Star Wars Wednesday - Superweapon...of the week!

Superweapons. They're a staple of Star Wars. Sure, they were over used in the early books, novels and comics, but they also provided a highly defined and specific target and goal for the story. Eventually, the stories moved beyond the superweapon of the week into other topics, but....

Have you used a superweapon in your Star Wars RPG game?

Why not?

OK, so if you played Dawn of Defiance, there was kind of a superweapon in that series, but it was more of proto-superweapon and more of a distant threat, rather than an immediate one.

So, why not?

Stats? Sure, we didn't stat out the big bad superweapons. But they're generally one-shot = one kill (planet, star, whatever). You don't exactly need hit points for this sort of thing.

Silly? Possibly, but I bet if you take it seriously, and avoid a supercheesy weapon name, you're players will likely buy in.

CL? It's more of a dramatic device. Try not to over think it.

Overwhelming odds? Goes with the super weapon territory.

Dubious plausibly? Very likely. Roll with it. 

Ideas? Well, there are the old sci-fi, pulp story plot devices, you can start with a couple of those and mix and match as you like.

Useful formulas:

Massive weapon + transportation device + power source +evil villain + evil sidekick + underlings = superweapon

Weird alien/person/creature + primitive tech (or) super high tech + captured/crashed/stranded heroes = unexpected help

Previously unknown world, city, star, asteroid, etc. covered in suspiciously red cloud formations or rocky red soil = superweapon target

Serously, though, superweapons are actually underutilized resource in most Star Wars RPG campaigns. It doesn't have to be on the scale of the Death Star, and it really shouldn't be. However, there are plenty of weapons ideas for RELATIVELY smaller targets that can be equally threatening for the scale of adventure they're used in. Some of the vaguely referenced novels and comics can give you a starting point. Didn't like a particular superweapon? Improve it yourself and see how you players react in game.

Comments

[Anthony Lillig]

Sometimes a simple super-weapon is best. Slap a huge ion drive to an overly large asteroid and hurl it at a planet. Sure, destroying the ion drive can be relatively easy (or not ;) ), but stopping a small planetoid is not an easy chore when all you have is a tramp freighter, smart mouthed sidekicks, and serious hangover from a late night corellian ale drinking session.

[Peteman]

I made a superweapon once, it was an ancient, supermassive asteroid with lots and lots of guns.

I had an idea for a different one though, it was made in hindsight for a Wizards Of The Coast starship design contest. It was inspired by the HoloNet News — A Galaxy Divided episode, more accurately the line "Impractical and unimaginative" line.

The weapon is a torpedo sphere with an advanced Hybridium cloaking device and a Stygium spotter. The idea was that the ship would stealth over unsuspecting planets and use the spotter to select primary targets and then carpet bomb the planet with high-yield nuclear weapons with a coordinated strike before anyone knew what hit them. The ship wouldn't actually be able to hit hard targets like planets with active shield generators nor would it be that tough, but I kinda like the idea of the ninja of superweapons, using (comparatively) low-end stuff to devastating effect because you cheat like hell.