The Face with A Thousand Heroes

As I announced with my participation in the City '26 challenge, I'm working on my own Star Wars pastiche setting. The advantage to having an unofficial setting is that, first off, I can publish things, and second off, I have more freedom.

Now, as an insightful redditor named ConflictStar once said:

Star Wars works best when it is used as a lens by filmmakers and storytellers to reinterpret their favorite things.

All I'm doing with this new setting, really, is looking at my favorite things through an unofficial Star Wars lens. I'm building Kathoom by looking at a guide book to New York City in the 1930s through the Star Wars lens. Last week was Wall Street, this week is the Hudson waterfront, and next week is the Lower West Side. 

Grab the nearest module you have. Nine times out of ten, it's Star Wars-able. It might take a little tinkering here and there but I assure you it's possible. With minimal changes, I've run Kidnap the Archpriest, Waterdeep: Dragon Heist, Parsantium: City at the Crossroads, and Yoon-Suin this way and I have plans for how to run so many more. You don't even need to use a dedicated Star Wars or even sci-fi RPG. Just take any system, reskin the major things, and let the rest inform your setting in ways you wouldn't plan on.

If you can't tell by now, I love Star Wars and I can't wait to look at more of my favorite things through the lens. Let me know if you'd be interested in seeing how I go about adapting a module like this and I might make a follow-up post.

And may the Force be with you.

City '26: Kathoom - Week 2

 A4. Finance District

Principal Feature

The financial heart of both the city and the entire Republic. Most prominent is the Kathoom Stock Exchange, alongside hundreds of banks and firms.

NPC: Wu Zloth. Bank teller. Painfully slow, gravely voice. Seems to enjoy your suffering.

Encounters

1. Several salarymen, stumbling back from the bar after after-work drinks.
2. Several salarymen, arguing over who has the nicer holo-card.
3. Several salarymen, in a hurry. You are in their way.
4. A few investors, celebrating their investments paying off.
5. A few investors, suicidal after going bankrupt.
6. An armored speeder, carrying who knows how many credits, passes by.

NPC: Brinks Rakeback. Armored speeder driver. Compulsive gambler. Fighting the temptation to just steal everything and bet it all on an esorh race.

Trade Goods

Need a loan? Wanna buy stock in a company? Wanna get a loan, set up your own joint-stock company, pull off some less-than-legal schemes, and run off with your ill-gotten gains? This is the place to do it.

NPC: Kaj Ongol. Wannabe investor. Gullible, more credits than sense. Inherited his wealth from an uncle who may or may not have been a space pirate.

Controlling Faction

Once the underdog founded out of a personal rivalry to compete with the Bank of Boracon, the Kathoom Company has risen to the top, becoming the number one banking company in the Republic.

NPC: Naaro Hrub. CEO of the Kathoom Company. No one holds a grudge like Hrub. Two hundred years ago, he was rivals with a man named Siven Kit. Their rivalry would eventually reach the point where Hrub killed Kit in a duel. Most people would consider their rivalry over at that point. Not Hrub. Through cyborg enhancements and sheer spite, he has kept himself alive, determined to see Kit's Bank of Boracon crushed into the dust and all memory of him blotted from the galaxy.

Rival Faction

The Bank of Boracon has seen better days. Despite the prestige of being Kathoom’s first bank, they’ve lost much of their business to the Kathoom Company.

NPC: Hashlin Skeem. CEO of the Bank of Boracon. Determined to see the Bank back on top and willing to use whatever underhanded tricks he needs to. Couldn't care less about Hrub - it's just business.

Plot Hook

Alright boys - the heist is simple: the Star of Bogosi, one of the largest diamonds in the galaxy, is being moved to a safety deposit box at the First Bank of the Kathoom Company. Once it’s in that safe, it’ll be basically inaccessible; that means we’ve got a small window to make our move.

NPC: Adamas Rode. Psychopath, looks like Michael Caine. Owns dozens of diamond mines on the planet of Bogosi in the Outer Rim.

Transportation

N to [A3]

S to [B5]

E to [B4]

W to [L4]

NPC: Mish Koral. Stock trader. On a holo-call all the time, somehow able to hold two conversations at once. Suspiciously good at buying and selling at the right times (no tricks, he really is just that good/lucky).

City '26: Kathoom + Week 1

I'm participating in City '26! In doing so, I will be introducing a new setting that I've had on the backburner for a while: a shameless Star Wars pastiche that I can do whatever I want with. I'll probably make a post at some point detailing the broad overview of the universe but for now I'll just be focused on this one city - my Nar Shaddaa.

Kathoom is the moon of the planet Boracon in the Trans-Core Republic, the entire surface of which is covered in urban sprawl. The city is the largest in the Republic, clocking in at around 200 trillion people. Each district represents an area of around 400,000 square miles. (Yes, these numbers are ridiculous. That's just the kind of thing you have to deal with when designing a city the size of the moon.)

Week 1 - A3. Sekab Base

Principal Feature

Republic military base, built atop the initial colony. Mostly for show these days but still boasts a massive orbital cannon in case of attack.

NPC: Lieutenant Deek. Tired and overworked military engineer. Doing his best to maintain an antique orbital cannon with little to no resources.

Encounters

1. Several soldiers playing Burshk, a popular card game. One is cheating.
2. Several soldiers doing drills. Unarmed and exhausted.
3. Several soldiers, patrolling. Bored and looking for trouble.
4. A few military engineers, doing maintenance on base infrastructure.
5. A few military engineers, attempting to move a piece of faulty (and very heavy) equipment to the repair bay.
6. A Ranger, on a classified special mission from the commander. What is it? *I just told you it’s classified*.

NPC: Sergeant Maro. Cartoonishly serious, might enjoy violence a little too much. Ranger transferred here as a punishment for something he did on Ojed.

Trade Goods

Above-board military surplus and black market weapons from the Battery Boys gang.

NPC: Private Tar. Weasely, flatterer. Battery Boys dealer. Works in the repair bay.

Controlling Faction

Republic Military. This is a pretty relaxed post though.

NPC: Commander Rekesh. Seasoned, no-nonsense. Will retire any day now but that’s no reason to slack off. Wants the Battery Boys court martialed immediately - just as soon as he figures out who they are.

Rival Faction

The Battery Boys. A military gang, funneling weapons and other military supplies to the black market. Purely interested in getting rich.

NPC: Captain Brightrun. Laid-back, handsome. Leader of the Battery Boys. Enjoying this whole gang-running thing; wishes he thought of this years ago.

Plot Hook

A Knight of the Way accused of an act of terrorism is being extradited to the Galactic Union. He is temporarily being held at the base here. Are the accusations true? Or is he being held here unjustly and in need of rescue?

NPC: Brother Quan. Mysterious, talks in riddles. A Knight of the Way. Will not say one way or the other whether he is guilty.

Transportation

N to [B2]

S to [A4]

E to [B3]

W to [L3]

NPC: Private Kimsk. Bright-eyed new recruit. Kathoom local, Republic patriot, proud to serve. Assigned to checkpoint duty.