Seth Cambriel

Seth Cambriel was a Human male who accumulated considerable wealth early in life through strategic investments in companies targeted for acquisition by the Galactic Empire. Having amassed millions of credits, he chose to retire on the resort planet of Spira, situated in the Lytton sector of the Core Worlds, seeking a life of leisure. He typically spent his days relaxing at the Aspre Plunge hotel and casino, or sailing his V-53 Hydromancer yacht, named the Cambus Gale, around Ataria Island. His evenings were often dedicated to playing sabacc in the casino until the late hours. However, his outward appearance as a man of leisure concealed his dedication to the Alliance to Restore the Republic. As a spy, he exploited his access to inebriated, high-ranking Imperial officers to gather valuable intelligence for the Alliance. Only one other individual on Spira was aware of Cambriel's double life: his cell partner, Harbold Taft, a clandestine operative specializing in military intelligence who was stationed at the Ataria Island spaceport. Cambriel maintained a network of informants, including bartenders, janitors, and travel agents, none of whom knew about his allegiance to the Rebellion. He knew most of the Aspre Plunge employees by name and had a good relationship with them, as he was known to be a generous tipper. During his time on Spira, Cambriel invested in upgrading the Cambus Gale, transforming it from a pleasure craft into a competitive racing yacht. He spent a significant amount of money on rerigging the sails, reshaping the hull, and generally overhauling the vessel to make it a contender in races.

During the era of the Galactic Civil War, a smuggler with ties to the Alliance, while attempting to deliver supplies to a designated drop point on Spira, was detected by local Imperial forces. To avoid capture, the smuggler jettisoned the cargo into the ocean and fled the planet, pursued by Skipray Blastboats. Upon learning of this incident, Cambriel, along with Taft, located the cargo and concealed it within the wreck, an alien starship of unknown origin. This vessel had crashed on Spira thousands of years prior and had since become a popular tourist diving site. Subsequently, a Rebel team was dispatched to retrieve the supplies, and Cambriel served as their local contact. He secured a modest room for them at the Aspre Plunge for the duration of their stay and briefed them on the mission upon their arrival, meeting them in the casino. However, due to the ongoing 345th annual Spira Regatta Open, the wreck was off-limits to tourist vessels, as it was located on the race route. Since only official race participants were permitted on the racing route during the event, the team would need to pose as entrants in the race, as they could not afford to delay the retrieval of the cargo by an additional week's time. Cambriel registered them for the competition aboard his own Cambus Gale and planned to smuggle a sailing droid onboard, which was against the race regulations, to assist with crewing the vessel. However, Cambriel believed that reaching the cargo and retrieving the supplies would not be a problem, despite the race. The real challenge would be smuggling the cargo off-planet, as only passenger liners, authorized freighters, and Imperial ships were permitted to land on Spira. Cambriel's solution was to deter thorough inspection of the cargo by shipping it out on a registered passenger liner, concealing the supplies inside a crate containing the body of a Camray eel. The Camray eel was native to Spira and a highly sought-after trophy for big-game hunters. However, until properly preserved by a taxidermist, the dead eel emitted an extremely strong and unpleasant odor, necessitating its containment in a special storage tank. Customs Inspectors were generally hesitant to conduct a thorough inspection of crates containing Camray eel remains.

However, the agents first needed to hunt and capture an eel. Given that they also needed to learn how to sail a nautical vessel, Cambriel suggested combining these two activities by sailing the boat out to the Shinkai Abyss, the eel's primary habitat. With the race scheduled to begin in two days, Cambriel assisted the agents in acquiring the necessary equipment and weapons for the mission, offering them access to his own weapons cache, which included blaster pistols and rifles, grenades, and several blaster spearguns that he had borrowed from the local Imperial Seatrooper armory. He also provided them with diving suits and other equipment required for operating underwater. The group successfully hunted and killed a Camray eel in the Shinkai Abyss and spent the next two days training on the Cambus Gale alongside Cambriel and his sailing droid.

On the first day of the race, Cambriel carefully concealed the sailing droid that he had been using to instruct the Rebel agents aboard the Cambus Gale, and the team embarked on the ten-day journey along the racing route to circumnavigate the planet. On the third day of racing, the agents noticed that the boat's speed was decreasing, and Cambriel informed them that a Galub slug had likely attached itself to the underside of the hull, adding weight and slowing the vessel down. The agents removed the sea slug from the boat by repeatedly blasting it until it detached, and they continued racing. After navigating the Point, a dangerous section of the ocean where two strong currents converged at the southernmost point of Spira's largest island, the Cambus Gale arrived at the wreck on the eighth day. Cambriel provided the agents with a plastic divers' map and informed them of the location where he and Taft had hidden the supplies aboard the derelict vessel. During the recovery operation, a modified Imperial AQ-5 Waveskimmer arrived, carrying Regenald Hanniper Snopps III, the son of Corulag governor Zafiel Snopps, and a squad of Seatroopers. Snopps demanded that the crew vacate the area, as he wanted to inspect the wreck, despite the fact that it was off-limits to tourists during the race. He cited his connections within the Empire, which allowed him to disregard local laws and regulations. Despite this interruption, the Rebels successfully recovered the supplies and departed the area.

The Cambus Gale eventually completed the race, finishing near the bottom, ahead of only two boats that had experienced difficulties during the competition. This loss was a setback to Cambriel's reputation, but one that he willingly accepted under the circumstances. His plan to smuggle the supplies off-world was successful, as predicted. Sealed in plastic bags and concealed within coolant chips inside the Camray eel storage tank, the supplies went unnoticed by the inspectors, who only performed a cursory examination of the tank.

Seth Cambriel was a tall and attractive man with receding blond hair. Known for being outgoing and easygoing, he was generally considered to be a generous and likeable person. He was capable of accepting setbacks to his own ego when it served the greater interests of the Alliance. A natural athlete, Cambriel was a highly skilled sailor, capable of operating and repairing sailing vessels. He was also a proficient swimmer and diver. He was proficient in the use of a blaster and typically carried a sporting variant on his person. He also had training in unarmed and melee combat. As a successful businessman, Cambriel leveraged his abilities to amass a multi-million credit fortune. He possessed extensive knowledge of bureaucratic procedures and was extremely well-connected within Spiran society. A skilled gambler, Cambriel was also a shrewd negotiator and could be persuasive when necessary. A talented spy and investigator, he effectively managed a network of informants who were unaware of his true allegiance. He was capable of piloting repulsorlift vehicles and operating communications and security equipment. He also had training in computer programming and repair, as well as first aid. He typically wore stylish, yet practical clothing and carried a comlink.

Seth Cambriel's initial appearance was in The Spira Regatta, a roleplaying adventure authored by Paul Sudlow and featured in West End Games' Star Wars Adventure Journal 1 in 1994. The illustration of Cambriel was created by Doug Shuler. This adventure was later republished in the 1996 compilation The Best of the Star Wars Adventure Journal, Issues 1-4. During the events of The Spira Regatta, if the players do not consider combining their sailing lessons with the hunting of a Camray eel, Cambriel suggests merging these two activities to save time. Cambriel also provides the players with essential equipment, such as diving gear, as the players are unable to bring large amounts of equipment due to strict Imperial Customs inspections on the planet. The final encounter of the adventure, where the agents attempt to retrieve the supplies and are confronted by Snopps and his Seatrooper escort, can unfold in several ways. The players may encounter Snopps at various points earlier in the adventure, such as in the Aspre Plunge casino or on a boat in the Shinkai Abyss, where he and his companions are attempting to kill a Camray eel using grenades. The gamemaster has the option of using these encounters to establish Snopps as an antagonistic presence for the players, leading to a more tense and dramatic finale.

The players have two primary options: engage in combat or attempt to bluff their way out. The adventure explicitly states that a bluff is more likely to succeed against Snopps and his escort and that the Imperial force has a significant advantage in any firefight. Each Seatrooper is a highly trained soldier, and in the event of a fight, the crew of the Waveskimmer will seal the hatches and simply ram the Cambus Gale until it sinks. A well-conceived and executed plan may succeed at the gamemaster's discretion, but the characters will face difficulties in leaving the planet due to an investigation into the ship's disappearance. The bluff option is more feasible, as Snopps is portrayed as being less intelligent and his escort has little respect for him. Unless there is a risk of lawbreaking or violence against him, the Seatroopers are unlikely to intervene on his behalf. In fact, even if the Rebel agents surface with the supplies while the confrontation is ongoing and are sufficiently convincing, they can successfully bluff Snopps and the Seatroopers. Even if there is some suspicion about their intentions, the Seatroopers are likely to dismiss any unusual activity if they sense that Snopps is being deceived, due to their dislike of him. Other options include the Rebel divers waiting out the encounter inside the wreck or hiding under the hull of the yacht itself. Snopps may also become bored if he believes that others are laughing at him behind his back and leave the area. Snopps' reaction to the players is directly influenced by their previous interactions, and the gamemaster should tailor the encounter accordingly. This article assumes that the Rebel agents successfully retrieved the supplies to complete the adventure but does not specify which method was used.