Tag: Game Development

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Stealing Shadows: Designing a High Action Star Wars One-Shot

I’ve volunteered to run a one-shot adventure for my friend Andrews birthday. Usually we play D&D together, but I decided to mix things up with some good old fashioned Star Wars. This franchise is perfect for the one-shot style game. It’s popular and players know exactly what’s expected. After much navel gazing I decided that there’s nothing like a good heist give the one-shot a truly Star Wars feel. Not only that but it had top be set in the dark days before A New Hope, when the Rebel Alliance is a ragtag network of scattered cells and the Empire’s grip is tightening. One daring raid can turn the tide.

In this post, we’ll walk through designing a Star Wars-themed one-shot using:

  • The ICRPG ruleset (fast, flexible, cinematic)
  • Pre-generated characters with just enough customization for the players to make them their own.
  • The 5 Room Dungeon framework for tight adventure structure, we only have 3 hours to play the game.
  • A mission straight from the Rebel playbook: steal the prototype TIE Phantom before the Empire can unleash it on the rebellion…

Why ICRPG Works for Star Wars

I really needed a game system that would be at once familiar tot eh players and fast paced. Index Card RPG (by Runehammer Games) is a rules-light system based on the concepts of D&D but streamlined to keeps things moving. One roll target per scene, fast turns, minimal math—it’s all built for cinematic play. Players don’t need to learn a dozen subsystems. They just go. Whether it’s blasting stormtroopers, slicing into doors, or dodging TIE Fighters, ICRPG makes gameplay smooth, allowing the players to focus on the high-stakes of the scenario.

Pregens with Purpose

To keep the pace snappy, I have prepped prep a number of characters, each with a strong role. While statted out with a specialist skill and a couple of attribute points, my players can add a further 8 attribute points and put their own stamp on the character. I’ve included the following:

  • Old Jedi in hiding.
  • Smuggler
  • Repair droid able to take over machines
  • Pilot
  • Commando
  • Wookie Warrior
  • Spy
  • Rebel soldier

Each comes with ICRPG-style stats, starting gear, and a special skill. Enough depth to spark roleplaying, but not so much to overwhelm.

Stealing Shadows: The Mission

Rebel intelligence have learned that the Empire has secretly constructed a working prototype of the TIE Phantom—a cloaking starfighter that could change the course of the war. It’s hidden deep in a secure Imperial testing facility on the shattered moon of Harax, guarded by stormtroopers, officers, and harsh automated defenses. But there is hope, one of the technical specialists is thought to have Rebel sympathies. Perhaps he will help the war effort.

Your team has one shot to infiltrate, steal the fighter, and escape before the Empire realises what’s happening.

Let’s structure it using the 5 Room Dungeon method. If you haven’t checked out this effective method of adventure design I highly recommend you do. This is the perfect way to frame the adventure. It keeps things exciting and tight, giving the players a fun adventure with limited prep time.

1. Entrance and Guardian – Moonfall and Mayhem

With their shuttle malfunctioning the rebel team crash land onto Harax’s fractured surface during an ion storm. thrown straight into the action they must reach the facility perimeter undetected, but patrols are already combing the surface. A speeder patrol closes in. Do they ambush, sneak, or run?

ICRPG Notes:

  • Set a scene target of 12 to keep the introduction fairly straight forward. . Use effort rolls for stealth, slicing into doors, or ambushing troopers.
  • Provide a map of the facility, letting the players choose a way in.
  • Timer: Storm interference increases every round; failure draws more troops.
  • A squad of scout troopers on speeder bikes will close in on the party.
  • Keep the time pressure on here.

2. Puzzle or Roleplay Challenge – Slicing the Perimeter

The hangar is shielded and locked down. Players must disable the security grid without triggering alarms. Can they make contact with the sympathetic tech specialist to help—but only if convinced the Rebels are real.

ICRPG Notes:

  • Roleplay challenge: gain the defector’s trust.
  • Increase effort dice to 13.
  • Puzzle effort: disable power relays, match codes, or rewire a terminal.
  • The defector Technician Zander is scared needs to be calmed. Will lead PCs to the wrong location.
  • Stormtrooper patrols are an ever present threat.

3. Trick or Setback – It’s a Trap!

The TIE Phantom is here—but it’s also bait. An elite stormtrooper squad, led by an ISB Agent, has been watching. They knew someone would come for the prototype and hope to uncover the Rebel cell network. Suddenly, blast doors seal, and enemy troops swarm in.

ICRPG Notes:

  • Betrayal scene, make a big deal out of the trap. Maniacal laughter is a must!
  • Agent Ixil makes his appearance, calmly tells the party of his trap.
  • Effort Level of 14.
  • Treats: The hangar is full of tools and droids that can be utilized in their defense.
  • Timer: Countdown to more troops arriving. Must open the blast doors to the main hangar.

4. Climax, Big Battle – Phantom Launch

The Rebels must fight their way to the TIE Phantom, power it up, and blast their way out. One player can pilot; others defend the hangar or sabotage remaining defenses. A shuttle is parked nearby to allow the other players the possibility of escape. Possibly a mid-flight dogfight to escape in orbit.

ICRPG Notes:

  • Split the party: pilot sequence vs. hangar defense, have both happening at the same time and cut between the two.
  • Effort level 15.
  • Stormtroopers, stormtroopers and more stormtroopers plus the scary Agent Ixil.
  • Use timers and effort for take-off time and incoming stormtroopers.
  • Cue dramatic sacrifices, cinematic blaster standoffs, or droid heroism.

5. Reward and Revelation – The Price of Hope

The Phantom is in Rebel hands… but at a cost. Did they all make it? Did the ISB Agent escape with intel on the Rebel organization? The fighter’s logs might reveal even more hidden Imperial projects and a planned raid on a nearby Rebel safe house. Investigation of the cloaking technology will show it to be of Sith origin.

Get the players to describe what their characters are doing a day, a week and a year after the adventure. This gives the one-shot game a great feeling of closure.

Tips to Capture the Star Wars Feel

This adventure is meant to be fully Star Wars. Nothing clever here. In an attempt to catpure the feel of the original films I’ll aim to include the following at different points throughout the game.

  • Stormtroopers die in droves, but leaders are scary. Keep troopers cinematic—bad shots, easy to mow down. But named officers and ISB agents should feel dangerous.
  • Use environment hazards. Star Wars battles are kinetic. Falling catwalks, explosive barrels, jammed blast doors—go big. I’ll create a list of these and add I go to keep the action high.
  • Moral choices matter. Give the Rebels real dilemmas: save the prisoner or steal the ship? Take the shot or protect your team? The tech specialist defector will definitely have a sad story, will the players save him?
  • Visual and musical cues. I’ll be playing the New Hope soundtrack during the session and provide plans of the secret TIE fighter test facility.
AI rendering of Agent Ixil the Villain of the adventure

The Villain

In an effort to make the villain memorable I developed him to be someone the players can hate. Introducing Agent Varn Ixil

Imperial Security Bureau – Counter-Insurgency Division

Description: Cold, calculating, and eerily calm under pressure, Agent Varn Ixil is a mid-ranking ISB operative known for using psychological tactics and traps rather than brute force. He wears pristine officer’s attire with his distinctive cream dress jacket. He carries a modified blaster pistol—rarely drawn, always lethal. His right eye has been replaced with an optical implant that constantly analyzes his surroundings, and he records every conversation for later dissection.

Memorable Trait: He never raises his voice. Even during combat, his commands are delivered in a chilling whisper. He refers to Rebels by their full names and known affiliations, as if reading from a classified file—making players feel like he already knows them.

Motivation: Not just to protect the TIE Phantom, but to capture the Rebel team alive and study them as part of a broader psychological warfare program. He wants to break the Rebellion, one mind at a time.

Catchphrase: “You think this is about a ship. No. This is about you. All of you. And the cost of believing in ghosts.”

I cant wait for the players to meet Agent Ixil!

Final Thoughts

A small Rebel team, a deadly prototype, stormtroopers in pursuit—it’s the recipe for a perfect Star Wars one-shot. With ICRPG’s easy-to-learn system and the tight 5 Room Dungeon structure, you can drop players straight into the action and deliver a cinematic, satisfying night of roleplay.

Let them steal the future from the Empire. Let them feel like heroes. It’s all here. I cant wait to run it!! And remember…..

Rebellions are built on hope.

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Promethium War Campaign Wrap Up – Did it Work?

Back in April and May I ran a narrative Kill Team event called Promethium War. We had 12 players all fighting over the Promethium rich world of Pyrothis V. The aim of the campaign was to keep it simple, push the narrative side of the game and see what it is like to run an experience like this. I purposely kept it short at 4 weeks so that I could dip my toe in the water and understand what works and what doesn’t. Of course, I also wanted to make sure people at the club were really interested.

Did it work and what lessons did I learn? Lets find out.

What Worked?

To start with we had 12 club goers sign up for the campaign. So there was real interest in the narrative side of the game. People were excited about giving more meaning to their casual Wednesday night games.

Having factions and teams working together created lots of banter and feedback from the participants rated this as an enjoyable part of the whole experience. The exception to this was the different win conditions for the Xenos team, which didn’t really work as well as I had hoped.

Most of the players really engaged with the narrative elements of the campaign and wrote up fun battle reports. They weren’t shy about putting their own spin on the campaign events, resulting in some really creative additions.

All in all, lots of engagement, fun banter and some great narrative. An all round win. However, there were some elements that could have gone better.

Close fought battle from week 4

What Didn’t Work?

As mentioned above the Xenos faction win condition was confusing and actually difficult to pull off. To their credit the Xenos players leaned into it well, but if I were to do it again I would have their win condition be more aligned with the other two factions.

Scoring was based only on wins. Looking back, I think that points should be scored for playing games as well, not just the win. this encourages players to get more games in and removes the sting of defeat a little.

During Promethium War all the narrative elements were collected as stories in the discord and the weekly campaign journal. Having a map would have grounded the games even more with actual territory being fought over. Whether this needs actual mechanics associated with it or stays as a tool to aid the narrative remains to be seen.

In my set up of the campaign I added a couple of bespoke crit ops. However, I feel like I missed a trick here. Having a strong of specific ops can really help tell the story of the campaign. The scientist mission I included was a real hit. Having things like this that deviate from the regular game set up gave additional life to the campaign.

Campaign Journal

Inspired by the old Necromunda newsletters from the 1990s White Dwarf magazine, I wrote a series of campaign journals. These were intended to tell the story of the campaign, including results and missions. These took a fair bit of work to compile and I’m not sure that the players really engaged with them. From an effort/reward point of view I’m not sure they are worth it. Next time I think I will do something similar but a lot shorter.

If you want to follow the campaign here are the journals from Week 1 to the finale:

Promethium Wars Journal 1Download
Promethium Wars Journal 2Download
Promethium Wars Journal 3Download
Promethium Wars Journal 4Download
Promethium Wars Journal 5 (final results)Download

Lessons Learned from Promethium War

From my own experience and from my player survey there are a few things I’d do next time. these include:

  • Include a map to fight over (though with limited mechanics)
  • Keep multiple factions, but keep win conditions more aligned
  • Appoint Faction Captains to encourage engagement and narrative
  • Include secret missions for Factions to give a sense of mystery
  • Have a specific mission for each week that follows the arc of the campaign
  • Include environmental rules to make battles feel different
  • Have a reduced campaign journal, rely on players and captains to provide the narrative
  • Include specific events during the campaign with special missions and multiplayer games to maintain interest and give different experiences throughout
  • Make it longer than 4 weeks to give more of a feeling of a larger scale campaign.

Final Thoughts on Promethium War

Did Promethium War work? Yes it did. The players were engaged and had fun, which is after all the purpose of the whole experience. Additionally I learned a lot about the effort required and other things that the players were looking for.

Would I run another narrative campaign? Definitely! Would I recommend running your own narrative campaign? Definitely again. However, the set up does take quite a bit of work. Watching players engage with your material and make it there own is a very satisfying experience.

While writing this I already have the makings of the next campaign already forming. Get ready for Succession War (working title) later in the year. Cant wait to see what story emerges.

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Planning a Kick-Ass D&D Campaign with Minimal Effort

Planning a Dungeons & Dragons campaign can feel overwhelming, especially for Dungeon Masters who want to keep their preparation time manageable. However, by borrowing concepts from Dungeon World Fronts and embracing minimalist planning, you can create a dynamic, player-driven experience that feels rich and engaging without requiring hours of prep work. I use this methodology in many of my own campaigns and I can say from experience that it works a treat.

What Are Dungeon World Fronts?

Dungeon World, a narrative-driven RPG, uses Fronts as a way to organize campaign threats and storylines without rigid scripting. Instead of planning each session in detail, you create major factions, events, and dangers that will evolve naturally based on player actions. These Fronts act as living forces in the world, ensuring the story unfolds dynamically.

Step 1: Define Your Fronts

A Front is a significant force or conflict that drives the game’s narrative. Examples include:

  • A Rising Cult – A mysterious order gathers followers to summon an ancient deity.
  • A Warlord’s Ambition – A power-hungry warlord seeks to conquer the region.
  • A Failing Empire – The once-great kingdom crumbles due to internal corruption.
  • A Forgotten Curse – An ancient evil begins to stir beneath the land.

Each Front has:

  1. A Core Threat – The central danger or goal of the Front.
  2. Grim Portents – Steps showing how the Front advances if unchecked.
  3. Impending Doom – The final, catastrophic outcome if players fail to intervene.

It is best to have 2-3 Fronts in play. This creates interesting moral dilemmas for the players. Do we find the rising cults source of power, or stop the Warlords ambition in the border lands? Combatting one will leave the other unchecked for a time and closer to reaching it’s impending doom.

Example of Dungeon World fronts used for a Castle Ravenloft campaign

Step 2: Keep Session Prep Minimal

Instead of spending hours scripting intricate encounters, use situation-based preparation:

  • What’s Happening Right Now? – Consider what the antagonists are currently doing.
  • What Might Happen Next? – Think about the logical consequences of past events.
  • What Questions Need Answers? – Let player curiosity drive exploration.

This method of play does require getting comfortable with improvisation. For some tips on upping your improve game you can check out my previous article on the subject.

Step 3: Build NPCs and Factions, Not Plots

Rather than rigid story arcs, create motivated NPCs with clear goals. If you establish what each faction or villain wants, they will naturally push the world forward, reacting to the players’ choices.

This keeps the game very fluid and flexible. It will actually create intricate and compelling stories without the rigidity and time spent on creating these beforehand.

Step 4: Use Player Backstories for Hooks

Weave your players’ backgrounds into the campaign. A character’s lost sibling, old rival, or mysterious prophecy can become central elements of the story, creating organic engagement without extra planning.

Step 5: Let the World React

One of the best ways to keep a campaign like this engaging is to make the world feel alive. To do that use the following:

  • Actions Have Consequences – If players ignore a threat, it advances.
  • Factions and NPCs Adapt – Enemies respond to failures and successes.
  • The Story Evolves – The campaign unfolds based on player choices, not a fixed script.

Final Thoughts

By using Dungeon World Fronts, embracing minimal prep, and letting players drive the story, you can create a rich, immersive D&D campaign without hours of meticulous planning. While this type of campaign can seem too freewheeling, it does in fact take less effort while creating adventures that the players get fully engaged with. By focusing on dynamic factions, evolving conflicts, and player-driven narratives, and you’ll have an unforgettable game that practically runs itself.