A Cularin Presence

*Homebrew Reference Book: Living Force Adventures (Converted by Wikia user Chellewalker (formally Wikia user Lukewarner))*

This is part 1 of the Eye of the Sun Trilogy, and is continued in part 2, The Resistance Within. This is an adventure for low-level heroes, and therefore characters level 1 through 4 are appropriate.

In the midst of the upheaval surrounding the arrival of the Metatheran Cartel's representatives on Cularin, supplies begin to go missing. The PCs are gathered in a cantina in the aftermath of the Cartel's announcement when a young Human rushes in, chased by several men in official-looking garb. The man shouts that the planet is in danger, that the system is being threatened, then he is taken by the others and placed "under arrest" for treason. He shouts for anyone who values their way of life to go and talk to the local government, to warn them of the threat. Cularin has always been such a peaceful place, but things seem to be changing in a system that has always prided itself on constancy. It is time for the PCs to move beyond their mundane lives, and become the heroes they must be, if the system is to survive.

### Gamemaster Notes

This Adventure Module is relatively dense, information-wise, and is designed to give players a chance to get used to the main world in the Cularin System. There are opportunities for a lot of different things to happen, not every possibility can be foreseen. Gamemasters should be encouraged to allow the players to try out their PCs' various Skills and Feats whenever possible, to get a feel for how things work in the Saga Edition System. On occasion, this may require a little improvisation on the Gamemaster's part, but that's why key hooks and details are provided within each Part.

### Opening Sequence

***Today was to be a great day of celebration in remembrance of Reidi Artom's first successful colonization, exactly 200 years ago. Individuals of all Species turned out to share in the glorious role Cularin has begun to play in the galaxy, to celebrate how far the planet's lush natural resources have brought the system in a mere two centuries. The streets were flooded with revelers, all flocking to the square at the center of town, shouting, dancing, laughing- and then, it appeared. A smiling visage, hanging above the central square of Gadrin, rotating slowly in the late-morning sky. The porcine face of Velin Wir, Metatheran Cartel representative to Cularin.***

***Without introduction, he spoke. "Good people, to enhance your celebration I bring grand tidings." The crowd grew silent. What little Cartel presence you'd had, often seemed too much. Velin Wir's face was known to all, and trusted by almost none. Something about the too-broad smile, combined with the too-narrow eyes. "The Metatheran Cartel has decided that the Cularin System is worthy of heavier investment. In addition to our small office, we intend to provide you with a full-fledged Cartel trading and distribution center, to truly help make Cularin an integral part of the galaxy at large." And with another too-broad smile, the holoprojection flickered, and faded. The celebration continued, but more subdued. Some revelers, already well past inebriation, continued as loudly as before, but many found Velin Wir's message disturbing. Small groups began to break off from the main body of the party, concerned persons looking for somewhere at least marginally more quiet...***

## Part 1: A New Threat

*Main Article: A New Threat*

The PCs, after having the celebration of the colonization of Cularin interrupted by the holo-message from the Metatheran Cartel representative, find themselves gathered in a cantina where the music is unusually muted. While there, a young man bursts in, clearly fleeing someone. He begins to shout warnings about danger to Cularin when several individuals wearing the uniforms of a private security force for a local trading concern rush in, blasters drawn, and take the man away.

## Part 2: The Hunt

*Main Article: The Hunt*

Several options are available to the party at this point. Reasonable approaches include visiting the trading house (House Hirskaala), visiting the local constabulary, and approaching the local Cartel representative directly. The evidence they are able to collect is enough for them to learn that the man they saw was not taken by the Hirskaalan security force, or that if he was, he is not currently being held in any of their facilities or those of local law enforcement. The local Cartel representative is unavailable to speak with them, as he has been "Called away" for the remainder of the day. Further asking around at any place other than those three locales will allow the PCs to hear rumors of missing ships and several stories of ships apparently coming in to land and then veering off to disappear over the Cularin jungles.

## Part 3: In Broad Daylight

*Main Article: In Broad Daylight*

Claxons sound as one of the other trading concerns, Renna's Transport Service, has one of its shipments hijacked from the landing pad with several guards nearby. The shipment contained speeder parts as well as a newly developed Sullustan intoxicant, Meir Wine. Renna, a thin female Rodian, is extremely upset with her guards, justifiably embarrassed at their incompetence. Out of frustration, and because the PCs seemed to respond more quickly than her own folk, she consents to answering questions about what has been going on with her business of late, and how this is not the first time she has lost a shipment. Optional: She will offer any PC she deems worthy employ with her guards.

## Part 4: Beggars and Choosers

*Main Article: Beggars and Choosers*

This Part may be run as a subset of Part 2, if the PCs elect to look for a beggar who might have seen something. If not, when they leave Renna's they are accosted by an elderly Human wearing a long brown cloak with a hood. This is Borus Ferthyn, and he is quite mad, but he has become such a fixture in the city that most folk ignore him. This makes him an ideal source of information, since Borus hears a great deal. Unfortunately, only half of what he speaks is accurate, since in his madness he has become incapable of distinguishing truth from falsehood and thus believes everything he hears. The PCs are left to decide which pieces of information he gives them should be treated as fact and which they should assume to be fictions Borus has perpetuated, but enough of what Borus tells them coincides with what they already know to push them to investigate the jungles outside the city.

## Part 5: Into the Woods

*Main Article: Into the Woods*

The PCs will need to head into the jungle. Any NPC they have previously consulted will, if asked what should be done next, agree that this seems a logical step, and any trading house will offer payment (if none has yet been negotiated by the PCs) for investigating this possibility. The PCs will be provided with two-person Speeders that are maneuverable enough to make it through the jungle foliage. As they leave the city, they will be involved in a short chase, which culminates in their would-be killer crashing into a tree. When they stop to investigate the crash site, some of the local creatures decide to investigate, and attack the PCs.

## Part 6: The Cartel, Back to Nature

*Main Article: The Cartel, Back to Nature*

Following the basic directions provided by their informant, the PCs eventually find a duracrete bunker built into the side of a hill. This is the actual base of operations for the Metatheran Cartel. The PCs will be detected and met with no hostility whatsoever. The Cartel has simply been waiting until the right time to reveal their central location on the planet, and thought that so soon after the announcement might not be the best moment. The representative is very helpful, even to the point of telling the PCs of other ships he's seen over the jungle, some of them matching the markings of missing ships. He also tells them that his men have reported the construction of a landing pad another two clicks into the jungle.

## Part 7: Piracy?

*Main Article: Piracy?*

The landing pad is where the Cartel representative said it should be. Upon sneaking close enough, PCs should discover evidence of very recent traffic, including the ship stolen from Renna just hours before in the process of being stripped and moved into a cave. The PCs may engage in a minor skirmish, at the end of which Cartel troops arrive, or they may return to the city and report in.

## Conclusion

***Over the next week, the Cartel begins running a shuttle back and forth to their new jungle base, from both Gadrin and Hedrett. Velin Wir's face is everywhere, smiling pudgily from holo-billboards, and the local news is filled with stories about how the Cartel helped the "Brave Cularin Heroes" root out the pirates who were threatening commerce in the system. There are even stories that the smugglers in the Asteroid Belt have taken notice, and are grateful for removing some unauthorized competition from the scene.***

***The local trading houses reward you handsomely, and for a few days everyone you see knows who you are, but as is always the case, fame is fleeting, and soon you're able to relax once more.***

***But something tugs at you. Something doesn't feel quite right, so when people begin disappearing only a week after the pirate base was destroyed, you have to wonder...***

***That, however, is another story.***

***Here Ends A Cularin Presence***

*This story continues in the Adventure Module: The Resistance Within*

### Adventure Rewards

Rewards for this Adventure Module are calculated as follows:

#### **Experience Points**

Did the heroes locate and deal with the pirates who have been plundering Cularin? If so, each hero who survived receives 600 Experience Points.

* If the heroes do not complete the mission due to time constraints, but were generally "On the right track," award them ½ of the total adventure experience (300 XP).
* If they learned of the pirates who are threatening Cularin, but took no action whatsoever against those pirates, award them ¾ of the total adventure experience (450 XP).

#### **Loot Summary**

The following Loot can be obtained at various points during the Adventure:

##### **From Renna**

* Two Datapads
* One bottle of Meir Wine
* One Short-Range, Encrypted Comlink
* Employment: Possible employment could be obtained as a member of Renna's Transport Service security detail. The pay is 1000 credits/week, and other benefits include a +2 circumstance bonus to any Gather Information or Persuasion checks made on Cularin, as long as they're employed with her, and living quarters and food on the premises.

##### **From Part 7 (*Piracy?*)**

* Three Stun Batons
* Three Blaster Pistols

All other loot from the pirate base is marked with the symbols of the houses from which it was stolen, and cannot be kept because of tracking devices those houses possess.