So, I was asked by a friend for advice on beginning this game as the imperial player, so I thought I'd share my limited wisdom with you as well.

So important you play it twice: The Tutorial

If you are more experienced then the other players (rather likely since you are giving them a tutorial) I recommend playing it twice (they can also switch characters to get a better feel for which hero suits them).

1. First time playing, basically let them do what they want, and don't be a scaredy cat. Focus hard on defeating a hero (shows them how bloody much a hero can take before he goes down for good)
   - Basically, let them get a feel for the rules and their abilities, surges, movement points that can be spent before and after actions, the beauty that is diagonal movement around corners and that the models do have Line of Sight most of the time (even if it doesn't look like it at first glance) and strainhopping.
   
2. Second time, run for the objectives, and if you can: WIN .

Now, I'm suggesting this for a very good reason:

Since the role of the imperial player is NOT to be a GM but to be an opponent , that needs to be defeated ( for me that's not the definition of a GM, others do certainly disagree ), I think it is NOT your job to explain to them how to win in clear words. It will also make your game much harder, and their victories less fullfilling.

Imagine beating a tough opponent/mission against all odds because of good tactics and great teamwork vs he telling you his weakness.

What feels better?

So, if you don't want to be a complete tusken and crush them until they loose interest in the game, you have to show them how to win by example.

Run for those objectives as fast as you think you can survive it and bloody win.

The rebels have very few missions where they need to kill. They NEED to get the objectives ASAP.

The game punishes the rebel players if they focus more on defeating every stormtrooper than on running for the objective: killing takes more time - which they don't have enough of - and this in turn gives you more rounds and more threat.

Player Morale:

Now there are several tipps I can give you, but those are very dependant on your group, so please take this advice with caution:

1. If they lose the first few missions, play an agenda mission. As hard as the regular missions are for the rebels, as hard are most of the agenda missions for you.
   
   - For example, the first mission my rebel players won (Mission 4) was my Agenda Mission "Dark Obession".
   - Most players really gain confidence and fun when they deny you something. Like a Darth Vader Dark Lord of the Sith Deployment Card. Which I totally would've gotten if I would have focused that Hairy-Podoo-Ball of a Wookie first. You can imagine how hyped they were in denying me that . ( those bastards )
   
2. Point out what they lost.
   
   - They gain XP almost every mission, if they win OR lose and only rarely do they gain additional XP for a win. Mostly it's credits, and if you have 4 players they get 100 cred per hero, netting 400 per mission, plus 50 per Box.
   
3. Their skill decks.
   
   - Most of these abilities get better the more you grasp the rules.
   
4. Don't be a Tusken
   
   - If you are 100% sure you are winning the mission, take the less evil choice, else they will be moaning and groaning that they can't possibly win this mission. Which they will do anyway.
   
   BUT:
   
5. Don't get overconfident.
   
   - The reason the first missions are tough as nails because the heroes will also get VERY deadly if they loose every mission. At mission 6 they have most likely at least 6 XP. That's 4 Skill Cards(if they so choose): all XP cards with the cost of 1 and 2.
   

And of course, the most important part:

FRIENDS & FUN > WINNING.

This is still a game after all, and if everybody has fun, it is more likely they will want to play again.

Please feel free to add your experience

humbly,

your derroehre

Great write up, I do a lot of the things you suggest, and there is lots of fun to be had.

This is a great write up. One of the biggest design challenges with Descent (and IA) is the fact that when the Overlord (Imperial) player wins, up to four players are losing. But if the heroes (Rebels) are winning, then only one person is losing. I have had to come to terms with the fact that the key to fun as the Overlord (Imperial) player is that it is not my job to win at all costs, but merely to keep the game as close and nail biting as possible so that even at the end, if I do win, my Rebels had fun playing.

The way to really look at this in Star Wars terms is the first duel between Luke and Vader in Empire Strikes Back. There are two different goals here. Luke is trying to kill Vader, while Vader is trying to turn Luke to the Dark Side. At the beginning of the duel, Vader opens with a verbal taunt, meant to strike a chord of fear into Luke. Luke ignites his saber, and grasps it two-handed, determined to defeat Vader, while Vader, knowing that he is far more powerful than Luke is, holds back and fights defensively. If you watch closely, you can see that Vader is only fighting one-handed, he isn't fighting with all his strength. He testing Luke, drawing him out, trying to determine his strengths and exploit his weakness while at the same time trying to get Luke to expose his fear. When Luke escapes the carbonite chamber, Vader adjusts his tactics, while still fighting defensively. Vader knows he can no longer capture Luke, and tries to get him to succumb to his anger in an effort to fuel his rage and show him the true power of the Dark Side. Again, Vader shows restraint, and assaults Luke directly with the Force. Luke gets blasted out the window and narrowly escape a possible fall to his death. At this point, Luke has not yet lost all hope, he is still seeking out his opponent to finish the duel. Vader then launches a surprise attack, to continue his tactic of getting Luke to succumb to fear and anger to draw on the power of the Dark Side. When Vader finally has one the duel, he attempts one last time to disarm Luke, threatening to kill Luke if he does not surrender. But Luke attempted to escape again, and it was only when Luke got a lucky glancing hit on Vader is when Vader went on the true offensive, possibly losing control and succumbing to his own anger, and finally disarms Luke permanently.

This game is just like that, each person has different goals, but how they go about accomplishing them is where the "fun" is had. We all know Vader could have Force lifted Luke into the carbonite chamber, kept him there and that would have been that. But what kind of fun would that have been?

I do try to give my Rebel players some pro tips, but in my experience, my rebel players think every thing I say is a trap...even if it is good advice.

The advice they tend to take is when I "remind" them of an ability they have that is being under-utilized (such as Mak's Ambush, or Jyn's Quick Draw), or an ability I have available to me that triggers, such as Elite Stormtroopers, or Royal Guard.

Nice write up, very handy. I believe your views on GM/opponent jive with my own. The Emperor is not your GM.