Post

Chris Williams

Jun 5, 2018 • 29 tweets • 8 min read • Read on X

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@ShadowTaxes @Maddambeltaine Hmm, Smokey and the Bandit as inspiration... Throw in Convoy, Cannonball Run, maybe Duel... I think you've got something there.

https://mobile.twitter.com/ForceMajeurePod/status/1135405691382960128

@ShadowTaxes @Maddambeltaine Ok, if @weaselpunk can get away with using The Goonies as inspiration for a Star Wars story, then I can definitely use Smokey and the Bandit.

https://mobile.twitter.com/ForceMajeurePod/status/1135405691382960128

@ShadowTaxes @Maddambeltaine @weaselpunk Smokey and the Bandit is a story about a smuggler and the cop trying to catch him.

@ShadowTaxes @Maddambeltaine @weaselpunk It’s a good smuggling story because it explains three things: why the Macguffin is being smuggled, why it has to be done quickly, and why speed is a problem.

@ShadowTaxes @Maddambeltaine @weaselpunk The cargo of beer is Coors, which couldn’t be legally sold east of the Mississippi at the time. So bootlegging happened.

@ShadowTaxes @Maddambeltaine @weaselpunk At the time Coors was unpasteurised and made with no preservatives, so it had a short shelf life. So it needed moving fast.

@ShadowTaxes @Maddambeltaine @weaselpunk And fast was a problem, because the oil crisis of ’73 meant that a 55 mile per hour national speed limit was in effect.

@ShadowTaxes @Maddambeltaine @weaselpunk So we need a perishable product that’s illegal. But it’s boring if the crew can just make a single hyperspace jump and be done with it.

@ShadowTaxes @Maddambeltaine @weaselpunk Solution: make it a product that “doesn’t travel well” and needs short hyperspace jumps. For reasons, I remembered the story of the catfish and the cod.

@ShadowTaxes (Untagging people to avoid messing up their mentions). If you don’t know the catfish story, here’s the straight dope: boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthrea…

@ShadowTaxes The story is nonsense, but who cares? This is Star Wars. I ain’t gotta explain.

@ShadowTaxes Someone wants illegal aquatic food creatures that must be transported live and can’t spend a long time in hyperspace.

@ShadowTaxes I originally planned the guy who wants this to be a Hutt, but that’s lazy, dull and overdone.

@ShadowTaxes In the movie, it’s Big Enos and Little Enos who want the beer. I can’t find a safe gif of them so have more Bandit.

@ShadowTaxes Idea: instead of two people, one person with two heads: a Troig like the pod racing announcer from Phantom Menace.

@ShadowTaxes We have a patron (the Troig), a cargo (the fish) and a reason it needs transporting in short hops (which allow more roleplay opportunities). What’s missing?

@ShadowTaxes In Smokey and the Bandit, the cargo is in the truck while Bandit drives a fast car as a blocker or distraction.

@ShadowTaxes It might seem odd to split the party in two, but if you’ve got a hotshot pilot on the crew maybe they’d be better driving the distraction.

@ShadowTaxes If your campaign is set after the destruction of the first Death Star, an X-Wing in rebel colours with a famous call sign could be irresistible to the Empire.

@ShadowTaxes The movie had Buford T Justice as the lawman trying to catch Bandit, but he’s very much a comedy antagonist.

@ShadowTaxes For a more serious tone, an Imperial Customs Agent, an Inspector Javert type. A white human male in a grey uniform.

@ShadowTaxes Which leaves the Sally Field role. You can’t assume that your players will pick up a random hitchhiker like Bandit did.

@ShadowTaxes Instead, s/he sneaks aboard with the cargo of fish, only discovered during the first hyperspace jump.

@ShadowTaxes When challenged, Sally claims to be part of the cargo, an expert in the care and transport of the fish, and is able to tend and care for them, watching for signs they are too stressed or need to stop travelling.

@ShadowTaxes In reality, as well as being a fish expert, Sally is a Rebel smuggler and Javert has been hunting for her.

@ShadowTaxes Eventually the party will realise Javert is chasing her not them. Then comes the moral dilemma. Turn her in to the Empire? Or risk their lives by helping the Rebelion?

@ShadowTaxes The “ideal” end to the story is a successful delivery of the live fish, Javert avoided, Sally safely on her way, and the party gaining a useful contact in the Rebellion who is also a smuggler.