The Star Wars universe is home to a dizzying array of sapient Species. Despite the fact that Humans have been traveling the stars for tens of thousands of years, and many aliens have been doing the same for an equal amount of time, scouts discover new inhabited worlds all the time.
This section presents various creatures and characters that GMs can use as potential allies or adversaries for the heroes, from rampaging Rancors to Clone Troopers. Each ally or opponent comes with ready-to-play statistics to make the GM's job a little easier.
Unit Categories[]
Individual Allies and Opponents (commonly referred to as "Units") can be divided into several categories depending on their role. These roles and categories are described below:
| CATEGORY | DESCRIPTION | |
|---|---|---|
| Heroic Units | These units are usually notable figures throughout the Star Wars galaxy, whether being a main or supporting character in the Star Wars media, such as Luke Skywalker. | |
| Nonheroic Units | Nonheroic characters include everything from professional workers to petty criminals, police officers to common thugs. They lack the inclination or training to be heroes, but are capable in their own fields. | |
| Mass Combat Battalions | A Mass Combat Unit represents a group of combatants taking part in Mass Combat. For the most part, a Unit is based on a single Nonheroic Unit representing the majority of the combatants in that Mass Combat Unit. |
Custom Units[]
Main Article: NPC Creation
Non-Player Characters (NPC's) are characters controlled by the Gamemaster. Gamemasters may find that there are no suitable pregenerated units to use and wish to create their own. This article will outline the general rules for creating custom NPC's.
Affiliations by Conflict[]
Most sentient beings reside in various factions or organizations. Though not all necessarily fight for that cause, most belong to a major group that they identify themselves as a part of. Each Era of Play is dominated by a number of different major factions.
All Eras of Play[]
In every major time period in Star Wars, several factions are always prevalent. The Mandalorians often work as mercenaries and major threats; The Hutt Kajidics frequently have their hand in underworld dealings; and The Fringe is the ever-pervasive underworld of the galaxy.
Beasts remain a major part of Star Wars, encompassing dangerous predators and trained animals. Various Force Traditions have their own place in the outer reaches of the galaxy, anything between benevolent caretakers and violent mercenaries. General Units are a broad spectrum that could be a part of any faction, and are generic enough to be found anywhere.
The Pre-Republic Era[]
The Pre-Republic Era is a time of danger and extreme factionalism. The Infinite Empire of the Rakata is the most established of these groups, constantly expanding and enslaving all they can find. Using Hyperdrives powered by The Force, The Infinite Empire was unstoppable.
The Esh-kha Collective is an expansionist group that conquers countless systems before coming into contact with The Infinite Empire. The resulting conflict is the largest scale conflict of this era, covering all the known galaxy at the time, and left the few surviving Esh-kha imprisoned on Belsavis.
Trained Force-users could be found in The Je'daii Rangers, an isolated group that maintained order in the Tython System. This era of peace was first interrupted by The Despot Army; and a second time by an incursion of The Infinite Empire, which opened the region to the wider galaxy.
Founded by the notorious pirate Xim, The Xim Empire holds territory in much of The Outer Rim, and is governed by what would become The GenoHaradan. The Empire frequently came into conflict with The Hutt Kajidics, who were expanding into what would become Hutt Space for most of galactic history.
The Old Republic Era[]
The peace created by the founding of The Old Republic comes to an end with the return of The Sith, lead by Exar Kun and Ulic Qel-Droma in The Great Sith War. These Sith command the forces of The Krath, a Dark Side cult, and ensure the loyalty of The Mandalorians through Mandalore the Indomitable. The Jedi and The Old Republic unite together to vanquish this alliance of threats through great periods of peril.
Following the rise of Mandalore the Ultimate, The Mandalorians begin a series of incursions that are collectively known as The Mandalorian Wars. The Old Republic works to respond to this invasion, but The Jedi are hesitant to go to war. Instead, independent Knights of the Republic lead by Revan join the Republic in pushing back the incursion. Republic forces then follow Revan into The Unknown Regions, vanishing for years.
When Revan's forces finally return to The Old Republic, they do so as The Sith Empire, plunging the galaxy into war once again. The Sith, headed by the fallen Darth Malak and Darth Revan, battle The Jedi for years on end. Revan is eventually captured and has their memories erased, going on a personal quest to discover The Star Forge sustaining The Sith Empire.
After hundreds of years of peace and reconstruction, The Old Republic is once again devastated by war. Hidden in The Unknown Regions, The Sith Empire begins a campaign of conquest, quickly subsuming significant swaths of the galaxy. Lead by Emperor Vitiate, The Sith once again fight against The Jedi in a war of ideals.
After a brief stalemate between the Republic and the Sith, the galaxy is upended again by The Eternal Empire. A sudden blitz made across the galaxy, the Empire is able to establish itself as the ruling force of the galaxy. To combat this sudden threat, former enemies unite under The Eternal Alliance to overthrow The Eternal Empire.
Thousands of years later, the Republic has collapsed. The Sith have carved out their own personal domains, and The Jedi now act as Lord over their own territory. The Republic Dark Age is the lowest point of galactic history, where hope rests on the few Jedi Lords that still hold the will to combat the encroaching Sith menace.
The Rise of the Empire Era[]
With The Sith seemingly vanquished, The Galactic Republic is reestablished as the primary galactic power. Military power is reduced, with The Jedi acting as peacekeepers, and peace seems to have finally settled in the galaxy. However, The Sith survived, forming the Order of Bane. Now, Darth Bane and his successors work to undermine the Republic and Jedi through guile and deception.
After centuries of peace, the Republic seeks to expand its influence into the greater galaxy. The Jedi lead the way, helping to bring peace and prosperity into The Outer Rim. However, this expansion is fiercely resisted by The Nihil, an anarchist group of raiders that challenge The Jedi by striking against their very principles of justice and serenity.
When corruption overcomes the Republic, a new movement of Outer Rim worlds band together in The Confederacy of Independent Systems. Tensions escalate into the Clone Wars, and The Galactic Republic requisition a Clone Army to be led by The Jedi in this new conflict. Unbeknownst to most, The Sith secretly pulls the strings, seeking to undermine both sides so as to seize control of the galaxy.
The Dark Times/The Rebellion Era[]
With the rise of The Galactic Empire, any dissidents are swiftly put down. Emperor Palpatine uses the power he gained during the Clone Wars to expand his power, and former Republic officials are quick to fall in line. Small groups of former Separatists and disparate members of the former Republic begin to unite themselves as The Rebel Alliance, but their influence is insignificant and harshly cracked down on by the Empire.
With the destruction of the Death Star, The Rebel Alliance is finally able to rally enough confidence and support to challenge The Galactic Empire. Utilizing hit-and-run and small group tactics, the Alliance strikes against strategic targets while keeping the Empire on the backfoot. Simultaneously, Luke Skywalker works to continue his Jedi training, becoming a key icon of the movement.
After the Battle of Endor, The Rebel Alliance has victory in its sights. With the deaths of Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader, The Galactic Empire lacks a major leader to rally behind and eventually falls to infighting. This in turn leads to the rise of Imperial Warlords, while the Alliance begins its transition into The New Republic.
The New Jedi Order Era[]
Returning from an expedition of The Unknown Regions, Grand Admiral Thrawn is the first major threat to face The New Republic. Thrawn is a master of tactics and strategy, and with command of The Galactic Empire, he constantly puts The New Republic on the backfoot. Simultaneously, Thrawn impedes Luke Skywalker with the Force-nullifying Ysalamiri and the insane Dark Jedi Joruus C'baoth.
The New Republic is challenged once again when Emperor Palpatine uses ancient Sith sorcery to revive himself and once again lead The Galactic Empire. The galaxy is truly in peril; between the planetary threat of World Devastates, Palpatine's seeming conquer of death itself, and the galactic hero Luke Skywalker falling to The Dark Side.
Led by the Dark Jedi Hethrir, the Reborn Empire arises to command remnants of The Galactic Empire. Hethrir initially exerts his effort on corrupting younger members of The Jedi, forming his of Shadow Academy of Dark Jedi. The New Republic and members of The Jedi work together to thwart this Reborn Empire and its new collection of Dark Jedi.
Comprising of the xenophobic Yevetha, The Duskhan League attempts to purge its sector of all other Species. Simultaneously, political upheaval in the New Republic Senate hampers the response of The New Republic. While The Jedi coordinate with New Republic forces to stop this genocide, the League's Black Fleet is a daunting foe that tries the intervention at every turn.
The galaxy is almost annihilated when The Yuuzhan Vong Empire begins a systematic conquest and purge of all other life. The Yuuzhan Vong subvert The New Republic, eventually leading to its collapse; they turn much of the galaxy against The Jedi, stoking suspicion and hatred through The Peace Brigade; and turn their full military might against the scattered remnants of The Galactic Empire. The tide in this invasion only turns when the opposing forces are able to unite into The Galactic Alliance, who painstakingly work to restore order to the galaxy.
While the galaxy struggles to rebuild itself after the devastation wrought by the Yuuzhan Vong Invasion, another threat arises from The Unknown Regions. The Killik Colony uses subverted Jedi to begin an aggressive expansion against The Chiss Ascendancy, dragging the region into the Swarm War. The Jedi work to rescue their captured allies, and The Galactic Alliance aids the Ascendancy in fighting the Killiks.
The Legacy Era[]
The Galactic Alliance enters a new crisis when The Corellian Confederation is formed. A series of terrorist attacks leads Jacen Solo, now Darth Caedus, to seize power and turns the Alliance into his own galactic power. Now ruled by The Sith, the Alliance faces fierce opposition from The Jedi and what little remains of The Galactic Empire (consolidating into The Fel Empire), and a three-way conflict emerges.
War between The Galactic Alliance and The Fel Empire is ignited after apparent Yuuzhan Vong sabotage of the Ossus Project, with both sides trading victories and defeats. Unbeknownst to the Emperor, his Moff Council worked behind the scenes to reach an agreement with The Sith, who emerge to oppose The Galactic Alliance and The Jedi Order. With the aid of these dark Force-users, the revitalized Empire sweeps across the galaxy.
The Fel Empire, betrayed by The Sith and supplanted by The Galactic Empire, begins concerted efforts to undermine Krayt's authority. By disrupting the plans of The Sith, this Imperial insurgency sparks an all-out civil war. Meanwhile, the remnants of The Galactic Alliance continue to engage in hit-and-run attacks against Imperial forces; while The Jedi, scattered across the galaxy, begin to rebuild their fallen Order.
The Galactic Triumvirate, formed from the remnants of the Alliance, Empire, and Jedi, is shaken by its first crisis when Darth Wredd ignites an insurgency against The Sith. Darth Wredd cuts a swath through the Triumvirate and Sith in an attempt to return to the Rule of Two, sowing suspicion and chaos in his wake.
Other Affiliations by Conflict[]
The following Eras of Play contain significant times of conflict, not a part of the above continuity established in Star Wars Legends.
The Resistance Era[]
With the end of the Empire, The New Republic begins a new era of prosperity. For the first time since the beginning of the Clone Wars, military power was reduced; New Republic Rangers instead keeping the peace at a local level. However, conflict bubbles beneath the surface, as The First Order appears and makes its presence know while Leia Organa creates The Resistance in response to their growing power.
With the reveal of The First Order's Starkiller Base, The New Republic is annihilated in a singlar display of power and the destruction of Hosnian Prime. The Resistance mounts a successful attack to destroy the superweapon, but The First Order's retaliatory attack on D'Qar reduced its forces to a handful of brave freedom fighters.
Almost unopposed, The First Order is led by Kylo Ren in conquering what little remained of The New Republic. What little of The Resistance remains works to gather supplies and agents, but for most of the galaxy it is a return to Imperial rule. Stormtroopers patrol the streets, and the Supreme Leader achieves unilateral control of civilized space.
This status quo is disrupted when a mysterious message is sent throughout the galaxy announcing the return of Emperor Palpatine. The First Order and The Resistance each race to track the claim down, hoping to either claim the Sith Lord's resources or prevent the rise of another Imperial power. The subsequent Battle of Exegol ends the Sith Lord's sudden return, and kills Kylo Ren alongside much of The First Order's leadership.
The Ronin Era[]
The Jedi Clans are the loyal servants of The Feudal Empire. Supporting the ruling lords, these Jedi are sworn to serve the people of the Empire; however, as those lords gain more local power and influence, individual Jedi Clans choose to make themselves personal retainers at the expense of the greater Empire.
Sickened by what is seen as the natural order of The Jedi Clans, a sect of Jedi rebel, banding together into The Sith Rebels. This begins the Sith Rebellion, a movement seeking to supplant The Feudal Empire and their nepotist rule. The Sith Rebels bring together many dissidents to achieve their own freedom; at their height, the Sith Rebellion succeed in capturing the capital world Rei'izu, beginning a great muster to finally complete their freedom.
With the end of the Sith Rebellion, the once rival lords unify to create an Empire... but even an Empire at peace is not free from violence. The practices of The Jedi Clans become the only permitted school of thought regarding The Force; all other Force Traditions are slowly hunted down, with particular effort placed against survivors of The Sith Rebels. Meanwhile, as the Emperor's health slowly begins to fade, the feudal princes begin to vie for control of the Empire.