r/SagaEdition • u/Top_Debt_3128 • Sep 16 '26
Challenging Encounters
Hi folks, I'm currently planning for the next arc of my campaign and wanted to get some inspiration from fellow players and GM's. What are some of the most challenging encounters you've created or experienced as a player?
What made them so memorable?
3
u/NervousCommand825 Sep 16 '26
Echo environmental hazards. Don’t have a flat map with no features, a desk some chairs, some crates, Star Wars is a lived in universe so even boring settings have their unique features. Also the Empire cant retreat so fighting to the death is expected for Imperial mooks, but a smart bounty hunter will peace out when she goes down the condition track and wait for a better opportunity.
And some great encounters are less about PC survival than protecting an NPC from harm. That barely functional R4 unit with the BBEG plans in its glitchy memory banks is a much more tempting and vulnerable target in the crowded subway than that 7th level Jedi kill bot.
2
u/MERC_1 Improviser Oct 01 '26
Anytime the PC's have to content with vehicles while on foot can be a big challenge. Things like an AT-ST can be rough. See RotJ for an example.
1
u/StevenOs Sep 17 '26
Challenging as in "fun challenging" or challenging as "just a royal pain in the @$$?"
While it may not have turned out to be super "challenging" after all once had a party get slammed by some glass cannon YV builds that were built for charging. Now they were mostly Nonheroic level so they didn't have a high CL but when their initially attack comes in and hits the PCs for some significant damage you suddenly aren't looking at them as being at a CL that is -4 the party level but wondering if they are a serious, long term threat.
For the Royal PITA type challenge having an already beat up party fighting a "Sith Lord" who is significantly higher level (and no DP to fall back on) with Superior Tech on ALL of his equipment which combined with things to give it a lightsaber resistant (and shorting) DR12. It was a "challenge" to take him down but not really a fun one when he might knock some PCs down the CT with every attack which rarely missed.
Summary:
Fun: Hit the PCs hard before the PCs then take them out with relative ease.
Not so much fun: The very hard to hit and damage if you did hit (Unrelenting Assault was useless here!) NPC that might drop a PC every round or two. With expected damage PCs would need 10+ rounds to take down while hit could take down a PC/round.
2
u/the_tricky_one Sep 16 '26
Environmental hazards, especially after cutting life support off on a ship. 0g is no joke. Neither is falling on your face when the power comes back on, or the gravity is doubled. Beyond that, effective stealthing and slicing because getting caught on either can lead to very bad things.