Portrait 2: Kyle Katarn and Pakron Ajanos

Pakron Ajanos – CL 10 (Left)
Medium Human Jedi 5 / Scout 2 / Gunslinger 3
Destiny: 2, Force 9, Dark Side: 3
Initiative: +14 Perception: +13
Languages: Basic

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Defenses Ref 28 Fort 24 Will 25
HP 98;
Condition Track 98-68 / 67-39 / 38-19 / 18-9 / 8-1
Second Wind 24
Threshold 24
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Speed 6 squares
Melee lightsaber +10 (2d8+6)
Ranged heavy blaster pistol +13 (3d8+6)
Ranged heavy blaster pistols +13/+13 (3d8+6) [DWM}
Ranged heavy blaster pistols +12/+12 (3d8+6) [DA]
Ranged heavy blaster pistols +10/+10/+10 (3d8+6) [DWM & DA]
Base Attack +9; Grapple: +13
Attack Options Double Strike, Dual Weapon Mastery
Special Actions Block, Deflect, Redirect Shot, Quick Draw
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Force Powers battle strike, surge, force thrust, negate energy
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Abilities Str 12 Dex 18 Con 16 Int 13 Wis 16 Cha 16
Talents Block, Deflect, Redirect Shot, Evasion, Multiattack Proficiency (2)
Abilities Trusty Sidearm +1
Feats Force Sensitivity, Weapon Proficiency (lightsabers, simple, pistols), Force Training, Quick Draw, Point Blank Shot, Dual Weapon Mastery I, Dual Weapon Mastery II, Double Attack, Exotic Weapon Proficiency: (deflection bracers)*, Precise Shot
Skills Use the Force +13, Initiative +14, Perception +13
Possessions blue lightsaber, clothing, heavy blaster pistol (2), power packs (4)
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Notes: He uses a pair of SSK-7 heavy blaster pistols. He uses bracers to successfully keep attacks off him, although his training in the Force has largely been limited to gun-related applications. He is tall and lean with dark brown hair and brown eyes. At 24, he is among the oldest of “first generation” Kinsei. His gun specialization was an experiment to see if other types of protectors could be successful. Along with his partner, Kyle Katarn, Ajanos is considered one of the more powerful members of the Corps, as well as one of the most unorthodox in a tradition that embraces unorthodoxy.

Deflection Bracers Exotic Weapon If you are proficient with Deflection Bracers, you may use the block, deflect, and redirect talents as if you had a lightsaber active.

Kyle Katarn – CL 10 (Right)
Medium Human Jedi 7/Kinsei Honor Guard 3
Destiny 2, Force 9, Dark Side 4
Initiative: +12 Perception: +13
Languages: Basic, Huttese
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Defenses Ref 24 Fort 25 Will 25
HP 114
Condition Track 114-79 / 78-45 / 44-22 / 21-11 / 10-1
Second Wind 28
Threshold 25
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Speed 6 squares
Melee lightsaber +14 (2d8+11)
Melee lightsaber +9/+9 (2d8+11)
Ranged lightsaber +13 (2d8+8)
Base Attack +10; Grapple: +13
Attack Options Powerful Charge, Lightsaber Throw, Double Attack
Special Actions Call to Balance
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Force Powers move object (2), Force thrust, Force horror, mind trick, flash of light, Force valor, dark rage, Force grip, Force lightning, Force slam, surge
Force Techniques Force Power Mastery (move object)
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Abilities Str 17 Dex 14 Con 17 Int 13 Wis 16 Cha 16
Talents Block, Deflect, Lightsaber Throw, Harness the Dark Side, Focused Control, Call to Balance
Feats Force Sensitivity, Weapon Proficiency (lightsabers, simple), Weapon Focus (lightsaber), Skill Focus (Use the Force), Powerful Charge, Power Attack, Force Training (3), Double Attack
Skills Use the Force +18, Initiative +12, Perception +13
Possessions blue lightsaber, clothing
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Notes: Katarn is the son of Morgan Katarn, a senior advisor to Emperor Skywalker. At 22, he has risen quickly to a position of authority; he commands 10 pairs of Kinsei stationed on Coruscant. He spent his initial years assigned to his homeworld of Sulon along with his partner, Pakron Ajanos. He is rather belligerent at times, but very competent and loyal. He tends to rely on slow but powerful attacks, as well as the Force.

Adventure 8

We got a new player for this adventure: my BFF Kelsey (although this BFF-itude only holds true in the contiguous 48 states.) She is new to D20 and the Star Wars system, but I invited her after I noticed that her cell phone plays the Imperial March when someone calls. She is playing a Kinsei named Sia. She has a last name, but it's in my book, which was stolen by Kelsey. Anyhow, she is a gun-based Kinsei, which gives the party another ranged character and a 4th member.

Five days passed after the Battle of Coruscant, allowing the battered citizens of the city-planet to recover from the daring Rebel attack. Rumors of Mandalorians hidden in the populace had been causing no small amount of uproar and paranoia in the citizenry. In the midst of all this, the Empire's protectors sought to try new tactics to counter the increasingly emboldened Rebellion.

IG-203, the Prodigy, and Nos Maliss were called into Kyle Katarn's briefing room to go over their next assignment. Their commander was impatient and still wounded from the battle (as well as an overzealous night). He first introduced them to another Kinsei by name of Sia whose partner had been killed by the Mandalorians. Sia walked in and joined the briefing, taking little time for introductions. She looked of Asian descent and had teal hair. Instead of using her lightsaber to block attacks, she used a pair of specialized bracers. This freed her hands to allow her to shoot freely with a pair of blaster pistols.

Their mission was to follow up on another report of Jedi terrorism on the planet Corulag. They departed immediately after receiving their mission briefing. On the way to their destination, Sia mulled over her dead partner. Trying to cheer her up, Maliss (possibly trying to stir up a romance to bring his dead race back to life) engaged in a shooting/deflecting session with her. He deflected most of the shots, but she caught him successfully with one and left.

Once on the planet, they sent a message to Zabbaba the Hutt, who had helped them on the last of their missions against the Sentinels. He used his underworld knowledge to point them in the direction of one of his competitors, a Twi'lek named Maan Tay'aa, who was known to sell to those elements. They easily followed the clues to his office, busted down the door, killed the receptionist as he leapt for a blaster, and entered his main office. There, he tried unsuccessfully to escape. The Kinsei team interrogated him, then executed him. With the information he had given them, they found themselves at a large warehouse.

Through the garage doors, the Prodigy reached out with the Force and felt the presence three Force-sensitives. The droid opened the doors and they prepared for battle. However, it was not the Jedi they had been seeking. Instead, it was a trio of human males who seemed happy to see them. Their leader knelt before the Kinsei, greeting them as "heralds." At their look of confusion, he cited a prophecy: "A generation after his fall, the last son and the one wise beyond his years will herald the rebirth of the True Emperor, and they will bring about the fall of the False Empire." The Kinsei realized that they were dealing with a Sith cult.

As the leader of the cult (which called themselves the "Disciples of the True Emperor") mentioned that they would be tested by the Apostles of the True Emperor, a pair of Jedi Sentinels arrived. They sought to find who had been posing as them, bringing them to the warehouse. Upon seeing the Kinsei and the Sith apparently in conversation, they ignited their yellow blades and attacked both groups. The Kinsei began fighting both groups as well, resulting in a three-way melee.

After only a few moments of battle, a fourth group joined the fray: Tellis Krath, who had been tracking the other Dashade who had severed his arm. He was joined by a trio of near-mindless Dashade clones, and had apparently replaced his arm with a robotic one. Arriving on a speeder and joining the fight by usage of indiscriminate missiles, Krath leapt off to engage Nos Maliss while the Dashade clones activated their vibroaxes and simply joined the fray.

The four-way battle resulted in injuries and death on all sides. Of the party, most of the members were injured: the droid from a stray explosive and a lightsaber slash from one of the Sith, Sia from being wedged between a Jedi and a charging Dashade clone, and Maliss from Krath simply wrestling and beating him with his great strength. The Jedi and Sith fell until only one of each remained; the Sith ran while the Jedi committed suicide rather than be taken prisoner. The party disabled the remaining Dashade clones through the Force and blaster shots. (The tough race was historically resistant to both, and the clones proved to have this as well. However, they had almost non-existent intelligence and willpower.) In the meantime, the fight between Maliss and Krath looked poorly for Maliss, who could not escape the more powerful Dashade nor use his lightsaber. As Krath choked the life out of him, the party came to his aid, blasting away at him with their remaining strength. Finally, weakened by the barrage of fire, Krath slipped his hold and Maliss was able to escape, knocking him unconscious with a final slash of his now-available lightsaber.

This was so hard to adjucate. Fortunately, I didn't roll much or even keep stats on paper unless it directly affected the party.

Portrait

Enjoy a picture of the party until I post our latest adventure. Hopefully I'll get it posted later today. (The teal-haired character is played by Kelsey, who is a new player.)


[Pictures produced with City of Heroes character creator, MS Paint, and way too much time.)

Adventure 7

We took a week off so that people could get acclimated to school. We came back to a crowded apartment. At some point or another, Jared, John, Kelly, John, and Tarah were watching us play. Things got a little disorganized and distracted. It's why I don't run 7-player games anymore.

The party was given some time after the debriefing from their last mission before receiving a new assignment. Maliss interrogated the scientist in charge of rebuilding the Black Sun research, but only found that the project was not going as well as hoped. In addition to having difficulty cracking the ciphers, there had been some sabotage on the project. The Dashade, with his hopes of seeing his race return dimming, threatened the rather oblivious lead scientist. The prodigy spent his time buried in work and research while the droid indulged in some modifications.

Suddenly, while everyone was busy doing something, they heard a loud explosion. The droid recognized it as an impact rather than an explosion. A moment passed, then they received their calls to duty. Arriving at Kinsei Headquarters, they headed to their briefing room. Kyle Katarn and his partner, Pakron Ajanos, briefed them and about 20 others that the Mandalorians had bypassed the defenses and were making an attack on Coruscant, probably to wreak as much havoc as possible on the Imperial capital. The First Battle of Coruscant had begun.

The party was assigned by Katarn to defend a chokepoint in the Imperial Palace, which the Mandalorians were moving towards. As they flew over the world-city on a transport to the Palace, they saw the smoke plumes of where the Mandalorians had landed with Manticore War Droids. The average Mandalorian fighter was more than a match for a dozen Imperial soldiers, but not the Kinsei.

They took up their position in a large circular marble hall, hiding behind the cover afforded by statues in the chokepoint. The Mandalorians would have to pass through the coverless hall to get to them, allowing for maximum time under fire. IG-203 also set up explosive traps using a very small portion of the detonite that it took from the previous mission.

Once the Mandalorians arrived at their post, they beat back two waves of Mandalorians intent on breaking their position. They used the explosives and automatic fire from rifles to pin them down and wear them down. The tide nearly turned when a Manticore arrived to bring its powerful explosives and blaster cannons to bear, but they managed to disable it by wearing its shields down. After their encounter with the Manticore, no more Mandalorians arrived.

In the following days, details of the battle came out. The Empire had inevitably won, but that was not the point of the attack. Hundreds of Mandalorians were killed in battle, but not all of them had been accounted for. Civilian casualties numbered in the thousands, along with standard Imperial military. 14 Kinsei were killed, including 3 members of the Honor Guard and 1 Master. Boba Fett and Diospholos released a joint statement, saying that the Rebellion could strike at the very heart of corruption. (Diospholos, previously thought dead by the party, stated that an attack on his life by Imperial agents had killed a decoy bodyguard of his.)

In addition, a HoloNet reporter had managed to record a small, grainy holo of the Emperor himself taking on nearly a dozen Mandalorians and a trio of Manticores at the steps of the Kinsei Headquarters. Unfortunately, the video was not good enough to tell what color lightsaber he was using.

It was a relatively quick engagement that took a while to adjucate because of the distractions. Next week: possibly a new member!