Setting
The Crew Dossier:
Campaign Vibe: Underworld Mischief & Found Family. Equal parts desperate survival (Firefly) and quirky, character-driven workplace humor (The Orville). The crew is a powder keg of clashing personalities bound together by a shared need to stay ahead of the law—and their pasts.
The Ship & Support
- Vessel: G9-Rigger Light Freighter. Clunky, slow, and recognizable. It needs serious modifications to satisfy Wolfrick and serious repairs just to leave Numidian Prime.
- GM-PC Mechanic: Viss-Ka-Liss (Sluissi). The ship's caretaker. He provides tech support and a grounding presence when the organic crew members start shouting at each other.
The Character Matrix
| Character | Species/Profession | Core Motivation | The Catalyst/Hook | FFG Obligation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Borlat Slaim | Muun Entrepreneur | Wealth, status, and survival. | Lost the trust of major syndicates; looking for the next big scheme. | Bounty / Debt (Syndicates) |
| E3-PO | Droid Bounty Hunter | Vengeance and justice. | Searching for the rest of the crew that backstabbed his creator. | Obsession / Oath (Vengeance) |
| Ghul Garrosh | Gamorrean Marauder | Loyalty to Borlat, hitting things, getting a good meal | Content to be Borlat's muscle; has zero solo ambition. | Responsibility (To Borlat) |
| Skreek | Rishii Survivalist Thief | Curiosity, shiny objects. | Accidental hitchhiker who operates on magpie logic and survival instincts, but is very intelligent. | Bounty and Obsession (Thief) |
| Wolfrick | Shistavanen Pilot | Speed, exploring, sticking it to authority. | Stole a ship (now destroyed) from a Farghul; wants to make the G9-Rigger fast. | Bounty (Farghul) |
The Setting: The Galaxy in 7 BBY
The Current Atmosphere
The New Order is no longer a novelty; it is a grim reality. The Imperial Senate still meets on Coruscant, but it is a puppet theater. In the Outer Rim, the Empire’s presence is expanding aggressively. They are strip-mining worlds for raw materials, pushing out independent scouts, and squeezing traditional smuggling routes. Because the Imperial military cannot be everywhere at once, local Moffs and Governors rule like tyrannical kings, often making corrupt backroom deals with criminals to keep their sectors quiet and their resource quotas met.
The Underworld Landscape
With the law tightening its grip on the Mid Rim, the Outer Rim has become a pressure cooker for the criminal underworld. Smuggling is harder, fuel is heavily taxed, and the margins for error are razor-thin.
- The Fractured Sparks: There is no Rebellion. If your players hear about anti-Imperial activity, it is a localized riot, a planetary militia, or the brutal, terroristic strikes of Saw Gerrera’s Partisans. These groups operate in total isolation and often look more like dangerous extremists than galactic saviors.
Major Players in the Outer Rim
If your crew is running/flying around in the wider Outer Rim, these are the heavy hitters they will likely cross paths with:
The Big Five: Profiles and Relations in 7 BBY
In 7 BBY, the galactic underworld is defined by a brutal, invisible equilibrium. The criminal landscape is dominated by The Five Syndicates (and a few massive regional competitors). Because the Empire is busy ruthlessly consolidating its political power and hunting down the last remnants of the Jedi, it largely leaves the syndicates alone—provided they pay their Imperial bribes, keep the slave and spice trades out of the Core Worlds, and don't start any massive planet-wide wars.
This creates a "Cold War" dynamic where the syndicates smile at each other across negotiation tables while actively trying to slide a vibroblade into each other's backs.
1. The Hutt Cartel (The Untouchable Giants)
- The Profile: Operating out of Hutt Space (Nal Hutta and Tatooine), the Grand Hutt Council is less of a gang and more of an ancient, sovereign mega-corporation. They control massive swathes of the Outer Rim.
- In 7 BBY: Jabba the Hutt is ascending to peak power. The Hutts have an official, uneasy non-aggression pact with the Empire: the Empire gets raw resources and territory stability, and the Hutts get to keep running their criminal empire.
- Relations with Others: The Hutts view all other syndicates as arrogant upstarts. They rely on the Pykes to transport product, tolerate Black Sun as long as they stay out of Hutt Space, and are currently in a quiet territorial dispute with the Crymorah.
2. The Pyke Syndicate (The Drug Lords)
- The Profile: Based on the obsidian world of Oba Diah, the Pykes hold a strict monopoly on the mining, refining, and distribution of Spice (specifically raw coaxium and glitterstim from Kessel). They operate with the cold precision of a legitimate logistics corporation.
- In 7 BBY: They are wealthier than ever. Because the Empire’s massive military machine requires an infinite amount of labor and resources, the Pykes' spice distribution networks are thriving in the Outer Rim.
- Relations with Others: Strictly transactional. They treat the Hutts as their primary distribution partners but hate how much tribute the Hutts demand. They have a fragile alliance with Black Sun to split distribution territories in the Mid Rim.
3. Black Sun (The Corporate Extortionists)
- The Profile: Led by the noble houses of the Falleen species, Black Sun specializes in slave trafficking, extortion, corporate espionage, and high-end smuggling. They mask their criminal activities behind thousands of legitimate front corporations.
- In 7 BBY: They are highly sophisticated and deeply embedded in the Mid Rim. They use their wealth to bribe Imperial Moffs and Governors, making them incredibly difficult for local law enforcement to touch.
- Relations with Others: Bitter rivals with the Hutts over the galactic slave trade. They view Crimson Dawn as dangerous, unpredictable newcomers and prefer dealing with the business-minded Pykes.
4. Crimson Dawn (The Shadow Spies)
- The Profile: Three years prior (in 10 BBY), Dryden Vos was killed, and the enigmatic Qi'ra took public control of the syndicate. On the surface, they are a slick, luxury-tier criminal enterprise specializing in high-society theft and assassination. In the shadows, they are building a massive intelligence network.
- In 7 BBY: Qi'ra is quietly restructuring Crimson Dawn into a weapon. They are placing deep-cover sleeper agents inside the Empire and other syndicates, laying the groundwork for a long-term play.
- Relations with Others: Highly manipulative. Crimson Dawn presents itself to the Hutts and Pykes as a useful, smaller ally willing to do messy contract work. In reality, they are cataloging their allies' secrets, weaknesses, and smuggling routes to use against them later.
5. The Crymorah Syndicate (The Imperial Snitches)
- The Profile: A massive, loose conglomerate of human-centric crime families that dominates the Mid Rim. They are famous for being incredibly pragmatic, brutal, and utterly lacking in "underworld honor."
- In 7 BBY: The Crymorah have done the unthinkable: they cut direct, off-the-books deals with high-ranking Imperial military officers. They act as an untraceable asset for the Empire—doing dirty work the Empire can't legally do—and in exchange, the Imperial Navy conveniently destroys Crymorah's competitors.
- Relations with Others: Universally loathed. The Hutts, Pykes, and Black Sun view the Crymorah as dangerous, state-sponsored snitches. A minor spark between a Crymorah enforcer and a Hutt enforcer can easily escalate into a proxy war involving the Imperial military.
The Syndicate Matrix (At a Glance)
| Syndicate | Specialty | Attitude Toward Hutts | Attitude Toward Empire |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hutt Cartel | Territory, Smuggling, Gambling | N/A (The Bosses) | Cautious, transactional peace |
| Pyke Syndicate | Spice Production / Logistics | Resentful but necessary partners | Profitable indifference / Bribes |
| Black Sun | Slaves, Extortion, Corporate Fronts | Bitter territorial rivals | High-level political corruption |
| Crimson Dawn | Spy Networks, High-Value Theft | Fake compliance; mapping weaknesses | Secretly plotting infiltration |
| Crymorah | Mid-Rim Racketeering, Info Brokering | Active hostility / Trying to steal turf | Deeply collaborative (Backroom deals) |
Imperial Authorities & Regional Governance
- Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin: He commands the Outer Rim Territories. While he won't care about a G9-Rigger freighter, his local subordinates—the Sector Moffs and planetary Governors—are desperate to impress him. They will overreact to minor crimes just to show "efficiency."
- The Bureau of Ships and Services (BoSS): The bureaucratic nightmare of the galaxy. They log ship transponders, pilot licenses, and cargo manifests. For a crew with a stolen ship background (Wolfrick) and an undocumented freighter (Borlat), BoSS inspectors are just as dangerous as Stormtroopers.