Man your ships! And may the Force be with you!

–General Dodonna

Rebel Aces live for the excitement of battle. The thrill of successfully steering through an asteroid field while fleeing a squadron of TIE fighters. The rush of speeding into the fray as you shoot at every enemy within sight. The suspense of not knowing whether that last-minute weapons adjustment will save your life or get you killed. At these moments, your vehicle or beast is not just your transportation, but your chosen weapon, your shield, and maybe even your best friend.

Stay on Target, an Ace career supplement for Star Wars®: Age of Rebellion™, features over twenty new vehicles and starships that Ace characters might take into battle – or find themselves fighting against. Stay on Target gives those interested in the Beast Rider specialization a range of species to ride into battle. Today’s preview looks at a few of these vehicles: a top-of-the-line landspeeder, a heavily-armed long-range starfighter, and a droid-equipped starcraft from the Clone Wars. We’ll also look at two beast mounts: the noble, flying Ruping and the ferocious, catlike Narglatch, and take a peek at the rules that allow any character to use an animal, tamed or not, as their mount.

Top Gear

A Rebel strike force is often in need of a good getaway vehicle, something capable of outrunning any Imperial pursuit. The sleek, precision-built AV21 landspeeder can carry two Rebels away from the scene of the crime faster than almost anything else on land. A favorite of racing aficionados and the wealthy elite, an AV21 would delight any speed-addicted Driver or Hotshot who could get his hands on one of these rare, expensive hot rods.

The BTS-A2 H-wing starship will interest any Gunners on your team. Perfect for long-range patrols, freighter escorts, piracy jobs, or safely transporting diplomats, the heavily armored and heavily armed H-wing punches well above its weight. It has two cockpits: one for the pilot, and another where a pair of weapons system operators control the turret-mounted laser cannon, forward-mounted light ion cannons, and forward-mounted torpedo launchers. Not many Rebel installations field the H-wings but your team might find it the perfect interstellar vehicle.

For Mechanics and Riggers wanting to customize a starship, the A3-Nimbus “V-wing” interceptor is ideal: durable, well-designed, and inexpensive. V-wings entered service with the Republic Navy late in the Clone Wars, selected for their speed and agility. They lack hyperdrive, but each one was originally outfitted with a Q7 astromech droid to monitor systems and perform light maintenance. With a little tinkering, your V-wing could have an X-wing’s speed and firepower.

War Beasts

Almost every culture in the Star Wars universe uses beasts of burden in agriculture, labor, and warfare. Stay on Target allows players and GMs to transform almost any animal that is large enough into a mount by giving the animal the traits of a vehicle: silhouette, speed (based on Agility), and handling (based on Agility, silhouette, and Willpower). Animals can be trained as mounts or mounted untrained at the rider’s own peril – a Survival check determines whether character can successfully ride a beast. Beast mounts can perform many of the same combat maneuvers that other vehicles can, but they can also climb, jump, and even push objects with their bodies. They may also be able to sense imminent danger, defend themselves in battle, or even save the life of a beloved rider.

No one knows where the narglatch evolved. Because of their immunity to cold, they are used as mounts on the freezing world of Orto Plutonia, yet they have also been found in the swamps of Naboo. These feline beasts have never truly been domesticated, but remain instinctive predators who quietly stalk their prey before closing in on the kill. However, once trained a narglatch will become loyal to its master and fearsome in battle with claws deadlier than many melee weapons. If you want to sneak up on an Imperial installation and attack before your presence is noticed, a narglatch may be the perfect mount for you.

Rupings have been used as mounts on the temperate world of Onderon for generations. These graceful, soaring reptiles possess two sets of eyes facing opposite directions, allowing them a huge field of vision and making them difficult to catch off guard. Rupings also are armed with giant claws that can deliver mortal wounds in an instant or snatch up prey and carry it aloft. They make ideal mounts for Rebel scouts gathering intelligence about an Imperial installation, and while a ruping may not fly faster than an airspeeder, it can keep you out of danger and touch down in tight spots where no airspeeder could possibly land.

The Ride of Your Life

If a ruping or narglatch doesn’t appeal to your Beast Rider character, Stay on Target describes fifteen other beasts, including tauntauns, banthas, and the immense reptilian fambaa that have been part of the Gungan army for decades. As a GM, you might deploy Imperial soldiers mounted on narglatch against your team of Rebels, or send your rebels on a mission in the Tatooine desert, with no transporation other than banthas.

Beyond rebel starfighters, Stay on Target also introduces three different starfighter carriers and a quartet of TIE fighters, including the fearsome TIE Phantom, equipped with a cloaking device that makes it invisible both to radar and to the naked eye. Whether you’re an Ace looking for the perfect ride or a GM seeking new obstacles for a team of Rebellion operatives, the vehicles and beasts of Stay on Target will enrich your Age of Rebellion campaign.

Pre-order Stay on Target today!