May The Invisible Hand Be With You - (Star Wars CK2-Style Quest)

[Publicola]

Touching down, he jumped out of his ship into about a foot of water that lapped the bottom of his ship's hull. "You stay there R4. I don't want you shorting out on me." His astromech droid beeped back a response.
...
Obi-wan stood in resignation, and promply fell flat on his face as his numb legs gave out under him. "R4, how long has it been?" The droid beeped back a response, far longer than Obi-wan wanted it to be, and the Jedi cursed under his breath. Grunting in exertion, he forced himself to stand and hobbled back to his ship.

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Please, please tell me Ciaran was able to hack R4 before Obi went on this mission? (Or perhaps, that the Sentinels were in on the joke and hacked R4 on her behalf...?) I'm just imagining Ciaran pulling out the holovid next time she's spends time with Obi-Wan (and Satine, and Siri, and Anakin...)

EDIT: Not to mention it'd be perfect for our Vault.

 

[random_npc]

she wouldn't hack r4. much easier to just have a small spy drone in orbit follow him down. So who wants to bet satine is about to get some interesting images of obi wan ?

 

[Panory]

Please, please tell me Ciaran was able to hack R4 before Obi went on this mission? (Or perhaps, that the Sentinels were in on the joke and hacked R4 on her behalf...?) I'm just imagining Ciaran pulling out the holovid next time she's spends time with Obi-Wan (and Satine, and Siri, and Anakin...)

EDIT: Not to mention it'd be perfect for our Vault.

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The intention was absolutely that Ciaran got a recording of it. I just felt that Obi-wan leaving the planet was a better stopping point than Ciaran and co laughing at the recording.

she wouldn't hack r4. much easier to just have a small spy drone in orbit follow him down

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Except there's not much down there, and he'd totally notice. Raiding R$'s memory banks after the fact is a bit more difficult, but also far safer.

 

[Publicola]

That -70 comes from here and here. In the first instance, it was us spending 200/100 credits of our own personal money as start-up and 50/20 of our own money per turn ever since. I'm not saying we don't get anything out of them or that it's not profitable, but the money required to keep them running comes from our own personal coffers, not from the generosity of the galaxy's citizens.

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...Yeah, I can buy that, both for the refugee camps and for our Undercity charities.

On the other hand, I'm also considering things from Dr. Snark's perspective, and upkeep is a fairly integral part of the puzzle for how he keeps the quest balanced. We spend money to get money, as he's said before; and while we get pretty outstanding ROI, he's not going to eliminate our upkeep. He might give us a discount ("Silver Cross PR campaign-- 50% discount on all humanitarian upkeep"?) but even that would have some opportunity cost attached. Also, I have to confess, I really like the idea of enabling base upgrades on specific without requiring base purchases, especially considering how much awesomeness I've been finding in my galaxy survey.

We kind of already have that:

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I meant 'proactive' in the sense of us as readers & players. The refugee camps just kind of 'happen' in the background -- we pay for them, and reap the rewards, but we don't get to control where they go or what we can do with them.

I have a thought, one inspired by Hancock. We talk to company executives, business owners, etc., and ask them to donate regular payments of large amounts of credits to the Silver Cross and in exchange they get a little badge or whatever to pin on their metaphorical shirts, informing the public of how good and virtuous and Ciaran-like they are.

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This is an interesting concept, but Hancock had a pretty abysmal grasp of economics (as do most Hollywood movies, frankly), so I'd not inclined to trust it. For one, I'm not at all confident "a little badge" is sufficiently positive PR considering the amount we'd be asking them to donate. I mean, someone (many someones, in fact) had the idea a while ago, and you can see where we are now. Try taking the time to really look at all the things we use on a day-to-day basis, and notice just how many of those logos we manage to overlook. They're placed everything.

I agree that we could boost the profile of various major donors -- feature them in ad campaigns, or highlight the biggest donor(s) in the room at each party we host, that sort of thing -- but that'd be part of the PR campaign push itself.

In related news, let's not forget that this sector and system happen to belong to the CNS:

Expansion Regions
Sumitra sector
- Alk'Lellish III: homeworld of Lellish race (advertising specialists), 'game planet' known for hunting tourism

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I think that's a pretty decent in-universe justification: we already have an amazing reputation, but here's an entire planet of people who specialize in PR. Let's hire them!

 

[Stealthy]

You see advertising specialists to crank our PR past 11 all the way to 12. I see Grievous requesting vacation days so he can embarrass what weakling humans call "game".

 

[Andres]

This is an interesting concept, but Hancock had a pretty abysmal grasp of economics (as do most Hollywood movies, frankly), so I'd not inclined to trust it.

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You have to remember that this is Star Wars - the biggest Hollywood movie franchise ever. What wouldn't work IRL might work here. It depends on what Dr. Snark thinks.

 

[Panory]

For one, I'm not at all confident "a little badge" is sufficiently positive PR considering the amount we'd be asking them to donate.

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Who needs little badges of goodwill? I assume the Silver Cross is tax deductible? Boom, there's your incentive for rich people to donate obscene amounts of money.

 

[Andres]

Who needs little badges of goodwill? I assume the Silver Cross is tax deductible? Boom, there's your incentive for rich people to donate obscene amounts of money.

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Which ties into my idea of bribing senators to vote for bills favourable to us!

 

[Publicola]

Oh hey, @Semi-Autogyro, I think I just found a hole in your headcanon:

Johun Othone secretly builds a monument to the Army of Light on the location of the last battle. This is the Valley of the Jedi. It's existence known only to a select few.

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Per the wiki (entry for Johun Othone):

In 990 BBY, Othone saved Valorum's life from the Anti-Republic Liberation Front, which put the former chancellor in debt with the Jedi. In gratitude, Valorum convinced the Galactic Senate to build a memorial on Ruusan as a tribute to Othone's master, Hoth, and the other Jedi who died to destroy the Sith. Othone, monitoring the construction of the memorial...

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With more information further down:

After Othone saved Valorum's life, the two petitioned the Jedi Council and the Senate to build a memorial to remember the sacrifices Hoth and the Jedi had made on Ruusan. ... After his conversation with Farfalla, Othone approached the Jedi Council concerning the project. They denied Othone's request, preferring that the Jedi's deaths on Ruusan be forgotten. However, Othone had the media of the Republic at his back, who were appalled by the Council's decision, and the Senate backed Othone as well.[4]

The proposal for the funding of the memorial passed through the Senate, and Othone began to build the memorial on Ruusan.[1] The Jedi Knight spent considerable funds for the construction and designed it to honor the Army of Light's victory over the Sith, as well as to remind the people of the Republic of the Jedi's honor and sacrifice for the seemingly ignoble Republic. Othone decorated it with memorials and statuary for each Jedi that had died there.

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TL,DR: the Valley of the Jedi was intended and built as a public memorial on the site of the Battle of Ruusan. Its construction was funded by the Galactic Senate, and was well publicized at the time (not least because the Senate funded the memorial specifically as a rebuke against the Jedi for denying it).


EDIT: Even more toward the bottom of the page:

However, despite his death, the Valley of the Jedi was created to Othone's specifications. Though the Valley of the Jedi was initially popular, becoming a tourist resort for some time, the Republic eventually forgot about the Valley. Therefore, the Valley's intended role of inspiring the people of the Republic failed, as it was forgotten. It was only remembered by scholars and historians of the Jedi.

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Oh for heaven's sake -- it was a tourist attraction?!

 

[Semi-Autogyro]

@Publicola, I have no way to personally describe its inanity of what you have found so I'll go with this little number:

Honestly, this is where I bemoan the fact that Lucas was so loose with oversight when it came to the EU and everything just sort of winds up a gigantic train wreck of utter nonsense.

The ancient lost battlefield overlooked by lightsaber-hewn statues that stand as silent sentinels over the shackled spirits of hundreds of force users that lay waiting for their prophesied emancipator should not be able to be simply located by anyone with a holonet connection.

It is up to our esteemed QM what to do with what you've found, but personally I think ignoring that piece of information in its entirety is the way to go as it renders most everything about the Valley entirely pointless.

 

[Publicola]

The ancient lost battlefield overlooked by lightsaber-hewn statues that stand as silent sentinels over the shackled spirits of hundreds of force users that lay waiting for their prophesied emancipator should not be able to be simply located by anyone with a holonet connection.

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On the one hand, I entirely agree with you -- this whole thing is messed up, even more when you consider that the 'Dark Forces' video game came first, and all the mentions of the Ruusan Reformation and the Seventh Battle of Ruusan and the Brotherhood of the Sith and Darth Bane came later. Often much later. Which means the writers of Darth Bane's saga knew that the Valley was supposed to be a secret, even when they wrote it as a tourist trap.

So yes, is entirely appropriate.

On the other hand:

It is up to our esteemed QM what to do with what you've found, but personally I think ignoring that piece of information in its entirety is the way to go

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I disagree. As much as this info punches a hole in your headcanon, it actually does wonders for mine. Specifically:

Second question: considering the existence of Celebratus Archive -- not to mention, you know, the Jedi Archive itself -- doesn't this tell us that the Jedi Order deliberately erased any records of the Valley? Doesn't it also mean that they erased any record of Ruusan? Otherwise Jerec's search would have been "Hmm, I wonder... Yup, that's a thing, and Ruusan is right there."

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That's my headcanon. The Jedi Order was so effective at erasing the Valley from the galactic consciousness -- erasing the Republic records, the Celebratus Archives, even their own files in the Temple, erasing any references to the Valley that would indicate that it was built at the site of the battle, erasing any references to the thought bomb or to the fact that the Jedi Lords had in fact existed... -- that a thousand years later, even the padawan of the Chief Jedi Librarian (Jerec) was unaware of the actual story, and only knew it as a fable. (And, as I mentioned, either Jocasta Nu was 'in on it' and was lying by omission, or not even she had the details).

Thus, when Jerec goes searching for 'the Valley of the Jedi', he has no idea he's looking for something related to the battle of Ruusan. The only ones who would know that the Valley lies on Ruusan, would be the inhabitants of Ruusan (no surprise there), the Corellian Jedi (who remember the Jedi Lords -- I think they still technically are ruled by one -- and maintain their own archives separate from the Coruscant Jedi), and the very very few individuals who still have memories from before the Valley was erased (i.e., Yoda). That's it.

...Fortunately, we have a Diplomacy Action that would let us approach the Corellian Jedi...

 

[Andres]

But do we really want to go messing around with the captured spirits of hundreds of Jedi and Sith trapped in perpetual torment for hundreds of years? I think this should be a case of let sleeping dogs lie as far as we're concerned. We're neither the person of the prophecy nor are we anything close to qualified to deal with or even be near that kind of thing. Aside from the basics, the only techniques we know are Force Sight, Basic Blazing Chains, Buried Presence, and Shatterpoint. EDIT: And Telepathy, which we should really start trolling people with.

Honestly, if we really wanted to do this kind of advanced Force stuff, we should've picked Ruthless Scholar in char-gen instead of Information Broker.

Speaking of information, @Publicola, isn't the fact that Ciaran's job is handling information be enough for her to know what the Valley is? If she doesn't know that much about it, it's not like she doesn't have the resources necessary to find someone who does, assuming neither Ventress nor Vectivus know. Hell, one of the Year 1 options gave us an actual holocron with Force instructions on it. Our information network has expanded greatly since then.

 

[Dr. Snark]

Okay, phone posting right now so some TL;DR answers for things.

Durge: I can swing a cash bounty of some persuasion but that's all I'll give.

Charity Things: I get that there are ideas about it but they seem incoherent at the moment. I'll need a more concrete concept for actions/purchases.

Valley Of The Jedi: Yeah, the info on it has been "lost to history" since no one in the Order or the Corellian branch for that matter is keen on talking about the Thought Bomb anymore. And even the people who might still remember it definitely would make sure that it stays forgotten given the chance.

 

[Panory]

I get that there are ideas about it but they seem incoherent at the moment. I'll need a more concrete concept for actions/purchases.

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Okay then, let's get some concrete ideas. My understanding of it was reduced cost bases, with the limitation of only being capable of "legitimate" upgrades.

 

[Dr. Snark]

Hmm...if that's the case I'd point out that you could just as easily get a full-fledged base at many of those locations, and that you already have them at the more relevant planets (Muunilist, Taris, etc.). I'm not seeing what the point of that would be.

Not to mention that some of them already fall under that description to an extent. So...I don't think I can make that a thing.

 

[Publicola]

Charity Things: I get that there are ideas about it but they seem incoherent at the moment. I'll need a more concrete concept for actions/purchases.

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Two proposals for @Dr. Snark:

[] Silver Cross PR Campaign: You already have an absurdly positive reputation with most of the galaxy. Fortunately, one of the species in the CNS happens to specialize in public relations and advertising. Reach out to the Lellish and hire them to organize the biggest PR campaign in galactic memory. Blanket the Holonet and Shadowfeed with ads for the masses, organize a string of parties to cultivate the wealthier donors, and appeal to the Senate to make charitable contributions to Silver Cross tax-deductible. Persuade people to pledge their money to a subscription fund, so Silver Cross sees a large uptick in regular donations across the galaxy. Cost: ??? Reward: 50% discount of 'Silver Cross' (humanitarian) upkeep


Personally, I'd prefer the second one:

[] Silver Cross PR Campaign: You already have an absurdly positive reputation with most of the galaxy. Fortunately, one of the species in the CNS happens to specialize in public relations and advertising. Reach out to the Lellish and hire them to organize the biggest PR campaign in galactic memory. Blanket the Holonet and Shadowfeed with ads for the masses, organize a string of parties to cultivate the wealthier donors, and appeal to the Senate to make charitable contributions to Silver Cross tax-deductible. Persuade people to pledge their money to a subscription fund, so Silver Cross sees a large uptick in regular donations across the galaxy. Use this money to expand your operations, planting Silver Cross facilities and refugees cities across the galaxy. Cost: ??? Reward: each turn, add 1 free 'Silver Cross facility' (minor base) to a system of your choice.


Each "minor base" would let us start upgrading that planet/system, with certain conditions:

1. Only 1 upgrade per turn -- no spree-upgrades like we did for Taris this turn.
2. Only publicly acceptable upgrades -- nothing involving the criminal underworld, or wiretaps, or our usual bag of tricks. Specifically, I'm thinking that this would involve a) investing in local businesses, b) making contact with major corporations located on the planet, and c) recruiting the local population for our organization.
3. A full 'Abyss Watchers' base would be considered an 'upgrade' rather than a 'purchase', and would come at a discount, since we already have personnel on-site helping us find a location for it, helping us work with the locals and expedite the process.

OR you can cut out everything else, and just have these 'Silver Cross facilities' give a discount for when we purchase a base on that system, with no other bonuses available.

 

[Dr. Snark]

Okay, I have a question: where exactly would you put these "minor bases" should said action go into effect? Bear in mind that said locations are under QM veto such as it is and that you already have available bases at several relevant locations.

 

[Publicola]

Pretty much any of the less-important planets I mentioned in my 'Briefing' omakes. Here's a tentative list of write-ins:

• Nimban (invest in/buy Hoersch-Kessel Drive Inc..., hire Nimbanel bureaucrats)
• Sullust (SoroSuub investments, recruit pilots/navigators, Commerce Guild benefits)
• Antar IV (recruitment center for Gotal, work with Antarian Rangers -- add Jedi operations/intel to rumor mill...)
• Paqualis III (House Benelex bounty hunters, anti-kidnapping & anti-slavery...)
• Telerath (invest in local bank, leverage in IGBC as member...?)
• Ord Lithone (revitalize economy, purchase Baktoid factories for vehicle production?)

I originally wrote this list with an eye for buying full Abyss Watcher bases on each of the planets, so there are plenty of other less-notable systems that I did not think to include. But that should give an idea of how these might prove useful.

 

[Dr. Snark]

Sullust is going to be a base in itself.

As for the rest they're honestly isn't enough to do with them for them to have a full upgrade tree in comparison to planets like Kalee or Taris, and sheer option bloat is a concern as well. There's only so much I can write out after all, and I much prefer basing upgrades around the story of a planet, like how Taris' focus on it's rebirth or how Kalee's reflects its militant nature.

Also you are not hurting for bonuses right now. That's also a thing.

 

[Entropy Engineer]

Sullust is going to be a base in itself.

As for the rest they're honestly isn't enough to do with them for them to have a full upgrade tree in comparison to planets like Kalee or Taris, and sheer option bloat is a concern as well. There's only so much I can write out after all, and I much prefer basing upgrades around the story of a planet, like how Taris' focus on it's rebirth or how Kalee's reflects its militant nature.

Also you are not hurting for bonuses right now. That's also a thing.

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Well if you want to reduce story bloat you could always have minor base act as redundancy where it cushions any failures that effect the main bases and aids in rebuild time. That way you can never mention them while still making them worthwhile if expensive. It'd even make sense as having resting stops/safe houses around would probably give any Abyss Watcher a place to regroup when a base gets destroyed.

Although it's not like it's that important because as you said we aren't doing too bad at the moment.

 

[Dr. Snark]

The thing is though, if I let you have a minor base on the group of planets already suggested that would mean that by extension I would have to let you have bases on basically every single named planet, which would not only break the game but be an absolute nightmare to write.

So that's probably not happening.

 

[DrachenEngel]

Is master Fay still alive?
She was supposed to die at the hands of Ventress (and Durge) in 22 BBY during an attack on on a seperatist bioweapon facility.
She was /is also several centuries old while powerful enough to appear unaging.
Did she die in that mission or was it butterflied with us actively shutting down Bioweapon research?

 

[Dr. Snark]

Since the weapon's creator was killed by the Sentinels just after the Omega thingy then yes, Fay is still alive. Why do you ask?

 

[DrachenEngel]

Since the weapon's creator was killed by the Sentinels just after the Omega thingy then yes, Fay is still alive. Why do you ask?

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No reason, I just like the character. She also goes where the force needs/guides her instead of working for the council, so it wouldnt be out of character for her to randomly pop up and help some war torn world world
(which is apparently something she had been doing for centuries). She is also implied to be extremely powerful which may or may not be helpful if we can rope her into the fight with sidious.
Edit: found her page from the official fact file, apparently she was already famous when Yoda was still a padawan, which opens the possibility that she might pre-date the ruusan reforms.

 

[XenonPrime]

No reason, I just like the character. She also goes where the force needs/guides her instead of working for the council, so it wouldnt be out of character for her to randomly pop up and help some war torn world world
(which is apparently something she had been doing for centuries). She is also implied to be extremely powerful which may or may not be helpful if we can rope her into the fight with sidious.
Edit: found her page from the official fact file, apparently she was already famous when Yoda was still a padawan, which opens the possibility that she might pre-date the ruusan reforms.

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From the looks of her she's very powerful however she doesn't look to be a fighter, by all accounts she's already doing the best she could be doing by wandering the Galaxy saving lives and stopping wars.