This is the basic information for starting a quick Star Wars game for use with the GURPS system. It is designed for the GURPS player and GM, who like me, have minimal resources. The background information I am using from the Star Wars universe include: the Star Wars movies, the X-Wing and Dark Forces video games, the Thrawn Trilogy and Truce at Bakura novels as well as skimming the Star Wars RPG books from West End Games (while the owner of the local hobby shop was<92>t looking). I am also using only a few books from GURPS for rules and items. The only GURPS books used by me at this time are the Basic Set, Space, and Compendiums I & II (although the majority of the guidelines come from the first two). GURPS Ultra-Tech and GURPS Robots can be used to augment characters and equipment lists.
Included with this conversion are guidelines from the GURPS Books the overworked GM will find useful. Common weapons, minimum character requirements, stats for allies and enemies, Space Opera Combat ship statistics, and The Force as Psi powers have been worked out so GMs can concentrate on the story.
GURPS Star Wars Campaign
Plan
Campaign name: Star Wars
Campaign starting year: Shortly after the events in the first Star
War movie
Campaign type: Space Opera
Known races: Human, Wookie, Mon Calamari, Sullustian, Rodians, Hutts
as well as hundreds of other known races
Campaign’s base world: Tatooine and the surrounding sector
Frequency of good worlds: Common
Is exploration still going on: Some
Campaign political background
Name and type of stellar state:
Galactic Empire
Control rating: CR 4-6 on core Imperial worlds, average CR 2 on
frontier worlds
Brief political/economic description: The Galactic Empire is using
a campaign of terror to put down a rebellion based on the previous Republic.
Organized crime is growing in the wake of a distracted central government.
Smaller independent alien powers are becoming concerned at the growing
might of a human dominated Empire.
Campaign TL: 9, blasters are most common weapon
Exceptions to standard TL: Armor and sensors are one TL behind standard,
TL 12 contragravity and TL 11 ship-borne energy fields available, severe
restrictions on cloning due to public distrust after the Clone Wars
FTL speed: Hyperspace drive, 10 pc/day on well defined routes
FTL communications: Instant (expensive) or slow (cheap)
Medical: Standard TL 9 medicine
Starship rules
FTL drive: hyperdrive
Speed: ~10 pc/day on common routes
Fuel cost and consumption: Standard
Ease of FTL navigation/engineering: Standard
Obstacles to FTL travel: Massive computation time needed before
a successful jump to hyperspace
FTL side effects: Jumping into hyperspace without the proper calculations
can result in collision with realspace astronomical objects when leaving
hyperspace
STL drive: Ion reaction drive
Power plant type: Fusion reactors
Space combat type: Space Opera Combat System
Usual weapons/shields: Lasers, turbolasers, ion beams, proton torpedoes,
and concussion missiles for offense and energy shields and superstrong
metals for defense
PC information
PC races: Humans, Wookies
and droids (see GM for other options)
Base wealth: $15,000
Starting social levels: 3 or less
Useful languages: Galactic Basic, droid binary, Wookie
Useful character types (most from GURPS Space p. 31-32): Starship
crew, merchant, Alliance navy/army, smuggler, scout, assassin, bounty-hunter,
dilettante, diplomat, escort, fighter jock, Alliance intelligence, journalist,
primitive, prospector/belter, rogue, scientist, local rebel, trooper/mercenary,
Jedi Knight, slicer/hacker, droid
Useless or disallowed character types: Colonist, Imperial navy/army,
Dark Jedi, local Patrolman
Useful advantages/skills: Combat reflexes, beam weapon (blaster),
electronics operation: all but teleporter, engineering: Hyperdrive, mechanic:
hyperdrive, fast draw, gunner, hard to kill, mechanic: ship drives, pilot:
starship, rank, streetwise
Useless advantages/skills:
Forbidden PC advantages, disadvantages, and skills (from the Basic Set):
judo, karate, magical aptitude, magical resistance, amnesia, blindness,
terminally ill, eunuch, pyromania, megalomania, sadism, berserk, bloodlust
Special disciplines
Magic: unknown
Psionics: Manifests as The Force that is the source of many psi-like
powers, requires Unusual Background advantage
Rules variants: New skills: precog parry
Rule variants: Advanced flesh wound (players may reduce the damage
from any attack to 1 point by spending 1 character point), ISMA, Hollywood
Automatic Weapons
Characters
“My team’s assembled, but I don’t have a command crew for the shuttle.”–General Han Solo, Return of the Jedi
Some typical inhabitants of the Star Wars universe are included in GURPS Space. Typical archetypes along with their suggested skills are found in GURPS Space p. 31-32. Other archetypes include: slicer (hacker), Jedi, Imperial Bureaucrat and droid.
Other Important Character Types
Jedi Knight
Remember, a Jedi feels The Force flowing through him.–Obi-Wan Kenobi, Star Wars
The Force provides Jedi with many unique advantages and skills. Included are Psionics (typically Telepathy, Psychokinesis, and ESP), and Weapon Master (force sword) advantages and force sword, psi sense, emotion sense,
telekinesis, precognition, and precog parry skills. Jedi characters must pay the Unusual Background: Jedi Training disadvantage.
Droids
Droids built without GURPS Robots typically have the following advantages and disadvantages: absolute timing, eidetic memory, lightning calculator, doesn’t breathe, doesn’t eat or drink,
reduced sleep, dependency: energy recharge, cannot learn, reprogrammable duty, social stigma: valuable property, unhealing. Astromech droids also have interface jack advantage.
Creating PCs
PCs should be created as standard 100 point characters with 40 points of disadvantages and 5 quirks. Characters in my campaign must have the requirements listed below.
All player characters (disadvantages do not count against the 40 point limit)
Advantage: Patron: Rebel Alliance (30)
Disadvantage: Duty: Rebel Alliance (-10), Secret: Rebel Alliance (-20)
Races
Ewok (-41 pts)
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-2 ST (20 pts)
-6 TL (-30 pts)
Stealth (4 pts)
Gamorreans (11 pts)
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+2 ST (20 pts)
-2 IQ (-20 pts)
+2 HT (20 pts)
Melee weapons skills (2 pts)
Intolerance: Droids -2 (-6 pts)
Social stigma: slaves (-10 pts)
Ithorians (“Hammerheads”) (4 pts)
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Planetology (2 pts)
Agronomy (2 pts)
Mon Calamari (20 pts)
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Amphibious (10 pts)
Gills (10 pts)
Rodians (-10 pts)
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Reputation: Everybody -2 (-10 pts)
Sullustans (15 pts)
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Alertness +2 (10 pts)
Abosolute direction (5 pts)
Twi’leks (20 pts)
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Secret communication (20 pts)
Wookie (5 pts)
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+2 ST (20)
Berserk (-15 pts)
Climbing Claws (15 pts)
Wookie code of honor (-5 pts)
Reputation: all -1 (-5 pts)
Can’t speak Basic (-5 pts)
Imperial Personnel
“We are quite safe from your pitiful little band. An entire legion of my best troops awaits them.”– Emperor Palpatine, Return of the Jedi
Stormtrooper (25 pts.)
ST 11 (10), DX 11 (10), IQ 10, HT 10
Advantages: none
Disadvantages: none
Skills: brawling 11 (1), beam weapon (blaster) 13 (4)
Imperial Commando (45 pts)
ST 10, DX 12 (20), IQ 10, HT 10
Advantages: combat reflexes, hard to kill 1 (5)
Disadvantages: none
Skills: brawling 12 (1), beam weapon (blaster) 16 (16), electronics operation: any one 9 (1), tactics 10 (2)
Tech Crew (25 pts)
ST 10, DX 10, IQ 11 (10), HT 10
Advantages: none
Disadvantages: none
Skills: brawling 11 (2), beam weapon: blaster 11 (2), language: astromech 10 (1), mechanic: any one 10 (4), electronics operation: any three 11 (6)
Imperial Pilot (25 pts)
ST 10, DX 11 (10), IQ 10, HT 10
Advantages: none
Disadvantages: none
Skills: Beam weapon (blaster) 11 (1), gunner: beams 12 (4), electronics operation: communications 9 (1), electronics operation: force shields 9 (1), electronics operation: sensors 9 (1), electronics operation: weapons 9 (1), astrogation 8 (1), strategy (space) 9 (1), pilot fighter spacecraft
12 (4)
Equipment
“What are we to do
if we are found?”–C-3PO
“Hope they don’t have blasters.”–Captain Han Solo, Star Wars
The Star Wars universe is generally
at TL 9. Except for sensors, all the TL 9 equipment listed in GURPS Space
is commonly available. Contragrav technology, or repulsorlifts, exists
but works only against other gravitationally fields (such as that of a
planet). TL 12 contragrav gear is used extensively by civilian and military
concerns. For serious combat, blasters of all shapes and sizes dominate
the battlefield. Most blasters come equipped standard with electrolaser
settings. Electrolasers, colloquially known as civilian blasters, fulfill
the roles of personal defense and hunting among the average beings of the
galaxy. Most other weapons on the GURPS space list appear either as products
of alien or backwater technology or as experimental devices.
Armor technology is lagging behind
at TL 8. The most common type of military armor is the Combat Infantry
Dress that Stormtroopers wear. Cash strapped Alliance troops usually have
to go out into the field with only the the vest version of the CID. Special
forces units of both Imperial and Alliance armed forces wear the equivalent
of monocrys armor while standard uniforms are made of a Kevlar type material
(the Imperials typically get the heavier more expensive armor). Custom
built TL 9+ armor appears occasionally (as with Darth Vader<92>s and Boba
Fett<92>s armor) but is very expensive (see the gadgeteer rules for possible
costs).
Typical Stormtrooper Gear:
Stormtrooper armor (equivalent to Combat Infantry Dress and Combat Infantry
Helmet which impairs visibility and hearing imposing a -2 penalty to Vision
and Hearing rolls), Blaster Rifle (w. Electrolaser settings), Utility Belt,
Biphase Rope with grapple, Thermal Detonators (TL 9 HE grenades, optional)
Warships, Freighters and Starfighters
"You came in that thing? You’re braver than I thought."–Princess Leia Organa, Star
Wars
Space Opera Combat
Statistics
Alliance Ships
"Lock S-foils in attack
position"–General Lando Calrissian, Return of the Jedi
X-Wing
MR: 7
Weapons: 1 light long range weapon, 1 heavy short range weapon
Defense: None
Damage Areas: 1 body area
Y-Wing:
MR: 6
Weapons: 2 light long range weapons, 1 heavy short range weapon
Defense: None
Damage Areas: 1 body area
A-Wing:
MR: 8
Weapons: 1 light long range weapon
Defense: None
Damage Areas: 1 body area
Mon Calamari Cruiser "We
won’t last long against those Star Destroyers"–Admiral Ackbar, Return
of the Jedi
MR: 1
Weapons: 100 light long range weapons, 20 heavy long range weapons
Defense: Ablative heavy armor x 8
Damage Areas: 800 body areas (hyperdrive x80, sublight drive x80, weapons
x80, shields x80, life support x80, body x400)
Imperial Ships
TIE Fighter
MR: 8
Weapons: 1 light short range weapon
Defense: None
Damage Areas: 1 body area
TIE Bomber
MR: 6
Weapons: 1 heavy short range weapon
Defense: None
Damage Areas: 1 body area
TIE Interceptor
MR: 8
Weapons: 1 light long range weapon
Defense: None
Damage Areas: 1 body area
Imperial Shuttle
MR: 4
Weapon: 1 light short range weapon
Defense: None
Damage Areas: 1 body area
Imperial-class Star Destroyer
MR: 1
Weapons: 100 light long range weapons, 50 heavy long range weapons
Defense: Ablative heavy armor x 10
Damage Areas: 1000 body areas (hyperdrive x100, sublight drive x100, weapons
x100, shields x100, life supportx100, body x500)
Other common ships
Typical Correllion Freighter
MR: 3
Weapons: 1 light long range weapon
Defense: Ablative light armor x2
Damage Areas: 10 areas (hyperdrive, sublight drive, weapons, shields, life
support, body x5)
Correllion Corvette
MR: 4
Weapons: 6 heavy long range weapon
Defense: Ablative light armor x3
Damage Areas: 15 areas (hyperdrive, sublight drive x2, weapons x2, shields
x2, life support x3, body x 5)
Nebulon-B Frigate
MR: 2
Weapons: 12 light long range weapons, 12 heavy long range weapons
Defense: Ablative heavy armor x 8
Damage Areas: 150 body areas (hyperdrive x15, sublight drive x15, weapons
x25, shields x15, life support x15, body x50)
GURPS Star Wars — Jedi Knights and The Force
“I find your lack
of faith disturbing.”–Darth Vader, Star Wars
“For my ally is The Force, and a powerful ally it is.”–Yoda,
The Empire Strikes back
The Force is the source of a Jedi’s
power. Many of these powers can be described by using the rules for psionics.
Jedi learn the powers of Telepathy, Psychokinesis, ESP. Available skills
in these powers for both sides of The Force: psi-sense (known as force
sense), emotion sense, telesend, telerecieve, mind shield, telecontrol,
telekinesis (and telekinetic attacks like the choke attack), and precognition.
The Jedi have many powers including:
moving objects by thought (telekinesis), parrying blasters (precog parry),
seeing into the future (precognition), force lightning (racial advantage:
lightning attack), sense other Force users (psi sense), emotion sense,
suggestion, reading minds (telescan), limited flight (levitation), absorb/dissipate energy (PK shield/energy
shield), accelerate healing (healing), life extention, metabolism control,
combat sense, mental communication with other jedi (telesend/telereceive).
GURPS Star Wars — Adventure
The scene: a dimly-lit catinia
on Tatooine. You sit up nervously at the arrival of you Alliance contact,
code named Marillion, who will bring you your next mission. She motions
you and your resistance cell toward a private room where she sets up a
sonic sreen over the room. Your contact fires up her hand computer and
shows you a holographic display of an Imperial facility.
The target is located on the second planet in the Alfore system, about
3 days of hyperspace travel away. The system hosts an old civilian communications
relay service station that has been reactivated by the Empire to handle
their communications in this sector until a new station can be constructed.
You primary mission is to download as many Imperial communication records
as possible for use by Alliance intelligence analysists. The secondary
goal is to destroy the power plant for the station in the most destructive
way possible to put the station out for good.
Local Conditions
Your target is on Alfore II a remote planet in this sector that has,
until recently, been used to handle civilian communications. The system
contains three gas giants, a handful of unremarkable planets, an unexplored
asteriod mine and one habitable planet with few natural resources where
the station is located. Alfore II has no known sentient species and almost
nothing is known about other local species. Alfore II is a jungle world
with lots of water and a moderate greenhouse effect making temperatures
warmer than normal. From long range surveys and conjecture about Imperial
tactical doctrine a rough layout of the station has been constructed by
Alliance intelligence.
1. Power Plant From energy
emissions and standard Imperial practice Alliance Intelligence has deduced
that the station is totally run by an old, bulky (TL8) fusion reactor.
2. Crew barracks Station personnel who run and service the station
are quartered here. Their quarters and recreation areas are in this 5 story
metal sided building.
3. Repair facilities Two 3 story tall buildings are next to the
landing pad at this facility. Each is topped by a large tractor beam that
is used to move damaged comm satellites into the tall buildings for maintenance
and repair. During the day 15-20 people are repairing satellites.
4. Landing pad This is a pad designed for standard Imperial shuttles.
It should be more than large enough to hold you ship. The width of the
pad is about 50 yds.
5. Shield generatorsThe shield generator is a standard midrange-output
defense grid designed to resist orbital bombardment from light ships. This
particular type of shield generator is angled to deflect incoming fire
from above the installation.
6. Turbo lasers Four quadruple anti-fighter batteries have recently
been installed here.
7. Main computer/Monitor rooms This building houses the monitoring
and control systems of all the comm satellites in this sector. The main
computer keeps track of all communications routed by the satellites.
8. Sensor suite uplink This is an uplink to an old sensor suite
in orbit designed to track the communications relays in this system.