The Hunt for Grand Admiral Solo: An Imperial Warlord Quest

[JuliusNepos]

It's been two and a half years since the world ended.
Okay, so the world didn't end, but it felt like it did. One day, you were at the bridge of your Executor-the Millennium Falcon-with the might of the Imperial Starfleet behind you, just waiting for the word to launch the offensive that would complete the death of the Rebel Alliance once and for all. But the order never came; the perfect trap failed. The Emperor, Lord Vader, the Death Star and the cream of the military, all wiped out in one terrible moment. A glorious fleet turned into squabbling warlords by the death of their commander-in-chief. You had little choice but to take those who would follow you and retreat to the power base of your cousin Thrackan. Once, you'd been rivals, but the mutual back-scratching had been so good for each other's careers. You needed a base of support for your fleet; he needed a fleet to protect his territory. It was a perfect partnership. Together, you mustered enough deterring force and nice-sounding bullshit to stall the Ackbar Offensive from hitting you until he was fired and its targets changed. Today, as you stand on your bridge, the news you see is Supreme Chancellor Borsk Fey'lya speaking outside the Imperial Palace on Coruscant. He's declaring victory, he's announcing "The New Republic,'' he's posing with the troops, he's kissing babies. "The Empire is defeated," he says. "Soon, its remains will be finished off, but today we have victory." You turn off the vid-screen. The Rebels may have taken Coruscant, but you haven't spent the last two and half years idle yourself. You've consolidated, you've retrenched, you've prepared. If the Rebels want to come at your Empire, you've got more tricks than you expect they've bargained for. You're Grand Admiral Solo, after all-and you always win.
​

---

Hello and welcome to The Hunt For Grand Admiral Solo. I'm Julius Nepos, or as everyone calls me to not confuse me with a different Julius-ORE. This will, I believe, be my third attempt to make the jump from moderately prolific GSRP runner and Map guy to person who also runs quests sometimes. Here you will be taking the role of an Imperial Warlord two and a half years after Endor and trying your best to not get killed by your own men, the Rebellion or rival warlords. Typical Warlord stuff. I have not spent very much time on Quests so I hope you will bare with me if I struggle to open a vote or don't understand certain terminology.

​

Note on Mechanics:​

Because I hate math and bookkeeping is hard I am keeping stats and mechanics light. Military forces have been abstracted into "Fleet Points" with 1 FP being somewhere in the area of 3-5 Imperial Star Destroyers and accopening escorts, destroyers, ground forces, etc. After the initial creation/prologue period the opening briefing will give details on your fleets. Every turn you will have four actions, one for each of the categories to be enacted by your chosen subordinate and colored by their roles and traits, and one action by Solo himself, who can act in any of the categories or do more personal or outside the box actions. Just give me more actions, one per each character with a word limit of 200 hundred words. Know that I will not be telling you how difficult things may be nor revealing rolls and suchlike. Actions may fail because the subordinate was unlucky, or because they weren't competent enough, or because they failed on purpose to sabotage you because they are disloyal. I will not give information on loyalty. Frankly I want you to be paranoid.
​

Note on Lore​

The last thing in the world I want to do is start a long fight on the merits of different pieces of Star Wars media, but for the purpose of making sure everyone is on the same page, I will state that I am using as a base source exclusively Legends continuity and furthermore I consider the 2008 Clone Wars Movie and Show not be included within the Legends umbrella. I don't know it well enough and it's very very difficult to reconcile with other legends sources. Of course as you might be able to guess by the premise being Han Solo as an Imperial Grand Admiral I am going to make things up and may draw elements made up among the many years of GSRP games set in star wars that have given a veritable cornucopia of OCs to fill positions if needed. One final statement I believe is necessary for every legends based Star Wars Game- No Suncrusher, No Tyber Zaan
​

Acknowledgements​

As a final thing before we return to the fun part of voting for things and picking introductory options I would like to take a moment to thank some people without whom this idea which has been rattling around my head for years would not have reached fruition.
Thank you to @iAmJimmyHoffa and @Karen who made and refined the base map I use for all star wars games.
Thank you to @Skrevski who helped me make decisions about ships and the New Republic
Thank you to @Etranger and @Weygand , who ran cool Quests coming from GSRP inspiring me to try my hand as well.
Thank you to @Etranger ,again, who volunteered to help edit my typo-prone writing and I paid with a burrito.
And to everyone who has engaged with my ideas as I've spitballed them on GSRP, it means a lot.​

---

Of course, no one, not even you, can run a state alone. Palpatine may have had an army of bureaucrats and subordinates and an entire council of useless men in stupid hats, but you aren't Palpatine. In this age of uncertain loyalty and opportunism, a wise man keeps his inner circle small and tight, delegating only enough that you can still keep an eye on people and hope they're too busy watching their own fiefdom to knife you for yours. People like Kaine with too much education and time for their own good may have fancy departments and org charts, but you've got your hand-picked few. Domestic, Military and Intelligence-simple but effective. Now, who did you pick, again?


Domestic (Pick One)
[ ] General Melvar: Melvar might be one of the only people you've ever heard of to be removed from II field operations from taking things too far. A diagnosed case of "Patrotic Psychosis," the man has put implants in his nails so he torture people with claws. Since being reshuffled to administration, he's mostly chilled out, you think. You couldn't find a majordomo more dedicated to the New Order.

[ ] Baron Merillion Tarko: Tasked by Tarkin with administering the Purse Worlds of the former Trade Federation, Tarko has done a great job of reconciling the Neimoidians to the Empire and turning their wealth to productive ends. He's gotten a bit funny, though, gone a bit local over the years-what with the casinos and slave-fueled gladiator death pits. Sure, the Rebels have tried to kill him a few times, but the man knows how to keep the golden goose alive.

[ ] Mirkovig Hirkin: A born aristocrat from Alsakan who always wanted to follow in the footsteps of his famous ancestor, Arlo Hirken. Graduate of all the top economic schools in the Core, former Viceprex of the CSA, a man that knows how to make money and run things-the silver-spooned bastard.

[ ] Ulric Tagge: Always the least successful and least flashy of the Tagge siblings, Ulric is now head of the family by virtue of everyone else getting themselves killed trying to fight Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader. He was a major general in the Imperial Army before retiring to take care of his family's assets. The Tagge Company is less what it was before the breakup of the Empire, but it is still quite powerful. Cautious, but sometimes cowards survive.

[ ] Glup Shitto: Oh yes, him, the actor, what was his name?

[ ] Thrackan(D): Well, he is already the Grand Moff of the oversector and running a lot of things anyways. You could always just formalize the whole "he runs the planets and then I have all the ships" situation, but can you really slice an Empire in half like that?


Military(Pick one)
[ ] Terinald Screed: That old hawk-bat. Screed's been a soldier since soldiers were cops and has always excelled in that role. Man's braver than a rancor and has all the wounds and implants to prove his tendency to lead from the front. Honestly, you feel a little bad for him; his career has been on the outs almost as long as your career has been a career and he's grown increasingly eccentric with age. Pirates, Seps, Rebels, intrepid merchants and their plucky droids-he's seen it all and usually won.

[ ] Xamuel Lennox: The scion of one of those Anaxes military families that produce officers every generation. Hemust have been pretty good to have been picked for Death Squadron and then survive both Hoth and Endor. There aren't a lot of Death Squadron guys left around, what with the tendency of Vader to kill people for screwing up and with how badly Endor went, so you at least know he's lucky. Sometimes people who don't intend to climb the ladder reach the top when everyone else is dead.

[ ] Gaen Drommel: Gaen Drommel is an insane megalomaniac, even by the standards of people you've met in Imperial Service. He's told you with a straight face that he is the reincarnation of Warlord Xim, had tailors design him a custom black uniform with a cape, and carries with him at all times a saber-cat riding whip. He's also a genius, whom his men adore, and commands one of the few Executor-class Star Dreadnoughts left operating in the galaxy.

[ ] Glup Shitto: Actually, you gave the position to that fellow with the weird name-it's on the tip of your tongue.

[ ] Thrackan(M): You could always give Thrackan the empty responsibility of military matters. As a Grand Moff, he's not entirely unqualified, so he won't ruin anything. More importantly, the military is all your men. Trying to tie up your cousin in your own power base could be wise, but it would also be a slap in the face, and that could be dangerous.

Intelligence(Pick One)
[ ] Blackhole: Blackhole used to be the Head of Imperial Intelligence. You're not really sure when-between Isard, Isard and Isaard-he was running the show, but you hear he was pretty good at it. You honestly don't know that much more; the man only communicates through cutouts and distorted holograms, and he makes the hairs on your back stand up, but his sources so far have always been good.

[ ] Kirtan Loor: Loor used to be the liaison to CorSec, before being pulled by Isard for special operations at II. He's got an eidetic memory, a mastery of deductive skills and was the leader of the Palpatine Counter-Insurgency Front, making hell for the Rebel occupation of Coruscant on behalf of Isard. He was also smart enough to book it before things fell apart and Iceheart bit it. Loor has strong contacts in Corellia and is very confident he can salvage a lot of Isard's old network. Of course, he thinks he's a genius, so he's always very confident.

[ ] Cradossk: Ever since you saved him from a dangerous Wookiee when deployed on Kashyyyk, the founder and head of the Bounty Hunter's Guild has been almost like the father you never had. He knows a lot of people in the seedier parts of the galaxy and playing spymaster will keep him out of the field, which he's too damn old for these days anyway. Honestly, if you hadn't been around, his actual son probably would have killed him years ago for weakness.

[ ] Glup Shitto: Somehow, that guy always knows what's going on, but man, his name is way too long, what was it again?

[ ] Thrackan(T): Thrackan has many talents, one of the biggest ones being political bullshit. You could always do a little rebranding, going from Intelligence to Foreign Affairs, and have him be your point man with contacts abroad. Probably best not to give him too many covert agents.


You've also picked a guy for Research, but honestly, that's hardly as important. Every once in a while you get a request for funding and you consider it. (Pick One)

[ ] Jerec: Scholar, inquisitor, entrepreneur, Jerec is obsessed with hunting for power, in the form of ancient relics of the Jedi. Though he's a billionaire in his own right, he promises to share the rewards from his findings with fellow Imperials who help fund his expeditions. You're not normally one for this hokey religion and ancient weapons thing, but you know that Kaine has been funding Jerec, and Kaine probably isn't psychologically capable of wasting money, so there has to be something behind his aura of mystery.

[ ] Bevel Lemelisk: Raith Sienar (RIP) may have designed the initial ideas for the "Expeditionary Battle Moon" and Geonosians may have refined the design, but Bevel Lemelisk designed the superlaser and made the Death Star the Death Star. Then it blew up and the Emperor killed him. Then the Emperor unkilled him and had him build it again. Then that one blew up. Lemelisk swears that one wasn't his fault and that if you give him, the former master of the Empire's grand projects, more funding, then this time, it will definitely work.

[ ] Lira Wessex: The designer behind the Venator, Imperial and Executor-class Star Destroyers, Lira has a great love for triangles, a lot of ideas and a real complex about her father.

[ ] Evir Derricote: Derricote is a strange man, incredibly talented but happy to be underestimated. A great pilot and commander, but also a talented biologist. A man who loves nothing more to guard, but also the man the Emperor and Isard both tapped to design specially crafted bioweapons. Not insane in a way like Jenna Zan Arbor; all his assignments are just interesting intellectual problems to be solved, so that Derricote can go back to his gardens. A monster, but a quiet one, and your monster.


​

Notes: You must put Thrackan Sal-Solo into one of these positions. Your government is a co-dominion; you can't freeze him out, like it or not. You can only pick the Glup Shitto option once. The QM will choose a character of their choice from the Legends deep lore. They may be good at their job, they may be not-performance is not promised, only Glup Shitto.​

You keep saying that over the course of the last two and half Years since Endor, you've consolidated, you've retrenched, you've prepared. But what exactly was the foremost area of concern in each category, and how did you position yourself as the leadership of the Empire splintered?

Domestic(Pick One)
[ ] Shipyards: Maintaining order and productivity in critical corporations like KDY and CEC is critical to keep the Empire alive
[ ] Institutions: With the machinery of the Empire falling apart, maintaining control and establishing alternatives to key institutions like the Carida academy or the bank of Aargau is critical to keep the New Order alive.
[ ] Stability: With the Empire on the retreat, keeping the people happy and rooting out any cells of unrest is critical to keeping our grip on the Oversector strong.



Military(Pick One)
[ ] Fortifications: Holding and expanding the defenses on key fortress worlds like Denon is critical to preventing the rebel offensive and saving the Empire.
[ ] Capital ships: The Star Destroyer is the bedrock of the sector fleet and only by focusing our efforts on our areas of strength can we defeat the rebels in critical battles and save the New Order.
[ ] Starfighters: Effort must be dedicated into countering the critical rebel advantage in snubfighter warfare if we are to save our fleets from the fate of the Death Star.


Intelligence (Pick One)
[ ] No Threat is greater to our state than the Rebels, the so-called "New Republic" . We need to understand their leaders, their forces, their plans and their divisions.
[ ] No Threat is greater to our state than those in command of the only threat to an Imperial Warfleet-other Imperial Warfleets. We need to know more about other post-Imperial states and those contending for Palpatine's mantle.
[ ] No threat is greater to our state than the enemy within. With Prince Xizor and Jabba the Hutt both dead we need to make sure that we are aware of who is who in the criminal underworld so that they cannot be an unseen threat.
[ ] No threat is greater to our state than the mysterious powers wielded by arch terrorists like the Jedi and Luke Skywalker. We need to keep tabs on potential neo-jedi and former members of the menagerie of freaks that the Emperor kept around.

Imperial Government Recognized (Pick One)
[ ] The Imperial Remnant as led and organized by councilor Ars Dangor based in the Galactic North. The most legitimacy, the most likely to actually give you orders.
[ ] The rival Imperial Ruling Council isolated in the Deep Core and based around Byss. A cabal of bloodless bureaucrats, impotent but a potentially useful fig leaf.
[ ] Grand Moff Hissa's Council of Grand Moffs based in Kessel, maybe five minutes from devolving into a narco state but backed by many high ranking officers.
[ ] "Empire? We are the Empire". Why bother pretending you care about anyone else's orders, "Imperial Unity" or legitimacy. You have the power and you have the state and who cares about anything else.​

 

[JuliusNepos]

I am opening voting. Please vote in the form of a plan picking one from all the pick one options, keeping the note on the subordinate picking section in mind.
I will compile votes either this evening or tomorrow morning, depending on if it seems voting has petered out, and how late the RPG session I have Saturday nights run.
Though a more detail setting and situation briefing will come after this section to establish prior areas of focused and who will be briefing you, feel free to ask me some more ground level questions, I like talking about star wars.

 

[Fancy Face]

[X] Plan: "Old Reliable"
-[X] Thracken (D)
-[X] Screed
-[X] Kirtan Loor
-[X] Lira Wessex
-[X] Stability
-[X] Capital Ships
-[X] New Republic
-[X] Imperial Ruling Council

Put Thracken in charge of Corellia, put the old hand in charge of intel, focus our military on the stuff the Empire is good at, go for stability, and pick the guys to recognize who have zero ability to actually use their authority on us.

EDITED to use the proper format.

 

[edboy49]

[x] Plan: "Old Reliable"

 

[Thalmann]

[X] Plan: Glub Shitto

 

[AMTurtle]

Plan: Credits Grease Gears

[x] Baron Merillion Tarko
[x] Thrackan
[x] Cradossk
[x] Lira Wessex

[x] Institutions
[x] Starfighters
[x] No Threat is greater to our state than those in command of the only threat to an Imperial Warfleet-other Imperial Warfleets. We need to know more about other post-Imperial states and those contending for Palpatine's mantle
[x] Grand Moff Hissa's Council of Grand Moffs based in Kessel, maybe five minutes from devolving into a narco state but backed by many high ranking officers.

Tarko will ensure that we get enough credits to keep our officers well paid, use for bribes through Cradossk and the implosion of the Kessel squad means we can absorb the narco elements when that house of cards collapses.

 

[Bandeirante]

[X]Plan Dont Rock the Boat:

1. Domestic: [X] Thrackan (D)
2. Military: [X] Xamuel Lennox
3. Intelligence:[X] Kirtan Loor
4. Research:[X] Evir Derricote
5. Domestic:[X] Stability
6. Military: [X] Fortifications
7. Intelligence: [X] New Republic
8. Allegiance: [X] Imperial Ruling Council

 

[Frostbyght]

Hmm, while I agree that we should recognize the Ruling Council (because they can't bother us easily) I don't think we wanna split Solo's domain between the Grand Admiral himself and Thracken. I'd say we throw Thracken into Intelligence. We could use someone who actual knows how to be a diplomat.

Also we gotta pick at least one Glup Shitto, come on.

On the development side, keep those institutions strong to keep the center from falling in. Capital Ships will be useful against a New Republic that has a real military and not just Guerilla Starfighters attacks (And also will be best for fighting other Imperials).

Plan: Solo Above All
Domestic: [X] Glup Shitto
Military: [X] Lennox
Intelligence: [X] Thracken (I)
Research: [X] Lira Wessex
[x] Institutions
[x] Capital Ships
[x] No Threat is greater to our state than those in command of the only threat to an Imperial Warfleet-other Imperial Warfleets. We need to know more about other post-Imperial states and those contending for Palpatine's mantle
[x] The rival Imperial Ruling Council isolated in the Deep Core and based around Byss. A cabal of bloodless bureaucrats, impotent but a potentially useful fig leaf.

 

[JuliusNepos]

​

I made this edit of my map to mark the location of major shipyards and fortress worlds. Unfortunately I foolishly didn't do it on a layer so going forward the map will not have these marks as I fix some typos and change things as time passes, but its still informative so here you go

 

[Lazer Raptor]

[X] Plan: Warlord Zsinj-Isard-Solo
- [X] Domestic Advisor: Thracken (D)
- [X] Military Advisor: Gaen Drommel
- [X] Intelligence Advisor: Kirtan Loor
- [X] Research Advisor: Evir Derricote
- [X] Domestic Focus: Stability
- [X] Military Focus: Starfighters
- [X] Intelligence Focus: New Republic
- [X] Recognition: "Empire? We are the Empire".


We got our start as a fighter pilot, lets not abandon our roots, but also, we're goddamn Grand Admiral Solo, we have two surviving grand admirals and two SSDs, why do we need to be loyal to the whiney little bureaucrats? WE ALONE CAN RESTORE THE EMPIRE

 

[Nerdorama]

[X] Plan: This is how you format a plan
-[X] Domestic Advisor
-[X] Military Advisor
-[X] Intelligence Advisor
-[X] Researcher
-[X] Domestic Focus
-[X] Military Focus
-[X] Intelligence Focus
-[X] Recognition

You're welcome

 

[KhazintheDark]

[X] Lazer Raptor

 

[Furrybacon]

[X] Plan: Thrackenwave
- [X] Thracken Sal Solo (D)
- [X] Thracken Sal Solo (M)
- [X] Thracken Sal Solo (I)
- [X] Reaserch: Jerec
- [x] Institutions
- [x] Capital Ships
- [X] New Republic
- [X] Empire? We are the Empire

listen. Listen. Trust me. Thracken ccan't coup us if he is too busy to do so.

Also it's rank cowardice to not go for broke on Empire.

 

[Nemesis_Scar]

Plan: "Old Reliable"
-Domestic: [X] Thracken
-Military: [X] Screed
-Intelligence: [X] Kirtan Loor
-Research: [X] Lira Wessex
-Domestic: [X] Stability
-Military: [X] Capital Ships
-Intelligence: [X] New Republic
-Allegiance: [X] Imperial Ruling Council

 

[Aquadragon10]

[x] Plan: "Old Reliable"

 

[JuliusNepos]

I have edited the Thrackan options to be Thracken (D) Thracken(M) and Thracken(I) because it has been pointed out to me that otherwise the vote counter will probably not understand how to tally.
If people could go back and edit their votes to reflect that change and the formatting that makes plans work that would appreciated so I do not need to do hand tallying

 

[Uniquelyequal]

[X]Plan: Really Good Ideas
- Domestic: [X] Thracken (D)
- Military: [X] Gaen Drommel
- Intelligence: [X] Blackhole
- Research: [X] Jerec
- Domestic: [X] Stability
-Military: [X] Fortifications
-Intelligence: [X] Jedi
-Recognition [X] Grand Moff Hissa's Council of Grand Moffs

If we just make enough bad decisions they'll collide with each other and cancel out, I promise

 

[Red_Knight25]

[X]Plan: Really Good Ideas
- Domestic: [X] Thracken (D)
- Military: [X] Gaen Drommel
- Intelligence: [X] Blackhole
- Research: [X] Jerec
- Domestic: [X] Stability
-Military: [X] Fortifications
-Intelligence: [X] Jedi
-Recognition [X] Grand Moff Hissa's Council of Grand Moffs

 

[Ultrackius]

Let's gooooo

My only policy is that I warn the crazy guy as military, and getting the tagge's would be nice but I'm not devoted to it

 

[Klackon]

[X]: The Merry Motley Mob of Moff-Aspiring Madmen
-[X] General Melvar:
-[X] Gaen Drommel:
-[X] Kirtan Loor:
-[X] Jerec:
-[X] Institutions:
-[X] Starfighters:
-[X] No Threat is greater to our state than those in command of the only threat to an Imperial Warfleet-other Imperial Warfleets.
-[X] "Empire? We are the Empire".

 

[bookwyrm]

[X] Plan Equal Opportunity Evil
-[X] [Domestic] Baron Merillion Tarko
-[X] [Domestic] Stability
-[X] [Military] Thracken Sal Solo (M)
-[X] [Military] Fortifications
-[X] [Intelligence] Cradossk
-{X] [Intelligence] No threat is greater to our state than the enemy within. With Prince Xizor and Jabba the Hutt both dead we need to make sure that we are aware of who is who in the criminal underworld so that they cannot be an unseen threat.
-[X] [Research] Lira Wessex
-[X] Recognition of Grand Moff Hissa's Council of Grand Moffs

Okay so partially this is just so evil mirrorverse Han can also have the line up of an evil Chewie (Cradossk), an evil Lando (Tarko), and an evil girlboss to sneer at us (Wessex), but,
with Cradossk penetrating the underworld Syndicates which the Grand Council of Moffs is slowly unraveling into just becoming the imp section thereof, Han's in a pretty good position to properly secure his back line of internal threats along with Tarko handing out bread and circuses, leaving Thracken to just sit on the major fortress worlds any major offensives will have to siege, and not even Thracken can fuck that up too badly.

EDIT: also, approval-voting for
[X] Lazer Raptor
[X] Business is Booming

 

[Nerdorama]

[X] Plan: Metagaming
-[X] Thracken Sal-Solo (D)
-[X] Gaen Drommel
-[X] Blackhole
-[X] Jerec
-[X] Shipyards
-[X] Starfighters
-[X] Jedi
-[X] The Imperial Ruling Council

Options chosen based on the level of success at their own horseshit they had in Legends continuity or, in Drommel's case, getting a free SSD. I make no bones about wanting to win here.

 

[Cathari]

[X] Plan: Business is Booming
-[X] Domestic: Baron Merillion Tarko
-[X] Military: Thrackan(M)
-[X] Intelligence: Glup Shitto
-[X] Research: Evir Derricote
-[X] Institutions
-[X] Fortifications
-[X] No threat is greater to our state than the enemy within. With Prince Xizor and Jabba the Hutt both dead we need to make sure that we are aware of who is who in the criminal underworld so that they cannot be an unseen threat.
-[X] Grand Moff Hissa's Council of Grand Moffs based in Kessel, maybe five minutes from devolving into a narco state but backed by many high ranking officers.

Edit: Approval vote(s):
[X] Plan Equal Opportunity Evil
[X] Plan: Glub Shitto

 

[Aedan777]

[X] Plan: A True Empire
-[X] Domestic Advisor: Ulric Tagge
-[X] Military Advisor: Thrackan (M)
-[X] Intelligence Advisor: Kirtan Loor
-[X] Researcher: Lira Wessex
-[X] Domestic Focus: Shipyards
-[X] Military Focus: Capital ships
-[X] Intelligence Focus: No Threat is greater to our state than the Rebels, the so-called "New Republic"
-[X] Recognition: "Empire? We are the Empire"

We are the true heir to Empire, we need no lip service to lessers, and we need nothing other than endless oppression triangles to hold together.

 

[triumph8w]

[X] Plan: "Old Reliable"