This ever happened to you???

I just started up a new game sat. night and the players were playing along fine until... I had the party go to a planet with a suspected Sith temple. Well they get there and everything is going to plan untill the re-animated skeleton of a long dead sith lord tries to attack the party. Well the Jedi in the group all get ready to attack it, but in perfect smuggler fashion the pilot in the group rolls a thermal detonator right to the sith's feet and we go running. Needless to say he blows up the skeleton and brings most of the room down with it. They now can't get to the damned objective because there is too much stone in the way.

 

Well, that's where skilled minors and mining droids come in handy. Perhaps a structural engineer too.

Or, if they're Jedi, can't they just cut through the stone with their lightsabers? Or cut it into managable sizes? Of course, as the guy who set of the cave in, the smuggler pilot should be required to do the physical work as much as possible as an object lesson about irresponsible use of high-explosives.

If you think your way arround the problem, there is usually a solution for any squirrelly thing the players try to do.
Or maybe they have to think of the solution...

 

I'd make the players think of how to fix the mess.

As some an option besides what's listed about you could: Make some heavy duty Move Object/Telekinis(depending on system) checks to lift the rubble while the group gets through you just have to worry about air then when you drop it (vac suits useful).

 

Hey, I know that smuggler!!

I had a similar experience with one of my players/freinds--accept I was in the party at the time, not GMing. His character radioed to mine that law enforcement was surronding the building where we had stored out captured imperial spy. His character was circling overhead in our ship.

I was too... vague... in my instructions to him: "Get rid of the evidence," my character told him.

Across the city, my character heard in his comlink, "Okay," (as my friend across the room was laughing hysterically at the plan he'd devised). A few note passings later between him and the GM... My character sees/hears/feels a tremendous explosion.

He had gotten rid of the evidence, by launching a payload of proton torps at the building.

As to your current predicament...

It's always good to have a back-up plan. Maybe there's another way to reach the objective. Or maybe their new goal is to survive their own misjudgements, and escape from the rubble. Then they can return later with equipment they need?

SOunds like it's a definite setback, though.

 

Just grasping at straws here...

Even though the Sith skeleton is dead, maybe his spirit is alive...with the dark side of the force.


He strikes a bargain with the PCs to use the force to get the PCs out of the rocks, to retieve an artifact or slay an old foe. If they fail to do it...he is a spirit...and can cause trouble for them whever they are.

 

I ended up having one of the almost Jedi Knights get possesed by the spirit. Again, the smuggler pulled out a thermal detonator and depressed the dead-man switch proclaiming that he'd kill the whole party if he had too. About this time the spirit uses grip on the button, rips it out of his hand and sets it back to the off position, then hits him with a bit of lighning. But we killed the spirit and all was good.