Ok, so I'm about to start a brand new campaign (hopefully a long one) with my group of players.

I asked what era they wanted to start the campaign in (my hopes is to keep playing over several eras).

They said the collapse of the Republic.

Good so far...

BUT, they want to play as separatists.

Now... that's a tiny bit of an issue for me.

Not being a fan of the Prequel movies and the Clone Wars show... All I know about the Separatist faction is that they used Droid armies, and basically anyone involved that wasn't a Droid was a commander of some sort.

There doesn't seem to be any grass roots movement.

I don't want my players to be Generals or Commanders in the military.
And I don't want them to be Droids.

So... I was thinking maybe they could be sort of "rebel" types doing undercover work for the Separatists or something like that?

I'd have them make characters using the Edge system, in the notion that they all come from non military backgrounds but are joining the separatist movement on a grass roots level.

Anyway... I guess what I'm asking is; could that work? Do you have any other, better ideas?

The thing is, I plan on this campaign going well beyond the rise of the Empire, and to not involve the players in any kind of big battles where they are in command of a big number of troops or anything like that. (sure, they can still be involved in a battle, but they'll be the grunts)

I think there is alot of potential in playing pretty much a Age of Rebellion campaign in the clone wars era on the seperatist side.

The media didnt show it much but books and comics did shine some light on grass roots seperatists and straight up seperatist saboteur / terrorist groups.
I would really make it a AoR Campaign to be honest, let them be on a republic planet or at least in a republic or republic sector of space and let them support or create their own resistance group to make their planet / sector join the seperatists.

At least that would be my first thought / idea.

Edit / Addition:

As they gain Duty & Contribution they would gain support from local groups while trying to win the hearts and minds and while also beginning to draw attention from the republic security forces and later even the GAR.
Eventually they might gain the attention of some seperatist commander fighting in a nearby sector whose armies are of course too tied up (and the player's sector being too strategically insignificant) to divert his armies, but enough to maybe send a little bit of support & equipment their way.
Stuff like that.

I would imagine this being a pretty local campaign, limited to a planet or sector of space.
But the players could always later begin to enter into the larger conflict once they won their planet over (or lost it to the republic and got exiled?).

I have a lot to read up on when it comes to the Clone Wars era

Oh well...

9 minutes ago, OddballE8 said:

I have a lot to read up on when it comes to the Clone Wars era

Oh well...

I dont know, if Clone Wars isnt your cup of tea, dont do it.

Maybe ask one of your players to GM it or maybe ask them for an alternative setting?

Edit:

If you still want to do it, dont fret over it too much.
I dont see why you would need to read up alot, you won't need to have the GAR or Seperatist Droid Army involved if the Player's planet is strategically insignificant.
It can be just about any planet and the players will try to topple the government or something like that.

Maybe if you wanted to go beyond the Rise of the Empire, set your campaign just before the end of the war; The players want to break their planet free from the republic, but on the half way point or even earlier their large enemy the republic does no longer exist.
Does that spark hope? Or dread of something even worse?

That could be an interesting story.

1 hour ago, Fl1nt said:

Maybe if you wanted to go beyond the Rise of the Empire, set your campaign just before the end of the war; The players want to break their planet free from the republic, but on the half way point or even earlier their large enemy the republic does no longer exist.
Does that spark hope? Or dread of something even worse?

Technically the Republic doesn't really stop existing. They just rebrand themselves as The Galactic empire. And they are even less keen on separatists as than the Republic was.

And the Separatists just lost a good 99% of their armed forces when the droids were shut down.

What could be interesting is the PCs finding out that the entire Clone Wars conflict was a giant sham where both sides were controlled by the same faction that now has won absolute power by throwing the CSA under the bus. Having them deal with the fact tha this entire time they have been little more than Palpatine's pawns.

A couple tips here:

If you are able to, I would recommend watching the rebel episodes instead, as it isn't a prequel, and it has some clones and droids as part of the story. I am not sure which episodes as I don't watch it myself, but this allows you to get a small idea of what they should be like without needing to watch any prequel episodes. I would recommend just watching any 1 or 2 episodes of clones vs droids in the prequel, just to get an idea of how they interact, but that again is up to you.

A useful idea in your situation is to let the players play as minions at certain points. Simply letting the players play as two battle droids chit chatting in the hallway for a few moments can really be an enjoyable part of the session for them, and you get to see how the players view the droids and how they should act. Even letting them control a battle droid narratively during a battle would be fine, or even the enemy clone troopers. Obviously set boundaries of what is appropriate and what isn't, but if you trust them to handle the responsibility, it will definitely bring your table to life and allow you an idea of what they expect from both sides.

Another thing, if you plan to play into the Empire era (and have them going against it) and want to allow them to control a few (or more) droids to aid them, I would recommend during the beginning of the campaign to have them break down every once in a while, and have the players fix them. Even have the players just give them routine checks or anything of that nature. Then when the command to shutdown happens, and if you all agree you want some battle droids to control, it makes perfect narrative sense on how they would know how to reactivate them and keep them working.

Now, if you don't watch any of the animated series at all, that's ok, but if you do, I would try to model your sessions into something you would see in that series.

And if they want to play as organics, in the clone commando books a separatist scientist has both a droid army and a sentient army to defend her. The sentient army is commanded by a Mandalorian bounty hunter, so if they want to play as organics, it is not out of place.

Hope this helps.

There were a variety of planet-specific military units. Something to remember is that many Clone Wars battles were civil wars that the Republic and Separatists intervened in. In the Clone Wars show, you don't really see this on the Separatist side as the extra work to animate organics would be unnecessary. It's easier to just animate a bunch of identical clones and droids with a few unique character every now and then.

The best example of a civil war would be Mon Calamari/Dac, where the Quarren and Mon Cal were fighting, with the Republic on the side of the Mon Cal and the Separatists on the side of the Quarren.

A Legends example is the Jabiimi factions. The Loyalists were loyal to the Republic until they felt betrayed when the Republic pulled out, and they were opposing the Nationalist faction, who sided with the Separatists until the Empire took over at which point they sided with the Empire. So it's not at all unheard of for Separatists to go over to the Empire.

My suggestion would be to have the Separatists defending their world from the Republic, not carrying out the standard Rebel insurgency stuff on a Republic-occupied/loyal world. That way, when the Empire takes over, they have to learn to shift their tactics.

9 hours ago, OddballE8 said:

I have a lot to read up on when it comes to the Clone Wars era

If you can bear to watch them, the TCW Umbaran arc shows almost no droids in the separatist army. They don't really get into why the Umbarans are fighting, but apparently it's for "independence", and that's plenty of motive. Plus they have really cool tech

Another arc is the Onderon arc. Sure, the arc is about bringing the planet back into the Republic fold, but you could easily swap out the droids and have clones as the enemy.

Clones as potential enemies is more explicitly laid out in the Ryloth arc, where the rebel leader Cham Syndulla is hesitant to allow the Republic to set up a base because he's afraid they will stay after driving off the Seppies. Which ends up being exactly what happens, the Republic falls and becomes the Empire, and the clones are swapped out with stormtroopers.

The there's the episode Heroes on Both Sides, which shows the Seppie parliament, which is not run by droids at all.

Anyway, similar stories must have played out across the galaxy. You don't really need to know much about the Clone Wars to make the PC's planet a "special case" where maybe they had no Seppie support other than a bit of money, and nary a battle droid to be seen.

1 hour ago, whafrog said:

If you can bear to watch them, the TCW Umbaran arc shows almost no droids in the separatist army. They don't really get into why the Umbarans are fighting, but apparently it's for "independence", and that's plenty of motive. Plus they have really cool tech

Another arc is the Onderon arc. Sure, the arc is about bringing the planet back into the Republic fold, but you could easily swap out the droids and have clones as the enemy.

Clones as potential enemies is more explicitly laid out in the Ryloth arc, where the rebel leader Cham Syndulla is hesitant to allow the Republic to set up a base because he's afraid they will stay after driving off the Seppies. Which ends up being exactly what happens, the Republic falls and becomes the Empire, and the clones are swapped out with stormtroopers.

The there's the episode Heroes on Both Sides, which shows the Seppie parliament, which is not run by droids at all.

Anyway, similar stories must have played out across the galaxy. You don't really need to know much about the Clone Wars to make the PC's planet a "special case" where maybe they had no Seppie support other than a bit of money, and nary a battle droid to be seen.

Any clue as to which seasons/episodes these arcs would be in?

I have Disney+ so I could just sit down and watch this whenever I have the time.

22 minutes ago, OddballE8 said:

Any clue as to which seasons/episodes these arcs would be in?

Onderon: S5, E2-5

Umbara: S4, E7-10

Ryloth: S1, E19-21

Heroes on Both Sides: S3, E10

One other possibility to consider is that the PCs are on a planet attempting to be neutral (like Mandalore, or one of the several thousand world it represented). That's probably a far more precarious situation, as if one side invades, the other is sure to follow.

In recent years, I've found it useful to ask players their top-3. Top-3 Eras to play in, Top-3 character ideas to play, etc... This let's me sort of "pick" the one that is most pleasing to me. If you ask for only one, then it is yes or no. You can only give in or disappoint. If instead you say I am going with #2, then it isn't a big deal because the players are still playing in an era they want to play in. This top-3 thing came about when one particular player kept creating characters for campaigns that were all alike: psychotic, anti-social loners with no reason to trust anybody. I found that if I gave him a quota of three different PC ideas, then I could pick the least unplayable, least incompatible one for the group without putting down the other ones.

I am with you on not being a Clone Wars guru. I think that the Clones vs Droids combat can only be done so many ways before it tires out. Age of Rebellion may be a better choice if they are working closely with troop movements and the military machine (Spy, Diplomat, Commander, Soldier). Everything they'd be doing would involve a sort of "Duty" to their cause. To keep it Edge, then I think it is safe to say that the group with be on the 'edge' of the whole military conflict. Non-military types like Smuggler, Colonist, Explorer, Bounty Hunter. They could play DURING the era, but do things like collect Separatists bounties, run illicit goods through smuggling, search out new resources.

I think it is helpful to ask WHY they want to play in that era. Do they want to do the "Roger, Roger" bit over and over? Socialize with Clone Troopers? Be around for Order 66? Hunt Jedi?

1 hour ago, DurosSpacer said:

I am with you on not being a Clone Wars guru. I think that the Clones vs Droids combat can only be done so many ways before it tires out.

It's an interesting time period to play Edge Of The Empire in. Bunch of never-do-wells doing the whole Firefly thing, trying to stay out of the war and make a profit. With the twist that the forces of law and order that may take an interest in your less than legal activities can include Jedi.

As entire worlds, systems, and sectors join the Separatist cause there is really, IMHO, no restriction.

Planetary Military, sure. Politicians, gotcha. Underworld types, there there. Senators, sure they have their own Senate! If you can do it on the Republic side you can do it on the Separatist side, and still think you are in the right, on the good side. Jedi, it seems, would have to embrace the Dark Side to be Separatists, but someone may know an example that contradicts that.

If you are not familiar with the era, I'd suggest running something you're more comfortable with. Optionally, delay the start of the game until you have the time to research it and raise your comfort level.

They're infiltrators to the Republic of course. Droids would be obvious, so real people are needed.

Then you can largely ignore everything about the CIS and go with what you know about the Republic, just throw in a lot of subterfuge-related checks.

While not shown often in the media, the Separatists did hire a fair number of bounty hunters and Dooku had his Dark Acolytes - quite a few in Legends material. That opens the door for all manner of non-droid characters, including Force users, to expose the failings of the corrupt Republic and their Jedi lackeys. When Order 66 comes, I’m sure capable operatives would find positions in the Empire.

On the other hand, nothing would be more humorous than a group of PC B1 Battle Droids getting smoked by Clones, “Roger, roger.”

2 hours ago, HappyDaze said:

If you are not familiar with the era, I'd suggest running something you're more comfortable with. Optionally, delay the start of the game until you have the time to research it and raise your comfort level.

Oh I have until Feb-March to get ready

I'm moving Jan 1st, so we're not playing any time soon.

The Collapse of the Republic source book has some information on the era, and you may be able to mine some ideas for your game. With certain supplies or luxury goods becoming hard to come by, maybe your players could get tapped to run some contraband across the lines, or help some civilians escape a contested planet. Or even better, help a Separatist commando unit escape a contested planet.
The war has also been going on for a lot longer than most people thought it would, so theres a sense of fatigue about the whole thing. How would your players react if a Separatist leader contacted them to say "I'm done with this war. Get me off this rock."? And a lot of planetary leaders may be seeing the writing on the wall...that some day the war will end, so they should start trying to cut deals with whoever they think will come out on top. Your players could suddenly find themselves on a planet that is declaring loyalty to the Republic and is turning over all Separatist units and troops to the GAR.

On 12/9/2020 at 1:16 AM, OddballE8 said:

Ok, so I'm about to start a brand new campaign (hopefully a long one) with my group of players.

I asked what era they wanted to start the campaign in (my hopes is to keep playing over several eras).

They said the collapse of the Republic.

Good so far...

BUT, they want to play as separatists.

Now... that's a tiny bit of an issue for me.

Not being a fan of the Prequel movies and the Clone Wars show... All I know about the Separatist faction is that they used Droid armies, and basically anyone involved that wasn't a Droid was a commander of some sort.

There doesn't seem to be any grass roots movement.

I don't want my players to be Generals or Commanders in the military.
And I don't want them to be Droids.

So... I was thinking maybe they could be sort of "rebel" types doing undercover work for the Separatists or something like that?

I'd have them make characters using the Edge system, in the notion that they all come from non military backgrounds but are joining the separatist movement on a grass roots level.

Anyway... I guess what I'm asking is; could that work? Do you have any other, better ideas?

The thing is, I plan on this campaign going well beyond the rise of the Empire, and to not involve the players in any kind of big battles where they are in command of a big number of troops or anything like that. (sure, they can still be involved in a battle, but they'll be the grunts)

I'd start moments after the master control signal was sent by Anakin and all the droids shut off. The ensuing collapse of civil order in the separatist systems would provide plenty of fodder. Simple survival in a world where the central government has collapsed and hostile forces are beginning to occupy.