Planning a Star Wars d20 Campaign

So, I've decided to get off my toochus and run a tabletop game. I've been playing in LARPS almost exclusively for several years now, but have never lost the taste for sitting around a table with friends and rolling dice. I've been invited to a couple of games, but none of them have grabbed my fancy, because at heart, I'm a sci-fi geek, and most of these games have been fantasy.

My initial thought was to run a game set in the Warhammer 40K universe. This is mainly because I'm very familiar with the universe, have tons of figures, and quite frankly, it has a fast, bloody combat system. Unfortunately, to run a game in such a setting puts a lot of limits on the player characters, and not everyone is as familiar with the universe as I am. Add to that the fact that there is no rule-set for such an RPG, meaning I'd have to home-brew a set of rules. I thought of incorporating Games Workshop's Inquisitor but it turns out to simply be a more complex set of combat rules, with very little emphasis on the non-combat sorts of things that an RPG requires. I still like the universe, however, and I hear Black Industries is licensed to come out with a WH40KRPG next year, which decreased my ardor to home-brew my own rules.

After talking to my buddy Tad, I have decided to run a SWd20 campaign. I'm pretty sure this is a winner, for a variety of reasons. I like the d20 system. Everyone knows at least something about Star Wars and how that universe operates. The first adventure is already written, but I'm a little unsure about how the difficulty for encounters works out. According to the rules, a party of four 1st level heroes should have a pretty easy time with one 1st level Thug, which makes sense, but when I try to construct a meaningful battle with enough baddies to make it worthwhile, it quickly escalates to the "Extreme" category, which worries me. I think I have things balanced, however, and am all ready to go. I have an idea for how the initial stages of the first module in the campaign will go, but I'll hold off on designing the encounters until I have a better feel for what the characters can handle.

So, without further ado, here's the opening to Star Wars - The Rim Rebellion

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...

It is a time of fear in the galaxy. The Old Republic has been subsumed into the galaxy-spanning Empire, and the Separatist movement has been silenced. The Jedi, once great protectors of peace and freedom in the galaxy, have been hunted into near-extinction, and the Emperor's power grows with each passing hour. Vast armies, comprised of the Empire's elite Stormtroopers, move throughout the galaxy, quashing any hint of rebellion, and establishing control over key centers of trade and production. Holonet has gone off-line, making inter-stellar travel difficult, if not impossible. And yet, rumors of a forming rebellion perist, providing hope to uncounted millions of oppressed sentients.

Meanwhile, on planet of Bimmisari, a trading world out on the Middle Rim, a new Imperial Governor has been installed. The people go largely about their business unhampered, but steadily increasing Imperial restrictions are beginning to take their toll. The Pirates of the Asteroid Belt, long a nuisance to shipping in the region, are gaining a newfound strength, and a dark conspiracy is about to unfold...

Now, the only question is whether or not to let my stepson Cody play. The kid's a bit much to handle and has no social skills. Can we keep him in line? The alternative is to not let him play, and quite frankly, I don't think further isolation is going to help matters. Perhaps if he's in the company of others, where I can monitor his behavior and correct it on the spot, he might learn something. But, is this fair to my friends?