Alliance and Empire Preview 5

Rebel Commando Strike Leader and Advance Agent, Officer

By Gary M. Sarli and Sterling Hershey

In May, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Star Wars saga, Wizards of the Coast is releasing Alliance and Empire, the next great set for the Star Wars Miniatures Game. Today, we'll continue our previews of the new minis with a look at the Rebel Commando Strike Leader and the Advance Agent, Officer.

Rebel Commando Strike Leader

Rebel commandos form the core of the Alliance's highly trained and highly successful SpecForce units. Assigned to established units or mission-specific teams, the commandos receive some of the Alliance's most challenging and dangerous assignments. Their most famous mission was the destruction of the Death Star's shield generator on the forest moon of Endor.

Strike team personnel vary by mission, but they usually include one or more Strike Leaders. These individuals are known for their considerable resilience and toughness, enabling them to succeed and survive their hazardous assignments. In smaller teams, Strike Leaders may serve as mission commanders. In larger operations, multiple Strike Leaders typically answer to higher-ranking officers. Their title is a result of their position, as opposed to a particular rank in the Alliance military.

In the Star Wars Miniatures Game, the Rebel Commando Strike Leader gives commando followers a welcome boost to their offense and defense. Thanks to his Commander Effect, commandos with Stealth and cover cannot be targeted by nonadjacent enemies. This effect has no range restriction, so any Rebel faction commando with Stealth qualifies, no matter its location on the map. Commandos with Grenades also jump from Grenades 10 to Grenades 20.

The Strike Leader costs 4 more points than the regular Rebel Commando or Dressellian Commando, but it has more Hit Points, better Attack and Damage scores, and the commander effects. If you're fielding commandos, deploying the Rebel Commando Strike Leader is a must.

Faction: Rebel
Cost: 18
Hit Points: 50
Defense: 15
Attack: +7
Damage: 20
Special Abilities: Grenades 20, Stealth
Commander Effect: Commandos in your squad with Stealth (including this character) and who have cover cannot be targeted by nonadjacent enemies. Commando followers with Grenades 10 instead gain Grenades 20.

Star Wars Roleplaying GameSaga Edition Statistics

Rebel Commando Strike Leader

CL 4

Medium Human nonheroic 6/soldier 2
Force 1
Init +10; Senses Perception +4
Languages Basic

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Defenses Ref 15 (flat-footed 13), Fort 16, Will 12
hp 50; Threshold 22

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Speed 6 squares
Melee unarmed +7 (1d6+2) or
Melee vibroblade +7 (2d6+2)
Ranged blaster rifle +7 (3d8+1) or
Ranged frag grenade +7 (4d6+1, 2-square burst)
Base Atk +6; Grp +7
Special Actions Point Blank Shot

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Abilities Str 12, Dex 13, Con 14, Int 9, Wis 10, Cha 8
Talents Demolitionist
Feats Armor Proficiency (light), Improved Damage Threshold, Martial Arts I, Point Blank Shot^H, Skill Focus (Stealth), Toughness, Weapon Proficiency (pistols, rifles, simple weapons).
Skills Initiative +10^H, Perception +4, Stealth +15
Possessions blast helmet and vest, blaster rifle, 2 frag grenades, detonite, Rebel commando uniform, comlink, credit chip

^H Denotes Human bonus feat or trained skill

Advance Agent, Officer

For decades before the Yuuzhan Vong invaded the known galaxy, their advance agents were positioned in the Republic (later the Empire, and later still the New Republic). The advance agents watched, waited, and sowed the seeds of doubt and discontent, undermining the populace's faith in galactic authority and precipitating interstellar crises.

Nom Anor was one such Yuuzhan Vong, an agent provocateur who specialized in political maneuvering, such as working behind the scenes to help engineer the collapse of the Empire after Palpatine's death. He also engaged in more overt rabble-rousing, such as when he led the Red Knights of Life, an extremist group on Rhommamool with an anti-droid, anti-Jedi, and anti-technology ideology. Just prior to the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, Nom Anor had managed to escalate tensions between Rhommamool and her sister planet Osarian to the point of open war. Nom and other advance agents specialize in propaganda, lies, and treachery, and their efforts helped the Yuuzhan Vong invasion bring unimaginable horrors to the galaxy.

In the Star Wars Miniatures Game, the Advance Agent, Officer makes great strides in creating more Yuuzhan Vong squads that are viable while still being "faction-pure." Force Immunity, Melee Attack, and Thud Bug are the same as with other Yuuzhan Vong figures, and being able to field many figures the same way can make tactics simpler. For example, a wave of Thud Bugs is a good way to thin out an enemy's activation advantage.

However, the best strengths of the Advance Agent, Officer are in its synergy with other Yuuzhan Vong. First, its commander effect applies to all Yuuzhan Vong allies, not just followers or non-Uniques. Just keep them close to the action so that the maximum number of Yuuzhan Vong can benefit from the commander effect.

Second, the Advance Agent, Officer (like the Advance Scout, another figure in Alliance and Empire) has Stealth, making it a natural complement to Nom Anor. Nom's commander effect granting "super stealth" and Self-Destruct 20 applies to all of them, making them a potent combination.

Put them all together with other notable Yuuzhan Vong from this set and the Universe set, and you have an extremely dangerous squad on your hands. One of its biggest challenges, however, is keeping figures relatively close (to get the most out of the commander effect's limited range) while still staying far enough apart to avoid getting caught in each other's "Nom bomb."

Star Wars Miniatures Game Stat Card Preview

Faction: Yuuzhan Vong
Cost: 11
Hit Points: 30
Defense: 14
Attack: +5
Damage: 10
Special Abilities: Force Immunity, Melee Attack, Stealth, Thud Bug (Replaces attacks: range 6; 10 damage, living target is considered activated this round; save 11 negates. Huge and larger characters ignore the nondamaging effect.)
Commander Effect: Yuuzhan Vong allies within 6 squares gain Cunning Attack (+4 Attack and +10 Damage against an enemy who has not activated this round).

Star Wars Roleplaying GameSaga Edition Statistics

Advance Agent, Officer

CL 4

Medium Yuuzhan Vong nonheroic 6/noble 1/officer 1
Dark Side 12
Init +4; Senses Perception +10
Languages Basic, Bocce, Bothese, Durese, High Galactic, Huttese, Rodese, Ryl, Yuuzhan Vong

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Defenses Ref 14 (flat-footed 14), Fort 13, Will 17
hp 31; Threshold 13
Immune Force immunity

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Speed 6 squares
Melee amphistaff (spear) +5 (1d8 plus poison) or
Melee amphistaff (quarterstaff) –5 (1d6) and
amphistaff (quarterstaff) –5 (1d6) or
Melee amphistaff (whip) +5 (1d4 plus poison) or
Melee amphistaff (whip) +5 (grapple +5)
Ranged amphistaff (spit) +5 (poison) or
Ranged thud bug +5 (2d6 plus special)
Base Atk +5; Grp +5
Atk Options Pin (amphistaff [whip] only), poison, thud bug, Trip (amphistaff [whip] only)

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Abilities Str 10, Dex 10, Con 12, Int 16, Wis 12, Cha 14
Special Qualities technophobic
Talents Born Leader, Deployment Tactics
Feats Armor Proficiency (light), Linguist, Skill Focus (Deception, Stealth), Skill Training (Perception, Persuasion), Weapon Proficiency (simple)
Skills Deception +16 (+21 when disguising self as a Human), Gather Information +11, Knowledge (tactics) +12, Perception +10, Persuasion +11, Stealth +14
Possessions amphistaff, ooglith masquer, thud bug

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Poison—If an amphistaff (Saga Edition rulebook, page 121) deals damage in spear or whip form and the attack roll equals or exceeds a living target's Fortitude Defense, that target moves –1 persistent step on the condition track.
The amphistaff can also be coaxed to spit poison at a target up to 10 squares away. If the ranged attack roll equals or exceeds a living target's Reflex Defense and Fortitude Defense, that target moves –1 persistent step on the condition track. An amphistaff can spit poison once every 24 hours.

NEW RANGED WEAPON: THUD BUG

Thud bugs (or nang hul in Yuuzhan Vong) are nasty bioengineered weapons that fly toward an enemy at high speed when thrown. If the attack deals damage and the attack roll equals or exceeds a living target's Fortitude Defense, the target is knocked prone. After hitting a target, the thud bug falls dormant (Reflex Defense 15, hp 1, DR 10) until reset. Resetting a dormant thud bug so that it can be used again requires a swift action for a Yuuzhan Vong or a full-round action and a DC 25 Knowledge (life sciences) check for any other species.

If the ranged attack roll is less than the target's Reflex Defense, the thud bug returns to the attacker at the end of the turn. The attacker must use a swift action to catch and reuse the thud bug; otherwise, the thud bug falls dormant in the attacker's square.

If the target successfully uses the Deflect talent (see the Lightsaber Combat talent tree, Saga Edition rulebook page 41) against an attack with a thud bug, the thud bug is destroyed.

NEW EQUIPMENT: OOGLITH MASQUER

Cost n/a; Availability illegal, rare

An ooglith masquer grants a Yuuzhan Vong a +5 equipment bonus on Deception checks when disguising himself as a Human. Putting on or removing an ooglith masquer requires a full-round action and moves the wearer –3 steps on the condition track. (These steps may be recovered normally.)

About the Authors

Sterling Hershey is an architect and freelance game designer. He regularly creates Star Wars Miniatures and Starship Battles scenarios and previews for the Wizards of the Coast website. He also wrote the Scenario Book for the Attack on Endor Scenario Pack. Previously, he authored and contributed to many Star Wars The Roleplaying Game products from West End Games, as well as Star Wars Gamer Magazine. Gaming in a galaxy far, far away is the focus of his starwars.com blog, Delusions of Grandeur. Sterling lives in the Midwest with his wife, Mary.

Gary M. Sarli is a freelance designer, developer, and editor whose credits include the Saga Edition rulebook and Ultimate Adversaries (Star Wars Roleplaying Game) and Power of Faerûn and Fiendish Codex II: Tyrants of the Nine Hells (Dungeons & Dragons). He also moderates on the Wizards.COMmunity message boards as WizO the Hutt, cheerfully feeding Code of Conduct violators to the Sarlacc. Gary recently opened GMSarli Games, an online retailer specializing in non-random miniatures packs designed for the Star Wars Roleplaying Game.