...and how did you/your GM handle it? For instance, suppose your group tried to and through lots of luck and a lenient GM managed to assassinate Emperor Palpatine not long after his Empire got started. How did the GM decide this would effect the galaxy at large and the players themselves?

Eh, sort of. I'm the GM for my group, and I'm a bit of a canon Nazi, making sure everything slots in effortlessly to the existing canon, just "offscreen," which did occasionally annoy my players (for instance, one game I ran that started shortly after Return of the Jedi and went through the Thrawn Trilogy, then picked up after a time skip for the New Jedi Order) one of the characters was a Force-Sensitive Verpine, and I flat-out told him he wouldn't meet Luke Skywalker until after at least the first part of Dark Force Rising, since Luke meets a Verpine early in that book and states he's never encountered the species before.

So, when I started up another Star Wars game, I decided to do something different. Take all the Legends continuity up until the New Jedi Order, gloss over bits I didn't care for, then run the timeline up a thousand years. In the interim, the GFFA fell in a delayed reaction to the carnage of the "Vong Wars" as they're known in-universe, and the Imperial Remnant and Jedi Order stepped in to try and prevent the galaxy from falling into a dark age, with the result that there's now a Second Galactic Empire, supported by a new Jedi Order, keeping and enforcing the peace all over the galaxy. Lots of other stuff cropping up from elements from my personal campaigns earlier, but that's largely the gist of it. Mostly, it's an excuse for me to throw everything from every era of Star Wars into one big melting pot. Jedi have a Clone Army, the Empire has walkers and Star Destroyers and Super Star Destroyers and stormtroopers, Mandalorians are running about, and so on and so forth.

To insure that the players in my campaign knew that they were the big darn heroes, I had Luke and Leia assassinated before ESB.

It's worked out well for the campaign, as they don't expect anyone to swoop in and save the day.

I've basically completely thrown out canon and legends both after Return of the Jedi for my 'New Jedi Order' game. There's a new enemy leading an Imperial Remnant / New Sith Empire, and the players are students of Luke's new order. I feel that this gives players a lot more agency and motivations: NPC students exist alongside them, but none are any of the EU or canon ones. THEY are the final hope of the galaxy to avoid another war, THEY are the ones who will defeat the Sith... or join them to shroud the galaxy in darkness forever.

Now, when I eventually make a game set in the galactic civil war, my players will have the option to change canon if they want - or they can go do their own thing. I know first hand how annoying it is to be told 'no you can't do this because CANON', and I feel that attitude has no place on the RP table. We're already changing canon by merely existing. Might as well accidentally save the galaxy.

I'm also flexible enough that if the Players change the course of history then they change the course of history In My Star Wars Universe (IMSWU). Besides, IMSWU <censored for spoilers> . . .

But to the original question in the original post.

The PC's were inserted into a super secret Imperial research facility with the orders to figure out what the Empire was up to. They found that the Empire was working on this new type of TIE Fighter with four dagger shaped wings with cannons on the wing tips. The Developing Director was also sufficiently proud to point out the genius of his creation and boast about how his new fighter was going to revolutionize the conflict and be a match for the X-Wing that caused so much trouble at the Battle of Yavin!

And as the PC's started infiltrating and figuring out the lay of the base, I realized that I had given the PC's enough rope to completely wipe out the entire TIE Interceptor project . . . forever!

Luckily (for the Empire) the PC's didn't nuke the base. They followed script closely and just extracted data and then fought their way out of the base.

They did have a bit of trouble when about a dozen 9 ft tall "Stormtrooper Robots" dropped in to intercept and curtail their escape. THAT was a tough fight for the PC's but luckily (for the Empire again) the PC's jettisoned the stormtrooper robot parts that were left over after the fight. (Yeah a bunch of Dark Troopers HAD made it onto their ship during their escape). Had the PC's kept the pieces, the Rebellion would have had a pretty good forewarning about the Dark Trooper project. As of now, all they have is a panicked report by an SOG team about "Super Storm Troopers."

But the players do like the fact that their PC's DO have an impact and are making changes to the universe around them.

I will let them occasionally bump into one of the iconic characters but these meetings have been brief and inconsequential. I think the most dramatic meeting they had was during a time sensitive mission, they had a team visiting Defiant Core with a suped up transport and the PC's needed to make a quick delivery, but their ship was too slow. They had a Class 2 Hyperdrive while the visitor had a ship that could do point five.

Yes, the visitor and his Wookiee companion refused to let the PC's borrow either his ship or to remove his hyperdrive. They were flying a YT-2400 and I figured that a CEC Hyperdrive for a YT-1300 would be compatible. Han and Chewiee were ALSO on a time sensitive mission.

My players killed Darth Vader a couple of years before his canonical death, which definitely derailed things pretty dramatically. Things built up to that point through a lot of conflict escalation between the Inquisition and my group's force sensitive PC. Eventually they decided the best way to stop themselves being constantly hounded by Inquisitors was just to cut off the head.

I made it very difficult, but they managed to take him out eventually (albeit with some serious injuries and enough intra-party conflict that they all split apart in the aftermath).

Then we decided to do a five year time skip and figure out how the galaxy changed in response. And come up with narrative justification for a bunch of people who hated each other to reunite.

I'm a big fan of throwing canon out the window if it means your players can have more ownership and agency. They're the heroes of the story, after all.

I will just leave a short post here for now, as detailing exactly every single way we have interfered in the galaxy would take a virtual essay to summarise 4 years of stuff, but put simply while the events of the movies don't change a great deal (the battle of Endor was a slight exception as our PC's had a much larger role in relieving the bereaved shield generator squad) the commando squad of Predator Squad (named simply for our role in seeking and destroying the empire with huge prejudice and unconventional tactics. Basically a Saw that they had better control over.) has had a gigantic hand in many events in the galaxy and is largely regarded as one of the most influence commando units in the alliance, rivalled only by their novelty and their tendency to annoy the top brass.

A super shorthand?

-On Hoth the squad was instrumental in holding the line in the battle, and even incidentally tangling with Vader; so happened that a force artefact of purity in our procession had us momentarily confused with "someone else", which resulted in a gigantic battle that likely gave Luke the means to leave unhindered. Gandhi (our nick name for Gand the nameless) also had a role in the battle by venturing into the ion cannon and setting it to self destruct, the EMP blast disabled all the craft in the area, which gave a window of opportunity.

-Our characters have a long standing friendship and work relationship with Lando Callrisian; originally the squad was a band of outlaws that he had hired to steal the immense vault of the govener, who turned out to be practically empty. We originally got captured; our curiousity got the better of us and we opened a box containing a data chip that he desired. We were captured by the empire but last minute he had a change of heart, using the Falcon and some deft knowledge of the hyperlanes to intercept our prison ship and bust us out at great personal expense; and we had practically owed Lando ever since. We ran obligations from him as an occasional quest giver, from a free man to living on Bespin which was nearly an entire year of roleplayed content which ended with the squad trying to blackmail the empire with Death Star footage, which ended up with a understandable career change from mercenaries to an unconventional alliance squad.

-Funnily enough, Lando had no reason to suspect we had joined the alliance and we continued seeing him throughout the years even as the rosters steadily changed to either pay owed favours (being an administrator of Bespin gave him opportunity to reward us greatly) until Vader visited Bespin, which by that point only one man in the squad knew him from those heisting days. Again, true to his sword he covered for the parties retreat, which was why Vader was so onto him afterwards; he let people he believed to be his smuggler friends go so he wanted no more escapes; he would handle this one personally.

-The next time we saw him he had joined the alliance as an operative serving under Leia Orenga, on the way to Coursant to rescue Luke that had investigated the wrong criminal organisation and gotten himself into serious trouble, there we ended up effectively conducting a "Shadows of the Empire" storyline, only instead of Leia and Luke being the main characters, it was us, guilty Lando who owed a princess a favour and a big brawny wookie who served to keep our once heist master friend in check. We ended up rescuing, and the parties mechanic played a game of wits with Guri, whom had seen him with the Virago earlier and was about to escape after her master's death to Vader, but wasn't sure if the Rodian hadn't tampered with it. Sure, he had an cybernetic arm ripped off when he hit the accelerator, but we did steal her ship. XD It was pretty much that job that finally concluded the massive amount of obligation that "predator squad" had owed him, admit by that point he was "cool with us, even if we did upstage the jewel of Yavin auction that one time."

-The next time we saw him, he was promoted way above our ranks as a general. Our veteran of the party who had been around the entire three year period we were in the alliance was salty over that. XD. But yeah we have had a fairly conditional friendship over the years; that started as a favour trading currency to an unconditional friendship where we would both do what we could for each other when we met.


-We have met a lot of people from legends that have been freed up from being canon. The person who we joined the alliance through was called Targetter, and we met all the main cast at some point though being in the alliance it was largely a "oh, those guys. They did something important for the alliance, did they?" Our current story arc has drafted in Mara Jade, who initially was introduced as the inquisitor that trained the force emergant to be a double agent, then became a nemesis after betraying the force cult within the empire and again was found as a prisoner under alliance cusody that was released by said drunk force emergant for a distraction to access their sensitive data; she got away only to be tracked down by our highly experienced party one hyperspace jump later to request aid in defeating a sith lord that sought something under the Jedi temple, probably the most cunning scheme I didn't plan for! XD She is a definite anti-hero in the sense that she doesn't want to do the right thing; but we twisted her arm and are currently on route for a one man mission, and that she did have some kinship with an Force Emergent she had trained that had currently gone to coursant to scout out the imperial palace. It's one of those awkward moments, given she had previously killed one of us and had been a firm adversary while the emperor had been alive.

-We eventually put on never-ending dismissal due to falling foul of Bothains, one of the members that had left the party had stolen their black ops crystal that effectively had the entire spynet trying to disern which of us had it. Long story short, thanks to our talker building a strong political support around us the Bothans finally relented when Leia Organa herself took us from the alliance and personally hired us to run as her interference unit; which I believe might end up forming the very initial contingency of the resistance. She did have some familiarity with us, both in our services on Hoth and Endor and rescuing a war hero (we don't know her relation to Luke.) so us being hired by her felt very natural and liberating; with the caviate that if we do anything that violates the new republics values; we were on our own.

That covers the most OMG examples, we of course met many of the alliance leaders and many more; but really the magic was Lando; he was a likeable guy through and through who we would often preform daring jobs for and visa versa; and because of our role as alliance agents we don't really bat an eyelid at meeting iconic characters; because to us they are just characters, as we are to them. Getting involved with Canon subtly has been fine. There haven't been any gigantic changes to Canon, but rather we became a major storyteller that told the tales that were frequently just as epic, of last stands against incredible odds, fighting the remains of the Inquistion and chasing down the last sith lord that the party themselves had birthed into this galaxy; a man who had once been the mentoring, manipulating spirit of that Veteran Emergent, Tobin F. Stryder, his last student. There will be a reckoning under the Imperial Palace that I feel will be just as epic as Luke confronting Vader and Sidious on the Death Star 2.

In short, there's canvas enough in this galaxy for everyone to write a story, and I feel that our group has spawned many adventures that in their own right could produce books, movies and comics. That is quite enough for me.

"But why didn't your party just kill X to change the timelines?"

Because they are heroes and we are heroes. We lead busy lives trying to defeat a universal evil; there would be nothing more petty then just shooting Han or Leia for "reasons". We just grew out of the phrase of doing "x for lols" when we have plenty of adventures to do in this gigantic galaxy.

I've only ran Edge of the Empire games, and I'm playing in a couple of Age of Rebellion games. but so far nothing really major has changed from canon in any of them.

However, my plan is that if I ever run a Force and Destiny game, I'll have it set in an alternate reality, were Luke joined Darth Vader at the end of Empire Strikes Back, and together they defeat Sidious, and take over. Luke becomes Darth Starkiller, and Yoda turns to Leia, as the last hope.

The players will be force sensitives that Leia has recruited to help the rebellion stop the Empire though they don't necessarily have to join. Of course Emperor Vader and Darth Starkiller would be hunting them down and this would give the players plenty of room to do whatever the **** they want as far as changing the galaxy far, far, away.

They could be the ones to blow up the second Death Star, save Luke from the Darkside, clone Sidious, whatever, they would have all the agency, and they would truly be the heroes of the story.

If I can't get a real life game going, maybe I will try roll20, hmmmm.

talk to @Maelora about her "Marcy verse." I know that @Absol197 plays in it, so you might ask her if @Maelora doesn't reply.

On 12/31/2018 at 8:57 PM, LordBritish said:

I will just leave a short post here for now, as detailing exactly every single way we have interfered in the galaxy would take a virtual essay to summarise 4 years of stuff, but put simply while the events of the movies don't change a great deal (the battle of Endor was a slight exception as our PC's had a much larger role in relieving the bereaved shield generator squad) the commando squad of Predator Squad (named simply for our role in seeking and destroying the empire with huge prejudice and unconventional tactics. Basically a Saw that they had better control over.) has had a gigantic hand in many events in the galaxy and is largely regarded as one of the most influence commando units in the alliance, rivalled only by their novelty and their tendency to annoy the top brass.

A super shorthand?

-On Hoth the squad was instrumental in holding the line in the battle, and even incidentally tangling with Vader; so happened that a force artefact of purity in our procession had us momentarily confused with "someone else", which resulted in a gigantic battle that likely gave Luke the means to leave unhindered. Gandhi (our nick name for Gand the nameless) also had a role in the battle by venturing into the ion cannon and setting it to self destruct, the EMP blast disabled all the craft in the area, which gave a window of opportunity.

-Our characters have a long standing friendship and work relationship with Lando Callrisian; originally the squad was a band of outlaws that he had hired to steal the immense vault of the govener, who turned out to be practically empty. We originally got captured; our curiousity got the better of us and we opened a box containing a data chip that he desired. We were captured by the empire but last minute he had a change of heart, using the Falcon and some deft knowledge of the hyperlanes to intercept our prison ship and bust us out at great personal expense; and we had practically owed Lando ever since. We ran obligations from him as an occasional quest giver, from a free man to living on Bespin which was nearly an entire year of roleplayed content which ended with the squad trying to blackmail the empire with Death Star footage, which ended up with a understandable career change from mercenaries to an unconventional alliance squad.

-Funnily enough, Lando had no reason to suspect we had joined the alliance and we continued seeing him throughout the years even as the rosters steadily changed to either pay owed favours (being an administrator of Bespin gave him opportunity to reward us greatly) until Vader visited Bespin, which by that point only one man in the squad knew him from those heisting days. Again, true to his sword he covered for the parties retreat, which was why Vader was so onto him afterwards; he let people he believed to be his smuggler friends go so he wanted no more escapes; he would handle this one personally.

-The next time we saw him he had joined the alliance as an operative serving under Leia Orenga, on the way to Coursant to rescue Luke that had investigated the wrong criminal organisation and gotten himself into serious trouble, there we ended up effectively conducting a "Shadows of the Empire" storyline, only instead of Leia and Luke being the main characters, it was us, guilty Lando who owed a princess a favour and a big brawny wookie who served to keep our once heist master friend in check. We ended up rescuing, and the parties mechanic played a game of wits with Guri, whom had seen him with the Virago earlier and was about to escape after her master's death to Vader, but wasn't sure if the Rodian hadn't tampered with it. Sure, he had an cybernetic arm ripped off when he hit the accelerator, but we did steal her ship. XD It was pretty much that job that finally concluded the massive amount of obligation that "predator squad" had owed him, admit by that point he was "cool with us, even if we did upstage the jewel of Yavin auction that one time."

-The next time we saw him, he was promoted way above our ranks as a general. Our veteran of the party who had been around the entire three year period we were in the alliance was salty over that. XD. But yeah we have had a fairly conditional friendship over the years; that started as a favour trading currency to an unconditional friendship where we would both do what we could for each other when we met.


-We have met a lot of people from legends that have been freed up from being canon. The person who we joined the alliance through was called Targetter, and we met all the main cast at some point though being in the alliance it was largely a "oh, those guys. They did something important for the alliance, did they?" Our current story arc has drafted in Mara Jade, who initially was introduced as the inquisitor that trained the force emergant to be a double agent, then became a nemesis after betraying the force cult within the empire and again was found as a prisoner under alliance cusody that was released by said drunk force emergant for a distraction to access their sensitive data; she got away only to be tracked down by our highly experienced party one hyperspace jump later to request aid in defeating a sith lord that sought something under the Jedi temple, probably the most cunning scheme I didn't plan for! XD She is a definite anti-hero in the sense that she doesn't want to do the right thing; but we twisted her arm and are currently on route for a one man mission, and that she did have some kinship with an Force Emergent she had trained that had currently gone to coursant to scout out the imperial palace. It's one of those awkward moments, given she had previously killed one of us and had been a firm adversary while the emperor had been alive.

-We eventually put on never-ending dismissal due to falling foul of Bothains, one of the members that had left the party had stolen their black ops crystal that effectively had the entire spynet trying to disern which of us had it. Long story short, thanks to our talker building a strong political support around us the Bothans finally relented when Leia Organa herself took us from the alliance and personally hired us to run as her interference unit; which I believe might end up forming the very initial contingency of the resistance. She did have some familiarity with us, both in our services on Hoth and Endor and rescuing a war hero (we don't know her relation to Luke.) so us being hired by her felt very natural and liberating; with the caviate that if we do anything that violates the new republics values; we were on our own.

That covers the most OMG examples, we of course met many of the alliance leaders and many more; but really the magic was Lando; he was a likeable guy through and through who we would often preform daring jobs for and visa versa; and because of our role as alliance agents we don't really bat an eyelid at meeting iconic characters; because to us they are just characters, as we are to them. Getting involved with Canon subtly has been fine. There haven't been any gigantic changes to Canon, but rather we became a major storyteller that told the tales that were frequently just as epic, of last stands against incredible odds, fighting the remains of the Inquistion and chasing down the last sith lord that the party themselves had birthed into this galaxy; a man who had once been the mentoring, manipulating spirit of that Veteran Emergent, Tobin F. Stryder, his last student. There will be a reckoning under the Imperial Palace that I feel will be just as epic as Luke confronting Vader and Sidious on the Death Star 2.

In short, there's canvas enough in this galaxy for everyone to write a story, and I feel that our group has spawned many adventures that in their own right could produce books, movies and comics. That is quite enough for me.

"But why didn't your party just kill X to change the timelines?"

Because they are heroes and we are heroes. We lead busy lives trying to defeat a universal evil; there would be nothing more petty then just shooting Han or Leia for "reasons". We just grew out of the phrase of doing "x for lols" when we have plenty of adventures to do in this gigantic galaxy.

This is the short post!?!

Nice.

I live by the idea that “if you give the players an opportunity, they’ll take it.” I also encourage them to make their own opportunities.

Case in point: In our Age of Rebellion game they worked to catch the Emporer in a shuttle while in transit. They had a plan and executed it well (resulting in an incredible starship battle) and killed Palpatine.

I let them celebrate for a while by playing some “wrap up” sessions to visit friendly NPCs and help them, etc. As those sessions wore on they started to realize they stopped nothing through that assassination. Yeah, the Empire was defeated, but all that did was splinter it, creating a new set of villains. Even worse, the failures of the Republic caused the Rebellion to fall apart, resulting in enemies all over who were no longer as uniformed as the Empire was which made for a different sort of danger.

They found that it’s easy to rally a populace against an oppressive Moff, but nearly impossible to get that same populace to share their vast resources with other struggling planets just because it’s the right thing to do.

And all along behind the scenes there’s a dark figure who has started to search for the Sith secrets his master wouldn’t share with him...

Basically, I love going off script and watching players make Star Wars their own.

My last group started an Imperial Campaign (two Imperial Agents and one Inquisitor in training) right before ANH; I've put they in a intrigue between Vader against the Emperor and they choose to side with Vader and... well... they ended by killing the Emperor by blowing up his secret base on Byss.

The canon story was destroyed but has been our best campaign in years.

One of my player's sisters was kidnapped by Black Sun. There was a huge plot by a Vigo and another family to take over her family's company. They tracked down the upper leadership one by one until they killed the Vigo himself and saved the sister. That sister is the new Vigo.

Meanwhile, some of their other characters are delving into all kinds of Hutt intrigue brought on by instability in the region due to this new Vigo. While they aren't too far into it yet, they're picking apart the web of factions fighting for power. One PC intends to make herself the Queen of Nar Shaddaa. She's an ambitious one, and is using the instability to her advantage. If everything works out for her in the end, I will have a dramatically different galaxy.

Luke joined Vader on Cloud City and they rule the galaxy as father and son.

That is the premise of the campaign I am about to start. The players enter 10 years post takeover of the Skywalker Empire. Luke becomes Emperor and Vader acts as his guide to the force and is much the same as he was for Palpatine, that is, Vader is still the enforcer but does not seek to become Emperor himself, willing his son to the position. The scenario has Luke never fully giving in to the dark side, wrestling with Vader's darkness, but slowly being brought in by degrees to be less and less optimistic and idealistic. All the while as Vader learns redemption in the love of his son and the two form an equilibrium based off each other. The Empire is still brutal and the Rebellion is still fighting but there are changes being made throughout the galaxy. The Death Star is the absolute power in the galaxy, but many question whether the new Emperor would ever use it. The Tarkin doctrine is abandoned but abuse of power is still rampant. Peace talks are underway with Rebel leaders but the potential is brittle. Many question if the Empire can be salvaged, even with the efforts of the new emperor.

Luke starts a force academy with his father. They abandon the teachings of Sith and Jedi alike and instead opt for a blending of the two. They begin to forge a true balance in the force as they guide new initiates in a dark and light saturated path. Vader teaches strength and mastery of the force while ever guiding his students away from being fully submerged in hate, recalling what destructive ends it brought him to. He is subtle in this teaching and hides his true feelings, never allowing any but Luke to glimpse his inner thoughts. He remains brutal and uncompromising, punishing failure and allowing little praise for success. Luke on the other hand maintains his optimism and devotion to justice. He is transformed from a brash and idealistic farm boy to a burden laden Emperor that does not like the atrocities being committed by his forces the galaxy wide. His force training emphasizes the responsibility that comes with power, advising his students much in the same way a Jedi would, but he allows for love and affection to guide the new students, recognizing the power it has over him, and the potential to cause or avert great calamity.

I am not certain how interaction would take place between Vader and the force ghosts of Yoda and Obi-Wan. However, as Vader turns away from his entrapment within the dark side, I imagine they would both take great interest in the potential of Luke and Vader. They would eventually, I think, support Luke and counsel him on how best to turn his new power to good and overcome the brutality that forms the bedrock of his new empire.

After another 10 years the first apprentices of the new school of force users are ready for their new role in the galaxy. A reformation in the organization of the Empire is made, announcing that new Jedi Knights have been trained (a title that has been redeemed through Imperial propaganda I suppose). These new force users replace Moffs initially, supplanting Imperial governors as the new force school grows. This system essentially turns the Empire in to a feudal system, putting Jedi Knights in charge of their own vassals and ruling with authority granted to them by the Emperor.

The new galaxy is very similar to the old one, but the Rebellion loses a great deal of strength as new reforms are made by the new class of Jedi Knights. The Empire's main forces and government retains a human only policy but recruitment of force sensitives is not restricted to humans only, and many Jedi Knights are aliens, causing some resentment within the military. The ruling elite are replaced by force wielders from a variety of species and they are given authority to form regional armies with whatever species restrictions they wish (though officers are still trained at the Imperial Academy and are comprised of humans only). The power of these new Jedi Knights keeps the military leaders in check and they in turn are loyal to Luke by the new philosophies and teachings established by the new order (and of course the Death Star).

I'll leave it there for now, as I have a host of other changes that have been made as well, but that is the main canon change. I can elaborate further if anyone wants.

Thanks for the OP. It was a great discussion starter and I liked reading through the thoughts people had on the subject.

8 hours ago, WKValade said:

Luke joined Vader on Cloud City and they rule the galaxy as father and son.

That is the premise of the campaign I am about to start.

....

[5 paragraphs of pure hyperconcentrated AWESOMENESS follows]

....

That was... amazing. I seriously cannot put into words how incredible that campaign of yours sounds and if I didn't already have 2 Eote groups I'd ask to join in.

Quote

I'll leave it there for now, as I have a host of other changes that have been made as well, but that is the main canon change. I can elaborate further if anyone wants.

Elaborate as much as you want.

Quote

Thanks for the OP. It was a great discussion starter and I liked reading through the thoughts people had on the subject.

You are welcome. I pretty much come to these forums mostly to look for and read stories about Eote games which are always really really entertaining to hear about, ergo posting this thread.

21 hours ago, WKValade said:

Luke joined Vader on Cloud City and they rule the galaxy as father and son.

That is the premise of the campaign I am about to start. The players enter 10 years post takeover of the Skywalker Empire. Luke becomes Emperor and Vader acts as his guide to the force and is much the same as he was for Palpatine, that is, Vader is still the enforcer but does not seek to become Emperor himself, willing his son to the position. The scenario has Luke never fully giving in to the dark side, wrestling with Vader's darkness, but slowly being brought in by degrees to be less and less optimistic and idealistic. All the while as Vader learns redemption in the love of his son and the two form an equilibrium based off each other. The Empire is still brutal and the Rebellion is still fighting but there are changes being made throughout the galaxy. The Death Star is the absolute power in the galaxy, but many question whether the new Emperor would ever use it. The Tarkin doctrine is abandoned but abuse of power is still rampant. Peace talks are underway with Rebel leaders but the potential is brittle. Many question if the Empire can be salvaged, even with the efforts of the new emperor.

Luke starts a force academy with his father. They abandon the teachings of Sith and Jedi alike and instead opt for a blending of the two. They begin to forge a true balance in the force as they guide new initiates in a dark and light saturated path. Vader teaches strength and mastery of the force while ever guiding his students away from being fully submerged in hate, recalling what destructive ends it brought him to. He is subtle in this teaching and hides his true feelings, never allowing any but Luke to glimpse his inner thoughts. He remains brutal and uncompromising, punishing failure and allowing little praise for success. Luke on the other hand maintains his optimism and devotion to justice. He is transformed from a brash and idealistic farm boy to a burden laden Emperor that does not like the atrocities being committed by his forces the galaxy wide. His force training emphasizes the responsibility that comes with power, advising his students much in the same way a Jedi would, but he allows for love and affection to guide the new students, recognizing the power it has over him, and the potential to cause or avert great calamity.

I am not certain how interaction would take place between Vader and the force ghosts of Yoda and Obi-Wan. However, as Vader turns away from his entrapment within the dark side, I imagine they would both take great interest in the potential of Luke and Vader. They would eventually, I think, support Luke and counsel him on how best to turn his new power to good and overcome the brutality that forms the bedrock of his new empire.

After another 10 years the first apprentices of the new school of force users are ready for their new role in the galaxy. A reformation in the organization of the Empire is made, announcing that new Jedi Knights have been trained (a title that has been redeemed through Imperial propaganda I suppose). These new force users replace Moffs initially, supplanting Imperial governors as the new force school grows. This system essentially turns the Empire in to a feudal system, putting Jedi Knights in charge of their own vassals and ruling with authority granted to them by the Emperor.

The new galaxy is very similar to the old one, but the Rebellion loses a great deal of strength as new reforms are made by the new class of Jedi Knights. The Empire's main forces and government retains a human only policy but recruitment of force sensitives is not restricted to humans only, and many Jedi Knights are aliens, causing some resentment within the military. The ruling elite are replaced by force wielders from a variety of species and they are given authority to form regional armies with whatever species restrictions they wish (though officers are still trained at the Imperial Academy and are comprised of humans only). The power of these new Jedi Knights keeps the military leaders in check and they in turn are loyal to Luke by the new philosophies and teachings established by the new order (and of course the Death Star).

I'll leave it there for now, as I have a host of other changes that have been made as well, but that is the main canon change. I can elaborate further if anyone wants.

Thanks for the OP. It was a great discussion starter and I liked reading through the thoughts people had on the subject.

While it does sound like a cool alternate history... the galaxy is in a pretty good place and fighting the empire is likely to make it worse... would the PC's be jedi knights in training?

That's an interesting idea, putting the empire into a feudal state. Seems like a situation similar to the Holy Roman Empire. Lots of story potential there.

One of our groups saw an ex-stormcommando soldier, who had served under Vader and was tasked with some of Palpatine's Nero Orders after Endor (new Canon). He then left the broken empire kind of depressed with his masters being dead and somehow got together with a Duros Pilot and a Twi'lek Commander (the other players).

An unlikely combination, but their skills complemented well. He still pursued his pro-imperial views and thanks to him they all finally got involved with the Sloane VS. Rax stuff, in the empires end book trilogy and finally the battle of Jakku.

All in all the characters sided with Sloane and defeated Rax. Maybe even more important the Duros Pilot helped defending the Ravager (Executor - Class star destroyer) and prevented its loss.

The conclusion was that the New republic lost the battle and the empire still had an imposing fleet lead by an SSD. So the war would be going on, Sloane stays in the known galaxy and the first order got at least delayed by far.

Fun fact: The ex-stormcommando ultimately found out about the real purpose of Palpatine's late orders, that the empire should not live on, as it had failed to protect its leader. Contrary to expectations he cursed his own recent actions and openly agreed with his emperors view, then threatened to kill Sloane.

The other group members intervened, calmed him down a bit, but the break was inevitable. They brought him to Jakkus surface, where he parted with his friends and waged a lone war against everyone, cause all but him had bitterly betrayed his beloved emperor.

The campaign ended at this point, but I guess it qualifies as a major change to the galaxy.

I had the honor to run all this and it originally was my plan to introduce my group/friends to the new after-endor-canon. None of them really knew about the events or the appearing persons and it was just really great to see the reactions in game like off game.

On 1/5/2019 at 10:58 PM, immortalfrieza said:

That was... amazing. I seriously cannot put into words how incredible that campaign of yours sounds and if I didn't already have 2 Eote groups I'd ask to join in.

Elaborate as much as you want.

You are welcome. I pretty much come to these forums mostly to look for and read stories about Eote games which are always really really entertaining to hear about, ergo posting this thread.

Thank you for your interest immortalfrieza. Sorry I haven't responded sooner. I don't often get online these days. Your response really made my day. I'm glad it had the desired impact and sparked some curiosity. Also, it was highly condensed hehe, good catch on that. I'll elaborate some more for sure!

On 1/6/2019 at 11:41 AM, EliasWindrider said:

While it does sound like a cool alternate history... the galaxy is in a pretty good place and fighting the empire is likely to make it worse... would the PC's be jedi knights in training?

The galaxy is in pretty good hands, in the form of Luke and his intentions. However, I think the intentions of the old guard are still hardcore and play out much the same way, even at the direct opposition to standing orders from Emperor Luke. The Tarkin doctrine was abolished but those who thought like him were not killed off. Vader counseled against such a purge as it would likely have caused a civil war. Luke was also forced to retain the Moffs as well, for a long period of time, in order to avert civil war, which he saw as the greater of the evil between that and continued old Empire policies. His only course of action was to breed a new type of Imperial Navy Officer and essentially wait for them to permeate the system. To attain this goal Luke and Vader would go through the old Republic officers (that had been incorporated in to the Palpatine's Empire) but had a history of being left behind in promotions due to their hesitation or open opposition to hard handed tactics. Captain Needa is an example that people would be familiar with. Rather than seeing Vader remove a thorn in his side during the pursuit of the Falcon (in Empire Strikes Back), Vader instead sees the value in a principled officer that stands on self-reliance as well as bygone codes of honor. Needa, and officers like him, are placed in charge of the reformed Imperial Academy. This method is more subtle, not unnoticed, but better able to fully subvert control while avoiding all out civil war. The new Empire starts to emerge with officers and leaders that serve Luke out of loyalty to the cause and the throne by choice, not by fear and intimidation. This also means that the new crop of officers are more capable, faster on their feet, and able to respond to unknowns more immediately, they are not yes-men. It also decentralizes absolute authority in the form of Emperor Luke himself, but the risk is outweighed by the potential wealth to be found in loyal and self-determined officers.

* Vader privately to Luke: "For as long as you have been alive I have forced men to my will. I bent them. I broke them. I crushed them under heel and made cowards of the rest." Vader turns from Luke, his glossy and unreadable mask looking upon a window of stars. "I may again... I must on your behalf, my son." Vader turns back to Luke. "Yet you can change that Luke. You have shown in me an insight that I have not recalled since before you born." Vader stands up taller, his voice becoming sharp and clear. "I once admired a Jedi Knight, long ago... he is only a memory now, and he was instructor to Obi-Wan Kenobi, teaching him in the ways of the force. I knew this man for only a short time, yet the force was his ally. He taught me that you cannot force people to be just and decent. Such qualities arise from within. That people cannot be forced from without." Vader turns back to the window, his silhouette faint on the glass. "I had forgotten this teaching, yet I have seen this wisdom through you. They are words I cannot teach myself. I am not a fit vessel that can deliver this lesson.

The patient method used by Luke would not be enough for the majority of Rebel cells, in my estimation. Not only would they question the authority of a new (as they would see it) tyrant emperor, but they are also the Alliance to Restore the Republic and a new Skywalker Empire would not be something the majority of Rebel leaders would agree to. The cessation of much of the atrocities of the Tarkin doctrine would probably only encourage some cells, seeing it as a victory, even while others recognize it for what it is. However, those like the Saw Gerrera types or other hardened troops that were in it as much for revenge as for liberation, would stymie peace talks. The same would be true on Luke's side. Peace is at an all time low price, but both sides have reasons to keep it going, if not at the top level, then somewhere down the line. This would cause talks to break down after a ceasefire or truce was sabotaged by a dastardly captain of a Star Destroyer or a rebel cell leader using the opportunity of a stand down to take advantage of lax patrolling within the Empire. Whatever the event it would cause upheaval for the players at the peace summits. If they oppose their own side breaking the agreed truce then they lose support from within, causing a potential fracture. If they condone it, they push the negotiations in to dire straights. If they do nothing, it only gets worse. Both sides might long for peace, but finding it may mean too much compromise, which in itself might lead to yet more conflict.

This is all in the shadows as things progress, but I think that it is worth mentioning that the Rebels would not be able to make the correct judgement on Luke's intentions. All they know for certain is that he was a pilot that flew his X-Wing at the battle of Yavin and avoided killing his father, who then went on to team up and take down the Emperor, and then take the throne, for himself. Almost anyone would have a hard time discerning the truth in this scenario. His actions might showcase his good faith, and his personal interactions with rebel leaders might even be enough to convince them of the truth, but in the end there would be a real struggle in this regards. (I am not certain Vader being revealed as a Skywalker would necessarily have happened, but I am playing the campaign as though it was. It would definitely help solidify him as legitimate to established Empire officials). For instance, Luke's support and counsel from Darth Vader, a mass murderer and fanatical dark lord would probably be too much to stomach, even for devotees to peace at all costs. In the end, the Rebellion might have a harder time recruiting, but many established cells would likely be far from giving up the fight.

All that and I still didn't answer your question. The player characters themselves have not even taken their roles yet. I use a personalized form of character creation that gives the players randomly allocated origins. They have complete control over their character's race, motivations and skill development, but their origins are outside their control. For instance, I once had a character roll a slave that went on to become a wealthy pirate who preyed on Hutt shipping and had fence contacts within the Empire. This is all during creation. So even I don't know what roles they will fill. Jedi characters are exceptionally rare, however, it is possible. The only rules I have in origins and careers is that players cannot be on opposing sides. This is too impossible to play out in a game session and ultimately pointless, unless as a turning point towards the end of a long campaign and climax to the story.

You are right on spot that fighting the Empire could potentially make things a lot worse. However, I am keeping Luke's ultimate opinions to himself (unless they read this board which is unlikely). I will not be explaining the intentions of Luke to the players. Whatever type of player they roll, they only know for certain is that Luke joined with Vader and overthrew Palpatine. The above several paragraphs is the morass that the characters will be thrown in to.

On 1/6/2019 at 10:50 PM, Baraqiel42 said:

That's an interesting idea, putting the empire into a feudal state. Seems like a situation similar to the Holy Roman Empire. Lots of story potential there.

The first thing that should be noted about my new galaxy, is that Mon-Cala, or Dac, has declared itself neutral in (what it calls) an Imperial civil war. The announcement is extremely risky, as it is obvious to everyone that the Mon Cals have declared independence from the Empire and the statement of neutrality in the civil war is nothing more than a ploy for the new Emperor to save face as Mon Calamari exits the yoke of Imperial dominance. The Mon Cals feel that their planet can be defended as a focal point of a new and growing separatist faction at this early point based on signs that Luke may not be a genocidal tyrant. They are unaware that a second death star is under construction and Luke is forced to deal with this as his first real threat to galactic peace. He has little negotiating power, however, other than force, and the Rebels who know him are spearheading the declaration, including his sister, Princess Leia.

Luke is pressured with immense stress in to declaring all out war against the Calamari by Imperial Moffs, angered at the threat a free world like Dac could cause on a galactic level. The political side effects of either course of action are very apparent to Luke. But it is Vader who supplies the alternative. He recalls a teaching from old Jedi Master Plo Koon; "You cannot make peace with someone who does not want it. You must find out what they want and be prepared to give it to them." Luke immediately moves against Mon Cal and the growing concern within his own empire, but by political means. He grants Mon Calamari a provisional dispensation to somewhat restore its monarchy. However, he gives the land holding to his sister, Princess Leia Organna, formerly of Alderaan, to hold the seat of the monarchy until such a time that the Mon Calamari and the Quarren can decide who will be their monarch. Leia is effectively dealt with as she is immediately taken up with petitions and claims upon the monarchy. She is also awarded an Imperial Star Destroyer, and accompanying Stormtrooper detachment, as a personal bodyguard, under the command of a hand picked Captain by none other than Vader himself.

At once the old guard imperials see this as a power move long being orchestrated. They see the potential for a plan decades in the making, with the power of the Skywalker family having supplanted both the Rebellion and the Empire together (to their minds anyway). The Rebels piece together a similar potential scenario, but are in a stalemate, as almost all of their hopes and dreams have come true, but their trust in Leia is brought in to question as the pieces fall o-so-perfectly in to place. Despite her sincerity she is only mildly successful in persuading others that she had no foreknowledge of the move.

Also, I got to run for the day.

I hope everyone liked it. I am barely scratching the surface here for what I have prepared for the campaign. If anyone wants any specifics about something let me know. I just don't promise I can respond right away, as I barely use the old PC.

If you got this far thanks for reading! Tell me what you think? If you thought I was wrong let me know why. My players are not starting for another week, and I can make spot changes easy enough.

-WKValade

On 1/9/2019 at 9:11 PM, WKValade said:

Vader stands up taller, his voice becoming sharp and clear. "I once admired a Jedi Knight, long ago... he is only a memory now, and he was instructor to Obi-Wan Kenobi, teaching him in the ways of the force. I knew this man for only a short time, yet the force was his ally. He taught me that you cannot force people to be just and decent. Such qualities arise from within. That people cannot be forced from without."

That's making use of a Jedi Apprentice book quote isn't it? In any case, you should be writing Star Wars novels pal, you're great at writing to visualize things for the viewer.

Quote

I hope everyone liked it. I am barely scratching the surface here for what I have prepared for the campaign. If anyone wants any specifics about something let me know. I just don't promise I can respond right away, as I barely use the old PC.

If you got this far thanks for reading! Tell me what you think? If you thought I was wrong let me know why. My players are not starting for another week, and I can make spot changes easy enough.

-WKValade

Keep me updated on how things go, can't wait to hear more.

14 hours ago, immortalfrieza said:

That's making use of a Jedi Apprentice book quote isn't it? In any case, you should be writing Star Wars novels pal, you're great at writing to visualize things for the viewer.

Yes, I looked up a quote for the post that might seem fitting. I appreciate the feedback about my writing. I am actually writing a book, but not Star Wars related.

14 hours ago, immortalfrieza said:

Keep me updated on how things go, can't wait to hear more.

As far as the update goes, my players just started yesterday. They put all their resources together and are trying to find a system far from the shipping lanes to start a mining colony without Imperial jurisdiction, not certain they can trust the new Emperor. So far they have only scouted out two places and passed on the first.

Leave it to players to accidentally avoid all your best laid plans. They chose an interesting option, isolation. Could be a good move considering. So they won't likely make a play to be at the heart of galactic politics and/or struggles, and that is fine by me. Good story telling potential there.

Thanks again for your interest.

Our game started with the non-canonical conceit so it may not count.

The conceit: Padme survived and was secreted away by Bail Organa with the twins and Obi-Wan.

The starting point: 8 years after Order 66.

Important: The Empire is just beginning to solidify its internal controls and push into the Outer Rim and the Emperor still has to rely on guile and manipulation outside his main power bases.

The protagonists: Three Jedi survivors.

• Cal Coda, the last Jedi knighted before the clone wars.
• Sigyn Ilbis, the last Jedi knighted before Order 66. Garm Bel Ilbis' niece.
• Kaya Ilbis, a youngling spirited out of the temple during Order 66. Sigyn's niece and Padawan.

Backstory: Garm Bel Ilbis obtained a light freighter, the Horizon Ascendant, for Sigyn and Kaya and helped smuggle them to safety where they eventually linked up with Coda. At the start of play they are living on the lam as mostly honest free traders out of Nar Shaada. They have two important contacts: Kaltho the Hutt and Zuske Kimote, a Selonian infochant and rebel sympathizer living on Nar Shaada with her mates.

Major Early Events: tracking down Obi Wan, joining Bail Organa's resistance, leading the operation and raid that brought the X-Wing into the rebellion, discovering the ruins at Yavin 4, and arranging for a private meeting between Bail, Padma, and "Uncle Garm" to bring Corelia into the resistance. The player characters have managed to get on the radar of bounty hunters and inquisitors.

The Big Change: Padme's involvement led to Palpatine learning she survived. This was a problem because he'd used her "death" to control and shape Vader. Palpatine sends assassins to kill her, but they fail, and he orders Vader back to Coruscant to preempt DRAMA. However, Vader has also learned she's alive at this stage and, much as Caesar recalled to Rome, launches a preemptive invasion. Palpatine escapes to Byss, and despite early gains and near victory, Vader ultimately finds himself forced to withdraw from the core worlds with the now "neutral" corellian sector being the demarcation point. Sources of bacta, coaxium, spice, and ship yards become major points of contention.

Balkinization: Vader controls Mustafar and the imperial arms of space adjacent to it. The Emperor retains control of the key core worlds, the deep core, and the Arkanis sector under Tarkin. Many remote imperial commanders and governors further from the core take a "wait and see" position while several key worlds declare themselves "neutral." The banking clans also declare themselves neutral. Palpatine controls far more worlds, however, and maintains firm control in the galactic "northwest." He also has the support of the Corporate Sector... so far. The Hutts forge a secret compact with Vader and become increasingly "uncooperative" with Imperial officials. Hutt activities on many Outer Rim worlds are destabilizing, which drains Tarkin's resources.

Strange Bedfellows: To ensure Tarkin can't mount a second front against him, Vader has been secretly aiding resistance movements in and around the Arkanis Sector, especially the Free Ryloth movement. This involvement is, to say the least, extremely uncomfortable for the Rebellion! Vader's "borders" are delineated by Naboo, Malastare, Bestine, Thyferra, Fondor, and Bakura. However, the Hutts don't trust Vader and are playing a double game and running black market goods to the rebellion as well.

Rebellions: Bothawui, Dac, and Sullust are in open rebellion and have, over the course of several adventures, allied themselves Bail Organa's faction and forged a "Rebel Alliance." There are rumblings on several former CIS worlds and some members of the Trade Federation (esp. Cato Nemodia) are quietly aiding them, but this is distinct, and sometimes in rivalry with, the Alliance.

A Nascent Jedi Rebirth: Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ahsoka Tano, Cal Coda, Sigyn Ilbis, and Kaya Ilbis are in one another's orbit. Kaya has gone to Dagobah to find Master Yoda. This has led to a discussion of what the "New Jedi Order" should look like. At this point the PCs are treating Ahsoka as a peer and fellow Jedi Knight when it comes to discussion "Jedi Business."

On the Horizon: Maul and Crimson Dawn and aiding the growing Corellian Resistance as a lead up to a major rebellion strike to free the planet and win its shipyards. The sector is in contested space between Vader and Palpatine.