Hey folks! See below for additional info on Jacob Van V’s Star Wars LARP…
Things to bring: Your character (note down what abilities you took and come in your coolest costume), $5 for attendance, $5 for a lightsaber should you need one, and some food for the feast! If you are in need of a lightsaber, you must RSVP to [email protected] – supplies are limited. If you don’t need one, please RSVP anyways – a headcount would greatly assist in planning for the day.
Star Wars LARP: Episode II
The Rulebook
“A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…
The Grand Republic has fallen. Machinations from within have eroded the Republic from its very foundations in the senate; the Jedi Order lies in ruins, branded as traitors as Emperor Sheev Palpatine claims his new throne atop its ashes; clone squadrons clad as fearsome Stormtroopers march through the galaxy to stamp out dissent and rebellion. A new Sith Lord has risen in service to this new Galactic Empire. Darth Vader stalks the galaxy for Jedi, slaughtering any and all that stand in his way. Communities harbouring Jedi fugitives are burned to ash and the desiccated corpses of their erstwhile inhabitants lie in the broken streets to warn any who might defy their new overlords.
A mere year has passed since you escaped the Great Jedi Purge. Maybe you fled the Jedi Temple as it burned, clone squadrons guarding the halls and murdering all they found. Maybe your master sacrificed themselves as their clones turned against them to give you time to escape the firing squads. Or perhaps you were simply on remote enough a planet that news of the Jedi’s demise reached you before the perpetrators of the slaughter. However you survived, survived you have – but a Padawan standing alone is insignificant next to the power of the Empire.
Standing alone, that is.
You’ve heard of a resistance growing on Kashyyk. Only rumors, of course, but persistant enough to make you consider coming out of hiding. An alliance of rebels determined to stand before the might of your oppressors and bring them down.
You don’t know if you’re the last Jedi, or if others have survived. You don’t know if this ‘rebel alliance’ has any chance of standing before Palpatine’s war machine. But you do know that if ever there was a time to stand, it is now. You’ll free the galaxy… or you’ll die trying.
Of course, the rumors also speak of Vader. Some say that he didn’t exterminate all the Jedi he came across – rather, he brought them to the Dark Side of the Force. Supposedly, he has formed a squadron of dark acolytes to assist him in his hunt for the last remnants of the Jedi Order… but those rumors couldn’t possibly be true, could they?
And this Inquisitiorius couldn’t possibly be hiding amongst the rebels… could they?
Safe travels to Kashyyk, Padawan. We’ll see you very soon.”
A Message To All Remaining Jedi
Welcome to Star Wars LARP Episode II! In this LARP, you and your friends will be playing a group of Jedi Padawans who were clever enough, resourceful enough, or simply powerful enough to escape the Empire at the start of the great Jedi Purge. However, wits and raw power will only carry you so far. Rumors flying around the galaxy indicate that Emperor Palpatine knows that not all Jedi were wiped out during his hostile takeover of the Republic a year ago, and he’s grown tired of waiting for his new Stormtroopers to finish their extinction. Instead, he’s sent his personal enforcer to hunt down the remnants of the Jedi Order – the Sith Lord Darth Vader himself is scouring the galaxy, and thus far none have been able to stand in his way. Worse yet, there are rumors that Vader is assembling an Inquisitorious, a squad of Dark Side acolytes that answer directly to him and hone their skills by running down escaped Jedi.
This leaves you in an unenviable position, needless to say. You’re not one to just sit and let death come for you, so you’ve spent months researching the political situation in the Galaxy in a desperate search for allies, and allies you have found. A newfound “Rebel Alliance” of dissidents and freedom fighters is gathering on the forest planet of Kashyyk. Its large trees, dense forests, and native Wookie warriors make it an ideal location for guerilla warfare – there’s plenty of places to run and plenty of places to hide… either yourselves or deadly traps. Jedi holocrons hidden throughout the forests will provide an excellent opportunity to learn and advance your own abilities.
This is no mere band of pariahs, either. It has the backing of Sindra Hordan, an Imperial Senator who was cast aside by the Emperor just for being near a plot to smuggle Jedi off Coruscant. No one knows if she was actually involved or not but it
seems that the Emperor’s callous dismissal pushed her over the brink – enough to gather up a force to resist him. If your underworld sources are to be believed, she’s even managed to find a few Jedi Knights and Jedi Masters to spearhead her efforts to fight the Imperials.
It’s time to stand, Jedi. Let’s show the Emperor that a cornered animal is far more dangerous than he thinks. We will leave this planet either as liberating heroes or in a body bag – but we will not live under this oppressive regime any longer.
Orders to the Inquisitorious
Welcome to Star Wars LARP II! In this LARP, you and your friends will be playing the elite arm of the Empire’s forces. You are no mere Stormtroopers, or even purge troopers – you are the best of the best. As Force-sensitives, Darth Vader has elected to take you under his wing. Whether you came of your own free will, or had to be freed of seditious thoughts the Order had slithered into your mind, you now stand at the right arm of a Dark Lord of the Sith, the enforcer to Emperor Palpatine himself.
Lord Vader has elected to send you all on this mission to hone your skills. We have it on good intelligence that rebellious rabble are gathering on the forest planet of Kashyyk. I’m sure all of you remember the slog of killing grounds this planet devolved into during the Clone Wars, and the Emperor is not eager to waste so many resources in hunting down rumors – however well founded. You will instead be the vanguard for our investigation.
You will investigate the planet and hunt down all of these seditious traitors, should they exist. Be on your guard – our intelligence suggests that Jedi may have gathered with the rebels. Not just the Padawans you’ve fought before, either; there may be Knights or Masters lurking in the shadows of the forests. Or both.
If possible, keep the local Imperial Administrator out of your investigation. Her name is Sindra Hordan – yes, the very same caught trafficking fugitives off Coruscant. Normally, I would order her execution, but the intelligence we’ve received likely
originated from her offices. In addition to hunting down these traitorous scum, you will determine Hordan’s alleigances… and deal with her as necessary.
Show no mercy and expect no quarter, Inquisitor. Find them, and wipe them out.
Making Your Character
Character creation is very simple for this LARP. Your backstory is entirely up to you, and since the day will be heavily narrative-driven, you’re encouraged to come up with good motivations to be on the side you’re on, and reach out to friends to link their backstories to yours. It’s only been a year since the Empire took over, after all – such tumultuous times are ripe for making new friendships or developing old ones, even if only to survive.
You may play as one of three classes:
Jedi Guardian – Defenders of the Republic, Jedi Guardians are experts in lightsaber combat. They train with their blades constantly to ensure that they will be capable of facing any threat, learning to enhance their combat abilities by using the Force. They start with 2 extra points for Lightsaber Combat (the blue arrow below), and are distinguished by their blue lightsaber blades.
Jedi Consular – The Republic’s peacekeepers, Jedi Consulars were the diplomats of the Jedi Order. Their uncanny connection to the Force made them experts at reading people, healing their allies, and subtly influencing situations to go their way. They train with lightsabers only as a last resort. They start with 2 extra points in The Force (the green arrows below), and are distinguished by their green lightsaber blades.
Inquisitor Acolyte – Darth Vader’s personal force of Jedi hunters. Almost all have been ‘converts’ – former members of the Jedi Order that were convinced (one insidious way or another) to turn from the tenets of the Order and give themselves to the Dark Side. They are barely trained in the finer points of lightsaber combat or Force Powers, instead tapping into the frightful power and abilities of the Dark Side. They start having learned the Sith tenets of Passion and Strength (the red nodes below), and are distinguished by their red lightsaber blades.
In addition to the class bonuses, you will have 6 points to distribute as you see fit to acquire abilities for your character. The diagram below will show you the skill trees, and each skill will be described. To take a skill, you simply have to take the skill before it (shown by the arrows) and fulfill any other requirements (written in green.) Sometimes you’ll see blue writing, which indicates that acquiring that particular skill prevents you from acquiring another. Oval bubbles just describe a tree – they are not a skill you need to take.
This also determines your combat score – black ‘+X’ numbers simply add X to your combat score when you take them (you start at 0, and higher is better.) Some Force Powers have a red ‘+X’ number on them – they add that to your score in combat only if you activate them, which you can do only a limited amount of times (don’t worry, that’s described in the Combat section.)
Strong In The Force: You are, in fact, strong in the Force. This isn’t a skill, it just indicates that you can tap into the vast powers of the Force.
Lightsaber Combat Tree: This represents training in the ancient weapon of the Jedi, and frequently provides boosts to your combat score.
Form I – The most basic of lightsaber forms, training the user in simple strikes and blocks. Adds +1 to your combat score.
Form II – The duellist’s form, perfected for lightsaber-on-lightsaber combat. It trains the user in deft movements that waste no energy, and is a stepping stone for some of the more unconventional lightsaber techniques. Adds +1 to your combat score.
Duellist – Your training in blade-on-blade combat exceeds the vast majority of your peers, and your experience allows you to win most duels you participate in with unexpected movements and techniques. Adds +1 to your combat score.
Master Duellist – Your training with the saber allows you to turn combat into an art. Few can stand against you for any amount of time, and only a true master of the saber can withstand the assaults you weave against them from seemingly every direction at once. Adds +2 to your combat score.
2-Handed Training – You have trained in using two blades to fight rather than one. The loss of power in each blow is negligible compared to the whirling storm of attacks you can rain down upon your foes with each of your deadly blades. However, your focus on the blade alone has taken so much focus that you simply do not have the time to learn Force Acrobatics or to deepen your sensitivity to the Force. Adds +2 to your combat score.
2-Handed Master – You are a dervish on the battlefield. You attack so frequently and frenetically that your opponents question whether in fact you are using only two blades, and your unconventional attacks throw off even the most experienced in lightsaber combat. Adds +3 to your combat score.
Form III – The lightsaber form focused most on defense. You become a rock, immovable on the battlefield, as you turn away all attacks and yield no ground. Adds +1 to your combat score.
Form IV – This lightsaber form is mobility incarnate. Constantly moving, twirling, attacking, and weaving just out of reach, this will tire your oppenent as they try to follow you – and they can’t hit what they can’t see. Adds +1 to your combat score.
Form V – The best defense is a good offense. This lightsaber form takes the principles of Form III and develops them into a form of aggression. Rather than turn
away your opponents’ blows, you redirect them and even turn them against your foes. Adds +2 to your combat score for the single-bladed variant, or +3 if you are trained in the use of dual blades.
Form VI – Jack of all trades, master of all. Form VI is the pinnacle of Jedi weapon arts, combining the principles of all other lightsaber forms. You will be able to adapt your strikes and defenses on the fly to counter anything your opponents can throw at you, ensuring that your own strengths and weaknesses are ever-changing and impossible to pin down. Adds +3 to your combat score.
Form VII – Aggression incarnate. This lightsaber form walks a dangerous line between controlled aggression and all-out assault, using the most powerful attacks of any form to smash through any defense, no matter how powerful or how elegant. You become offense itself, presenting such danger to all you fight that you need not concern yourself with defense while your opponent desperatly defends themselves against your endless onslaught. Adds +3 to your combat score, and due to its aggressive nature, requires Strength – you must walk the thin line between power and the Dark Side.
The Force: These trees focus on deepening your connection to the Force that flows through us all, frequently provided temporary boosts to your combat score. It also allows for abilities that others may be incapable of, such as healing your allies or opening ancient Jedi ruins. Every ability you acquire from these trees give you one additional force point, which is one extra use of your abilities.
Force Push/Pull – Use the power of the Force to manipulate your environment, shifting people or objects that would be far too heavy for you to move with your own strength. Adds +1 to your combat score.
Force Acrobatics – Use the Force to enhance your own movements and strikes, allowing for power and mobility beyond the strength of any normal person. Adds +2 to your combat score.
Force Disorient – An ability of the Light Side of the Force, this grants a significant edge in combat. You use the Force like a scalpel, interrupting the delicate equilibrium in your opponent’s senses and balance to seriously degrade their ability to fight. The careful, focused control necessary to perform this feat requires investment in the Jedi Code, but is well worth the cost. Adds +3 to your combat score when you activate your powers in combat.
Force Repulse – Though it does not require the fine control of Disorient, the raw power of Repulse must be focused and directed carefully so as not to harm one’s allies. When properly used in combat, it is devastating – a massive wave of force that washes over your opponents and crumples the ground beneath their feet to send them crashing helplessly to the ground. It requires a focus in the Jedi Code so its users do not stray to the Dark Side when using such an aggressive ability, but it is the most powerful combat ability available to Jedi. Adds +5 to your combat score when you activate your powers in combat.
Force Choke – The Dark Side is known for brute force, and this power is a prime example of that mentality. You don’t need focus or fine control like the Jedi, no. You simply require the proper desire for power and furious battle passion. It’s a simple power – you reach out with the Force to close around your opponents’ necks, suffocating them as you crush their throat with the awesome power of the Force. It requires investment in the Tenets of the Sith, and in exchange adds +2 to your combat score when you activate your powers in combat.
Force Crush – Simply choking your opponent is too small thinking for you. Why target their throat when you can simply crush their entire being? This power allows you to reach out with the Force to encircle your foes and pulverize them. The power of a lightsaber is nothing before the Dark Side of the Force. Such a brutal power requires a focus in the Tenets of the Sith, but adds +4 to your combat score when you activate your powers in combat.
Force Sensitivity – Your meditation and immersion in the living Force allows you a deeper connection to its flow than most of your Force-wielding bretheren. This connection enhances your Force abilities and combat prowess, providing insight into the strengths and weaknesses of your foes. Adds +2 to your combat score.
Wisdom of the Ancients – You don’t just meditate, you steep yourself in the flow of the Force. Your connection to it is so intimate that you even hear the whispered wisdom and advice of ancient Force-users who have long since become one with the Force. Additionally, you become so sensitive to the Force that you can tell when a site is particularly dense in the flow of its current, detecting otherwise hidden ruins that contain such treasures as holocrons. The advice and teachings of those that came before aid you in combat, adding +3 to your combat score when you activate your powers in combat.
Force Heal – A potent Light Side ability, you use incredibly fine control of the Force to weave back flesh and mend bones. Utilizing this power, you become as effective at healing your allies as any bacta tank, removing the necessity for your fellows to limp to a healing center in order to recover. If you focus it in a fight rather than for the benefit of your allies, you can see the Force flow through your enemies – showing you where to best take them apart. It requires a focus in the Jedi Code to learn the necessary focus and inner peace to steady your hands and eyes. Adds +4 to your combat score when you activate your powers in combat, though the focus on seeing the Force flow through organic beings prevents you from learning Secrets of the Force.
Secrets of the Force – You have attuned yourself to the Force in such a way that it reveals hidden things to you. Specifically, this allows you to open holocrons and learn their secrets without needing the aid of a Jedi Knight or Master and their deeper connection to the Force. It requires a focus in either the Jedi Code or the Tenets of the Sith in order to reach the requisite depth of connection to the Force. In battle it even lets you see the weak points in opponents’ armor and weapons, adding +4 to your combat score when you activate your powers in combat. However, the focus on seeing the Force flow through inorganic material prevents you from learning Force Heal.
The Jedi Code:
There is emotion, yet I feel peace.
There is ignorance, yet I have knowledge. There is passion, yet I feel serenity.
There is chaos, yet I am in harmony. There is death, yet I trust in the Force.
Tenets of the Sith:
Peace is a lie. There is only passion.
Through passion I gain strength.
Through strength I gain power.
Through power I gain victory.
Through victory my chains are broken – the Force shall set me free.
Rules For Combat
In Star Wars LARP, combat is not martial – that is, the outcome is determined prior to the actual combat, so that it doesn’t depend on your real-life physique and ability (generally, most of us can’t actually use the Force in real life.) This also means that you will be choreographing fights when they occur – lightsabers are very capable of hurting your friends. DO NOT attempt to actually wail on your friends with your deadly space swords. You want them to keep being your friends after the LARP is over.
Combat will consist of two groups of enemies bumping into each other in the dense forests of Kashyyk. Your squad can be as large or small as you like – just keep in mind that more squads cover more ground, yet a united front poses more of a threat to your enemies. One person in each squad is designated the ‘leader’, and as such is entrusted with more responsibility than the other members of the squad: they determine whether to initiate combat, and keep a medpack on them to treat injured squadmates.
When two groups encounter each other (and are, in fact, enemies) either squad leader may initiate combat by verbal indication. (Yell “I want to fight you, rebel/imperial scum!” or something to that effect.) The leader of the squad being challenged decides which individual people fight each other. Of course, they have to make sure that they’ve taken care of every member of the attacking squad (else the undefended member can just hop in wherever they want) but other than that there are no restrictions on who can fight who.
When you enter combat with an enemy (your leader sticks the two of you together and lets you fight) you compare combat scores. Just see whether the sum of your score and any other allies’ scores are greater than that of your enemies. If it is, you ‘win’ the combat; otherwise, you lose. The losing side decides who they manage to defeat before losing, if anyone. For example, if Alice and Bob each have 5 combat score, and they fight Charlie and Dave who each have 6, they’ll lose. 10 is still bigger than 6, though, so before they’re defeated they can bring down either of their opponents before losing.
It’s not quite so simple, though – now you and your enemies script your combat. Have fun with this! We’re not actually trying to hit each other, so combat is cinematic. You know who wins and loses, so make it look as awesome as you possibly can. Seriously, use your imaginations. Use your Force powers in combat – since we’re all playing together, we can even act out Force Pushes and Force Pulls and Force Chokes. You’ll have a few minutes to choreograph the fight, and then a few minutes to enact it for the cameras.
At the end of combat, two things happen. First, the victors get to loot one item each from the enemies they defeated. This can either be a resource chip, an unopened holocron, or an unopened resource cache. Second, each person who was defeated in combat receives an injury. Keep in mind, sometimes this can include some of the victors! An injury is indicated by a red band of tape from the medkit that your squad leader will stick to your left arm.
I know that all sounds complicated and math-y, but it’s pretty simple in summary. You (possibly with your friends) face off against your enemies (possibly with their friends.) Whichever side has the biggest total score wins. Act the battle out, make it look amazing, and then hand out an injury to everybody who was defeated, and loot one thing from each person on the losing side.
Your combat score is equally easy to figure out; there’s only four things to keep track of. On your right arm will be strips of tape to indicate how many times you can use your Force Powers – sometimes Force Powers will give you an edge in combat, which is represented by a temporary boost. You get one additional strip of tape for each ability you take in the Force trees, and they recharge during interludes throughout the day. Your left arm is the spot for an injury indicator; if you are defeated in battle you get a red strip of tape to indicate your injury and subsequent loss of combat abilit. Injuries can be healed during interludes throughout the day, or by teammates who are capable of using the Force Heal ability. Jedi suffer a -3 penalty to their combat score if they are injured, while Dark Side practitioners’ focus on raw power allows them to easier push through their wounds to suffer a -1 penalty. You may not have more than one injury. Your chest will be adorned with a two numbers – one black, and one red. The black number is your regular combat score, while the red one indicates your battle prowess when you remove a strip of your Force Powers to activate your abilities in combat.
TL;DR – If you have a red strip of tape on your left arm, your combat score is what it normally is -3. If you spend one use of your Force Powers before combat, your combat
score increases to the higher of the two numbers you keep track of. No Force Power strips left means you’re stuck at the lower number.
FOR THE SAKE OF SAFETY: As mentioned before, the outcome of combat is predetermined. We are using plastic, electronic lightsabers for the sake of cinematographic and all-around awesome feeling to combat. As such, DO NOT attempt to hit your friends full force. You’re making this look good, not making your friends feel battered and bruised.
Resources And Holocrons
Throughout the day, there are three main resources you’ll be collecting. The first are holocrons, most commonly found in ruins marked by a distinctive tag. These tags can be brought back to Sindra’s headquarters to unlock the ruins by anyone with the Wisdom of the Ancients ability, and inside are hidden either holocrons or caches of Imperial credits. Holocrons can be opened immediately by anyone with the Secrets of the Force ability, or brought back to Sindra’s headquarters to be opened and their secrets revealed (be aware: if defeated in battle, unopened holocrons can be looted from you.) Imperial credits are rectangular chits that can be looted from fallen enemies, collected in resource caches, or granted at the end of an interlude. They are spent at the beginning of interludes at Sindra’s headquarters on the map of Kashyyk to gain an advantage for either the Rebellion or the Empire. Remember, the battle for the galaxy rages on in the background – it’s up to you to help support the Rebellion or help crush it.