I'll salvage whatever quick stuff isn't grabbed.

This is pretty much how this event will play out:

A) Like hell if the embassador is going to follow you into the line of fire and wait for you to open the door.

B) I will be using dramatic rounds to represent your efforts in attempt to open the door. Each round will represent 2 minutes of you trying quickly to bypass and fix all sorts of mechanical stuff. You need to succeed your roll 3 times, not necessarily in a row, so you'll probably need at least 3 rounds (6 minutes) to open the door. Natural 20 opens it instantly and you can skip any roll that is left. Failing by 10 or more means the panel is completely ruined and you'll need to find another way in.

C) The Mandalorians count as enviromental hazard in this case. Anyone in their line of fire will have to suffer from their attacks. I'll roll their attack and compare it to everyone's Reflex Defense (assuming you're not in complete cover the whole round). The Jedi's deflect counts and only one roll is needed for the full round. A force point can be spent to deflect for somebody else for the whole event, instead of each round, representing the extra effort. Any ally with range weapons can suppress the enemy (SW 151). Because each dramatic round counts as 2 minutes, there's plenty of time to get every character into the action, so don't feel shy.

D) SR counts, DR counts, Cover counts, the mook republic soldiers do not count.

E) Since I'm practically making this too easy for you, here's a little twist. Each round after the first, I'm increasing the Mandalorians' attack bonus to represent the fatigue that follows trying to dodge blasts for multiple minutes.

F) Since this can drag on, I'm just going to make all the rolls for all the rounds at once and describe what happens after that. Then I'll be giving you XP as is appropriate for the circumstances. What I need from you is a post that describes what on earth you are doing, who has cover, who's not acting every single round and so forth. A nice post IC would be.. yeah, nice. I think I'm giving plenty for very little effort, so don't screw it up

If I'm forgetting anything, just let me know.

Hey, sorry, I was writing my post while you posted the above and didn't see it until after I posted.

I'm still pretty much going with the same game plan (Embassador stays out of the line of fire, Jedi covers Twi'lek and redirects shots back on the enemy... will Ben's improved battlefield medition help in this scene or will it not count for anything? {it gives +1 attack to all allies and -1 to all enemies within 12 squares [60 ft] of Ben at the time he initiates the class feature until the end of the encounter}

Yes, the improved battlefield will do some good. The soldiers won't improve since they are mechanically as useful as scenery, but it will effect the Mandalorians (they are within 60 feet) and anyone who will do a suppressive fire (attack against defense 10 and lower the Mandalorians' attacks by -2).

So yeah, it has some effects.

Let's go with that

Because I updated the game yesterday, I will be waiting for your posts until this weekend before updating again. I may update sooner if everyone posts before then (if you have no intention of backing up the rest, just post in the Q&A so I can get things moving again)

As I'll put in my post, Kate will have taken off her cloak (so all six of her arms are visible now), stacked whatever else could be easily taken, then folded it up and slung it over her shoulder, held by her tertiary left hand.

Just to bring it up, Kate would probably know about Arruna`dira's ability with modifying weaponry so she might grab the remaining blasters first.

Just a suggestion, your choice if she does or not.

I will make note of that.

P.S.: I'm working on an update right now.

EDIT: I finished the update (yay) and I must say that things could have turned out better. The door cannot be opened from this side.

To make things worse, Benjamin, Kate and Arruna all got shot.
Arruna is down to 66 hp.
Benjamin is down to 91 hp.
Kate is down to 64 hp and her/its SR is down to 10.

Just to compare with the rest of the group:
Awvoor is down to 46 hp.
Wrrlwarr is down to 55 hp.
(Milix has yet to lose any hp, thanks to his Jedi bodyguard)

Finally, I'd like to suggest the following possible houserules:
No Attack of Opportunities - I'd like to see more movements in combat, and I generally don't like them. They slow things down.
Activity XP - Think of this as bonus XP just for doing something. Every time I update I will give you XP equal to 5x(your character level) just for posting in the game thread. It doesn't need to be anything fancy, but I have noticed that during the last battle, half of you decided just to do the same thing over and over and not post to describe it. Since there will be more battles (I can guaranty it) I'd like encourage activity this way. That way, those of you who actively do something get more than those who do nothing (but you all get standard XP for the encounter).

What do you think? You have the final word on this so I'd like some input.

Some comments and questions:

Activity XP: I think this is a fine idea. Play-by-post games are always slow moving and I think one of the frustrating for some players (myself included) is the slow rate of advancement of characters. The idea of earning 100+ xp each week (50+ xp x 2 posts) is not bad. 10xCharacter Level would be even more incentive . Really, that means in a month we’ll only receive 800ish xp. Anyway, my point is: In online games I prefer a DM who is a bit freer with the XP than not, and I think rewarding players for active, meaningful posting is a great idea.

No Attacks of Opportunity: I don’t mind this idea. Though, would you be willing to let us modify our characters to reflect this rule change. Attacks of Opportunity cover more than just movement. You get attacks of opportunity for tripping folks, when they stand up from prone positions, when they attack unarmed, etc. Would this rule negate ALL attacks of opportunity? Or just AoO triggered by movement through threatened squares? Like I said, I don’t mind this rule, but I would like some time to go over my character and (perhaps) make some modification to reflect this change. As an aside, Benjamin WOULD take issue with this rule change, as it will make his work as a bodyguard more difficult (with enemies just rushing past him and attacking the Khil).

Movements, or lack there of (or “How do I get this Khil off my back”): I have a question of game play. So far (and I know it’s early in the game), I have felt that Benjamin is fairly tied to the Khil as the embassador’s bodyguard. This led me to post that Benjamin hung back in the first combat scene to protect the embassador, while I personally wanted to run up and slice through some Mandalorian armor, Benjamin feared that doing so might not allow him to adequately protect the Khil should the enemy had suddenly shown up on the other end of the hallway too.

In the current scene, while I want to go with the rest of the group and fine a way into the hanger, Benjamin feels tied to the Khil once again, and is likely to stay behind and ensure the embassador’s safety – uncertain that the Republican mooks can handle this Mandalorian threat AND protect Milix at the same time.

While, as a player, this feels somewhat boring, anything other feels out-of-character. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’m not trying to be boring, but, well, bodyguard work is not very glamorous.

Sounds fine to me. I missed this last round because March is a record breaking month at work every year. Things should settle down now.

*posted*!

Yeah, that "no attacks of opportunity" bit may have seemed a bit less thought of than you may have expected. Your role as the Khil's bodyguard however was never meant to be a permanent one (gasp! a spoiler?!) so anyone getting passed you should not become a problem in the long run.

Assuming I will keep this house-rule, I will allow you to make changes to your characters to compensate for this. One of the problems I have with AoO is that there are so many circumstances where it can be used. Additionally, since we're not using a battle-map of any kind, it is somewhere from being difficult to being nigh impossible to find out who gets an attack of opportunity against whom unless you're in melee. And now I've started to ramble.
I'll have a closer look at it. Hopefully before the rest of the group comments about this, I'll be able to be sure this is a good idea.

10x(heroic levels) is not a bad idea. Much easier number to remember. I would have to look up the word 'incentive' though, being a dumb foreigner and all
I may have to give more roleplay xp then, since I'd like them to no less important than activity xp. Perhaps a standard multiplier? Again with the rambling.

Anyway, I just through the possible house-rules in there on a whim, I hadn't really thought that much about them. I'll make sure I will before next update (this Wednesday).
As for getting rid of the Khil, he will encourage you to get the door open, just to give you the heads up.

And at last, Admiral. Glad to see you're going to be more active now IC
Good posting, btw

I lost 1 hp?!

...

Well, not as bad as it could be ^^

Silly hp-exaggeration aside, I'm going to suggest an amendment to the 'no AoO'; as it is, it's kind of absolute, and doesn't quite make sense in some circumstances

-if the character is actively guarding a passage, and an enemy rushes past them, that should still provoke AoO as normal; it's just if the character isn't really paying attention to the passage (say, concentrating on an opponent in melee, or hacking some computer off to the side) and one runs past, then I could see there not being one

-I think the 'battle move' AoO's (incurred from attempts to trip, disarm, etc) should only occur if the attacked individual is using total defence, or attacking defensively... It doesn't quite make sense with the AoO's for them in normal combat, at least to me, because if the opponent suddenly bashes say the vibroaxe in the character's hands with the attempt to knock it out of them, I don't really see how you can react unless you're specifically watching for tricks.

With that, I think it should work fine ^^

That being said... I just had an interesting image in my mind of Kate fighting two battle droids, and a third runs by her, only to be clothelined by a vibroblade held by one of her arms not being used to fight the two battle droids.

The most important thing to me at least, is to be able to move somewhat around the battlefield. For example, as the rules are now, standing still in melee is highly encouraged and moving around is very discouraged (because of AoO).

I prefer duels like they are in the SW movies. Luke Skywalker vs. Darth Vader in episode VI, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn vs. Darth Maul in episode I; that sort of duels is what I'd like to see in this game. It is sorta difficult and discouraging when you have to worry about Attacks of Opportunity. Although I find it confusing most of the time, this is the most important aspect of it that I'd like to see some work done with.

I'm thinking about bringing in some Duel rules in case we do not redo the AoO, so that amazing duels won't be ruined thanks to some confusing rules. If anyone has any ideas, I'm all ears (or eyes, or whatever). Otherwise, I'm just gonna look into it myself.

Lightsabers can cut through vibro-weapons right?

If so... that probably means I'm out of luck for duels

I think my amendments the the 'no AoO' still work for duels though, since in duels neither is truly guarding against passage (that AoO doesn't exist then), and if they want to counter trips and such, they have to be guarding against those...

Without those circumstances, it's no AoO