Star Wars: Episode VII RPG

Computers and Scanners
The great technological requirement needed to span the galaxy means complex sensing and control systems.

It is a common misconception that the general crewing of certain systems is due to a lack of computer control and sensors to give them input. The reality is the opposite: computers, sensors, and electronic countermeasures wage a brutal digital war in the background, without any organic intervention.

The Alliance to Restore the Republic, the Galactic Empire, and the Galactic Civil War
After much editorial debate, it was decided to discuss the Galactic Empire first despite "Alliance to Restore the Republic" appearing first in any sensible aurebeshical ordering and despite concerns about appearances of political impropriety. The inescapable reasoning is that one cannot discuss the history of the Alliance's fight against tyranny and oppression in order to restore the Republic without going into why that fight is essential. And that means an exploration of the history of the Galactic Empire.

For a thousand generations, the Galactic Republic was civilization, and for a thousand years since the Ruusan Reformations, presided over a golden age of peace and prosperity. But cracks began to appear, showing the rot under the gilding. Megacorporations and guilds held sway over sectors, and became de facto political entities until they were recognized as functional constituencies and granted Senate seats. This increased the exploitation of worlds in their thrall, often under the guns of large mechanical armies. Pushback against these heavy-handed policies flared up into the Stark Hyperspace War, a grandiose title for a horrendously-handled anti-piracy expedition headed by Sesswenna Sector's senator, Ranulph Tarkin, cousin to the infamous Grand Moff and worldkiller. Senator Tarkin did not survive his efforts to establish a new Republic military, under his direct command, but was lauded with a sobriquet coined by his influential family: the "Hero of Troiken."

Stark's defeat did not bring peace. The Militarists, with their martyr, pushed several major military expansions through, such as the infamous Katana Fleet. However, their real boon came in the wake of the Trade Federation's failed conquest of Naboo. With the newly elected Palpatine installed as Chancellor on a wave of sympathy votes and general ire against the political power and influence of the megacorporations, sharp crackdowns on the power of the cartels came from the Senate as pent-up rage exploded on abused "client worlds." A thousand small scale Starks struck against the Trade Federation, the Intergalactic Banking Clan, Techno Union, the Commerce Guild, and others. Disillusioned with the Republic and with their schemes to deal with insurgents often thwarted by the Jedi and other Republic agents, the megacorps found a leaderin an unlikely place: a former Jedi - Dooku, Count of Serenno.

Reconstructed records suggest that Dooku had been an active part of the Jedi Order that protected the Republic until the bloody Battle of Galidraan. Afterward, he became withdrawn, and then outspokenly critical, condemning the Senate several times in the wake of the Battle of Naboo. Abruptly, he departed the Order without giving reasons in his public announcement. Jedi records of any private consultations on the matter are believed to be long lost. Dooku ostensibly retired to his hereditary estate on Serenno. He would publicly surface two years before the beginning of the Clone Wars, when Dooku gave a scathing, galaxy-wide speech about the deep corruption consuming the Republic and rotting its core. He demanded secession from the Republic, and entire sectors heeded his call. In response, the militarists demanded the creation of a formal military force, ultimately answering to Coruscant, to deal with the crisis. In mid 7GrS, the Military Creation Act was to be formally put to a vote, but the attempted assassination of the opposition leader resulted in tabling the motion. The Senator (Padme Amidala of Naboo) was placed under Jedi protection, but was discovered to be on the planet Geonosis in the Outer Rim... where Dooku was formally gathering his corporate allies to give his secession movement military strength in the form of their united droid armies. Amidala and her Jedi escort were charged with espionage and sentenced to death.

The Republic sent in the newly-acquired clone army, and the opening salvos of the Clone Wars began. A detailed dissertation of the Clone Wars can be found in other Fey'kel's Essential Guides. But the army was sent in by executive order, signed by Palpatine, after the Senate granted him emergency war powers. This trend would continue over the eight-year course of the war, as more and more executive and military control was ceded to the Chancellery.

In the closing month of the war, Palpatine was abducted in a week-long siege of Coruscant itself. Dooku was killed in this battle, and Palpatine was voted still more emergency powers after his rescue by Republic forces. Among these powers was direct oversight of the Jedi Order. Two days later, records presented in the final session of the Galactic Senate of the Republic suggested several Jedi attempted to detain and then assassinate the Chancellor. Palpatine himself bore severe wounds from these events. In the immediate aftermath, and before appearing to the Senate in the special session, the Chancellor activated an emergency contingency order, directing Republic troops to attack their Jedi officers. Palpatine declared the Jedi traitors, with orders for all military personnel to kill them on sight. And so the Order that had protected the Republic for a thousand generations, safeguarded the golden age of the last forty, and led thew Republic's forces for eight years of brutal pangalactic warfare was obliterated and declared enemies of the new state. And there was more.

In order to ensure our security and continuing stability, the Republic will be reorganized into the first Galactic Empire for a safe and secure society.

The democracy of the Republic was officially ended hours after the Jedi Order. But, in hindsight, it can be seen that this had occurred years before, with the Declaration of a New Order being merely a formality. The Galactic Republic had fallen, and the Galactic Empire rose from the rot.

The Empire began with popular acclaim. This is a fact some choose to ignore, but it is crucial to remember that the Senate overwhelmingly supported Palpatine's sweeping legislative agenda. It is known now that some collaborated out of fear, or to cover their attempts to reestablish democracy, but many, many others were genuine in their support... for a time. Those very few who openly defied the Empire in the early days faced vicious media campaigns, and within a year, many had disappeared. And it is in the Empire's second year that a great evil emerged onto the galactic scene: the Emperor's enforcer, Darth Vader.

Vader led the Empire's military as the Jedi generals had once led the Grand Army of the Republic, and the Outer Rim holdouts of the Confederacy were quickly vanquished to great acclaim.

Comparative Blaster Weapons
E-5 Blaster Rifle
Manufacturer: BlasTech Industries
Length: 40 centimeters
Mass: 2.2 kilograms empty
Effective Range: 200 meters (organic marksman on a range, 100 meters when used by B-1 battle droids in combat conditions)
Maximum Range: 750 meters (organic marksman on a range, 500 meters when used by B-1 battle droids in combat conditions)
Capacity: 100 standard charges in power cell, 500 standard charges in gas cylinder
Damage: 15
Firing Mode: Semiautomatic
Features: Cheap, mass-produced weapon suited for droids. Heat dissipation not adequate for combat use by organics.

E-11 Blaster Rifle
Manufacturer: BlasTech Industries
Length: 48.1 centimeters with stock folded, 68.6 centimeters with stock deployed
Mass: 2.7 kilograms empty
Effective Range: 400 meters
Maximum Range: 1200 meters
Capacity: 100 standard charges in power cell, 500 standard charges in gas cylinder
Damage: 18
Firing Mode: Semiautomatic
Features: 2x optical scope, extendable stock

A295 Blaster Rifle
Manufacturer: BlasTech Industries
Length: 94 centimeters
Mass: 4.98 kilograms empty
Effective Range: 450 meters
Maximum Range: 1400 meters
Capacity: 100 standard charges in power cell, 500 standard charges in gas cylinder
Damage: 20
Firing Mode: Semiautomatic
Features: 3x optical scope

T-21 Light Repeating Blaster
Manufacturer: BlasTech Industries
Length: 128 centimeters
Mass: 12.7 kilograms empty
Effective Range: 500 meters
Maximum Range: 1800 meters
Capacity: 75 standard charges in power cell, 500 standard charges in gas cylinder
Damage: 20
Firing Mode: Automatic
Rate of Fire: 200 rounds per minute
Features: When coupled to a backpack generator, can be fired continuously without any concerns for ammunition. However, barrel is prone to overheat.

Mark II Medium Repeating Blaster
Manufacturer: Merr-Sonn Munitions, Inc.
Length: 112 centimeters
Mass: 23 kilograms
Effective Range: 850 meters
Maximum Range: 2000 meters
Capacity: 100 standard charges in power cell, 1000 charges in gas cell
Damage: 38
Firing Mode: Automatic
Rate of Fire: 192 rounds per minute
Features: Capable of accepting power from numerous sources. Comes with built-in recoil-absorbing tripod mount.

E-Web (Emplacement Weapon, Heavy Blaster)
Manufacturer: BlasTech Industries
Length: 165 centimeters
Mass: 38 kilograms
Effective Range: 1200 meters
Maximum Range: 2500 meters
Capacity: Connected to power generator
Damage: 80
Firing Mode: Automatic
Rate of Fire: 288 rounds per minute
Features: Comes with 20 kg recoil-absorbing tripod mount. Long-ranged, hard-hitting, and high rate of fire. Can be fitted with aftermarket electrobinocular scope.

Hello, and welcome to the Star Wars Episode VII RPG!

Where's Rey? Ah. Let me clarify. First off, this project started waaaaaaaay before the Disney buyout. And while at the time of this writing, we're between Solo and Episode IX in the film releases, well, we don't do that here. Nothing again Rey, Kylo Ren (again, as of the time of this writing), or some of the neater ideas of the post-Legends canon. But we are an alternate-timeline Star Wars role playing game set seven years after a Battle of Endor where the Alliance was victorious, but the issue of The Prophecy of the Chosen One was left unresolved by the survival of both Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine. With the Imperial leaders alive, a solid Imperial core remained intact, though the defeat at Endor still fractured the regime. A multilateral war between the ex-Imperial satrapies, the loyalist Imperials, and the ever-strengthening Alliance of Free Planets raged for five years before the warlords were finally crushed between the expanding Alliance and a vengeful Empire. A year later, the Alliance made its bid to take the Imperial capital, only to be stopped short in a bloody battle that robbed the forces of freedom and democracy of their momentum. Noafter a year of painful but quick rebuilding and clashes no greater than border skirmishes and covert operations on, Palpatine's Galactic Empire and Leia Organa's Alliance of Free Worlds have fully entrenched themselves. The Galaxy holds its breath to see who will strike first, and who will carry the day.

But in the shadows, forces are in motion to undo all that has been fought for, both by the forces of tyranny and the armies of freedom...

Play as characters from the films or your own unique creations. Fight for freedom and justice with the Alliance, or the Empire's iron-fisted order... or, carve out your own domain, poised to sweep through the Galaxy when the titans have slain each other. Full economic and battle systems in place ensure fairness while trying to preserve a "Star Wars" feel to the universe. You have embarked with us on our character-driven, grand strategy Star Wars adventure! We look forward to your contribution to our grand tale!

Lawd Vadah... approved.

Welcome to SWVII.

Grade my papers for me and we can post more. <_<

Please?

Yay, first spam attack thwarted! We're a real website now!

I know, and I'm sorry. I'm juggling grading papers, research, getting an introduction together for my Master's thesis, building the map, building the economy... and kinda banging my head on all of them.

On the upside, I've got most of the blanks done and the PSDs set up for coloring. Crazed very graciously offered to code a system to allow the use of the map in a better fashion than my original plan. But yeah. Sorry. I might have jumped the gun a bit, but I'm very serious about getting this game going and going right. I want you guys to have a good game. I think of the problems we had in the old VII and VIII, and I'm trying to avoid them.

I blame the Hutts. I want to get you guys a map.

They have a stupid-shaped domain that requires a lot of effort. Also, I kinda had some typos in my CSV which threw planets thousands of lightyears out of position. Rather annoying. Had to find the error, remeasure, save, reimport the full map, reexport the map sectors, clean them up for blanks, then make PSDs.

I'm starting to think misplaced planets are going to be the result of hyperspace wormholes from now on.

But we're not dead. I hope to have an Ams post up this week. That's what everyone wants, right? <_<

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3VHB1Jmh6Y

...So that's what it sounds like when you read Wookieepedia out loud. That makes me sad.

So, yeah...decided to jump in here and say 'hi.'

HAI

Try now.

Read through it, finally (been up to my neck in the map). First post looks good.

Second Post: "Ewok's Revenge", eh? Cute. Also, you've forced my hand and made me assign Mokk IX as an Imperial world. So, I thank you for your assistance on mapping.

However, your Force Rockets... hmm. While "size matters not," and I assume he has fiddled with this talent for quite some time... uh, size matters for game concerns. Given his untrained status, I'd imagine the consistency of blows is widely variable... and I'll grant he got very, very lucky on that shot.

Third Post: Looks fine. I'll have to give the governor some... motivation. <_<

I'll double-check if it makes you happy.

I'm also working on the map. I slapped Astrosynthesis around a bit, jiggled some numbers... I think I might have the map mostly right. I know it shifted Belkadan too far south but I don't care. <_<

I feel inclined to ask about what this "AstroSynthesis" program is and how the mapping software works vs using a image editing software like Photoshop.

As far as I'm concerned, fifty-some-odd dollars I want back. <_<

You want more. Fine. It's a 3D mapping program, that lets you chart "sectors" of user-defined size. You add stars, nebulae, black holes, rogue planets... add planets around the stars, add life to them, define orbital parameters. I've tried making full galaxy maps before. Usually, I apply some kind of scaling factor because another feature, which allows for exporting 2D axial slices of your maps for, say, use as maps in roleplaying games (what a novel concept!) has serious resolution issues. My map images are currently 100x100 in-program lightyears, and must be exported at 2500 x 2500 pixels or the text is unreadable.

Nevertheless, I was committed to make you guys a canon (well, at the time I started!) map of the Galaxy. It was broken into the alphanumeric grids (the 100x100 units I mentioned) but it's a full galaxy map. Zoomed out, it's quite pretty. Little snowflakes in the shape of the SW galaxy against an infinite void.

Oh, it also BUTCHERED hyperroutes. And it also screwed up the coordinate system. It's placing planets in the wrong place despite my triple-checking the coordinates and manually calculating their displacement to be sure. If it's possible to import a giant mass of things into Photoshop, I would happy if someone would reveal the secret.

Will there be faction forums and assets etc so I can start losing battles?

Yes. I'm currently keeping faction forums off, though, until there's stuff to put in. But at the moment, you are provisional faction leader.

To everyone that has signed up so far, I thank you. And I really want to thank Space Jawa for getting the ball rolling!

Now, I did kinda rush this opening. And that's my fault. We're short a few things, but I really wanted to get the word out to you guys while there was interest. I didn't want to open an unfinished game, but... well, most of the basics are in place (and have been for some time), I just wanted some finishing touches. What you can expect in the near future:
-A map based on the Star Wars Atlas data, showing political regions of influence. Sadly, it will not display trade routes as the mapping software I'm using has severe problems with them. If anyone knows an alternative to AstroSynthesis, I will cheerfully listen.
-Full information on ships, fighters, and vehicles with pertinent battle system data.
-Hopefully, lots of epic Star Wars storytelling from you guys!

Yes. It's the second part of the approval process.
<_<

>_>

And certainly not something I forgot about.



Yeah; I wanted to make it more voluntary.

*whimper*

Yes. It's another giant thing.

I'm calling Endor done, my little ponies. So welcome aboard and enjoy!

I need to go to bed. I'm sure that final bit is full of typos and horrible grammar.

In the interests of time, I'm going to summarize. I'll keep writing in the background, and eventually have a full narrative written, but this is taking too long and it's unfair to you guys.

The Death Star was penetrated by the Rebel fighters, and Luke Skywalker had escaped the Emperor's clutches. The two Sith Lords, now forced together by an Empire neither could control without the other, fled the station shortly before its destruction by Wedge Antilles and Lando Calrissian.

The Death Star took with it Grand Admiral Nial Declann, Moff Tiaan Jerjerrod, several Star Destroyers, and numerous TIE Fighters attached to the sector fleet engaging the Rebels. Several Alliance ships too close to the blast were lost as well. Palpatine and Vader boarded the Executor, which sustained moderate damage allowing them aboard. Enraged at the loss of his new apprentice, his weapon, and terrified by the loss of his foresight, Palpatine ordered the area around the shield bunker bombarded to destroy any enemy troops and punish any surviving Imperials for their failure.

The Alliance made a brave effort to disrupt the Emperor's blind vengeance, but their losses were high. In the end, the ground team was pulled out--under protest--and the Rebel fleet made a fighting withdrawal from the Endor system. Using the Force, Palpatine first pinpointed major concentrations of Force power on the moon. Mount Sorrow, the Lightning Forest, Bright Tree Village, and other population centers and nexuses of Force energies were ground under the Imperial fleet's turbolasers.

But even as the native species were decimated and the survivors enslaved, word of the Emperor's blunder spread. The Alliance eagerly broadcasts the destruction of the Death Star. Some believe such a feat could not happen with the Emperor's survival; and rumors spread rapidly. These rumors reach Imperial blockade fleets en route to Chandrila and Mon Calamari, launched with intent to isolate and secure these hotbeds of rebellion until the Death Star can finish them for good; instead, the Death Star will never come and debates break out as to whether the Emperor is alive, and if his orders are valid. With the Executor damaged, it takes time for Palpatine to return to Coruscant and issue an address... time in which thousands of commanders entertain treasonous thoughts. When the Emperor's address echoes across the Holonet, those that have already declared themselves either the new Imperial authority or simply have gone rogue know they are dead men if they are ever taken by loyal Imperial forces. They have nothing to lose, and a galaxy to gain.

The Rebel Alliance, though badly mauled, lives on and rapidly gains support, becoming the Alliance of Free Planets. Entire worlds cast off their Imperial shackles, while others that were quietly supportive now openly embrace the freedom fighters. Major battles break out between the Empire's dwindling forces, the spreading warlords, and the Alliance. The Battle of Zeltros pitted the Alliance against the warlords, while the Battle of Mindor saw Alliance forces under General Luke Skywalker battling Imperial loyalists under the infamous Cronal. The entire system was annihilated by the close of the battle, and Skywalker resigned his commission after presiding over such a colossal loss of life on both sides (Alliance casualties were heavy; Imperial losses were total, including Cronal). A few months later, the mercenary Kyle Katarn stopped a plot by Inquisitor Jerec to seize the legendary Valley of the Jedi. Whether Jerec was acting on behalf of Palpatine, or sought to usurp him, is a hotly debated matter.

The battles between warlords were sharp and bloody; more warlord satraps were destroyed by their direct rivals than by action from either the Alliance or the Empire. Eventually, with the urging of Grand Moff Ardus Kaine and Grand Admiral Rufaan Tigellinus, disparate groups began to ally into a larger entity... one that could challenge the Empire, and the Rebel Alliance. There were hardliners and holdouts from even this peculiar revolution; one warlord opted to instead attempt to seize Muunilinst. The resulting carnage threw the entire galactic economy into disarray, the effects of which are still felt five years later.

The united warlord forces made their move two years ago, in an all-out assault on Coruscant. The Empire was saved by a carefully-planned surprise flanking maneuver, the actions of courageous officers--many of whom were recognized posthumously--and internal divisions already forming within the warlord forces. Nevertheless, the battle still cost the Empire dearly. It is estimated that the Imperial military is at approximately ten percent of its peak strength in conventional forces, at best. The Alliance, once a tiny fraction of the Empire's strength, has grown until it sits on even terms.

Luke Skywalker has left the Alliance military to contemplate the ways of the Jedi. The Emperor seeks his destruction... or conversion.

Darth Vader, however, feels the boy is too dangerous. He sensed the flame of Anakin Skywalker brighten within before he hurled his blade at the boy. Perhaps, even, that was why he did so. But the Dark Lord believes he has a far more viable candidate, one who would certainly cast down his master and bring the galaxy under his rule...

And the rest of the galaxy waits, and watches, and does what it must. The soldiers ready for battle, the captains keep watch on their ships. The admirals and generals draw their plans as the politicians see each fresh crisis as an opportunity to advance their goals.

And the Force still churns and howls, neither clear with light nor shadowed in darkness... but murky and impenetrable.

Done and approved.

That joke is still funnier than all of the alleged "humor" in the PT.

I can change it for you. I should probably mention something about that in a FAQ thread sometime. :p

Change it to the character name?

Application approved.

I'm not sure it's ever safe... the Ewok does do the server side of things. <_<