The CotR spoiler thread got me thinking of running a thread inspired by the Prequels clone wars CGI show but I didn't want "A rock falls everyone dies" (i.e. Order 66) to be the forgone conclusion to the campaign. I also didn't want the PCs (jedi knight/generals, clone troopers, naval officers, antarian rangers, other people with reasons to hang out with jedi in a war zone) to be overshadowed by Anakin and Obiwan.
So here's what I came up with, please make suggestions.
The Phantom Menace.
Anakin lost the pod race wasn't freed, quigon lost padme's ship, Darth maul attacked obiwan and quigon together and since he couldn't separate them by the shield thing he lost to their combined strength but he took out quigon as obiwan struck Darth maul down. Since there wasn't a reactor shaft in the desert of tatooine for maul to escape down, when he didn't die right away obiwan put him out of his misery (maul is *DEAD* in this universe), obiwan took maul's remains to the council on coruscant and padme and her entourage came with aboard maul's sith interceptor. The jedi council gets Intel on the sith but don't know who Darth sidious is. Padme makes an impassioned plea, calls for a vote of no confidence in chancellor valorum, palpatine becomes chancellor. Padme and entourage (but not obiwan) go back to naboo, their assault against the trade federation fails, the force padme to sign documents which legitimizes the trade federations invasion, the Trade federation now OWNS naboo. Obiwan is knighted.
Attack of the clones.
Obiwan and padawan are assigned to protect Bail Organo, apprentice takes the saber dart meant for Organo. Obiwan tracks the saber dart to Kamino (this was palpatine's plan for how the jedi/ republic learn of the clone army), fights jango, follows him to genosis, has his fighter transmit the message to jedi council. Obiwan dies in the arena on genosis but jedi leading clones show up to defeat genosans. The thing is that chancellor palpatine is NOT granted emergency powers (takes order 66 off the table) because 1) no senator Jar Jar binks and 2) he's seen as being biased in favor of war because of the trade federation occupation of his homeworld (naboo). So a committee of senators (including Bail Organo who is stressing diplomacy) are theoretically in charge of the republic military/war effort.
And GO.
So what are your thought on the timeline setting alterations.
PCs get something like 800 or 900 xp to star with, and 25K worth of gear, Narrative jedi PC can start as jedi career or any FaD career but are required to have at least 1 jedi spec, jedi get 18K of gear BUT can have an ilum crystal for free, have access to an artisan who can add 2hp to 2 pieces of gear, and NON-IMPOSSIBLE checks to mod lightsaber crystals automatically succeed WHILE IN THE CORUSCANT JEDI TEMPLE but the still have to pay the credit costs, party probably has access to a 2 skills holocron and a consular cruiser c70 retrofit or maybe an arquittens, or a squadron of fighters (varies by mission), but there could be a party ship piloted by an edge style ship. Using squad and squadron rules/meat shields. Clone PCs would command squads of clones/meat shields too.
Not sure whether I'd want to run this as a play by post or as a live game (probably starting in late October), I'd start it now but my daughter Abigail is due to be born any day now.