Campaigns I'll Never Run: Star Wars

I always have far more ideas for campaigns that I'll ever use. Since I don't expect to ever run Star Wars (what with not really believing that we've seen a really good Star Wars system, and all), here are a few of the ideas I've toyed with. I hope you find them entertaining. They are presented in chronological order.

Episode I: The Phantom Menace... (Timeframe: 25-18 years before Episode IV): This one is quite simple. The campaign starts with the meeting of a young Jedi Knight named Obi-Wan Kenobi and a teenaged pilot named Anakin Skywalker. The campaign then traces their adventures during the Clone Wars, the defiance of Obi-Wan in the face of an edict by the Jedi Council that Skywalker is not to be trained as a Jedi, the rise of this young hero, and the eventual betrayal of the Jedi by Darth Vader, and the rise of the Empire.

Essentially, the campaign retells the events of the prequel trilogy as they should have been. The key characteristic is that the campaign features Obi-Wan and Anakin as PCs. Truthfully, I'm not sure this campaign would really work, but I think it would be interesting to try.

Star Wars: Mirror Universe (Timeframe: Rise of the Empire): This one combines the Rise of the Empire from the prequels with the Mirror Universe as popularise by Star Trek. Essentially, the Jedi Order is populated with evil, bickering Jedi, each interpreting the code for their own agenda, and squabbling amongst themselves.

This is distinct from either a Sith campaign or a Jedi hunt campaign in that the PCs are portraying Jedi at the height of their powers. However, those powers have become subverted. This campaign basically ignores the distinction between the Light and Dark sides of the Force.

The Emperor is Dead. Long Live the Emperor! (Timeframe: Immediately post-Episode VI): "Join me, and I will complete your training... The emperor has forseen this... Together, we can overthrow the emperor, and bring order to the galaxy!" What if Luke Skywalker, betrayed by Obi-Wan, and left with his doubts, had chosen to accept Vader's offer? What if the Rebellion had failed at Endor?

The Emperor is dead, slain by Luke Skywalker, Sith Lord. Han Solo died on Endor. Admiral Ackbar died at the hands of the Imperial Fleet, and the bulk of the Rebellion armed forces is likewise gone. What remains is being gathered up by a heartbroken Leia, rescued from Endor by the Millennium Falcon.

Where do you go from here?

The Raptoran Campaign (Timeframe: 100 years post-Episode IV): This assumes that the galaxy hasd had relative peace since the Yuuzhan Vong invasion. The heroes of the rebellion are dead. The revived Jedi Order are once again the guardians of peace and justice, but they are starting to factionalise. The Galactic Alliance has become corrupt, but remains generally benign.

Then, deep in space, an Alliance transport is attacked by a mysterious force identified only as Raptorans. Are they aliens? droids? or something else?

The major advantage of this campaign is that it allows the GM totally free reign. Set long after the end of canon, it uses the tropes of the setting without running into the difficulties of canon. It also allows the PCs to take centre stage.

I must confess, I had envisaged this campaign featuring three specifics from the films: The Millennium Falcon would be found in the "Rebellion Museum" on Coruscant, C-3P0 would be the tour guide in said museum, and R2-D2 would be discovered at some later point in the campaign, and probably serve as some PC's astromech droid. Because some things are just meant to be.