Hunting Jedi...

[weemadando]

I'm soon to be running a WEG SW game where the players will be taking the roles of Jedi (most likely experienced Padawans) who escaped the purge and are on the lamb together.

What kind of forces would Palpatine be committing to tracking and killing the last of the Jedi? Would a world that they are spotted on expect to have Venators in orbit and LAATs coming in hard and fast within a few hours? Or would Vader be dispatched to track them as he gets used to his new form?

What kind of intelligence network is likely to exist in this timeframe and how much support for the Jedi would there be? Besides the fledgling Rebellion if they can safely find it...

[The Yosemite Bear]

a weak willed quisling padewan is a must.

especially if they don't know the traitor is what he is at first.


if all else fails send some neat driods....

[Spanky The Dolphin]

There would probably be little to zero support for Jedi in the Galaxy at large, since they'd be regarded as zealous trators, near-legendary wizards, or both.

[HemlockGrey]

I'd imagine it would go something like this.

"Commander! A Jedi killed four of our men and escaped into Mos Shithole."
"How quickly can Vader get here?"
"Uh...day or two."
"Too long."
"What should we do?"
"Nuke it from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."

[Spanky The Dolphin]

That's completely absurd.

Yes, I know it's a joke, but it's still absurd.

[weemadando]

I'm hoping to have the 1st ISD appear at some point in the storyline just when they think that thery are starting to get somewhere. That should put a crimp on their plans.

[Old Plympto]

What kind of forces would Palpatine be committing to tracking and killing the last of the Jedi? Would a world that they are spotted on expect to have Venators in orbit and LAATs coming in hard and fast within a few hours? Or would Vader be dispatched to track them as he gets used to his new form?

The Inquisitors? Such as Grand Inquisitor Tremayne? Or you can come up with your own Inquisitor. Maybe one that has previous dealings with one of the Padawans as a friend, to give it some drama.

What kind of intelligence network is likely to exist in this timeframe and how much support for the Jedi would there be? Besides the fledgling Rebellion if they can safely find it...

The Antarian Rangers, for example, might have some support for fugitive Jedi that the Empire might not know about. There are species (stereotypically) predisposed in supporting Jedi such as Barabel.

[HemlockGrey]

Yes, I know it's a joke, but it's still absurd.

It's not entirely a joke. The Jedi represent a clear and present danger to the security of the Empire, the personal safety of the Emperor and the long term prosperity of the Sith Order. Do you honestly think the Empire wouldn't burn some shithole city to the ground to kill one?

[Spanky The Dolphin]

Frankly, I'm personally not so sure that they would. I just have a somewhat hard time thinking that they would, unless the captain was ordered to do so by someone like Vader, but that might only occur if he was too lazy to go down himself.

[HemlockGrey]

Your average Imperial commander is not picked for his regard for the sanctity of human life, and, frankly, if the standing order is to exterminate all Jedi, then I doubt the Empire would risk letting one get away. And sure, the Imperial commander would love to present the Jedi bound hand and foot to Vader, but I'm sure he'll be thinking of the consequences if he lets the Jedi get away.

[Spanky The Dolphin]

Well, from what I recall, it wasn't so much an active hunt as it was the investigation of rumours, often headed by experts like Vader or others. Rarely it seems would starship captains take the matter in their own hands but rather give Imperial Intelligence a ring.

That level of destruction just strikes me as absurdly excessive, and not really in line with the Jedi extermination stuff that I've read.

Unless of course there are such examples.

[HemlockGrey]

Well, obviously they're not going to go burning cities on the strength of the rumor. I was thinking more along the lines of what would happen if weemadando's players ignited their lightsabers, killed half a dozen stormtroopers in broad daylight and fled into the slums.

[Murazor]

I had an idea for a fic that I don't know if I will ever write about Palpatine building Grievous-like droids (with several pairs of arms and rotatory wrists) armed with all those spare lightsabers he must have obtained in the Jedi Temple for training in lightsaber combat, because he didn't like a lot losing his duel against Windu. Without the General's vulnerabilities and a few extra tricks (built-in blasters/personal shielding), those droids should be a serious threat for most Jedi. I even considered sending modified versions of said droids that actually believe that they are Grievous against Darth Vader, because Palpatine wants to be sure that he doesn't need to look for a new apprentice yet after the Mustafar screw-up.

After some pretty harsh critics, I am starting to doubt if the idea is really lame. However, if used properly a couple such droids might be a challenge for a RPG party.

[Murazor]

What kind of forces would Palpatine be committing to tracking and killing the last of the Jedi? Would a world that they are spotted on expect to have Venators in orbit and LAATs coming in hard and fast within a few hours? Or would Vader be dispatched to track them as he gets used to his new form?

Vader was one of Palpie's Jedi Killers (there are several instances about this in the EU), but probably a few hundreds of Jedi (and/or members of the Corps) survived the Purgue so probably the clones and local authorities will be the primary force involved in a Jedi hunt with Darksiders like Master Jerek or Vader showing up only to battle particularly troublesome individuals.

What kind of intelligence network is likely to exist in this timeframe and how much support for the Jedi would there be? Besides the fledgling Rebellion if they can safely find it...

Little or no help from the Rebellion, but those factions sponsored by Organa and, perhaps, Bel Iblis. It has been hinted that at least some of the groups that eventually became the Alliance are Separatist leftovers and I doubt that they will have great love for the Jedi. Also, for the galaxy at large the Jedi attempted a coup and almost killed the beloved Chancellor Palpatine. IIRC, even Mothma supports him at this point.

[weemadando]

I'm planning on starting the campaign with the characters responding to the modified beacon and rendevousing on the Tantive IV, just before Obi-Wan and Yoda depart.

They will be given a brief rundown on what has happened (with key features left out - like the birth of the twins) and then told to scatter by Yoda. Obi-Wan will disagree, saying that inexperienced as they are, on their own they would be easy prey. Yoda agrees and asks Bail Organa to find a safe location to deposit them.

They will begin on a primarily agricultural world with a few sprawling megalopolises. They have been given a contact, a senator on a nearby planet named Mon Mothma (if anyone knows Mon Mothma's home planet, that would be fantastic), who Bail Organa believes can be trusted.

Their first mission will be to contact her and determine if she is a safe and reliable contact...

[GeneralTacticus]

(if anyone knows Mon Mothma's home planet, that would be fantastic)

Chandrila, IIRC.

[Jim Raynor]

Little or no help from the Rebellion, but those factions sponsored by Organa and, perhaps, Bel Iblis. It has been hinted that at least some of the groups that eventually became the Alliance are Separatist leftovers and I doubt that they will have great love for the Jedi.

What actual hints are there that parts of the Rebel Alliance were Separatists, and that most of the Rebels were anti-Jedi? The formal name of the Rebels was "The Alliance to Restore the Republic" after all.

Also, for the galaxy at large the Jedi attempted a coup and almost killed the beloved Chancellor Palpatine. IIRC, even Mothma supports him at this point.

No, she doesn't:

Link

A stern, stately woman, Mon Mothma was the Supreme Commander of the Alliance to Restore the Republic. Mothma was an influential loyalist Senator in the final days of the Galactic Republic. She was one of the first to be wary of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine's policies during the Clone Wars. When Palpatine created a system of territorial governors to report to him directly, Mothma realized that the Senate was quickly losing its last vestiges of political influence.

She worked closely with Bail Organa of Alderaan to organize fellow Senators who shared similar ideals and outrage. The original cabal that tentatively explored what few options remained included Senators Chi Eekway, Terr Taneel, Padmé Amidala, Fang Zar and Giddean Danu, but it was her and Organa who remained at the core of this nascent Rebellion.

[Stofsk]

Mon Mothma's from Chandrila, IIRC. Same as Admiral Hiram Drayson.

[Crazedwraith]

. IIRC, even Mothma supports him at this point.

Thats only in Stravo's "Twilight War" fanfic...

[Iceberg]

Your average Imperial commander is not picked for his regard for the sanctity of human life, and, frankly, if the standing order is to exterminate all Jedi, then I doubt the Empire would risk letting one get away. And sure, the Imperial commander would love to present the Jedi bound hand and foot to Vader, but I'm sure he'll be thinking of the consequences if he lets the Jedi get away.

I somehow doubt that SOP allows Imperial captains to begin surface bombardment operations on their own initiative, any more than modern SOP allows ship captains to begin shelling a city on their own initiative - I would imagine that it would take an admiral to authorize the use of starship weapons on a planet's surface.

Blasting a whole city to get one Jedi or even a small group of Jedi seems kind of like burning down a house to get rid of a few feral cats.

[Oskuro]

I'm toting with the idea of an Star Wars RPG campaign for my player group, and this setting looks very good.

About your question:

I don't think Palpatine had such an strong grip on the Empire yet that he would dare blast entire populations. His methods would be based, most likely, on propagandistic anti-jedi displays, encouraging citizens to reveal any information they might have.

The jedi-killer droids might be a good idea aganist unexperienced jedi, but not such a good move on most populated worlds, since there would probably be a lot of resentment aganist droids (This could lead to an interesting story arch in wich the players are hunted by one or more of these droids, and people decide to help them because they hate the droids more).

Finally, dispatching a battleship, with maybe Vader in command, would be a logical reaction to jedi acting openly and proving to be a problem. Vader, or other force-sensitive/dark-Jedi would greatly enhance the battleship's search skills (just picture Darth Maul tracking Amidala, but with military backup).

And an interesting idea:

There is still much discussion about the fate of the clones after the war. One of the theories states that they would quickly grow old and die, thus requiring replacements. This could mean that, just after the Clone Wars, the impreial army could be in a regenerative process, and thus unable to respond as quickly or thoroughly as it would on its peak... This would mainly be the excuse to give players an easier time (PC:"wow, those stormtroopers sure were easy", Vader:"yeah, damm newbie troops, now die!")

[HemlockGrey]

I somehow doubt that SOP allows Imperial captains to begin surface bombardment operations on their own initiative, any more than modern SOP allows ship captains to begin shelling a city on their own initiative - I would imagine that it would take an admiral to authorize the use of starship weapons on a planet's surface.

Who says its a ship captain? Could be an artillery commander. Whatever. My point is that colleteral damage is not going to be a concern when going after Jedi.

[The Grim Squeaker]

Dispatching Vader is overkill.

The best course of action for the commander is to ofer a bount for the jedi,
if nobody takes him up on the offer (or tries but gets stopped by the jedi) then show his corpse on the holonet and proclaim the city as a rebel center, targeted for destruction.

If the Jedi is still “light side” then he’ll finally surrender,
if not then he’ll try to board an off planet bound ship,
since any ships trying to break the prievously raised blockade (meant to prevent rebel reinforcements from invading the planet ) will be deemed smugglers or rebels and will be shot down on site-
problem solved

[Isolder74]

Well, obviously they're not going to go burning cities on the strength of the rumor. I was thinking more along the lines of what would happen if weemadando's players ignited their lightsabers, killed half a dozen stormtroopers in broad daylight and fled into the slums.

The problem is that nuking a city on a rumor is a bad idea. ANd to relly be sure you need to have a person like Vader there to confirm the Jedi is there. It could be some yahoo who picked up a lightsaber lying around and thought he was tough.

On that note if you nuke a city that has a rumor of Jedi, then people will be less likely to inform on a potential Jedi if it means me and my whole town get blasted. Better to not say anything.

[Mr Bean]

. IIRC, even Mothma supports him at this point.

Thats only in Stravo's "Twilight War" fanfic...

Congrauditions Stravo, your writing is so good people are mistaking it for canon now