Imperial Sourcebook

[boot]

STAR WARS IMPERIAL SOURCEBOOK


I've been reading this off and on for a while.  I'll admit, upon first reading, that it is not as interesting as either Star Was Sourcebook or my cover to cover read-through of the 1E Core rules.  Still, it's a fine book.  It's a universe building book, filling in details not seen on the screen.  The details are interesting if you can use them in your game.  Plus, reading the book gives you an exceptional overview of just how Palpatine kept control of the vast Empire.  Those WEG guys sure did a fantastic job on this stuff.

There are nifty ideas, too, for the enterprising GM.  For example, I am now into Chapter Three, which is about the Empire's Intelligence apparatus.  A side bar has a message from a Dr. Tobias, who is an Analyst Tech, to a Hyndris Kogler of the Infiltration Bureau.  The communication is about using 3P0 protocol droids, which are said to be universal within the Empire, as spy droids.  If done correctly, the droid may not even know about this alternate function.

That's pretty damn cool.

From the communication alone, a GM could easily come up with a throw to alter a 3P0 droid for this fashion.  The letter says that it can be done with minor modifications.  That's plenty of info for a GM to figure what it would take for his game.  Maybe a specialized piece of hardware is needed--a "bug".  Maybe it's a bit more difficulty to set it up so that the droid doesn't realize the function.  The player would have to figure out how to get the droid powered down or otherwise unable to recall the conversion work done on it--or, maybe that's part of the "bug's" function--to suppress or erase that part of the droid's memory.

Imperial Analyst Tech is something that the GM could create as a new template for his game.

Dr. Tobias and Hyndris Kogler could be created as characters for a game.

Players playing Rebel characters may always be on the lookout for new equipment.

How did the PCs come into contact with such a unit?  Did they take over a freighter with "new" protocol droids, all gauged up?

Do the Rebel PCs search for bugs and counter-programming on the new droids?

Maybe, on one of their adventures, the GM skillfully works the droid into the story, having it work with the PCs, with it gaining their trust?

There are lots of creative ideas with this--all from a small sidebar in the book.

Cool stuff.

[finarvyn]

I have a copy of this from back in the day, but honestly haven't looked at it in a very long time. I have positive memories of both this and the Rebel Sourcebook, but not many particulars. Your post gets me thinking about it, however. I may have to rummage around in my closet to find the thing.

[boot]

LOL, on the next page, there is a response communication about the droid spy project. It's a cute read. At the end, it seems that eight of these modified 3P0 units were sent out into the galaxy. The Bureau of Infiltration did not agree. Agents of the Bureau rounded up seven of the 3P0 units, but one got away....

And, it leaves you like that. Read it and forget about it. Like it for color. OR...recognize the neat idea that it is that ONE of these droids is out there, somewhere....

Damn, WEG did a good job on this stuff.

[boot]

There's all these little awesome things found in the text of the WEG supplements. Reading more of the Imperial Sourcebook, I thought it cool that Imperial Intelligence has these small droid starships that orbit worlds in hyperspace, monitoring transmissions that are submitted faster than light.

Neat.

[boot]

If you get a chance, read the side bar on how to read a scandoc. It's actually pretty cool. And, it is something that you could use in a game--say your PC Rebels get their hands on an encoded transmission.

[boot]

POE DAMERON VS. THE FIRST ORDER STAR DESTROYER



Ya know, there's really no way with the D6 rules for Poe Dameron to do what he did in the opening of The Last Jedi. There would need to be special rules.

First off, you could say that the danger of all those huge weapons on a Star Destroyer have a minimum range. You could say that the situation that Poe created with the communications to Huff bought Poe time, and that rocket-turbo-thrust device on the back of the X-Wing got Poe's ship to the skin of the Star Destroyer before any weapons could lock on (and, indeed, inside the ship, the order to fire hadn't even been given).

But, it is hard to believe that a Star Destroyer doesn't have any defense, outside of TIE Fighters, to protect its hull with a starfighter that close.

Given the D6 Scaling rules, Poe wouldn't have been blowing up the guns like he did in the film (and in Episode VII). New rules would be needed, making Poe's craft on the same scale as the turbo-lasers, allowing Poe to do what he did.

According to Wookiepedia, the Resurgent Class Star Destroyer has 1,500 turbo lasers and ion cannons. We surely didn't see Poe take out that many (in either film).

So, special rules are needed to duplicate what Poe was seen doing in the films.

[boot]

Imperial Sourcebook - Imperial Troops



I'm enjoying my casual read through the Imperial Sourcebook. I didn't realize that stormtrooper helms don't necessarily have the same equipment. And example is Scout Trooper vs. the standard Shock Trooper (Stormtrooper). The Scout's lenses are capable of macro-binocular vision, where as the standard Stormtrooper only has polarized lenses.



This sourcebook has a wonderful comment to Star Wars GM's, and that is the stats given for the troops are considered average. This is your average, everyday trooper. The book goes on to say that a specific, individual trooper can have stats and skills that vary widely. Elite ships tend to have elite personnel. Sub-par postings are likely to be crewed with sub-par soldiers.

This is a reminder to the GM to change things up. Don't have every stormtrooper that your PCs run into have the exact same stats. Remember individuals exist. If you have a story reason to boost (or to lower) stats or skills on an NPC, then do so.

[boot]

Devil in the Details



Like the Sourcebook, this book also has some nifty details recorded within, if you take the time to read the details.  For example, the Loronar Strike Cruiser is a pretty formidable Imperial ship, but buried in the text, it says...

The modular design means that entire systems or weapons batteries can be knocked out by a single, well-placed hit.

There's nothing in the rules to support this statement mechanically, but that information is gold for a GM who wants to make his Star Wars universe more real by using details like this.  A GM could, say, decide to use two different colored dice whenever the ship's 6D Hull code is used in battle.  If those those two designated dice turn up snake eyes, then the lucky hit has struck (a 2.7% chance each time the ship is hit).  The GM should take out the ship's shields, or maneuver code, or a type of weapon or just one battery.  Maybe the sensors.  Maybe knock out the hyperdrive.  Whatever.  Make a quick chart with six possibilities, if you want.  If the 2.7% is too much for you, use three designated dice from the 6D Hull.  Or, come up with something for the attack roll to indicate the trouble.

The point is that this could be turned into something cool in the game.  Players will remember the flaw and maybe exploit it later in the game on another ship.  Maybe they'll concentrate fire to try to make the problem happen (and the GM makes the chance more likely).

The GM can even have his universe grow, as the PC Rebels take advantage of this, some of the Strike Cruisers that the PCs encounter might be upgraded where it is harder for this to happen.

Like the Falcon's hyperdrive going out in The Empire Strikes Back, details like this can really add to a game.

[boot]

Escort Carrier

From The Imperial Sourcebook

[boot]

IMPERIAL STAR GALLEON



This is another very interesting design (I think) from the Imperial Sourcebook. It's a transport ship. It's a bulk freighter. And, it's a troop transport.

The Star Galleon can carry 100,000 metric tons of cargo. And, it can carry 300 Imperial troops.

What's really interesting about this vessel is that the hold is not only detachable from the rest of the ship, but the hold IS a ship. The hold can be jettisoned if the vessel ever gets in trouble with a good chance of being taken over by pirates or Rebels. The hold, itself, will then jump to hyperspace, and continue jumping, randomly. Imperial Agents have the codes for a specialized hyperspace tracker so that they can locate the ejected cargo.













Note the drop pod ejection doors, allowing troops or cargo to be dropped from orbit.

[boot]

Remember the droid automation of the Dark Force ships in Tim Zahn's Dark Force Rising? Imagine my surprise when reading the Dreadnaught entry in the Imperial Sourcebook and seeing that very description--about how the ships were highly manual and some were augmented with droid automation. Zahn took the idea, originally in this book, and ran with it!









The Carrack Light Cruiser is also interesting due to its modular design.  The description actually says that chunks of blown up starship have been found with the crew safe inside the pieces!

That's something a GM can use in a game!

[boot]

Torpedo Sphere



This is an interesting vessel. It has one mission: To knock out planetary shields. You park this baby in orbit. It scans the world's planetary shield for power fluctuations. It homes in on the weakest part of the shield, and then it pounds and pounds on that spot with torps from 500 proton torpedo tubes.

The damn thing is a battering ram.

I'm guessing that it has a lot of faults, too. Only six Torp Spheres are in use. The vessel is huge, with a diameter longer than the length of an Imperial Star Destroyer. It has a crew of over 61,000, which is almost twice that of a Star Destroyer.

It is slow and ponderous with a x3 Hyperdrive.

And, it doesn't double for anything other than its specialized role. Not to mention that a Star Destroyer can perform a similar job of orbital bombardment--even though the SD is not as efficient as ad dedicated siege platform.

I can't recall seeing this in any Star Wars novel of comic--probably because it looks like a small version of the Death Star.

The big "eye" on the sphere, I take it, is the main sensor dish.

[boot]

Super Star Destroyers



The Imperial Sourcebook says that there are only four of these massive vessels, the largest vessels in the Imperial Navy.  The first was the Executor, which the Emperor gave to Vader to command as the Dark Lord lead a task force to eradicate the Rebel Alliance.

In Return of the Jedi, Han says that there are a lot of command ships.  It's obvious that he's talking about the Executor, when Luke says that Vader is on that ship.

The Imperial Sourcebook is set just after Yavin.  Could several more of these vessels be built in the four or five years between the Battle of Yavin and the Battle of Endor?

Or, in Han's mind, four super star destroyers is "a lot"?

[boot]

Imperial Sourcebook



We see some of the new technology introduced in the Imperial Sourcebook show up in the novels and movies, showing increases in technology.

In the original Thrawn trilogy, Thrawn used a working cloaking field. This was first mentioned in The Empire Strikes Back. It was developed with details in the Imperial Sourcebook, which is set just after A New Hope, a few years before TESB. Then, Thrawn's story is set five years after Return of the Jedi (so, it's about eight or nine years after ANH).

In The Force Awakens, we see that pulse technology has come into use. This is covered in the Imperial Sourcebook under the title "Magnetic Bombards". We see pulse grenades, which are hand thrown. There are pulse rifles. And the First Order Tie Fighters have "mag-pulse" weapons. Poe tells Finn that this is a choice for his weapon selection.

[Falconer]

I made a “short list” of SSDs that I know of that were featured in 90s RPG and novels material:

Executor - The Empire Strikes Back, April 1980
Enforcer - Challenge 38, June 1989
Guardian - Wanted by Cracken, June 1993
Aggressor - Adventure Journal #2, May 1994
Iron Fist - The Courtship of Princess Leia, May 1994
Reaper - Adventure Journal #3, August 1994
Knight Hammer - Darksaber, November 1995
Intimidator - The Black Fleet Crisis, March 1996
Lusankya - The Krytos Trap, October 1996
Razor’s Kiss - Iron Fist, July 1998

see also Adventure Journal #15