I am actually of the same mind as you, Maelora. In my campaigns, the Rebels are the good guys, and the Empire are the bad guys. But what makes the game more interesting, engaging, and realistic is to point out that not all Imperials are bad, and not all Rebels are good. Moral grey is abundant across the galaxy.

Oh, definitely. I'm having an Imperial civil war, and one of the faction leaders is the fairly reasonable Wulff Yularen.

At the same time, there's a rival cell for the PCs, a 'Bad Company' cell that basically carries out terrorist acts against anyone even remotely connected to the Empire. Some of them have sympathetic backstories, but they are certainly giving the Alliance a bad name and end up helping the Empire's propaganda. And the top brass haven't done anything about them yet because sometimes, they need operatives to get their hands dirty...

The players are definitely the good guys, and that should be hard. It takes moral fortitude and guts to do the right thing when other people around you are taking shortcuts. The Dark Side is quicker and easier, and more seductive... but ultimately comes around to bite you on the ass.

Nice. An Alliance 'Bad Company' sounds awesome.

Nice. An Alliance 'Bad Company' sounds awesome.

These are the guys who killed Monobrow Boy, so they're not all bad!

But yes, they are meant to be rivals for the PCs, a dark mirror of what they might become if they don't tread carefully.

They have strict entry rules - you have to be willing to sacrifice yourself to hurt the Empire, and you have to have lost friends or family to the Empire. Then you have to murder an Imperial - in cold blood, not in battle - to finally join.

Again, they are meant to make the characters ask why they are fighting, and if it's ever acceptable to lower yourself to the worst excesses of your enemy. (Hint: no, it's not )

I'm actually hoping our Spy will try and infiltrate them at some point; all kinds of 'Platoon'-style narratives will ensue...

Nice. An Alliance 'Bad Company' sounds awesome.

These are the guys who killed Monobrow Boy, so they're not all bad!

But yes, they are meant to be rivals for the PCs, a dark mirror of what they might become if they don't tread carefully.

They have strict entry rules - you have to be willing to sacrifice yourself to hurt the Empire, and you have to have lost friends or family to the Empire. Then you have to murder an Imperial - in cold blood, not in battle - to finally join.

Again, they are meant to make the characters ask why they are fighting, and if it's ever acceptable to lower yourself to the worst excesses of your enemy. (Hint: no, it's not )

I'm actually hoping our Spy will try and infiltrate them at some point; all kinds of 'Platoon'-style narratives will ensue...

Nice. Hope to hear more about this story arc, if you've the mind to share as things progress?

I'm actually hoping our Spy will try and infiltrate them at some point; all kinds of 'Platoon'-style narratives will ensue...

And suddenly I hear the words "This is my Blaster, this is my gun..." go through my head.

I don't post a lot but I do lurk and I have a question why do you guys keep giving Eric the attention he craves, I mean come on don't feed the trolls

Oh, definitely. I'm having an Imperial civil war, and one of the faction leaders is the fairly reasonable Wulff Yularen.

Interesting, although his Wookieepedia profile suggests a man who was more into the Galactic Republic as " the galactic state " than any of its ideals, who thereby slotted on into an Imperial role just fine... though, considering his ties to Supreme Chancellor Palpatine (in canon they existed before your point of divergence), perhaps that had a role in his split with Emperor Tarkin in your timeline?

There must be other people out there who are enthusiastic about Rebels, and I think it would be easier to find them if you could post controversial Star Wars opinions like 'I think the Empire are the bad guys' without being set upon by the 501st.

Hear that guys we are the 501st!Alright now down to business no we dont need a sepreate imp thread the problem with the forums is your making the rebels into white knights in the universe.Exhibit A why they are not so http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Infiltrators in other words these are the guys who would set off a bomb in the middle of Coruscant just to kill the Emperor.Also for the record I would play in an imperial campaign.

All this talk has got me thinking of a game where the characters have been recruited by a middle man believing they're joining a rebel cell but when they turn up they discover the rebel base an abandoned hangar on the edge of a remote township holding maybe four or five battered Y-Wings.

Suddenly a Lambda shuttle arrives and landing they ramp lowers and a woman in imperial uniform pokes her head out and yells over to you asking for medical help.

Provided the PCs don't start a fight they discover she was recruited by the same person who arranged for the PCs to meet here but he was killed helping the lambda pilot and her seriously injured comrade escape and they've come here looking for the unit their recruiter claimed to be part of.

She tells them they have only minutes before the Empire locates this base and they need to evacuate as soon as possible and she volunteers another safe location offworld as she believes the Empire is going to orbital bombard the base as soon as the learn its location.

If they help her she will fly them clear with any of their comrades taking whatever fighter they want but as soon as she launches they're contacted by the Imperial Commander and she reports having contacted the enemy and suffered minimal casualities and recommends they bombard the location she's leaving...

As long as the PC flying the fighters leave within 2-3 rounds after the shuttle they witness the Victory star destroyer come into view and bombard the base behind them.

Shortly after the shuttle is contacted again informing them fighters are in pursuit and suggest she head towards them to which she declines informing them she will lead them away from the planet and jump clear allowing the TIEs to close in on them, please note at least 1 or more of the PCs are aboard the shuttle and she will insure they have a separate communication link to the other PCs and will tell them precisely where she's heading since as long as the Empire thinks she's still loyal they have the best chance to escape.

If they comply she sends them (via the PC on the separate comlink) the coordinates for a remote base in the outer system where a small refinery station is located which will eventually reveal a Corellian Corvette modified to hold fighters is waiting.

If asked she'll admit to being an Imperial Officer whose comrade is force sensitive and the reason she's defecting since their contact got to them before the Inquisitor did which will leave unstated the question who injured her comrade and the fact the Imp pilot is also wounded clearly from a blaster.

I can see people having problems with this but I can't help wondering your reactions, this could be used for various game ideas.

Wrong thread or forum?

Interesting, although his Wookieepedia profile suggests a man who was more into the Galactic Republic as " the galactic state " than any of its ideals, who thereby slotted on into an Imperial role just fine... though, considering his ties to Supreme Chancellor Palpatine (in canon they existed before your point of divergence), perhaps that had a role in his split with Emperor Tarkin in your timeline?

Quite possibly. I'm playing him that he's somewhat reluctantly been chosen as poster boy for the 'reasonable' faction that thinks the Emperor is a good thing, but that a paranoid and racist Emperor is not. Maybe he didn't realise Palpatine was an evil wizard? It's not like Tarkin doesn't tell a few fibs or shies from stabbing friends in the back to get to where he is.

I want to have a high-ranking Imperial who is more 'Lawful Neutral' in D&D terms, unlike Tarkin's LE/NE and Thrawn's relatively benevolent LE. Not quite one of the good guys, but not someone who'd blow up a Core World just 'for the evilz' either...

the problem with the forums is your making the rebels into white knights in the universe.

Well I guess it is a startlingly unconventional take on the setting

the problem with the forums is your making the rebels into white knights in the universe.

Well I guess it is a startlingly unconventional take on the setting

Glad to hear you finally admit it, pal. Admitting you're not infallible is the first step in a troll-to-human metamorphosis.

Glad to hear you finally admit it, pal.

You ready to admit you'd rather play Imp than Rebel?

Would if it were true, snuggles. But as I've said before, I like Imps to be NPC and realistic rather than wholly evil. Never said I wanted to play them. But you'd have known that if you weren't blind to all but your own bull.

Never said I wanted to play them.

Well do you? Yknow, if there was a safe space you could do it where no one would judge you for it.

Somewhere you could chat about how awesome the Empire is without all those **** rebel sympathizers getting in the way...

Nope, I don't. But if I did , I could play it where I was quite happily without fear of the kind of prosecution you seem so eager to doll out.

And if I want to chat about how awesome the Empire is? I'll do so on these very forums. Gotta love democracy, right?

But if I did ,

LMAO!

Oh, Erik, you are so adorable. Now, go have a cookie and a nap whilst grown-ups talk.

In all seriousness, I reckon you think the Empire is cooler than the Rebels, and I have played in a lot of games where it is pretty clear the GM thinks his NPCs are cooler than the PCs (especially White Wolf games), and this is NO FUN.

There are certainly some of you who shouldn't be running rebel games, for the sake of your players.

Reckon away, snuggles. Whether my game is fun or not will be determined by my players and myself; sadly your opinions, tantrums, oddly-amusing picture captions, and "I-hate-the-Empire-but-secretly-love-them-and-want-to-be-among-them" attitude will not influence it one bit.

But if it makes you feel any better, you will always be a part of my games anyways. Did I ever mention that Stormtroopers are now simply called 'ErikBs'?

Quite possibly. I'm playing him that he's somewhat reluctantly been chosen as poster boy for the 'reasonable' faction that thinks the Emperor is a good thing, but that a paranoid and racist Emperor is not. Maybe he didn't realise Palpatine was an evil wizard? It's not like Tarkin doesn't tell a few fibs or shies from stabbing friends in the back to get to where he is.

I want to have a high-ranking Imperial who is more 'Lawful Neutral' in D&D terms, unlike Tarkin's LE/NE and Thrawn's relatively benevolent LE. Not quite one of the good guys, but not someone who'd blow up a Core World just 'for the evilz' either...

P.S. Thank you Shakespearian_Soldier for not quoting ErikB and thus causing him to bypass the ignore filter.

No problem Chortles.

It could also be that your Yularen just doesn't believe that Palpatine was " an evil wizard "...

Very likely. The Empire specialises in propaganda, and Tarkin is clearly using Palpatine as a scapegoat, seeing as he came to power on a 'beware the evil Sith!' ticket. Yularen probably thinks the late Palpatine was wrongly maligned, which is why he's the reluctant poster boy of the 'LN Imperials' (for want of a better word). He'd be totally misguided in this case, but you can't blame him for that.

So what if Wulf Yularen wasn't aboard the Death Star when it blew?

Have this vision of having him survive but make him head of an intelligence division but officially considered deceased, his agents however are being either replaced or coerced to work for a rival group linked to the Inquisitors however my idea reveals that Wulf's remaining loyal agents are working both sides for the benefit of the true Empire and not the Sith infiltrators who have co-opted the Empire.

I think I've been watching that Imperial Agent storyline a little too much!

So what if Wulf Yularen wasn't aboard the Death Star when it blew?

Have this vision of having him survive but make him head of an intelligence division but officially considered deceased, his agents however are being either replaced or coerced to work for a rival group linked to the Inquisitors however my idea reveals that Wulf's remaining loyal agents are working both sides for the benefit of the true Empire and not the Sith infiltrators who have co-opted the Empire.

I think I've been watching that Imperial Agent storyline a little too much!

If we're talking Maelora's Infinities setting, the Death Star didn't blow up but rather got sabotaged after what would have been Episode IV (albeit she still hasn't elaborated to what extent, only that it was apparently enough to REALLY get Tarkin worried), and the Sith aren't exactly covert in their moves to co-opt the Empire...