Lit A look at Pirates and Privateers & Wanted by Cracken w/ Charlemagne19

General Arndall Lott



Age: 55

Crimes against the New Republic: Treason, sedition, destruction of New Republic property, murder of New Republic personnel, destruction of private property, murder

Reward for Capture: 75,000 credits

General Arndall Lott is basically a decent replacement for General Veers. Technically, General Veers isn't dead outside of the deleted scenes so you could have your player characters kill him but it's nice to have your own archnemesis. General Lott is also noted as actually having been one of General Veer's subordinates and might have been one of the Walker Pilots masked at the Battle of Hoth.

There's a hint General Lott did something to screw up his career but not in a way which actually destroyed it as he was 'promoted' to being the head of Walker Operations and Tactics training on Jardeen IV. This might just be a poor choice of writing but being promoted from working in Darth Vader's fleet to being an instructor on a backwater world doesn't seem like a great career move.

In any case, General Lott makes use of slave-rigged and droid walkers to compensate for lack of Imperial troopers to man them. The thing about it is that Lott is actually a genius computer programmer in addition to being an Imperial general and a great walker tactician. As such, the weapons under him are better than actual Imperial troopers and this has made him able to wage a fierce campaign against the New Republic.

Notably, Lott is working with Ion Gendarr and is a pirate who attacks civilian shipments and bases as well. He's also an Asian character, which is rare enough in the Empire.

Ion Gendarr



Age: 44

Crimes against the New Republic: Treason, sedition, destruction of New Republic property, murder of New Republic personnel
Reward for Capture: 75,000

Iolan Gendarr was one of Captain Needa's bridge officers who got promoted after the Battle of Hoth. I have the image of him being offered command of the Avenger and deciding he'd like to serve ANYWHERE ELSE. As the head of the Reliance, he was assigned to Jardeen with General Lott and the two have waged their own private war against the New Republic.

There's not much to make Gendarr unique except for the fact he's a HUGE law and order fan (not the show) given he has a huge score of Imperial Law Enforcement. My idea is that he got into the Empire to be a "law and order" imperial without realizing that the rulebook isn't that important to fascists.

Thoughts: Arndall Lott fills a nice void for PCs who like the Battle of Hoth and want to do their own version of taking down a walky ala Luke or with snowspeeders. I don't think Iolan Gendarr really adds much to the villains role versus Dor Reder. He seems a bit generic as he's just another petty warlord. The two seem to have a villainous friendship, though, and I think that's intriguing and could possibly be played as something more.

I mean that seriously you could have the two have transferred to the same backwater world to get out of the Death's Head Squadron to be together. It'd add an interesting angle should the PCs kill one of them and now have a vengeance-crazed Imperial coming after them.

 

Lieutenant Lon Donell



Age: 50

Crimes against the New Republic: Theft, Kidnapping

Reward for Capture: 15,000

Lon Donell is one of the best characters in all of Star Wars and I mean that. I'm actually annoyed no one ever decided to pick this guy up and if I was going to steal a Star Wars character to be my avatar then I would choose this guy. Mostly because there's a FASCINATING story behind this guy which we've never had filled out by the rest of the EU.

The short version is Lon Donell is a Imperial lieutenant who seized control over his Interdictor cruiser, The Detainer (a bit on the nose as a name even for the Empire), and proceeded to build a massive pirate fleet. The Rebellion considers him a fairly minor nuisance because he's deliberately avoided antagonizing the New Republic and goes only after independent shipping.

As a result of not using these ships against the Republic, they've completely missed he's not just in control of the Detainer but actually controls a planet (Barpine) as well as an orbital shipyards above it that services his fleet. There's a lot of interesting possibilities for this guy and how he could be played. Why is he a 50 year old lieutenant? How did he manage to get the position of trust that all of the crew would follow him? What is his ultimate goals? Where did he get his surprising stats (which include the ability to fly freighters as well as capital ships)?

It should be noted in addition to his interdictor, he's modified a Super-Container to be a "ship eater" that can absorb Frigates and Corvettes into its mass and allows them to be taken down even when the hyperdrive is disabled. Like Blofeld's rocket in YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE.

 

Here's the backstory I added for Lon Donel when I used him in my campaign:

Lon Donel was a veteran of the Clone Wars and managed to achieve a lieutenant's position in the fleet of Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Unfortunately, being a friend to the Jedi Knights and a die hard Republic loyalist did not actually make him that popular in events and he was discharged on trumped up charges.

Embittered and angry, Lon Donel eventually became a tramp freighter captain and spent much of the next twenty years staying ahead of the law. He witnessed most of the galaxy acclimate to the Empire all too easily and saw no point in resisting any further. His life changed when he managed to rescue an Imperial officer being attacked by pirates while traveling in an Imperial shuttle. This was the Detainer's initial captain who gave him an Imperial commission and his position as first officer. This magnanimous offer soon soured in his mouth because the man was an incompetent blowhard distantly related to Admiral Ozzel.

Lon Donel soon made friends of most of the Detainer crew, which was composed of a large number of deeply unpopular individuals in the Navy. Captain Ozzel's use of corporal punishment, the prison they guarded to sell slaves, and regular execution of dissenters made them primed for mutiny even before the Empire's collapse.

When the Emperor died, Ozzel planned to take them to join Admiral Harrsk's warlord only to be killed by Lon Donel. The rest of the crew wasn't eager to join any of the remaining groups, though, and any chance of joining Coruscant's Imperial government went down when they were charged in absentia for mutiny.

Lon Donel is not planning to become an Imperial warlord, himself, but actually has the ambitions of creating a vast pirate fleet. He is distrustful of the New Republic and only intends to live the life of a rich and corrupt criminal (albeit relatively bloodless). Lon has started to reverse his opinion of the New Republic due to its return of the Jedi Knights (or at least endorsement by one) but believes it's too late to be anything but a rich rogue.

He is considering joining his fleet with Talon Karrde's organization but the issue of all the captured crews on Barpine are an issue as he'd like to return them but isn't sure how.

Adventure Hooks

1. Lon Donel is being made a very generous offer by Warlord Zsinj to join his Empire but isn't sure because, bluntly, Zsinj is a lying snake. Lon Donel knows he can't defend the shipyards in his possession but he also knows that he can certainly blow them to render them useless. Talon Karrde is fully prepared to make Donel a counter-offer to move the shipyards to another location via some stabilizers as well as hyperdrive attachments. However, he knows the situation is very iffy as Lon has a number of lieutenants who wouldn't mind working for an Imperial like Zsinj (who pays very well).

The New Republic, of course, wants Lon captured. A Jedi, however, might be able to persuade him to turn himself over.

2. Lon Donel has made the biggest capture of his career as he successfully managed to snag an Imperial Star Destroyer due to the staggering incompetence of his captain (and the use of a large number of starfighters). This is a much bigger issue than he could have expected since said captain was transporting Sarcev Quest of the Imperial Ruling Council.

He can now, theoretically, make a play for his own Sector if he wants or he can barter Quest to the Republic or Empire. Quest, himself, is also making a lot of offers. Not entirely insincerely as the incompetent Dark Jedi recognizes Donel has built something fairly big.

3. The PCs wake up as pirates. This is an unusual state as they've been apparently members of Lon Donel's pirate crew for three months. It turns out that Barpine's prison is mining Ryll spice and they were transported down there. After a certain amount of exposure, you start to become very subceptible to the control of others. The PCs have woken up due to not being weak minded and must decide what they're supposed to do.

 

Why isn't Silver Fyre on the list?

Privateers ain't just something used by guerrilla operators, it's a classic part of warfare used against more or less everybody with a water based supplyline during history. Now take Sir Francis Drake, the Spanish all despise him; but to the British he's a hero and they idolize him.

What better uses can you see for it?

 

We could spend all day on Star Wars pirates as they're such a wonderful bunch. Mind you, my favorite so far in the canon is Beckett.

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Silver_Fyre

Someone said the best difference between a pirate and a governor is a pirate ends his life at the gallows and a privateer ends his life a gentleman.

I think of the Nebulon-B frigate (and this is all completely just me thinking of their uses from tabletop RPGs) as the workhorse capital ship of the Alliance. The Corellian Corvette and gunships are the things which are ubiqutous in the Alliance but I see Nebulon-B frigates as the largest capital ships which they have regular access too even with the Mon Calamari converting every single one of their luxury liners into battleships. Nebulon-B frigates doing the work of harassing the Empire and providing cover for starfighters to what extent they can.

They're probably the "command ship" of most Rebel sector commands to the extent they do have fleets.

 

How is using one for privateering not this?

 

Gamiel, I was referring to Star Wars particularly, though it is definitely important to note the role of privateers throughout history.

 

The short version being that privateers are not part of the Alliance chain of command but mercenaries sort of like the guys in Twilight Company.

Except with even more freedom.

 

Sorry, the way you worderd it made me read it as you meaning that it was something mostly used by gurilla fighting people instead of something all kind of powers did.

Righto, but still; how is using a Nebulon-B for privateering not harassing the Empire?



Also this might be of interest

 

I don't think the Rebellion would give away their warships to independent contractors versus using them themselves.

But that's just my thought.

 

As I understand it, Far Orbit wasn't the Rebellion's to give. Didn't it just show up with its captain and crew and ask for a letter of marque?

 

Yes, I was thinking that it's more likely that way to happen than the Rebellion arming privateers. Pirates show up or are recruited with their fleets versus the Rebellion giving someone a gunship (which I suspect is more likely to be given than a Nebulon-B frigate).

 

Serdif Tount

Age: 42
Bounty: 35,000 credits
Crimes: The usual



Serdif Tount is a somewhat generic NPC and not one of my favorites from this book. Basically, he's just an Imperial governor who has managed to keep the fact the Emperor is dead away from the populace and has North Korea-levels of control over the population. The best thing about him is the fact he LOOKS like an Imperial governor with that piece of art and you can easily imagine him as a fat Southern plantation owner-like Imperial. He even is known to beat people to death with his walking stick.

I'm inclined to wonder why the Emperor dying is such a big thing for the majority of the galaxy since they tend to think of him as a sick and dying old man. It's not like he's Sauron and they believe he's this sort of demigod-like figure. Yes, the Rebellion assassinating him is going to be a big deal but I am always a bit confused why so many Imperials are terrified of that. I suppose it has to do with the fact they have no answer as to who is the new head of the Emperor as the answer is, "Nobody."

Serdif is notable for the fact that he's the real power in the Lamda Sector. This is presumably where the titular shuttles are produced. While he's subordinate to the Moff, its' noted that the populace is actually afraid of him.

Par Lankin

Age: 55
Bounty: 55,000 credits
Crimes: The usual



Par Lankin is basically the archetypal Imperial warlord. He's an Imperial Moff who took his fleets inward to his sector, cut himself off the rest of the Empire, and has been ruling his territories without support from Coruscant ever since. There's nothing really important about him other than if he was captured then his sector would fall (or it would fall into the hands of Serdif Tount who controls his capital).

One element which is notable is Par Lankin never leaves his estate except for hunting expeditions where the PCs are all but told to take him out.

It should be noted that Lankin's story mentions he's actually conquered six New Republic worlds but the New Republic has refused to move against him but is pursuing diplomatic channels. Cracken put the bounty on Lankin's head of his own initiative. I have to wonder how that worked out.

 

Any information about the Lamda sector? Anything about size, location, planets, interstellar culture, famous stuff, and/or similar, any of that?

Any explanation to why they are going the diplomatic rut?

 

Non-Canon Expansions

1. I'd suggest going for a full-on Antebellum South feel for this Imperial world with the urban areas controlled by the Empire directly. It's a planet full of Duros and they are oppressed heavily by the Empire, forced to grow goop which is processed into feeding the populace of numerous industrial worlds in the sector. The Empire's forces on the planet are great but not actually nearly as great as they make it clear (because they have no backup).

2. Serdif Tount is a particularly repulsive and irredeemable example of a Imperial officer with not so much a love of high human culture as an outright hate of aliens. He was a Republic Colonel during the Clone Wars and involved in numerous war crimes against the Neimodians as well as other other alien peoples. Serdif really wanted to be a Grand Moff of the Lambda Oversector and was well on his way to doing so when he screwed up and picked a fight with Grand Admiral Thrawn which left him utterly humiliated.

3. Just to go for some humorous fun and make the adventures dealing with this two more interesting, Moff Par Lankin is reclusive for a reason: the dude can barely dress himself in the morning and was appointed Moff because Ars Dangor did it as a deliberate insult to Governor Tount. The guy is the worst stereotype of an Imperial Core Worlder chinless wonder who is scared of blaster fire, completely incompetant at his job, and would have surrendered to the New Republic after Endor if not for the fact he's a prisoner in his own home.

Nobody knows this and Tount has only refused to have him assassinated because his Admirals would become warlords themselves rather than name him his successor. About the only thing Par Lankin is good for is knowing not to appoint Serdif his successor.

4. Par Lankin does have a body double who Serdif Tount is planning to replace him with, who is a die hard COMPNOR loyalist and fully capable of taking over the job for him. However, Serdif may have miscalculated with him as well because Oodif Sing would rather run the Sector himself and if he can't then he'd be happy to accept a generous payout from the New Republic (or just steal the treasure for him).

You see, as a COMPNOR loyalist he can read the writing on the wall and doesn't see Tount as the real Empire any more than the Republic.

 

The capital of the Sector is the planet Rintonne and this is one of the first of the Imperial "Fortress Worlds." It's a planet which Par Lankin and Serdif have done their best to have complete information control over and rule with iron fists of public executions, televised speeches, maintaining the fiction the Empire controls the galaxy, as well as constant abuses by the Imperial military. The population has been whipped into pure hatred of the Empire but they're also utterly terrified of Serdif (not Lankin it is specifically noted) that they would revolt en masse to kill every Imperial on the planet if they heard of Serdif's death--even more so than the Emperor.

Later books establish this is the Native Sector for Aqualish and Clawdites among other lesser known species.

The Lambda Sector gets expanded on a bit more in other books but it is an isolated Imperial target like other fortress worlds with no support from the rest of the Galactic Empire. Retaking it by force would be a massive operation as the troopers are some of the best in the Empire and they are "drilled relentlessly." The short version being that the New Republic military would take a licking taking this location but a small band of plucky soldiers who take out its leadership would cause it's collapse.

A realpolitic assumption is the New Republic would want to take the industry worlds and shipyards in the Sector (which Par Lankin is using to build up and maintain his fleet) intact.

 

Tyrn Jiton



Age: 27
Crimes against the New Republic: Kidnapping, Theft, and Murder
Bounty: 15,000 credits

Despite the fact Tyrn Jiton doesn't have these crimes listed above, he's said in his description to be an Imperial-based bounty hunter who captures New Republic operatives and sells them to the Empire. So it seems like there's a opposite number to General Cracken putting bounties on the head of the Republic just like he's doing the same for the Empire.

Tyrn Jiton is another character who suffers for the fact we don't have much in the way of backstory for him but he serves as an interesting "Boba Fett" substitute. They even give him a Firespray-class vessel just like Boba's in order to make it more interesting. Sadly, there's nothing really impressive about him yet and he's probably the least interesting of the bounty hunters in the group.

Suggestions for Expansion: I like the idea of making Tyrn Jiton fiercely patriotic and one of the "lowest level" COMPNOR operatives despite being an alien. He washed out of the Imperial military, can't imagine why, but still wants to serve the Empire with a puppy dog devotion. It makes his service sad as well as extra aggravating.

Andov Syn



Age: 38
Crimes against the New Republic: Murder of New Republic personnel, destruction of New Republic property, aiding and abetting known criminals, bribery
Bounty: 60,000 credits

Andov Syn is a Kerestian, which is a WEG-created species that are basically purely devoted to survival and cannibalism. Their planet is a hellhole and you are either a mate, a slave, or food as far as social interactions are concerned. Eli Roth would love these guys as they also make energy boomerangs (don't ask me how). Andov Syn has a MYSTERIOUS past (which was later filled in as being a bounty hunter

Darth Vader summoned for hunting Han and Leia but who didn't show) but has a profession: he's a bounty hunter who professionally kills cops, other bounty hunters, and mercs protecting other people. He's not particularly interested in working for the Empire but prefers to work for criminals. However, his actions and the myriad people he's killed has caused Cracken to put the highest non-Imperial bounty on his head.

I always liked him as a character and think he has the potential to be the PCs' archnemesis in a way that other characters in this book don't.

Moxin Tark



Age: 30
Crimes: Murder of New Republic personnel
Reward: 6,000 credits

Moxin Tark is probably the best written character in this group because he's got an actual past sketched out. He's the son of an Imperial lieutenant from a Core World where they were incredibly rich (but apparently his father couldn't get promoted--interesting). Moxin had a furious hatred of his father and that was matched only by his hatred of the Empire. During the Galactic Civil War, while Moxin Tark was a licensed Imperial Hunter, he actually regularly took Rebellion contracts and was considered an asset.

Recently, he killed Captain Nark Detan of the Rebellion Special Forces. This was a personal friend of General Cracken and he's put out a dead or alive bounty on Tark. He's also apparently doing this a bit under the radar given the low bounty. Notably, he wore the armor of a member of the Sun Guard but Cracken believes it's a replica.

In my games Moxin Tark DID kill Captain Detan but it was a personal issue and Detan drew first. Which complicated things considerably.

 

Do they explain what the Sun Guard are and/or why Cracken belives it's a replica?

Also here is a fullbody pic of Moxin from Mike Jackson own deviantart gallery

 

Lol, I love those badass skull kneepatches.

 

Only that they are "the inspiration for Palpatine's Royal Guard" and Moxin Tark has a well-documented backstory that doesn't seem to have time to become the last of a secret order of warriors like Boba Fett or Luke Skywalker.