Post by Deleted on May 3, 2017 10:02:34 GMT -6
(this thread is a split from a thread on Dragonsfoot)
In the prologue, there's a line about the Emperor and how "he was controlled by the very assistants and boot-lickers he has appointed to high office, and the cries of the people for justice did not reach his ears."
Similarly, the early Ballantine version has some photo inserts that reflect this viewpoint further:
On Vader it says, "He employs his extrasensory powers to keep the Emperor enthroned"
On Tarkin, "His insatiable political ambitions to become Emperor have driven him to use ruthless means to quell the rabidly growing rebellion."
On Stormtroopers, "Stormtroopers are the drones of the Galactic Empire who carry out a reign of terror among the disheartened worlds of the galaxy. Hidden underneath white armored spacesuits, these fearsome troops enforce the restrictive laws with callous disregard for human rights. Quite often, they are tools used to further the personal ambitions of imperial governors and bureaucrats."
All this implies that the Emperor might not be evil, certainly not black-robed/monster-face evil. From an RPG perspective, this opens up the game universe to a much wider variety of stories. As it stands in the canon universe, the Emperor is the focus of the evil and the only way for the Rebellion to win is to kill the Emperor and any who might assume the throne once he's dead (meaning: Vader). This puts the entire plan of the Rebellion onto the shoulders of Luke Skywalker (and makes you wonder if the Rebellion as shown in Rogue One even had a plan).
By making the emperor non-evil but manipulated (or simply sheltered from reality), it allows a much wider range of victory conditions and goals for the Rebellion. Winning might simply be a case of showing the Emperor the true state of affairs. In this situation, support in the Senate becomes a much more valuable commodity (whereas in the movies, it was just a formality). The Empire itself becomes a collection of personalities and factions all competing for favor and influence while, at the same time, trying to do so without making enemies that might turn the Emperor against them.
This would allow for a Star War RPG campaign that doesn't rely completely on the "destroy the facility" and "stop the super weapon" type scenarios. Players can act as kingmakers (both on a galactic and Grand Moff level) or simply play palace intrigue to keep the individual warlords fighting amongst themselves.
In the prologue, there's a line about the Emperor and how "he was controlled by the very assistants and boot-lickers he has appointed to high office, and the cries of the people for justice did not reach his ears."
Similarly, the early Ballantine version has some photo inserts that reflect this viewpoint further:
On Vader it says, "He employs his extrasensory powers to keep the Emperor enthroned"
On Tarkin, "His insatiable political ambitions to become Emperor have driven him to use ruthless means to quell the rabidly growing rebellion."
On Stormtroopers, "Stormtroopers are the drones of the Galactic Empire who carry out a reign of terror among the disheartened worlds of the galaxy. Hidden underneath white armored spacesuits, these fearsome troops enforce the restrictive laws with callous disregard for human rights. Quite often, they are tools used to further the personal ambitions of imperial governors and bureaucrats."
All this implies that the Emperor might not be evil, certainly not black-robed/monster-face evil. From an RPG perspective, this opens up the game universe to a much wider variety of stories. As it stands in the canon universe, the Emperor is the focus of the evil and the only way for the Rebellion to win is to kill the Emperor and any who might assume the throne once he's dead (meaning: Vader). This puts the entire plan of the Rebellion onto the shoulders of Luke Skywalker (and makes you wonder if the Rebellion as shown in Rogue One even had a plan).
By making the emperor non-evil but manipulated (or simply sheltered from reality), it allows a much wider range of victory conditions and goals for the Rebellion. Winning might simply be a case of showing the Emperor the true state of affairs. In this situation, support in the Senate becomes a much more valuable commodity (whereas in the movies, it was just a formality). The Empire itself becomes a collection of personalities and factions all competing for favor and influence while, at the same time, trying to do so without making enemies that might turn the Emperor against them.
This would allow for a Star War RPG campaign that doesn't rely completely on the "destroy the facility" and "stop the super weapon" type scenarios. Players can act as kingmakers (both on a galactic and Grand Moff level) or simply play palace intrigue to keep the individual warlords fighting amongst themselves.
