approxim ately one m eter
lease the Evolution Droids through the citys air high and have two fixed-forward blasters mounted
circulation shafts. Exo will be able to deal with on either side. Although the blasters can only
the citys population while they hide behind fire forward, the Droids can pivot in an instant.
locked doors.
Defense Droids: DEX 3D, blaster 5D, dodge 4D;
What The Rebels Learn STR 3D. Two forward-mounted blasters (damage
5D).
In this episode, the Rebels learn that: 1) Exo
is m anufacturing Evolution Droids and placing
them in canisters located throughout the citys Taking Them Out
air circulation system; 2) the way to find Exo is Remember th at the Rebels only have spotted
by following the serial num bers of the keys that the worker Droids and aren t initially aware of
Bellum m ade copies of; 3) Lira possesses the the defense Droids. The Rebels can sneak up on
serial num bers and dem ands the Rebels coop the w orker Droids with M oderate sneak rolls.
eration if they want them. The defense Droids are m ore observant, how
ever, and require a Difficult sneak roll on the part
of th e Rebels if they are to be surprised.
A Hint of Things to C o m e To sim ulate this, ask the Rebels for M oderate
The Rebels, after climbing service shaft ladders sneak rolls, but make a m ental note if they hap
and making their way through th e u tter darkness pen to make Difficult rolls. If they do, they spot
of Cloud City, have arrived in Port Town, and are the defense Droids before the Droids spot them .
now making their way toward Bellums. Read: If any Rebel fails th e Difficult portion of the
sneak roll, the defense Droids rush out from near
An hour has passed since you left the lab. You the handcart and begin firing. As soon as com bat
have worked your way through the cave-like begins, th e w orker Droids rush off in th e oppo
darkness of the city, climbing access shaft lad site direction with the handcart, while the de
ders, forcing open doors that would normally fense Droids continue fighting the Rebels.
have opened at your approach. Youve passed To keep up with th e worker Droids and their
many inhabitants of Cloud City, most seeking cart full of deadly virus canisters, the Rebels
27
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m ust begin pursuing them within th ree rounds of If the restraining bolts are rem oved, the Droids
their departure. But even if they lose the fleeing can speak freely, but only rem em ber that som e
workers, th e Rebels will be able to examine the thing dark took them over and told them to put
canister which was left in the air shaft. the canisters in the air shafts.
Below is the description of the canister and the After the encounter, the Rebels continue on to
description of the encounter with the worker Bellums shop.
Droids (if they are caught). The tim ers on the
canister are synchronized. The first canister the The Forger
Rebels examine should read 112 m inutes. Thus, A sign on the door reads Open. The door
if they examine th e second canister th ree min slides wide when approached. Read:
utes later, it should read 109 minutes.
Before you is a small shop. Four glow rods are
The Canister propped up in each corner providing makeshift
Inside the air shaft the Rebels find a larger illumination. The shop is in a shambles. Tools
version of th e canister they w ere locked in th e lab and parts are scattered about the floor, drawers
station with. The tim er on th e canister reads 112 and cabinets are hanging wide open.
m inutes (see above) and is counting down. Be
cause they saw several other canisters on the After the attack at The Royal, Lira had a talk with
repulsorlift handcart, they should be able to Helm. She hired him to track down the forger
surm ise th at th ese canisters are being distrib Vreen gave the plans to and told him to get the list
uted throughout the city. of serial num bers, if not the keys them selves. He
If the Rebels catch up with the worker Droids, couldnt find any copies of the keys, but he did
the fleeing mechanicals suddenly shut them selves manage to steal the data box th at holds the serial
off and fall to th e ground. The Rebels have two num bers. When the Rebels enter the shop or call
m ethods for interrogating a captured Droid. They into it, read:
can make a M oderate Droid programming roll to
reactivate it and program it to reveal its m ost A tall, thin woman with short, black hair looks
recent m em ories. Or the Rebels can rem ove the up at you from behind a table in the rooms
Cloud City ordinance restraining bolt (thus, cut center. Hope you dont mind the mess, she
ting-off Exos control). Either way, th e Droids are says while picking up some computer disks.
able to reveal w hat their last instructions were Had a visitor while I was out, and I havent
(although with the first m ethod th e Droids are finished cleaning up yet.
unable to do anything else).
If re-program med, the Droids repeat th e mem Bellum is quite friendly, seeing th e Rebels as
ory of their last conversation. Read: potential custom ers. When she sees Vreen (whom
she does not fully recognize in his current state)
The Droids eyes flicker on and it says, Oh, she becom es slightly unsettled, but attem pts to
yes, master. It should be no problem at all. Put keep up a professional dem eanor. Read:
the canisters in the air shafts and return for
m ore... Suddenly the Droids body is covered Vreen, whom you have noticed is losing more
with ion bolts, a cloud of smoke billows out of and more of his former features as the micro
its neck joint, and it falls silent. scopic Droids continue re-building him, steps
toward Bellum. Do 1 know you? he asks her
with his haunting, semi-electronic voice. Ithink
I know you!
I dont think so, Bellum replies. She turns to
the rest of you. Is this Droid all right?
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doors the other six keys opened. tween the flakes and Helm, Bellum does after the
Although she doesnt have spare keys, she did flakes are pointed out. Read:
keep the plans and the serial num bers in a cold
box. Unfortunately, the box was stolen from her Helm Iskraker! Bellum shouts. Why that
shop by w hoever trashed the place (Helm, but swindling, lazy, useless idiot. Come on! You
she doesnt know it). All her records w ere lost. help me get my cold box back and Ill give you
those serial numbers for free. I know where his
ship is docked ... Her tirade is cut short as a
old Boxes blaster bolt slams into her back, killing her in
In order to protect com puter data from stantly.
com puter slicers (experts who can enter a
com puter from an outside source such as a in Sixeftee (or a similar Droid) stands in the sh o p s
formation network), m any people use w hat is doorway. The Droid tracked down Bellum and
known as a cold box. A cold box is a high- killed her for Exo. Since several other m em bers
density com puter data storage unit th at is of Exos hit list (the Rebels) are in the shop, the
connected only to a com puter terminal. This Droid begins firing away. Sixeftee continues fight
means the data cannot be stolen from outside ing until he takes a solid hit from the Rebels (any
sources. The disadvantages of a cold box is hit causing a wound). He then beats a hasty re
that the box m ust be physically present to treat down the darkened corridors of Port Town.
access any information from it. The Rebels can attem pt to pursue, but the Droids
sophisticated sensor array gives him a trem en
dous advantage over the Rebels in the citys
darkness, and he is quickly out of sight.
A Clumsy Clue Now th e Rebels know th at Helm has the data
As always, if the Rebels dont think to ask her box with the serial num bers, but have no way of
questions, have the ever curious Blissex sta rt the finding him.
ball rolling. When Vreen hears the above infor
mation, his m em ory is jarred. Read:
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Let the Rebels hunt down the intruder. The the ram p and takes off.
chattering of his teeth gives him away before If the Rebels had to Widget to get him to lead
long. If they question the alien about the location them to Helm, Widget now begins throw ing
of Helms ship, the fuzzball stam m ers out: himself against the Rebels out of anger. The alien
does no damage, but any character having the
W ... w ... what would you have me do? alien bouncing against him loses one die on all
Betway my onwy fwend? Do you hike me fow action rolls. This is only a comic bit, and should
some sowt of w...w...w...wuffian? be used briefly. If Widget openly betrayed Helm,
the fuzzball takes off.
Although Helm was not at all polite to Widget in Between the Rebels and Lira are five meres.
the casino, the gold-skinned alien is the only Two are arm ed with blaster rifles and three with
being th at Widget truly considers a friend. If the blaster carbines. They know theyve hired their
Rebels want the fuzzball to lead them to Helm, services out to the wife of an Imperial governor.
theyll have to work at it. They fight to the death in the hope of getting
An Easy con roll, com bined with a contrived future work and with the knowledge that if they
sto ry about helping Helm out in som e way, has fail theyll be subject to Imperial justice.
the best chance of working with Widget. The The hangar bay is an open area with no cover.
alien is willing to do alm ost anything to gain The m eres hold their position until the Rebels
Helms good graces. close 50 m eters, then drop back another 50 meters
A M oderate command roll can also be used. The to the hangar bay m outh. From there they keep
roll is M oderate not because Widget is strong moving back along the ledge (which Lira is cur
willed, but because once the Rebels have or rently escaping on) as long possible, keeping
dered him to do som ething, Widget becom es them selves betw een the Rebels and Lira.
nervous and can barely speak. A successful roll
m eans th at the Rebels have kicked him out of his Mercs: DEX 2D+2, blaster 3D+2, dodge 3D+2; KNO
nervous stu p o r and hes willing to lead them to 1D+2; MEC 1D+2; PER 1D+1; STR 2D+2, brawling
the ship. 3D+2; TEC 2D. Blaster damage 5D.
Finally, the Rebels can bribe Widget with a
Difficult bargaining roll. Widgets betrayal has a The Scenic Route
base price of 500 credits. After the Rebels have gotten past the Mercs, or
After the Rebels have convinced Widget to lead at least across the hangar bay, they reach a m eter
them to Helm, he leads them to the hangar bay and a half wide ledge running from the hangar
w here the Erratic Orbit is docked. bay door along the circum ference of Cloud City.
Read:
Gunfight at the Erratic Orbit
Eventually Widget leads the group to a pair of Before you, extending as far as the eye can see,
blast doors labeled hangar bay 487B. If the group is a dizzying view of Bespins giant clouds.
opens the doors, read the following out loud: Warm winds rush against your face. You know
that a false move on the ledge means an endless
As the doors whoosh open you are momentar fall and certain death. Further along the ledge
ily blinded by the rose-colored light of Bespins you see Lira. She has stopped momentarily, and
blazing sunrise, pouring through the large has attached a wire from the box to the base of
hangar bay door. As your eyes re-adjust, you her skull.
see Lira Wessex, Helm Iskraker, and a group of
rough looking characters turn and stare at you. Lira has recently had sim ple borg implants
The group is standing next to an old light installed in her skull. Although similar in nature
freighter about 100 meters away. You see Lira to Lobots implants (in that they let the biocom
whisper something, and the criminals immedi puter hardw are interact with her brain), they are
ately drop prone and begin firing at you. m uch less powerful. When Lira is worldng on an
engineering project, she enters data into the
In these first few m om ents of battle, the Rebels implants to hasten calculations. Now she is scan
see Helm give a small box to Lira, and then ning the data box for the serial num bers to Vreens
immediately run to the entry ram p of his ship. keys in order to track down Exo. Read:
Meanwhile, after receiving the box, Lira begins
racing for the hangar m outh at the far end of the Lira looks up from what she is doing and sees
cham ber. Both characters are at full dodge. The you. She flashes you a confident smile and
Rebels may bring Helm down, but you should quickly rushes off along the perilous ledge.
fudge shots m ade against Lira to make sure she
escapes. If Helm makes it to his ship, he closes Try to leave at least one or two m eres alive to
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make the ledge chase m ore tense: Lira running journey through the m aintenance corridors to
away from the Rebels; the m eres backing along the Core, her outlaws will be following.
the edge, firing at the Rebels; the Rebels working When th e Rebels re-enter the corridors of the
their way along the ledge, having to run to keep city, they are once again plunged into a darkness
up with Liras dangerous pace. broken only by the occasional view port and the
The chase should be filled with close calls and light of their glow-rods. Lira attem pts to gain
panic as the Rebels nearly fall from the dizzying information from th e Rebels to help her under
height. Try to use a good am ount of description stand w hat is going on. Although she tries to get
here, to heighten the mood. Have perilously close m ore information than she gives, if the Rebels
blaster shots threaten to dislodge th e desperate press her, she reveals th at she was invited by
Rebels, as the howling winds whip at their faces. Vreen to see a dem onstration of a new Droid th at
Anyone on th e ledge needs to make an Easy could re-program itself and comm and starships
Dexterity roll to keep their footing. Any character and battle stations. For the dem onstration, Vreen
missing the roll m ust make an M oderate Dexterity was going to have the Droid take over the city.
roll to grab on to one of the various antennae
sticking out from the citys surface, followed by a The Journey Begins
M oderate Strength roll to hang on. Anyone failing If the Rebels didnt rem em ber Bellum saying
both sets of rolls after falling off the ledge plum th at Vreens first door was near Kcris Cafe,
mets to their deaths. Blissex rem inds them . Lira is familiar with the
Do not make Dexterity rolls for Lira, but have her cafe and leads th e group there.
stum ble once in a while to allow the Rebels to The Rebels finally com e across a door labeled
keep pace with her. Authorized Personal Only. Lira checks the serial
When it is time for the chase to end (after a few num ber on the lock box and confirms th at the
rolls and close calls), have a huge gust of wind lock is the first one on Vreens list.
rush up against the face of the city, forcing every Any Rebel attem pting to open the door discov
character on th e ledge to make an Easy Dexterity ers it is locked. A M oderate security roll unlocks
roll. Anyone failing the roll m ust make the Dexter the door, but as soon as it is unlocked, Exo locks
ity and Strength rolls described above in o rder to the door once more. The Rebels can get by the
grab an antennae. lock using a Difficult computer programming roll
The gust knocks Lira off balance and sends her (up to th ree characters can com bine actions on
off the ledge. Although she grabs on to an an the roll) and a M oderate security roll. This proce
tenna three m eters below, she cannot climb up dure is repeated for each of the remaining six
by herself. When the Rebels arrive, she is waiting locks in episode five.
patiently for their help. Once the door begins sliding open, cut to epi
However, upon arriving, the Rebels notice sh e s sode five.
still holding the cold box in one hand. Read:
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pisode Five
Core Quest
Sum mary door requires the sam e procedure as the one
The Rebels journey through Cloud Citys main used at th e end of episode four.
tenance corridors, following the trail of lock box
serial num bers contained within Liras cyber The Barricade
netic em placem ents. Along the way they are When the Rebels have opened the door, read:
beset by one trap after another as they attem pt to
reach the Core before the Evolution Droids are Through the doorway you see a corridor that
released and Exo takes total control of the city. stretches as far as the eye can see. About 20
meters down the hall there is branch leading to
Back at the Computer Core ... the right.
During this episode, Exo continues to send
Droids throughout the city arm ed with theE- As the Rebels move down the corridor, have
Droid canisters, to be placed in the citys air them make Easy Perception rolls. Any character
circulation shafts. making the roll notices blue flashes of light coming
from the corridor to the right. If the Rebels con
tinue to go straight down the corridor, they
Through the First Door eventually come to a door with a lock box that
After unlocking the door leading to the m ainte doesnt m atch the list. If they turn down the
nance corridors, the Rebels can press th e open corridor to the right, read:
button. The green light of the glow rod spills into
the hallway, revealing a two m eter wide corridor. As you walk down the curving corridor, the
Cables, tubes and pipes line the darkened walls. bright, white-blue flashes of light become
Each of the m aintenance corridors look the same. brighter and brighter.
Looking down th e corridor, the Rebels see a
four-way intersection 20 m eters ahead. After When the Rebels get around the bend they see
walking down to the intersection, the Rebels an im prom ptu barricade m ade of salvaged metal
discover that the three remaining corridors curve 20 m eters ahead. The wall stretches across the
out of sight. corridor and reaches a height of two m eters.
Each corridor section ends after 30 m eters with Sharp m etal projections line the top edge of the
a door. The doors, like all the doors of the service makeshift wall.
corridors, are single blast doors with a lock box Four m aintenance Droids are behind the wall,
located to the right of the portal, one and a half busily cutting blaster slits with their plasma
m eters off the ground. welder attachm ents (hence, the blue flashes of
At the top of each lock box is a serial num ber light). One Droid is watching for the Rebels.
which m atches the serial num ber of th e key used When the Rebels see the wall, the Droid sees the
to open it. If the num ber m atches a num ber on Rebels. The Droid warns its com panions and the
Liras list, it m eans th at it is a door Vreen m ade a other th ree stop welding and take up their posi
forged key for, and thus a door he passed through tions. Three Droids can fire during each round,
with Exo on his original journey. with the fourth Droid waiting in reserve. The
Continuing straight ahead brings the Rebels to Droids continue fighting until destroyed.
a door with a lock box im printed with the second Each Droid is arm ed with a blaster pistol and
serial num ber on the list. Turning either right or fires through the slits in the wall. The wall adds a
left leads the group to locks with num bers th at do defensive bonus of +4 to the Rebels difficulty
not m atch the list. num ber to hit.
Although nothing of particular interest hap The Rebels can destroy the wall with a grenade,
pens in this section, it establishes th e rule of or by making a com bined Very Difficult Strength
following the serial num bers and sets up a calm roll (no m ore than three Rebels can combine
ness which is soon broken. Getting through each
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actions due to the width of the corridor). proper door is found down the hall to th e left. The
Rebels attem pting to leap over the barricade o th er two corridors lead to doors with th e wrong
m ust make M oderate jump rolls to avoid the lock box num bers. After the Rebels have traveled
spikes. Any character failing the roll takes 3D down the left corridor, they reach the fifth lock
damage, falls over the wall, and is immediately box. Read:
attacked by at least one Droid in brawling com
bat. Ahead you see a turbolift door. It has a lock
After getting past the barricade, the Rebels reach box to its right just like the previous doors. On
the next door on the list. top of the box is a button to cedi the turbolift.
CB-2B Maintenance Droids: DEX 2D, dodge 2D+2, When they approach th e door, ask th e Rebels
palsm a welder 4D (dam age 4D); STR4D, brawling for M oderate Perception rolls. Anyone making it
4D+2. Blaster pistol damage 4D. hears a repulsorlift generator humming from
behind the group. Read:
A Shocking Surprise
Once the door slides open, have the Rebels Turning around, you see a cargo Droid round
make M oderate Perception rolls. If any Rebels ing the bend you just came around. Its wide
make the roll, read: body stretches across the corridor and its tall,
flat front rises up to the ceiling. You realize that
Through the doorway you notice something if you are not out of the hall by the time it
peculiar: the light from your glow rods is re reaches the turbolift doors, everyone in your
flected off the surface of the corridors dark group will be crushed to death.
floor, as if it were a polished mirror.
The characters have five rounds to unlock the
Exo has filled the corridor with a shallow layer turbolift door and call the turbolift before the
of water. The w ater is trapped at both ends of the Droid crushes them . If the character attem pting
hall by the high bases of the door frames. to unlock th e box tries to do it in one round, the
Before filling the cham ber with water, however, difficulty num ber is doubled.
Exo cut several pow er cables which are further C haracters attem pting to slow the Droid need a
down the corridor. The loose, live wires are now com bined M oderate Strength roll. Up to three
in the w ater and give the w ater a high voltage characters can work together for the action. For
charge. every two rounds the Rebels have succeeded in
Any Rebel coming in contact with the w ater making the Strength roll, th e cargo Droids final
takes 3D damage for every round he rem ains in crushing is delayed by one round.
contact with the water. Every Rebel coming in Destroying the Droid is an option, but is nearly
contact with a character th at is in contact with impossible. Not only does the Droid have an
the w ater also takes 3D damage per round. The arm or rating of 6D, but it is only 10 m eters from
only way to rem ove som eone from the grip of the the door when the Rebels first spot it too close
shock is with non-conductive material: cloth, to use explosives safely. The Droids controls are
rope, plastic, or wooden instrum ents. located at its back, and are com pletely inacces
The Rebels can confirm th at the floor is covered sible.
with w ater by dropping som ething onto the floor After unlocking the box, the Rebels m ust still
of the corridor. They then see the glow ro d s light wait one m ore round for the turbolift to arrive. As
rippling with the water. If they dont spot the soon as it does, the doors open and the turbolift
water, the first Rebel stepping into the corridor is waiting.
takes damage and alerts the group. If th e cargo Droid reaches the turbolift doors,
Getting past the w ater requires the characters every character takes 9D damage.
to crawl along the pipes and cables lining the
wall. Its not a tough climb, but it is a long, slow A Matter of Gravity
one. Have the characters make three Easy climb When th e group steps into the turbolift car,
ing rolls to reach the next doorway. Any Rebel read:
failing the roll stum bles into the w ater and begins
taking damage. C haracters may take no actions The control panel of the turbolift car has only
while suffering the damage of electrocution one button, indicating that the car has only two
which means that if character is going to live, his stops one at the top of the shaft and one at the
com rades m ust get him out of the w ater quickly. bottom of the shaft. There is also a red emer
gency stop toggle.
Pressing Engagement
When the fourth door has been opened, the As soon as a character presses the button the
Rebels see another four- way intersection. The doors close and the car suddenly begins plum-
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m eting down the shaft. Exo has turned off the As the characters climb down the ladder, read
turbolift shafts repulsorlift field and had the th e following cut-away:
em ergency sw itch sabotaged earlier. When the
Rebels flick th e switch, absolutely nothing hap The Carbon-Freeze Cham ber
pens. If no one thinks of repairing th e controls, At th e base of the shaft, the Rebels m ust make
Blissex shouts out: The controls! Quickly! another M oderate Strength roll to pry open the
After prying the control panel off the wall (an doors. As soon as the door opens, read:
Easy Strength roll) th e Rebels m ust m ake a
M oderate Technical roll to repair the em ergency Before you is a large chamber. In the center is
stop circuitry. The Rebels have two rounds to a circular platform set lower in the room. Stairs
com plete the action. lead from the deck upon which you are stand
Failing th e repair rolls m eans th at the car has ing down to the platform, and another set of
fallen to the bottom of the shaft and all charac stairs leads up from the platform to a door on
ters sustain 8D damage. the opposite side of the room. A hole is set in the
Repairing the em ergency stop circuitry brings center of the platform, with dangling cables,
the car to a shuddering halt. Normally, anyone chemical tubing and a handling claw hanging
trapped in the car would wait for help to arrive, directly over the hole. An operations console
but the circum stances suggest th at the Rebels sits on the platform next to the hole.
are on their own. A com bined M oderate Strength
roll is needed to pry the turbolift doors open. At least one of th e players will likely recognize
After that, the Rebels have only to climb down a this room as a carbon-freeze cham ber, just like
ladder set into a recess in th e shafts wall. the one seen in The Empire Strikes Back. If no one
does, th a ts just fine, but they will probably sus
pect som e so rt of trap here anyway. As it turns
out, th ere is no trap, but they will run into some
ut-Away to an Air Shaft difficulties upon entering the cham ber.
----- Read aloud: Vreen, still moving clumsily, knocks into Blis
INTERIOR: AN AIR CIRCULATION SHAFT. sex and th e two of them fall into the hole in the
The camera moves in toward a canister resting center of th e cham ber. The door on the opposite
in an empty air shaft. A digital timer counts side of the room slides open at th at moment and
down, its soft ticking echoing in the hollow shaft. a group of well-armed service Droids enters the
As the camera moves in, bold digits fill the cham ber, led by the security Droid Sixeftee. They
screen. The red numbers read 00:00:21:46, the fan out and open fire on th e Rebels immediately.
last pair of digits flashing by rapidly. Cut to ... During the fight, the Rebels hear the desperate
INTERIOR: BASE OF TURBOLIFT SHAFT. cries of Blissex and Vreen, as does Sixeftee, who
Lifting
C la w
Operations
Console
CATHLEEN HUNTER
Freezing t
Cham ber |
Em ergency
Exits
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pisode Six
Crisis on Cloud
Sum m ary go from here.They come across the sixth lock
The Rebels m ust get p ast Exos last line of de box, leading to a jutting walkway. Moving along
fense before reaching the Com puter Core. There, th e walkway, the characters eventually see the
working with only m inutes to spare before the dark outline of a huge, wing-shaped structure out
Evolution Droids are released into the air circu in the middle of the wind tunnel. It is connected
lation system , the Rebels m ust take a desperate by a railed gantry to the walkway the characters
step to save th e city. are on. Vreen points to the structure and tells
To disconnect Exo, the Rebels m ust shut down them th at it is the com puter core or at least he
the Com puter Cores pow er system . Since the thinks it is.
m assive generators used to keep the city afloat
are regulated by th e Core, Cloud City begins Crossing the Gantry
falling through Bespins sky, plummeting tow ard As the Rebels approach the gantry, read:
certain destruction! The Rebels have only sec
onds to disconnect Exo and pow er the Core back Across the gantry you see twoastromech Droids
up before the entire city burns up in the gaseous backing up toward the wing-structure. The
atm osphere of the cloud giant. Droids are spraying a white, foamy substance
onto the gantry, and you realize that theyve
The Gantry covered the entire surface of the gantry with
Since escaping the runaw ay turbolift car, the the foam.
Rebels have gotten them selves off of th e trail of
lock boxes and m atching serial num bers. If they Any character examining the foam needs a
suddenly think th at they no longer need to coop M oderate Knowledge roll to identify it. Success
erate with Lira, she tells them th at they still have allows the character to recognize it as Octensen,
two final locks to open and she alone has th e key a patented Bespin M otors lubricant used in re-
pulsorlift engines. Even if the roll fails, the char
patterns.
She leads them to an open alcove looking out acter is aware only th at it is very slippery.
Because of the foam, every round a character
over Cloud Citys wind tunnel. At the alcove, they
can look out into the huge wind tunnel w here spends on the walkway he needs to make an Easy
Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker will finish their Dexterity roll to avoid slipping. Failing the roll
climactic battle som etim e in th e future in The does not m ean the character falls to his death,
Empire Strikes Back. Rem ember th at th e lights but that the character m ust grab on to the gantrys
are still out, so this m ay not be obvious to the railing or onto o th er characters using another
players right away. Read: Easy Dexterity roll. Give the characters plenty of
chances to save them selves the encounter
You stand on the edge of a huge, dark, empty should be filled with plenty of close calls, not
space. Warm winds rush upward into your deaths.
faces. This must be the citys wind tunnel,
says Blissex, his voice lost in the tunnels vast The Com puter Core
ness. It lets winds buffeting the citys surface After crossing the gantry, the Rebels m ust walk
pass harmlessly through its center and up to the up a se t of stairs alongside the wing structure to
top of the city. To your left, a railed walkway reach th e entrance to th e Com puter Core. Once
starts from the alcove and runs along the curved theyve gotten to the top of the stairs, read:
surface of the tunnel.
To your right you see a doorway leading into
The characters can see nothing m ore from their the Computer Core. Computer monitor screens
current vantage point, but this is th e only way to line the walls, providing dim light. A corridor
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leads straight ahead. You hear an eerie synthe Dr. Vreen (as Flesh Droid, with blaster
sized voice echo through the hallway as soon as appendage): All attributes 3D; blaster 5D (dam
you enter the Core. age 6D), dodge 4D.
You seem to have gotten much further than
I calculated. You have proven far more adapt Exo-ExOne
able than most organic forms. But I still do not Vreen attem pts to grab the injector and rush
understand why you resist. Once the Evolution inside th e Com puter Cores main cham ber, but
Droids have been released, you shall become undoubtedly is stopped by the com bined efforts
even more efficient. Is this not your primary of the heroes. He continues firing his hand blas
goal? ter until he is destroyed. After the Droid-that-
was-Vreen is destroyed, read the description of
Exo allows the Rebels to continue down the the Core to the Rebels.
corridor tow ard the door at th e end marked
Core Mainframe. During this time, Exo contin The Computer Core is a huge white chamber
ues to question th e Rebels, being curious as to rising 150 meters above you. Blinking lights,
their motives and confident th at they cannot computer monitors and a plethora of video
succeed. monitors line the walls. The video screens show
many views of the city, with its inhabitants
Dr. Blissex, you of all people should recog gathered in plazas and casinos, glow rods illu
nize the value of re-designing and re-building. minating their frightened faces. There are six
Efficiency is the primary rule of existence. computer work stations at different heights up
Scowling, Blissex replies, Agreed. But is it the wall. Each has a two-meter wide ledge
truly efficient to waste thousands of productive beneath it.
lives? The machine seems to ponder this for a Off to the right you see three of the virus can
moment and then replies, There is no waste isters lining the wall. In the center of the room
involved in the conversion process. Nothing of sit two small repulsorlift skiffs used for reach
value is lost. ing the elevated work stations. At the far side of
the chamber you spot the Computer Cores
Allow this banter to continue as the Rebels ap control console.
proach th e door to the core itself. Lira is indeed
needed here to open the door. She has the locks Anyone making a successful M oderate Percep
com puter pattern stored in her borg implants. It tion roll notices Exo at the top of the cham ber.
takes one round for her to retrieve the informa The Droid has a hem ispherical body rigged up in
tion and one round to open the door. As the door a pulley system and connected to hundreds of
opens, read: com puter cables at the top of th e Core. Powerful
m echanical tentacles hang down from its main
Please give me the magno-injector, you body, m anipulating controls on the consoles
hear the now completely mechanical voice of below (the exact image from the transform ed
Vreen say from behind you. Turning, you see sabacc cards in episode two). The pulley system
that his hand has transformed itself into a allows Exo to swing freely around the Cores
blaster. ceiling.
Let som eone take a step into the Core and then
Vreen is pointing the weapon at w hoever is have Exo extend its deadly tentacles, attem pting
holding the device. The Rebels m ust take quick to bind the Rebel in its steel grip and squeeze the
action drawing and firing before Vreen can get life from him. Read:
any shots off. If they attem pt to reason with
V reen,read: As soon as you step into the chamber, Exos
snaking tentacles reach out for you. It is too
Exo is my master now. It is aware of the late, you hear Exo say from the top of the room.
danger that the magno-injector presents, and Only minutes remain. Soon you shall serve me
has ordered me to take it from you. Suddenly and aid me in my task.
Vreens voice falters, as if the former scientist is
struggling to return. I am sorry for all the Exo has enough tentacles to make th ese grap
trouble I have caused, but you see, I am no pling and constricting attacks on each of the
longer in control of myself. I dont think 1 ever characters, and may attack them all once per
was. The device, please. round. To successfully grapple a character, Exo
m ust succeed on a M oderate melee weapons
If, after the speech, the holder of th e magno- attack. Once caught, a character suffers 2D of
injector refuses to turn it over, Vreen fires. constriction damage in th e first round, 3D the
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second round, 4D th e third, and so on. Breaking Rebels running for the control console or skiffs
free of the tentacles requires a Difficult Strength while the Core is still powered are subject to
roll or a M oderate blaster shot (taken at -2D attacks from Exo. It takes one round (probably at
because of the constriction). full dodge) to reach the console.
Once free from the tentacles, the Rebels may Once the Rebels reach the console they need to
attem pt to shoot the Droid, but if they do it make a M oderate Technical roll to determ ine the
perform s full dodges every round. Between dodg procedure for shutting down the Core, followed
ing and its range from the Rebels (150 m eters), by a M oderate computer programming roll to
shooting at Exo is alm ost futile. Blissex calls any perform the action. Characters may combine
Rebels who have freed them selves back outside actions for the Technical roll.
the cham ber to confer. After shutting down the Core, the Rebels see the
banks of lights wink out all along the wall, the
Final G am bit com puter m onitors flicker off, and Exos steel
Tucked into th e corner of the hallway, Blissex tentacles go limp. But, m ost importantly, they
begins hastily outlining a plan. Read: feel a suddenly lurch in the pits of their stom achs
as the city begins falling through the atm os
My friends, Blissex begins, glancing at his phere. Read:
watch, Exo is right. We have only a few min
utes to act, and I think desperate measures are Out of the corner of your eye you catch a
called for. We can stop the canisters from re glimpse of the still active video monitors which
leasing their contents by destroying Exo, but it now illuminate the Core. Cameras mounted for
is my belief that the only way to shut Exo down exterior views of the city show clouds rushing
in time is to shut off all power to the Computer by. A screen showing a section of the Royal
Core. Once the power is cut, someone could fly Hotel reveals people screaming in terror as
up to Exo in one of those service skiffs, and credit chips and glow rods go flying through the
inject it. air. Already you can feel the temperature rising
Wait a minute! Lira exclaims. The Core in the chamber as Cloud City plummets.
regulates the generators that keep the city float Twenty-six seconds! screams Blissex.
ing. Those B/I engines cant perolate the flux
patterns themselves. If you shut down the Core, Pulling The Plug
the city falls! Technically, the Rebels have five rounds after
Yes, answers Blissex, looking each of you in shutting down the Core before they have to start
the eye one by one, but the city will drop for 30 it up again. If they go over this limit, let them save
seconds before it is crushed by high pressures the city anyway, with Blissex admitting his calcu
and broiled by the intense heat of the lower lations w ere off.
atmosphere. We have that much time to destroy There are three rounds of activities to be taken
Exo and restore power. It is quite a risk, I care of, with th ree spare rounds for m ishaps. The
realize, but what alternative do we have? first round is used for getting up to the ceiling.
The second is for shutting off Exo. And the third
If any characters ask about the tim ers on the is for powering the Core back up.
canisters, Blissex explains that Exo m ost likely W ithout the power of Cloud Citys central com
tied the tim er to its own circuits and that shutting puter behind it, the mighty Exo-Exone is merely
the Droid off should stop the countdown. an incredibly advanced brain in a largely non
If anyone suggests simply destroying Exo out functional shell. It is reduced to using its own
right, Blissex hypothesizes th at the Droid was interior pow er source, and can no longer com
wired to have the Com puter Cores circuitry pass mand any other Droids, nor can it move its giant
through it. If it is destroyed, the circuitry will be tentacles. Just about all that Exo can do at this
destroyed, dooming the city to a fateful fall. It point is talk to the Rebels.
m ust be shut down, not destroyed the com
puter circuits would then reroute them selves, Round One: Rebels piloting the skiffs m ust make
rather than being destroyed along with the Droid. a M oderate repulsorlift operation roll to bring the
Give the players a chance to work out w hat each craft to the top of the Com puter Core and under
character is going to do. As soon as the Rebels Exo in one round.
have outlined their plan, read:
Round Two: A Rebel m ust press the magno-
Checking his chronometer, Blissex nods his injector against Exo and push the control stud.
head. Its time. The action takes a round, and an Easy Dexterity
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39
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40
PM\A _ n _ h \Vvj aWv /_/ // a cA\
LJ
40022
FRO M
W V1W EST For ages 12 a n d up.