With invaders at the gates, everyone take part in the defense.
When widespread threats to a populace are beyond the Player
Characters' powers or numbers. it is time to arm the townsfolk.
This usually means the Player Characters are outnumbered
and outgunned to the point that there is no single weakness or solution they can use to defeat the enemy beforehand. Even Player Characters cannot be everywhere at once.
s a crassJC trope of heroic fiction.
s u. wr.ch everyday ciliLens must •"'e:r homes. Fleeing or escaping : al,emative is so bad that the ., .... or their 1;ves instead of living �!l escape rr.:ght provide. IL is a plan of sewei"'le:.:s are filled with experienced combatants. bm ao co:-,u3:n so"1e of their people's greatest treasures-fam1�. ;r12nds. 'businesses. and homes. Usually, the townsfol...: are u:2 defenders. but they might seize the initiative as the ba,i.le progresses and their newly acquired confidence ana skills r,ave a chance to shine.
Adventures about em�l"ering the downtrodden Lo fight for themselves ca sl'Ja•e some of the same features as Impossible Odds encounters. While both often feature a large attacking fo•ce against a seemingly lesser defender, the odds of survival are Jsually better when lhe PCs are backed up
or
a sma!I army. It is perfectly possible to com bine the two, srould me Game Master want to create an epic challenge. �d,entures centered around helping others to help themsel,es almost always provide allies for the PCs, while heroic last stands are often made without external aid. IMPORTANT STORY ELEMENTS The three main elements needed to plan an adventure of this sort are location, who arc the townsfolk, and who is the threat. Answering these three questions usually provides the reason for the attack. but the GM can also develop that sep arately. The location, the people. or the threat can serve as a starling point when the GM sets out to craft the scenario. The GM might already have one or more good candidates to fill these roles in an ongoing campaign.THE LOCATION
Location is the primary reason why the townsfolk need to
be armed. Whatever the setting, resorting to getting non
combatants ready for a fight means that neither the PCs
nor those they protect have allies who can intervene to save
the day. The simplest reason for this is physical isolation.
Selllements that are on distant worlds or in remote areas
of inhabited planets are difficult for reinforcements Lo reach
in a timely manner. The seLLlement may be so remote that
there are no local allies, though hyperdrives expand the idea
of what is local to include distant systems. in some cases. A starship or space station can serve Lhe same function as an
isolated settlement.
There are also other kinds of isolation that a GM can use to set the adventure or encounter in or near a relatively civilized area. Settlements might be shunned by their neighbors, who arc unwilling to help even if they are able. For example. one of the lower levels of Coruscant or Nar Shaddaa can seem as distant from allies or legal authorities as the most remote
planet. since the authorities are often unwilling to become
involved. Areas may have physical hawrds perceived to be so dangerous that allies refuse to approach. Active volcanos. ra
diation, and unbreathable atmosphere are examples of such
hazards. Fear can also keep help away; potential reinforce
ments might fear an ongoing virulent disease outbreak. ret
ribution from the Empire, or angering a powerful syndicate.
/
Once the general location is known, the GM needs a de
tailed description or, ideally, a map of the specific area the
townsfolk must derend or attack. v\lhile arming the townsfolk
could happen at the spur of the moment, it is more com
mon for the townsfolk to have time to prepare for a specific
threat. A map helps the players envision the area, arrange
the defenders, and understand exactly where the threat is
coming from when the time arrives. The GM should also con
sider smaller area maps if encounter will take place across
multiple specific locations.
The location should be interesting, if not exotic. It should feature unique and interesting locations for the characters to fight. A battle could occur on the city streets. but those
streets should have an element of interest-they might be lined with arcades, or have large features like monument.al fountains or series of holoprojectors. There could be canals or crevasses with bridges critical to defending the town. Some may have physical town walls or shield generators. The GM should utilize and highlight the local environment wherever possible to reinforce a sense of place. For example, Tatooine has brutal sunlight. clogging sand. and blistering hot sand and rocky surfaces.
The location also needs a good reason for the enemy to attack (or defend). It must hold some value not avail able elsewhere. or at least locally. This value could be the settlement itself for strategic military or economic reasons. Alternatively, the thing in the value in the village could be an important person or group within the settlement. or it could be something the settlement produces or guards.