Adventures

The Dungeons and Dragons game consists of a group of characters embarking on an adventure that the Game Master presents to them. Each character brings particular capabilities to the adventure in the form of ability scores and skills, class features, special traits, equipment, and special items. Every character is different, with various strengths and weaknesses, so the best party of adventurers is one in which the characters complement each other and cover the weaknesses of their companions. The adventurers must cooperate to successfully complete the adventure.

The adventure is the heart of the game, a story with a beginning, a middle, and an end. An adventure might be created by the Game Master or purchased off the shelf, tweaked and modified to suit the GM's needs and desires. In either case, an adventure features a wonderous setting, whether it's an underground enclave, a crumbling temple, a stretch of wilderness, or a bustling city. It features a rich cast of characters: the adventurers created and played by the other players at the table, as well as nonplayer characters (NPCs). Those characters might be patrons, allies, enemies, hirelings, or just background extras in an adventure. Often, one of the NPCs is a villain whose agenda drives much of an adventure's action.

Over the course of their adventures, the characters are confronted by a variety of creatures, objects, and situations that they must deal with in some way. Sometimes the adventurers and other creatures do their best to kill or capture each other in combat. At other times, the adventurers talk to another creature (or even a mystical object) with a goal in mind. And often, the adventurers spend time trying to solve a puzzle, bypass an obstacle, find something hidden, or unravel the current situation. Meanwhile, the adventurers explore the world, making decisions about which way to travel and what they'll try to do next.

Adventures vary in length and complexity. A short adventure might present only a few challenges, and it might take no more than a single game session to complete. A long adventure can involve hundreds of combats, interactions, and other challenges, and take dozens of sessions to play through, stretching over weeks or months of real time. Usually, the end of an adventure is marked by the adventurers heading back to safety to rest and enjoy the spoils of their labors.

But that's not the end of the story. You can think of an adventure as a single episode of a TV series, made up of multiple exciting scenes. A campaign is the whole series—a string of adventures joined together, with a consistent group of adventurers following the narrative from start to finish.

The Force and Technology

Few Star Wars adventures end without interacting with a force- or tech-caster. Whether helpful or harmful, powers appear frequently in the life of an adventurer, and it is the focus of chapters 10, 11, and 12.

In the worlds of Star Wars, practitioners of the Force are uncommon, set apart from the masses of people by their extraordinary talent.

For adventurers, though, the Force and technology are key to their survival. Without the healing prowess of a Jedi or a sawbones, adventurers would quickly succumb to their wounds. Without the uplifting support of a scholar, soldiers might be overwhelmed by powerful foes. Without the sheer power and versatility of a consular, every threat would be magnified tenfold.

The Force and technology are also a favored tool of villains. Many adventures are driven by the machinations of casters who are hell-bent on using power for some ill end. A mercenary leader subjugates the surrounding community, a renegade Sith saps the life from their victims, a vindictive droid takes over a space station with the intent of destroying its oppressors—these are just a few of the threats that adventurers might face. With power of their own, in the form of the Force and special items, the adventurers might prevail!

The Three Pillars of Adventuring

Adventurers can try to do anything their players can imagine, but it can be helpful to talk about their activities in three broad categories: exploration, social interaction, and combat.

Exploration

Exploration includes both the adventurers' movement through the world and their interaction with objects and situations that require their attention. Exploration is the give-and-take of the players describing what they want their characters to do, and the Game Master telling the players what happens as a result. On a large scale, that might involve the characters spending a day crossing the deserts of Tatooine or an hour making their way through the winding passages of an abandoned base. On the smallest scale, it could mean one character flipping a switch in a room to see what happens.

Social Interaction

Social interaction features the adventurers talking to someone (or something) else. It might mean demanding that a captured scout reveal the least well guarded entrance to the mercenary base, getting information from a rescued prisoner, pleading for mercy from the leader of a group of criminals, or persuading an informant to garner information about a distant location.

The rules in chapters 7 and 8 support exploration and social interaction, as do many class features in chapter 3 and personality traits in chapter 4.

Combat

Combat, the focus of chapter 9, involves characters and other creatures swinging weapons, casting powers, maneuvering for position, and so on—all in an effort to defeat their opponents, whether that means killing every enemy, taking captives, or forcing a rout. Combat is the most structured element of a D&D session, with creatures taking turns to make sure that everyone gets a chance to act. Even in the context of a pitched battle, there's still plenty of opportunity for adventurers to attempt wacky stunts like surfing down a flight of stairs on a shield, to examine the environment (perhaps by flipping a mysterious switch), and to interact with other creatures, including allies, enemies, and neutral parties.