Lights... Camera... ACTION!!: A Hollywood Quest

Samurai and Jedi

Driving up the dirt roads of Skywalker Ranch, Mike Pondsmith couldn't help but be anxious despite George Lucas being a relatively chill man in all of the previous meetings that they had had. For he had traveled to the rural Northern California countryside to ask for the creator of the greatest movies of all time if he could play in his sandbox and make a Star Wars RPG.

So far, Talsorian Games partnership with Lucasfilms had been doing splendidly. Overnight Mike had gone from a struggling artist just scrapping by at an advertising form to a millionaire and the owner of his own company, sure working under Lucasfilms but there was no shame in working under such visionary artists. He published Cyberpunk, having spent years going over the dream with Dave and managed to find an audience of millions of eager players who were having constant adventures in Night City and the greater Dark Future. Sure, most people would probably never play Cyberpunk and many didn't even know it existed, but just finding people who were willing to engage in Mike's dream and get lost in the world was a worthwhile endeavor.

Of course, there was the promised backlash to such a mature board game, which although not as horrible as Mike had hoped, was still an everpresent sore on Talsorian's reputation. While Cyberpunk was a very firm financial success, such a wild spread had a double edged sword as it lead to heavy and instant exposure and the spread of such a game so fast while also being the progenitor of a new genre gave cause for irrational panic and concern.

It seemed rarely a day go by were half the mail or phone calls were concerned parents or "moral guardians" claiming that the kids were being corrupted into drugs and violence, even though part of the game's themes were how destructive and harmful total drug culture could be and that violence was the system of a world that lost its morals and is ruled by greed, not the cause. A fair amount of public places like schools, libraries and recreational halls were banning its play and every now and then some Media with a bone to pick with Lucasfilms liked to try and play around with the topic and make a scare article, though thankfully there were many others who were genuinely interested and who Mike helped to show there was nothing harmful, and in fact for many the game was only helping their social and personal life.

The bad press in and of itself wasn't the end of Talsorian, but the phrase 'There's no such thing as bad publicity' was not a philosophy Mike took to. Sure, the controversy and intrigue might draw in a fair amount of players, but it would also cause many potential players to be turned off due to misinterpretations or being prohibited by guardians for many years over imaginary harm which would make them adverse to joining as an adult.

There was little Mike could do to directly change the minds of skeptics with Cyberpunk without heavily changing the tone and genre of the game, but what he could do was introduce other types of RPGs to get people invested into the medium and see that roleplaying was a fun and harmless game which could fuel creativity and imigination.

Which lead to him entering into the domain of George Lucas to get permission for a game which might honestly become more ambitious than Cyberpunk.

After being lost for a bit and wandering around the Ranch, Mike was directed to George's office at the Main House. "Nice to see you Mike, apologies for having to make you drive all the way out here, but I prefer to be with my family and don't really like trips to LA except when it's major business or visiting Bruce and friends."

Mike waved him off as he sat down, "It's fine, I was able to turn this trip into a semi-vacation with my fiancé Lisa, see a lot of the sites around San Francisco tomorrow and the Weekend."

"Why don't you guys stop by for Dinner later tonight? Marcia and I don't mind company, although you have to mind Wally, he can be a bit of a mess when we're eating." George offered.

"We having BBQ brisket and beans?" Mike joked, based off of the whole cowboy appearence.

"Uh no...just plain spaghetti." George said a bit bashfully. He never really took up cooking like Bruce and until Wally was born, he and Marcia mostly had frozen TV dinners or takeout as their meals.

"So....what brings Maximum Mike to Skywalker Ranch? I'm pretty fine with Bruce approving most of the creative decisions, he has good judgement like when he supported Dave for Cyberpunk." George said.

Mike looked a bit sheepish and uncertain at the question but moved forward, "Oh I know that, and I'm really grateful for everything Lucasfilms has done in support of Talsorian so far. You see, while Cyberpunk is doing great in terms of sales, we were hoping to broaden our library besides just Cyberpunk and release other varieties of tabletop games in many genres."

"What about Cyberpunk?" George asked.

"Oh we're still set on that, there will be supplementary books for each class to expand the roles as well as a few books dedicated to expanding the world. But honestly, I was hoping at the end of the decade we could release a sequel, Cyberpunk 2020. In the meantime, we got a set schedule and there's other writers working on the sourcebooks, I just want to make sure we're known as more than Cyberpunk."

George nodded in understanding, "It was a bit tough having the company expand beyond more than just mine and Bruce's films, but it paid off."

"Speaking of...." Dave began, "For our first non-Cyberpunk books we were hoping to do some licensed material. Perhaps, a Star Wars RPG?" Dave presented.

Understanding dawned on George's face, "Ahh, so that's why we're here." George said mildly, Mike hanging onto the arms of his chair in anticipation.

"Well that's certainly a direction I never anticipated the films going, but we've slapped it on lunchboxes and Carrie's pillows, not to mention the comics and Dreamworks begging for a cartoon. So why not?" George said, making Mike breathe a sigh of relief.

"Thank you sir, Talsorian is going to do its best to create the highest quality game that expands the setting and creates adventures in a way that it deserves." Mike assured.

"That being said...are we going to have it be as dark and mature as Cyberpunk?" George asked trepidly. "I'm fine with Star Wars exploring mature storytelling, Dave's been hounding me for months to make that zombie movie of his." George said, the two sharing a laugh at the reminder of Death Troopers, "But something so gritty and dark like Cyberpunk, while fitting for the story and setting it's making, I feel would be heavily out of place with Star Wars and alienate some fans. I would like to play this with my son after all."

Mike nodded, "I understand sir. Rest assured, that Star Wars the RPG's content is gonna be suitable for older children and young teens, but it's mainly meant to be a game for all ages to play, for ever fan of the franchise. Some of the lore and materials introduced can allow for parties to have mature sessions, but we want to create gameplay that makes the players feel like they're in the films.

That's actually part of why I want Star Wars. Because everyone loves Star Wars, and if people's first experience with roleplaying and tabletop is with Star Wars, then we can access demographics who would otherwise be unreachable and show people that roleplaying is a fun exprience and not any of that dark nonsense the thumpers and moralists try to spout. From there we can use Star Wars as a gateway for more niche stories and games across different genres, but I'm hoping that a Star Wars RPG can stand on its own and provide an alternative medium for fans to enjoy the franchise like fans do with the Marvel comics."

"Sounds like you have a good plan. I'm intrigued so far, but if we're moving forward I want to check before publishing and make sure nothing conflicts with the movies. I'm fine with creators doing their own takes like Marvel, but we can't have anything that will be a mess for the lore or storytelling later. The first Marvel issues were sort of a mess with how they wanted to present the story which would have gone against a lot of what I want for the trilogy." George said.

"That's perfectly fine. I don't think that we'll make anything that will go against the story, mainly add to the parts of the galaxy the movies don't have time to cover. Dave checked over the drafts, and the game is going to be set a year after the first movie so everything will lead to Hoth and we won't have anything wild like Vader revealing he's Luke's father before or Yoda being prominent." Mike promised.

"Well looks like we have a new Star Wars game. So are you going to bring it before the end of the year, cause Steve is gonna direct Return of the Jedi starting next January-" George said, and then paused in amazement as Mike produced from his bag a thick leatherbound textbook of sorts and placed it on the table between them, the cover showing it to be Star Wars the RPG with an image based on A New Hope's movie poster.

"Yeah...I know that this isn't the final draft and I'm fine if you feel that there are any major changes to be made, but after watching Empire and Cyberpunk's release I sort of got really passionate and published a prototype book with the team. Actually, it's sort of based on my very first game Imperial Star with a fair amount of characters and lore from it, which I wrote after watching A New Hope in theaters and playing this Sci-Fi game called Traveler. So there's admittedly lots of inspiration and homages."

"Oh then that makes it a true Star Wars game considering my films are basically Buck Rogers and Kurosawa." George joked. "Anything else interesting going on at Talsorian?"

"Right after we publish this, I was hoping to publish a Gundam RPG, but this one being more war focused showing the One Year War before the anime and showing what took place beyond the White Base adventures with players playing as either Zeon or the Federation. I've got all the core mechanics done, but story is sort of 50% complete since I haven't talked much with Dreamworks."

"I'll try to set up a meeting between you and Tomino. I don't think he'll mind but it would be best to release those novels he wrote as well as make sure that it lines up with Zeta Gundam. Plus if you introduce new mobile suits, we need to talk to Bandai."



BASIC PROMPT:

Star Wars TRPG is a roleplaying game set within the Star Wars galaxy where players can choose their adventures and be the hero they wish to be a long time ago, in a galaxy, far, far away. Set one year after the Battle of Yavin and events of A New Hope, it is the 20th anniversary of the Galactic Empire's formation, but it is a time of great strife and rebellion as the destruction of Alderaan has caused a massive escalation within the Galactic Civil War with countless worlds joining the Rebellion to stand against the Empire's tyranny. It is a time of great change, discord and chaos within the galaxy as the forces of good and evil clash in one of the greatest conflicts in history. While a time of strife and suffering, it's also a time for opportunity where anyone can make their mark on the galaxy.

Star Wars TRPG is a Talsorian Games production and many of the core mechanics will be based off of Cyberpunk 2013 with various modifications to fit the genre, scale and setting. To start off with, players will have the option of chosing from 12 unique classes:

• Stalwart
• Trooper
• Slicer
• Mechanic
• Medic
• Media
• Sherriff
• Merchant
• Scoundrel
• Spacer
• Agent
• Jedi

The Skill system and character building is similar to Cyberpunk 2013, but with an emphasis on science fiction and a more optimistic tone. The major difference between Star Wars and Cyberpunk 2013 is the existence of the Jedi class, allowing a character or NPCs to use the Force and the many abilities it offers to aid in combat and life situations.

The Interlock system is similarly used but with the presence of potential force abilities thrown into the mix. Also present is Planetary Combat and Void Combat to simulate potential warfare both on planets and in outer space along with a number of major ships, starfighters, and ground vehicles present for the Empire, Rebellion and independent factions with their own stats. Slicing will be presented as a more simplified version of Netrunning without the usage of VR, treating it more akin to a video game where the players must use their programs to traverse the holonet or slice into protected systems.

Since Star Wars exists in another galaxy, a major portion of the book will be focused on world building, or more accurately galaxy building. One Chapter will be dedicated to the various species, intelligent and non-intelligent in the galaxy for players to choose from in roleplay. Another will focus on droids and their role in the galaxy. A chapter will be dedicated to describing 40 major worlds for players to use as locations along with a template for original planets, featuring a mixture of film worlds and original creations showcasing the major and most interesting worlds and their cultures.

An example scenario is given of the players joining Luke, Han and Leia on a mission to Ord Mantell to retrieve information on the development of Super Star Destroyers and what could possibly take place in an adventure.

Lastly there will be profiles for the Empire, Rebellion and other major factions along with some of the major players in the Star Wars galaxy.

Alright, so...I kind of gave up. This shit was such a pain in my fucking ass. I don't even get why, since it's a short game with much of the information about it available online, but this thing was just impossible for me to write. I've been working on this damn thing for months, but I just couldn't ever get it done. Even now, I had to massively cut down on the length of the pitch. It was intended to include a summary along with a longer cast list, but I really couldn't do it, my mind was going numb. I just want this damn thing out of sight and done so I can move on and do other things, so here ya' go. I envision this film coming between Dark Descent and Machine for Pigs since that's how the timeline lines up. There's more that I have to say in general, but fuck it, I'm done.


SET UP: A woman wakes up in a dungeon cell with no memory of who she is, where she is, or how she's gotten into her situation. She is informed that she is the subject of a psychological test and must overcome the puzzles given to her before she can leave, all the while being chased twisted creatures intent on taking her life. She must do all that she can to try and escape with her life, or else spend what little of it she has left trapped and at the mercy of those beasts.