SWG Idea: Love Festival 2010

Ewok Familiar
The concept of an Ewok familiar (or companion) isn't so horrible, and it can be nearly worked into canon with a little care and acceptance.

The Ewok should be a creature that no one recognizes (because no one should know what an Ewok is!). NPCs will have new dialogue that they'll randomly access if they are around a deployed familiar. According to the Ewoks half-basic ramblings (when conversed with), he seems to tell the tale of accidentally wandering onto a big metal ship that landed on his homeworld. Before he knew it, it was moving and wham... he is now here.

The rest would play out when you choose to locate his home planet through a series of quests: checking the library at Theed, talking with hunters on Dantooine, checking some remote villages on Kash (and helping against a trando slaver raid), then finally locating a ship that the little fellow seems to get excited over seeing.

The ship has crash landed and some pirates have moved in to raid it. After fighting off the pirates, you acquire a few different hyperspace coordinates from the navi-computer. (After getting an Engineer to help power it up.) Then you set off in space to check those coordinates. The pirates try to get some payback while you're up there.

Finally, the little fuzzball gets excited! It's his homeworld! He recognizes it from when he took off the first time.

You go planetside and he's able to track back to his village. It's dangerous and you need to fight, but when you get there, you discover his tribe. Lots of celebrations and gift-giving; song and dance.

You then receive the title "Part of the Tribe" and can celebrate there until the end of their little festival.

If you are a Rebel or Imperial, you can return to civilized space and report on your findings. "Ma'am, they could be valuable allies as the Empire will underestimate them." OR "They're primitive and useless. We needn't worry about them." You receive some GCW bonus points for reporting in.

Match Making
All in all, the idea isn't too bad from 2009, but there needs to be less "scratch and win lottery ticket" and more "communicating with the NPCs". Next time around, when you speak with an NPC that isn't a match, your luck attribute will make a roll to determine if the NPC will give further information and hints about finding that certain someone for your love-seeking friend.

A failed luck roll will net no result. "Good luck matching him up! He is a little too self-centered!".

Conversely, a spectacular luck roll will narrow down the possible NPC matches to a select few. "Hmm... he's not my type. But since he likes making things, I'd suggest talking to either Erla or Mikalie." Both of those will be guaranteed to have the "making things" trait, but that does not mean they're the only ones.

Mediocre luck results will generate the most interesting information. "He likes money? Who doesn't? But don't bother crossing over the bridge in Tyrena. No one over there even has money!" or "Making things? Who doesn't? I know Mon Cals enjoy crafting."

With a little AI built into the NPCs and the system, the city and quest seems move lively and realistic. Rather then dealing with stacks of pixels, it feels as though you're dealing with real people with real emotions, dreams and relationships.

And isn't that what the Festival of Love is all about?