So recently with my new campaign I made my main villain to a Ex-inquisitor spy master, his true motives known to very few and alway operating from the shadows. I'm trying to keep the force rare in this campaign and give it that air of mystery but since he is the main nemisis I just dont want this guy to walk out in a power armor suit with a platoon of stormtroopers at the end nor do I want him wielding a lightsaber and choking people left and right. Have any ideas on how to subtly give this guy power in the force while not going overboard and making him another Darth Vader wannabe?

Make him important in another way.

Perhaps he was a former rebel presumed killed after he was betrayed and left to die in Imperial hands?

The Empire misidentified him and he used the opportunity to disappear and rebuild his life using his new identity to get revenge for the betrayal?

Now imagine he isn't a traitor and the real spy is using him as the fall guy completely unaware who this Imperial Agent actually is?

So you have the potential to redeem him as well as one heck of an espionage thriller IF your players like that kind of game?

My players have gone through one full campaign with a main villain that they met a few times, but never truly knew he was the villain. They're on their second campaign, linked to the first one, and they've met this villain, but have yet to figure out he's the villain yet. He has great cover as a rebel operative of high caliber. His missions put him in very close working proximity to the Empire as a double agent, or maybe triple agent as he works for the Empire, but does missions for the Rebellion as a double agent to the Empire.

I've also used a manifestation of the dark side of the force in the shape of a ship in the first campaign, which I plan on making a recurring theme in my second campaign. This ship causes havoc in the shipping lanes, and has caused some chaos in the Imperial Navy as it likes to take over other ships, and space the crews. My players found plenty of debris clouds in space made of people in this ship's wake.

In similar fashion you could use this guy in the background or something that isn't normal per se, but interesting nonetheless. Now I've used the whole evil ship taking over other ships and spacing people enough for my players that it has become cliche for them, and they distrust any empty ship they may find in space.

17 hours ago, Samuel Richard said:

Have any ideas on how to subtly give this guy power in the force while not going overboard and making him another Darth Vader wannabe?

That's easy don't give him a lightsaber or combat related force powers, but focus on mind force powers. Actually there's a lot more non-combat related force powers than combat related, so you have a big choice. Between mindtrick force powers, sense, seek, farsight, alter, enhance, etc... You can build a master spy that wouldn't need to cast lightning at people or choke people left or right to make a great villain.

How about if he used his force powers to effect the senses of people around him? He might be able to "go invisible" by altering their visual perception, confuse people by causing them to hear phantom sounds, see phantom images, go temporarily blind or deaf, cause them to attack their allies -- basically any use of the force that would benefit a "sneaky-spy" character?

I can see him now, weaving his way through the chaos of combat, completely unscathed, adjusting peoples' aim so that he is never actually the one to cause harm to others. No blood on his hands, just on the hands of those unfortunate enough to cross him.