Reference Book: Star Wars Saga Edition Force Unleashed Campaign Guide
The heroes in a Dark Times Campaign rise to the occasion to fight the growing threat of Imperial oppression. When Supreme Chancellor Palpatine declares his New Order, few realize its sinister, oppressive intention. Many people accept it as a reasonable solution to the turmoil caused by the Separatist uprising. The average, law-abiding citizen who views galactic government as a distant concern sees Palpatine's speech as yet another seemingly meaningless policy announcement, heralding at most a gradual change in daily life. Some who have misgivings about the declaration of the New Order keep quiet, either because they fear Imperial reprisals or because they feel powerless to oppose such a galaxy-spanning tyranny. Those aware of the brutality of Order 66, people who recognize Palpatine's true Intentions, and the growing number of galactic citizens who witness or experience the Empire's increasing oppression and brutality realize that they must risk their lives and sacrifice their way of life to fight Imperial domination.
These heroes can make a difference in the galaxy. This is a time when general sentiment gradually shifts from perceiving the Empire as the rightful government of the galaxy to seeing it as an oppressive tyranny that pushes the galaxy to the brink of civil war. A Dark Times Campaign focuses on the heroes who become aware of this threat early in the struggle and quickly move to oppose Imperial treachery. These daring few stand out from those who feel too complacent or too intimidated to devote their lives to take action against an increasingly cruel Empire. Through the heroes' actions, galactic sentiment begins to shift against the Empire, eventually creating the climate in which The Rebel Alliance will be founded in the years to come.
The heroes become protagonists not only of their own campaign story, but of the grander history of resistance against tyranny. Ultimately, the heroes' seditious actions will give rise to the birth of the Rebellion. They make conscious choices to take action: the heroes do not sit back and allow the Empire to squeeze freedom from the galaxy: instead, they oppose tyranny in every way possible.
This decision pits them directly against a government and a society structured to root out dissension and crush any threat to authority. They must fight not only the visible soldiers of the Empire- Clone Troopers, ISB Agents, Stormtroopers, Imperial Inquisitors- but average, well-meaning people who believe they're upholding a legitimate government by reporting suspicious activities or subversive actions, and more sinister elements of the civilian population who value profits made from the Empire's tyranny over the freedom and well-being of innocent people.
This chapter explores the major themes that drive a Dark Times Campaign and offers advice for Gamemasters on using them as a basis for exciting adventures opposing the expanding Empire. It offers players ideas on how their heroes first decided to join the fight against Imperial tyranny. Gamemasters can find resources on creating encounters, adventures, and broad storylines incorporating the growing Imperial oppression and the effect it has on everyday life in the galaxy. A sample adventure with three encounters at the end of the chapter puts these tips to use and provides an example that the Gamemaster can use in creating his or her own scenarios.
A Gathering of Heroes[]
How does a Gamemaster bring together a possibly disparate band of heroes many with different backgrounds- to begin a Dark Times Campaign?
A Gamemaster should take a moment before starting a campaign to talk with players about what common elements the heroes share that might give them a reason to join forces. They might find or create connections with each other's heroes that could explain how and why they are fighting the Empire together. Players might adjust hero backgrounds to take into account references to other heroes, locations from their past, or common enemies and allies that would give them some sense of camaraderie.
A Gamemaster might decide to take a varied collection of heroes and throw them into the action in an introductory scenario. Thrusting them all into a common crisis- forcing them to rely on each other's strengths to overcome a greater challenge- forges them into one cohesive group that shares common adversaries and goals.
The Dark Times present several situations in which heroes might join forces to resist Imperial tyranny based on shared background elements or an opening origins adventure.
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The easiest way to connect heroes before starting a Dark Times Campaign requires some precampaign discussion among the Gamemaster and the players. They should discuss character backgrounds- particularly events directly leading to their decision to aid the resistance- and find elements that might link one hero to another. If each of the heroes creates an association with someone else in the group, however distant, all of them have some reason to collaborate.
Each player should read or describe his or her hero's backstory for the entire group. Once everyone is finished, they can hone in on locations, incidents, allies, and adversaries mentioned that they might share.
For example, Jedi Padawan Nanto Vanix relies on a sympathetic transport captain to flee Felucia and find safety on Sullust. Perhaps another player's hero decides to play a fugitive Scoundrel, assuming the role of the transport pilot to provide not only a motivation for fighting the Empire, but a background link with the Jedi and a reason to join forces during a campaign. Instead of fleeing to Sullust, they might head to Moorja, where Scout Joren Q'aal and Soldier Rass Throven find themselves at the end of their own accounts of how they came to recognize the Empire's treachery and decided to join the resistance.
Don't go overboard weaving intricate connections among all the heroes. Each player needs only a good reason to care about one other hero to forge a bond among the group. Maybe two heroes come from the same oppressed homeworld, know a common acquaintance, witnessed the same historical event, or even shared misadventures before the campaign begins.
Common Campaign Element[]
Depending on the focus of a Dark Times Campaign, the heroes might start operating with some common elements. A Gamemaster who designs a story arc based on a core concept should give players as much common information beforehand so they can incorporate that material into character creation.
Here are a few one-sentence examples of campaign ideas during The Dark Times that might affect what heroes the players create and the common bonds they might use to establish connections among themselves.
- The heroes aid a band of fugitive Wookiee slaves intent on freeing other oppressed aliens and disrupting Imperial activities supporting the occupation of Kashyyyk.
- As members of a noble house, the heroes conduct covert missions to establish and support resistance cells on other Core Worlds.
- Trapped on Mon Calamari at the same time the Empire incinerates three floating cities in retaliation for covert resistance activities, the heroes rise up with the local populace to oppose the Imperial occupation.
- Fringers employed with a criminal organization witness Imperial atrocities and work to convince their overlords to secretly support subjugated worlds and undermine the Empire.
Be careful not to coerce some players to radically alter their heroes' basic concepts just to make connections with others and fit into the story line. If the campaign centers around a band of escaped Wookiee slaves, don't force everyone to play a Wookiee. Some people can play non-Wookiee allies sympathetic to the cause of enslaved aliens: a plucky Sullustan Scout, a grim Rodian Soldier, a well-connected Human Noble. The Gamemaster should help players adjust their heroes to best fit into the group's theme and the overall campaign premise.
Common campaign components not only give the players ideas for shared background elements, but offer inspiration for the kinds of heroes that might best fit into the anticipated action. Here are some more specific factors in a campaign that could offer common ground in heroic origins and shared connections.
Location[]
The heroes find themselves all in the same location when the campaign starts. The setting serves as a springboard for an overall story arc, providing a common ground upon which the heroes meet and forge an initial alliance. Some heroes might call the location home or have other connections to it (business contacts, family and friends, affinity for a particular neighborhood, restaurant, or club), while others could have traveled there to carry out their own agenda. Assuming they're either native to the world or have spent some time there during their travels, they all share some familiarity with the local bureaucracy, favorite shops and restaurants, and basic knowledge of the region and society.
A common location provides familiar ground where the heroes can begin their adventures; combined with other elements, a shared setting offers the perfect chance for heroes to unite under special circumstances. Perhaps they're all visiting the same planet when a fleet arrives to blockade the system and crack down on anyone even remotely suspicious.
The shared location could serve as the setting for the entire campaign. The Gamemaster could set a Dark Times story arc on one particular world where the heroes must establish, maintain, and command an insurgent group bent on undermining the Imperial occupation.
Event[]
The heroes all experience the same event- possibly from different viewpoints- that propels them to take action against the Empire. The incident should have some direct emotional impact on them that forges a bond between them. Perhaps they're at different tables in a cantina when news arrives that the Empire has devastated the planet Callos in retaliation for resistance activity. They might be innocent bystanders in a crowd mistaken for protesters and fired on by Imperial troops. They could witness the enslavement of a planet's alien population "For the good of Imperial security." Perhaps they witness the seemingly arbitrary arrest and imprisonment of a common friend. Maybe the Empire burns down their favorite watering hole as an example to other establishments that harbor malcontents sowing dissent among the populace. They might experience firsthand Imperial persecution- a lengthy and rough customs inspection, unwarranted scrutiny at a security checkpoint, confiscation of valued items- that clearly establishes that the Empire considers them a genuine and dangerous threat to their authority.
Allies[]
The heroes share a connection to a common set of allies who provide equipment, safe havens, transport, and other support. These contacts might belong to a corporation, government, criminal organization, or other association sympathetic to those fighting Imperial oppression but who don't want to openly announce their opposition to the Empire. This entity arranges for the heroes to come together from their varied backgrounds to secretly pursue an agenda of underground resistance that ultimately aids their benefactors.
The welfare of valued allies might also inspire the heroes to cooperate if their supporters fall victim to Imperial oppression. For instance, several heroes operating independently might find themselves working together to rescue an influential entrepreneur who can provide them with necessary resources- passage off the planet, medical supplies, weapons for freedom fighters, or vital intelligence- if only they can spring them from a secure penal facility.
Rally Around a Cause[]
Whether or not they know each other beforehand, the heroes might share an experience that rallies them against the Empire. Provoked by Imperial tyranny, they pool their resources to support a particular cause. Perhaps a Jedi Knight fleeing Inquisitors seeks their aid. They might seek to right a particular Imperial injustice, such as the imprisonment of an influential and sympathetic leader, an arbitrary blockade of space traffic and interstellar trade, or a comprehensive takeover of local industry. They could stumble across incriminating information about the Empire or secrets about its military strength that- in the right hands- could help topple its influence in one part of the galaxy.
Far-reaching events such as the enslavement of the Wookiees or the seizure of shipyards on Duro and Mon Calamari might induce heroes to join forces to directly aid those rising up against Imperial domination. The campaign might focus on their efforts to correct this injustice, or the incident might simply serve to galvanize the heroes, give them an immediate reason to hate the Empire, and inspire them to work together as a resistance group.
It's a Trap[]
While going about their business, the heroes fall into a trap set to arrest people suspected of conspiring against the Empire. They could all be traveling aboard the same transport stopped at a checkpoint when Imperial agents ferret out a spy and arrest all the passengers as potential co-conspirators. Perhaps they follow separate leads to a gathering of dissidents, only to find Imperial troops waiting in ambush to see which disloyal citizens show up. Maybe the Empire ambushes a rendezvous between smugglers and resistance fighters who are swapping illegal supplies and weapons; the heroes happen to be pilots, loaders, passengers, cell organizers, or innocent bystanders caught in the wide net of suspicion cast by ISB agents eager to expose traitors. They might just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, or might have innocent associations with people or places suspected of Involvement with an underground resistance cell.
It doesn't matter whether the heroes have already joined forces or are working independently at the time of the ambush; the immediate crisis compels them to work together to fight a common adversary. If they didn't already hate the Empire, the ruthless perseverance that Imperial units display in stopping their escape and hunting them down obliges them to flee underground and convinces them to oppose the Empire's tyrannical rule.
Adversaries[]
The heroes rally to defeat a particular adversary who has persecuted them in the past or threatens them in the present. An ambitious Imperial Moff or governor could threaten the system or sector in which they operate, endangering their allies, contacts, friends, and loyal supporters. Jedi Knights fleeing Palpatine's purge might focus their efforts on ultimately defeating the Inquisitors sent to hunt them down. Resistance fighters could undermine a powerful, corrupt corporation controlled by Imperial bureaucrats. Fugitives must join forces to defeat the bounty hunters and troops sent to bring them to the perverted justice administered by Imperial courts. Insurgents trying to establish cells of resistance in cities, worlds, or sectors must band together to defeat the ISB agents, civilian informers, and Imperial soldiers intent on flushing them into the open and destroying them.
Campaign Elements[]
A Dark Times Campaign, especially one in which the heroes fight growing Imperial tyranny, should include elements that lend the appropriate atmosphere to the action and define the story's tone. Each element exists as a result of the Empire's intrusion into or domination of another aspect of life in the galaxy.
All these themes relate to the heroes' struggle against Imperial oppression: recruiting allies, scrounging for supplies, evading capture, gathering intelligence on Imperial targets, aiding fugitive Jedi, guarding against betrayal, and ultimately striking blows against the growing power of the Empire. Unlike In a campaign set during The Rebellion Era, they can't fall back on the structure and support of The Rebel Alliance, nor can they expect aid from anything but fledgling and often inexperienced resistance groups.
Each of the elements discussed below could form the basis for an encounter or an entire adventure. Gamemasters can weave their own locations and characters into these situations to create distinct scenarios incorporating the growing paranoia, fear, and brutal oppression of The Dark Times.
Clandestine Existence[]
Most heroes operate openly as outlaws defying the Imperial regime. They live as fugitives, evading Imperial forces, guarding against betrayal among their own ranks, hoarding supplies, and seeking new safe havens from those who would expose their seditious activities. They operate within society by using carefully crafted covers or surfacing only in dense population centers where they can easily blend into the crowd. Working unseen and undiscovered remains one of their top priorities.
These underground freedom fighters, outlaws, smugglers, and fugitives manage to survive and plan operations against the Empire without access to the usual resources available to more law-abiding citizens. They cannot pass through a security checkpoint or a customs inspection without threat of discovery. To travel between destinations on a world or between two star systems requires false identity datawork and viable cover story, or acquiring their own mode of transportation. Establishing a secure base of operations- whether a one-room safe house or an elaborate facility with barracks, power generator, storage bay, medical suite and vehicle hangar- must be accomplished outside normal channels, using contacts who either don't question their motives or can be paid to look the other way. Obtaining supplies, from ordinary foodstuffs and equipment to specialized combat gear, weapons, and explosives, always presents a challenge. Heroes must cultivate new allies and contacts who are willing to aid their struggle; they must always take care to avoid Imperial traps and ferret out double agents who could betray them to ISB operatives.
These heroes stand at the forefront of the growing resistance against the Empire. Because they operate on the fringe of lawful society, they can engage in extremely dangerous and effective activities to undermine Imperial authority. They undertake daring rescue missions, execute sabotage operations, recruit new freedom fighters, establish cells of resistance, infiltrate installations to steal vital data, and confront Imperial troops (activities further detailed in "Resistance Operations," below) in their open war against the growing tyranny of the Empire.
Adventure Hook[]
When the heroes return to their safe refuge or meeting place, they find an Imperial assault team standing guard while ISB Agents comb the location for clues. A keen-eyed sentry spots one of them, raises the alarm, and sends the entire company of Stormtroopers after them in hot pursuit. Whether the heroes were operating as fugitives or as covert dissidents using the cover of normal society, they must now evade Imperial forces and find some safe haven from which they can either flee the planet or reestablish a secret base to continue their subversive activities.
Covert Opposition[]
A few heroes secretly conspire to undermine the Empire from the cover of their seemingly ordinary lives as loyal citizens. They live perilous double lives where even the slightest mistake or the smallest suspicion could quickly bring Imperial retribution upon themselves, their families and friends, and even their world. On the surface they seem to conduct themselves as normal, loyal citizens of the Empire; they go to work, socialize with friends, enjoy entertainment, pursue some casual interests, and spend time with their families. Beneath that safe facade they harbor a hatred for Imperial tyranny that compels them to secretly support resistance activities.
Usually their careers or social positions allow them access to essential resources to aid dissidents: classified data, specialized equipment, transportation offworld, restricted weapons, and medical care, all free from prying questions from ISB agents. They don't have the same freedom of movement and action as renegades who are maintaining a clandestine existence, but they aid resistance groups by slipping away unnoticed to accomplish their objectives. Some even undertake subversive activities right in the open: delivering messages to dead-drop pickup locations, hacking anti-Empire messages into communications feeds, even casually observing and reporting Imperial troop movements.
These covert freedom fighters must take extreme care to protect their cover, avoid detection by ISB agents, and guard against betrayal by loyal citizens who would not hesitate to report suspicious behavior. Their primary value to the resistance forces comes from their position hidden among normal society, their access to everyday services, and their ability to operate within normal channels prohibited to those on the run.
Adventure Hook[]
A band of heroes operating covertly from covers in society must make contact with an outlaw who is known to openly oppose the Empire. They must slip away at some point during their normal routine to deliver an encrypted datacard, rare medicine, or some restricted weaponry to this courier without arousing suspicion from their coworkers, friends, and families. At some point during the delivery mission, one member of the group notices someone following the heroes. Do they end up having to eliminate a ruthless ISB agent, or might they be confronting a friend who is concerned for their well-being-and who could inadvertently betray them by talking to the officials?
Scarce Resources[]
For fugitive resistance fighters constantly on the run from Imperial agents and bounty hunters, finding resources for both everyday survival as well as covert operations remains a constant challenge. They continually run out of medical supplies, weapons, ammunition, explosives, rations, and replacement parts for Vehicles (not to mention the Vehicles themselves). They're always on the lookout for new sources of equipment and supplies to replace channels they've exhausted. Some underground groups hoard supplies so that newly established resistance cells have some basic equipment to work with when establishing themselves in new territory. Raids to obtain more supplies and weapons usually precede important missions involving combat, sabotage, and large-scale destruction.
Operations to acquire material resources can vary in tactics, targets, and intensity. The heroes might establish contact with an insider at a storage facility, someone willing to allow them occasional access while looking the other way; whether they do this out of sympathy to the local resistance, requires payment for their services, or has other requirements for cooperation is up to the Gamemaster. The heroes might divert material from shipping operations by conning warehouse officials, masquerading as an unloading crew ("offloading" cargo from a ship into their own transport vessel), or even hijacking a freighter carrying vital cargo. They might negotiate alliances with criminal organizations, smugglers, and sympathetic citizens to provide essential supplies, though these relationships can all be compromised by self-serving greed or Imperial influence. Of course, the most obvious means of obtaining material- especially restricted weapons and explosives- remains infiltrating government and military supply depots.
The heroes must take care to manage their supply sources. In the best cases, they divert only small amounts of material and cover their tracks well enough that nobody suspects anything has gone missing. Relying on one cooperative supplier could put them in danger; the contact might choose to betray them, or their frequent visits might arouse the attention of observant informers. Frequent attacks on a particular storage facility might force local and Imperial authorities to increase security. If the heroes hit the same depot too often, ISB agents might find a pattern and prepare an ambush to trap the next raiding party.
Adventure Hook[]
The heroes plan and execute a raid on a quiet Imperial Navy supply dump on the edge of an urban area. They have received word that a high-level Imperial official is visiting the planet next week, and they need to quickly obtain weapons, medical supplies, explosives, Vehicles, and possibly even uniforms to pull off a mission that involves sabotaging his visit, abducting him, or generally causing embarrassing havoc.
Unbeknownst to the dissidents, the entire setup is an Imperial trap. The ISB fabricated and disseminated false intelligence about the visiting Imperial official to prompt local resistance cells to act openly and reveal their locations and strengths. Visual reconnaissance indicates that the supply dump is lightly guarded, but a special ISB ambush regiment is lying in wait inside cargo containers, drainage sewers, and other concealed areas around the depot.
Recruiting Allies[]
Without any overarching organization secretly supporting their activities across the galaxy (like the future Rebel Alliance), the heroes must create their own resistance cells, safe houses, informer networks, supply chains, and support systems. To maintain operations of all kinds- and to replenish personnel easily lost during operations- the heroes must continually recruit new allies and contacts who can provide everything they need to continue the fight against the Empire and ensure their safety. They must create their own local support organization of allies who are willing to help with all aspects of their operations.
Approaching a potential ally takes time and caution. It requires a strategy heavy on information-gathering and character interaction. Heroes must first identify individuals who could help them, then evaluate those individuals' loyalty to the Empire or their willingness to aid those fighting its tyrannical policies. The cooperation of a potential ally could depend on how benignly or oppressively the Empire rules in the ally's location, whether the potential ally harbors a fierce loyalty to the establishment, or whether he or she has suffered at the Empire's hands and thus seeks some degree of revenge.
The heroes must find some leverage to use in convincing people to aid them. Intimidation rarely works and doesn't produce willing, trustworthy allies. Bribery offers an incentive for some dubious characters to help, though it seldom guarantees loyalty and often drains any monetary resources the heroes manage to scrape together. The best way to recruit allies comes from appealing to their sense of moral principle and their yearning to right the injustices perpetrated by the Empire on their own world and in systems throughout the galaxy. The heroes must show their potential collaborators that it's in their best interest- and for the greater good of society, their planet, and life everywhere- to secretly undermine Imperial power.
Willing allies come from two sectors of the populace: those who are established in everyday society with jobs, reputations, and connections, and those who have severed such ties and now live furtive lives as outlaws fleeing from the Empire. At first, those who are nestled comfortably in orderly lives might seem useless to heroes engaged in an epic struggle against tyranny; however, such ordinary people can offer heroes on the run a valuable tether to normal society, providing services, access, and materials otherwise unavailable to fugitives or difficult for them to obtain through normal channels. Contacts cultivated among regular citizens can aid the heroes through their normal jobs and everyday activities without arousing too much suspicion.
Informers[]
Ordinary people are usually sensitive to changes in their everyday routine or environment. They can provide seemingly mundane information that can significantly help the heroes in their activities against the Empire: the number and location of Imperial troops and sentries in an area; news and gossip of anti-insurgent operations; possible contacts who quietly voice their dissatisfaction with the New Order; information about potential target locations; data from computers accessible to the public or people employed at certain facilities; schedules for transports around a planet or offworld. These informers transmit their intelligence and receive new assignments through secure means, leaving messages at hidden dead-drop locations, transmitting them through secure computer or comm channels, or slipping them to the heroes during innocent-seeming "Chance" encounters.
Suppliers[]
The heroes can use average citizens to obtain much-needed equipment. These supplies might consist simply of food and mundane household items that the heroes- as outlaws- cannot purchase without emerging into the public eye. If they cultivate a contact who has ties to a commercial enterprise, they might have a means of obtaining specialized equipment, Vehicles, spare parts, military-grade gear, and even weapons. They must take care that their requests and deliveries do not compromise the supplier's cover and cause their arrest at the hands of Imperial forces.
Safe Haven Providers[]
Some people can provide safe havens for various subversive activities. These locations could offer a place to hide from authorities, a storage site for caching weapons or gear, an observation post, or a staging location for a nearby operation. Most safe house locations maintain the outward illusion of a more innocuous function- a hotel that includes a room permanently reserved for the heroes' use; a remote country estate where they can train; or even a warehouse to serve as a temporary base for an operation.
Transport Pilots[]
Heroes often need a safe means of transporting themselves or supplies around a planet or to locations offworld. Pilots who have legitimate credentials and access to Vehicles might help a local resistance group spread its influence to other regions if they have incentive to secretly work to undermine Imperial authority, especially as the Empire tightens its grip on space travel and seeks to limit the mobility of people, material, and ideas. Pilots can provide false transit papers. for heroes, arrange passage aboard repulsorlift craft and Starships, and ensure some security for personnel and cargo in case of Imperial entanglements. Heroes must take care not to use their transport contacts too often, lest those contacts come to the attention of suspicious people ready to report them to Imperial authorities.
Bureaucrats[]
The galaxy depends on an efficient bureaucracy to maintain operations on every level, from local officials to those overseeing entire sectors. Heroes who cultivate contacts with bureaucrats gain influential friends who have the power to get around obstacles of an official nature. They come from every level and aspect of the government and private enterprise: customs officials, common clerks, corporate officers, court magistrates, government workers, computer registrars, and elected or appointed officials for towns, cities, starports, planets, systems, and sectors. Depending on their everyday duties, they can use their position and influence to do small favors for heroes to covertly support their operations. A local registrar could forge identity cards and set up cover identities in the planetary population database. A starport official could prepare false shipping manifests to ensure that restricted or illegal cargoes pass to the proper resistance cells. Bureaucrats in higher echelons could influence policies that relieve pressure on authorities to capture the heroes or to increase security against their threats.
Criminals[]
Those who operate outside the law typically have experience in conducting their business and living their lives while evading the authorities. They range from petty thieves who operate alone to members of vast crime syndicates. Depending on their experience and the extent of their own support networks, they can undertake a variety of tasks to support the heroes: obtaining and transporting restricted, stolen, or illegal goods; delivering clandestine messages; spying on military installations or activities; slicing into computer networks to obtain or change data; creating false documents; and carrying out their usual criminal activities to support the heroes' operations.
Smugglers[]
Like transport pilots, smugglers can move personnel, material, and data across planets and between systems. Since they operate outside the law, they are much better prepared to deal with unexpected obstacles, have a greater freedom of movement, and are accustomed to handling delicate cargoes using their own network of contacts. These benefits are offset by the threat of increased suspicion from authorities and a tendency for resolving problems less with diplomacy and covert actions and more with blasters and flamboyant chases.
Fugitives[]
Outlaws have many similarities to the heroes. They constantly flee from the Empire, live furtive lives apart from common society, and harbor a festering hatred for the Empire that- for whatever reason and through whatever means- has branded them as wanted criminals. As long as the heroes can provide relative safety, a basic means of survival, and a support network, fugitives usually have no problem with joining a resistance group of likeminded outlaws, even if becoming a group member does involve fighting the Empire.
Ordinary People[]
How average people react when they witness potentially traitorous acts can make the difference between a "Traitor" getting away with a risky deed and getting caught. But not all citizens have the same degree of loyalty to the Empire. When heroes interact with or around others in a suspicious manner, the Gamemaster should decide where observant citizens are located if they notice this behavior. These citizens might be reacting to activities that aren't overt acts of treachery. For instance, most people would notice someone tampering with a control panel; but if that hero was dressed like and acting like an official technician, most people wouldn't think anything "Wrong" was going on. The reactions that ordinary people might display are discussed below, from least to most problematic.
Tacit Complacency: Those who notice the heroes' suspicious behavior might look the other way, not interfere, and carry on as if everything's normal. Most citizens overlook small infractions of the law anyway, especially if involving the authorities seems more inconvenient than letting something petty slide. This sort of reaction (or lack thereof) might also be evidence of some emerging sympathy for the heroes and their cause or a growing hatred for the Empire.
Influenced Complicity: Someone could notice the heroes' dubious actions, quietly mention it to them, and expect some incentive to avoid reporting the incident to the authorities. The heroes must somehow influence that person- by paying a bribe, appealing to the person's sense of justice, or offering a favor- to hush things up. The citizen agrees to look the other way if doing so benefits them in some way.
Quiet Betrayal: Loyal citizens who have a strong sense of self-preservation might take note of suspicious and potentially traitorous activity without saying anything to the heroes, then report their findings to the proper authorities so that those officials can follow the heroes, close in on them, and thwart them while they attempt to commit some other seditious act. These people pose the greatest threat to resistance fighters. It might seem to the heroes at first that they are behaving with tacit complacency as quiet allies, but in reality they form the backbone of an unofficial informer corps used by the ISB and COMPNOR to keep many planets in line.
Alarm: Many people react with open alarm when they realize they're witnessing seditious activity, especially if it's not terribly covert. Even subtle acts cause them to lose their train of thought, suddenly drop what they're doing, or stammer about with indecision. Most of these people will disengage immediately from any contact with the heroes and head straight for the nearest comm station, security checkpoint, or guard post to report the incident.
The Fringe[]
Those on the fringe of society- people hunted by the Empire for their affiliation with The Jedi, members of criminal organizations, or those who are forming emerging resistance groups- can more directly help the heroes by conducting subversive operations outside the bounds of society and the law. These individuals live a furtive existence that nobody in comfortable civilization would call normal. They are constantly on the run from the Empire and local authorities. Such outlaws always look over their shoulders to make sure nobody's following them, listening to their conversations, or reporting their activities. They cannot engage in many activities that most law-abiding people can perform without serious danger of capture- working a regular job, shopping, taking public transport, obtaining housing, and generally doing anything in public.
These criminals act out of a strong sense of self-preservation and greed; they constantly weigh the risks against the potential gains. Some ultimately come around and join the cause out of some sense of duty to moral principle, though such cases remain rare. A handful of enlightened people who question Palpatine's motives view these fringers as the real "Underground Freedom Fighters" despite the Empire's best efforts to paint them as subversive terrorists. Heroes who seek to recruit such insurgents must somehow infiltrate the shady world of fugitives and criminals, proving their hatred for the Empire before they can even make contact with anyone who is willing to aid them. Of course, if the heroes themselves cross over onto the wrong side of the law, they have a better chance of recruiting fellow fugitives.
Adventure Hook[]
The heroes catch wind of a local noblewoman who might nurture a hatred for the Empire, which confiscated many of her commercial interests when it established control on her homeworld. This aristocrat has many connections, sufficient funds, and a few remaining assets that might help resistance fighters who are seeking to undermine Imperial interests in the area. To celebrate her forced "Retirement" from her business enterprises, she's holding a gala for friends and supporters at her estate on the edge of the planet's major urban center and starport. The heroes must infiltrate the party, discover where she really stands- and what she's really willing to risk- regarding the Empire, and quietly approach her to seek her aid in their cause. Can they convince her to actively use her resources to help their operations, or is the entire scenario a carefully constructed setting for an Imperial trap?
Finding a Safe Haven[]
Scouting, establishing, and protecting a base of operations is a key theme in a Dark Times Campaign. Unlike those operating in The Rebellion Era, when secret Rebel bases offer respite, support, and resources, heroes in The Dark Times have only themselves and their allies to rely upon for survival and continued success against the Empire's growing menace. Given their fugitive status- even if they're operating clandestinely in common society- the heroes must constantly search for new, safe locations to support their subversive activities.
Heroes need safe houses for living quarters and hiding places, nooks where they can securely store gear and supplies, and larger spaces where they can assemble material and personnel. They need secure medical facilities, or at least access to treatment in places safe from the scrutiny of those who would notify the authorities about suspicious characters displaying extraordinary injuries. Heroes might require a secure place in which to dock or repair their Vehicles. A safe haven might serve a short-term goal- for example, an apartment with a good view of a targeted Imperial installation- or a long-term objective as a secure base for extended future operations.
The heroes can scout out secure havens on their own or cultivate contacts who have access to useful facilities. They could scan the newsnets for items about businesses that are closing, buildings that have been gutted by fire, or abandoned factories that they might use for their own purposes. Heroes could actively scout out remote wilderness regions, decrepit industrial facilities, or residential neighborhoods where they could establish refuges.
A network of reliable contacts that includes underworld figures or those operating in common society could also yield safe locations. The heroes could ask a friend to rent an apartment or a hotel room for their use. A sympathetic entrepreneur might allow them to use his commercial facilities. A bureaucrat could create cover businesses in commercial or industrial areas to suit their plans. A crime lord might already have secure hiding places, safe houses, hangars, and other facilities hidden from the authorities that they don't mind sharing with a resistance group seeking to undermine the Empire's rule.
Finding, constructing, and defending a hidden base could form the basis for a single adventure or the theme for an entire story arc.
Adventure Hook[]
The heroes plan to destroy an important Imperial com-scan array that could shut down planetary communications and sensors for days. It's located in a quiet residential area. They must find a safe, concealed post from which to reconnoiter the base, establish hidden caches of weapons and supplies nearby, and find assembly and launch points for the assault, all without arousing the suspicion of local residents or security patrols. They might enlist the aid of sympathetic neighbors or service personnel working in the vicinity.
Fugitive Jedi[]
The Dark Times remain particularly deadly for Jedi Knights who are fleeing Palpatine's campaign to wipe them out. Inquisitors wander throughout the galaxy, using their Dark Side powers and commanding special detachments of troops to hunt down and eliminate renegade Jedi. These fugitives naturally seek safe havens for shelter, relying on allies such as resistance cells to protect them from their hunters and, in some bold cases, to enable them to strike back against the overwhelming forces of the Empire.
Inquisitorial adversaries play a primary role in a campaign in which any player runs a Jedi hero. The constant flight from enemy hunters, search for a safe haven, and fight for survival in a galaxy suddenly hostile to the time-honored heritage of the Jedi Knights overshadows much of the story line. Where once Jedi were welcomed as bearers of justice and order, now they are shunned and exposed as enemies of the state. Jedi heroes must take constant care to disguise their identities, whether they try to pass openly as everyday citizens or live a furtive life in hiding. Their presence in a group of freedom fighters magnifies the danger and increases the opposition immensely. Their very presence- and their use of Force Powers- could easily attract an Imperial Inquisitor and his minions as adversaries on top of any normal opposition the heroes might face.
In a campaign that does not include a Jedi hero, the Gamemaster can introduce one or more Jedi characters to motivate the heroes along a course of action, expose them to the relentless pursuit of the Imperial Inquisitors, and give them an immediate purpose: to protect the Jedi. Whether the Jedi helps them achieve their objectives or they aid the Jedi in achieving her own agenda remains secondary to the basic struggle for survival.
Introducing the fugitive Jedi theme into a Dark Times Campaign adds a particularly grim tone to the overall atmosphere. The players certainly know- and heroes probably suspect- that The Jedi become all but extinct by the time of The Rebellion Era. The grim truth remains: Jedi in a Dark Times Campaign are destined to die at the hands of Vader's minions.
The Gamemaster should have some idea of what specific fates await Jedi- both GM characters and the players' heroes- at the conclusion of a Dark Times Campaign. Few players enjoy seeing their heroes die, but knowing that they will perish at the climactic end of a campaign might encourage them to work toward making that death as epic as possible. The GM should work with players to determine their Jedi's goals during the story line and how they ultimately meet their end. They might sow some plot, location, and character seeds that lead toward the conclusion of a story line and a gallant death for the Jedi. Players running Jedi should realize that how their heroes die- in essence, fulfilling their ultimate Destiny- remains an essential part of their heroes' characterization and is as important as their actions and adventures in life.
For a Jedi's death to have meaning- both to the character and within the storyline- it must come at a climactic moment in the campaign. Some players might want their Jedi characters to survive to the very end of the planned campaign. Others might hope that their Jedi meet their inevitable fate sooner, so they can continue the campaign playing a different hero. The Gamemaster should discuss how Jedi heroes arrive at their ultimate Destiny without giving away too many plot points and surprises. Here are some general examples that players and the GM might use to broadly plan how and when Jedi heroes meet their end.
Blaze of Glory: The Jedi sacrifices themselves to destroy the major target that the heroes have been planning to assault for the entire campaign. With their final burst of energy, they reach for the controls and set the main power generator to overload. The Jedi fights their way to the command bridge and, mortally wounded, locks the navigation controls to put the ship on a collision course.
Exposing the Truth: Through their final actions, the Jedi reveals the Empire's true intentions and the insidious extent of its plans to oppress freedom in the galaxy. By landing the slave transport in the city's central square, they show that aliens being "Reassigned for Resettlement" are actually being sold into slavery. With their dying breath, the Jedi Knight uploads the incriminating datafile and broadcasts it on public frequencies throughout the system. The Jedi delivers evidence of the Empire's destruction of Callos to a sympathetic newsnet reporter, who vows to publicly broadcast it.
Final Confrontation: To achieve the ultimate objective for the entire campaign, the Jedi Knight must face the group's nemesis in a final showdown. This principal adversary has plagued the heroes since the beginning, countering their every move and harassing them at every turn. The duel must buy the other heroes time to achieve their objective, or clear the way for them to proceed to victory. Though the Jedi might triumph, they do not survive the confrontation for very long.
Noble Sacrifice: The Jedi sacrifices their life to save their comrades or a key figure in the storyline at the climactic moment of the campaign. They rescue the influential Senator and delivers them to safety even though the Jedi succumbs to injuries sustained in the escape. The Jedi manages to keep the Starship from falling into the sun until everyone has evacuated. They contain the power core explosion until everyone has escaped the blast zone.
Adventure Hook[]
While scouting out a remote location for a hidden base, the heroes spot an escape pod or a damaged Starship as it crash-lands nearby. When they investigate, they discover a lone survivor who seems to be a fugitive Jedi Knight. Realizing how a Jedi might help their cause, they rescue them just as Imperial forces move in to capture the renegade. They must nurse the Jedi back to health, hide them from continued Imperial searches, and help them attain their original objective. As an unexpected twist, the person might not be a Jedi at all, but an imposter the ISB is using to flush out a resistance cell.
Betrayal[]
Palpatine's Order 66 and the brutal slaying and pursuit of the Jedi Knights sets the stage for an entire era of betrayal. Governments and corporations make deals with the Empire, compromising their dedicated employees and citizens in the interest of holding onto some vestige of power, prestige, and wealth. Entrepreneurs implicate each other in fabricated schemes to support the resistance simply to eliminate competition and improve their own business. Residents inform on others in their neighborhood whom they suspect of having anti-Imperial sentiments, or just those against whom they harbor petty jealousies. Everyone looks out for his or her own welfare, often at the expense of others. Far better to offer someone else up to the Empire's uncaring injustice and cruel tyranny than suffer oneself.
The Dark Times are a period of extreme risk for anyone operating against the Empire. At first glance everything seems more or less normal, a transition from one galactic government to the next; but underneath the surface lurks something sinister. People seem to be watching each other over their shoulders, ISB and COMPNOR agents lurk undercover everywhere, and ordinary citizens live in fear of Stormtroopers blasting down their door and making arrests. The Imperial war machine- and even many planetary security forces- exists solely to maintain control over systems at every level, exploiting resources, keeping the populace in line, and rooting out those who oppose its plans.
Whom can the heroes trust? Every contact or ally they make might await the perfect chance to betray them, either as a citizen informer or an undercover Imperial agent. Someone might monitor their every move, or follow them through empty alleyways or crowded plazas. Every security checkpoint- and they become more frequent- brings with it the risk that someone might blow the heroes' cover and expose them as traitors of the Empire. Every move they make, each communication they send, every rendezvous they complete might simply be one step into an Imperial trap.
The Gamemaster should carefully consider when and how often to play the traitor card in a Dark Times Campaign. The heroes should get a sense that they really can't trust anyone and that they might always be walking into a trap. But constantly turning carefully cultivated contacts and trustworthy allies against them can become tedious and create in the heroes (and perhaps the players) a sense of hopelessness, a feeling that nothing they do matters. Make sure any betrayal has some relevance to the adventure plot or the overall story arc in a campaign. Has an Imperial Inquisitor carefully set a trap to ensnare the group's Jedi hero? Does a trusted contact turn traitor for some ulterior motive, such as freeing an imprisoned relative, saving the family business, or taking vengeance for some real or imagined offense? Does an average citizen who turns them in feel remorse later and rise up to aid the heroes?
Adventure Hook[]
A trusted ally betrays the heroes and delivers them into the custody of Imperial officials. Their imprisonment at the planetary garrison gives them access to an objective they have so far failed to reach: the prison cell of an influential Senator, the power grid to all Imperial installations in the area, the garrison's arsenal, or even a powerful Imperial dignitary visiting the system. They must plan their escape and- with the help of the contact who supposedly betrayed them- use this advantageous access to achieve their goal by dealing the Empire a decisive blow from within.
Growing Criminal Elements[]
Although criminal organizations existed in the Republic, they maintained a low profile when operating within civilized areas and openly ruled only in more remote enclaves such as The Outer Rim and Hutt Space. With the Empire tightening its grasp on galactic affairs- and edging out crime syndicates with its own brand of brutality and vice- criminals are forced into more desperate measures to carry on their operations and make a profit despite increased security and a larger military presence.
Some criminal groups resort to more brutal tactics and aggressive moves to expand the scope of their operations, taking any extreme measure necessary to survive. Others seek to form alliances with each other to better endure the Empire's tyranny. A few join with other groups, including resistance cells, to try overthrowing a government that proves bad for both legitimate and illegal business.
Freedom fighters might turn to crime syndicates for favors. Criminal organizations can provide hard-to-obtain supplies, discreet transportation, restricted weapons, forged documents, personnel with specialized training, secure access to restricted areas, and other forms of support, using an existing infrastructure intended to circumvent authorities. By establishing contacts within a crime syndicate or even a loose alliance with one, heroes walk a fine line between conducting a justified war against political oppression and engaging in unlawful activities that could harm innocent civilians and threaten the few vestiges of civilized society left in the galaxy.
Adventure Hook[]
The heroes require specialized climbing, demolitions, and assault gear to penetrate a mountaintop prison where the Empire holds the planet's influential leaders who vocally opposed the New Order. Unfortunately for the characters, they don't have any normal contacts who are willing to part with such expensive and restricted materials. The heroes hear rumors that the local crime syndicate can provide the necessary gear. They must make contact with the organization and negotiate a fragile if temporary alliance to get the equipment. To earn the crime lord's trust and seal the deal, they must break into the local starport's traffic control center (a much easier target than the prison) and steal security protocols, Starship data records, and other information the crime syndicate can use to smuggle illicit goods on and off the planet.
Resistance Operations[]
Once they establish themselves in an area, with false identities, secret hideaways, and several support contacts, the heroes can spend much of their time conducting paramilitary operations against Imperial forces to achieve their objectives. These missions form the core of active resistance activities directly aimed at the Empire, its corporate allies, supportive local governments, and criminal elements in their employ and draw on all the resources they have cultivated while establishing their rebellious cell. Each mission type discussed below serves as an adventure hook unto itself; the Gamemaster can customize the specific targets and challenges to fit the setting and draw upon past episodes in the campaign.
Surveillance[]
Before an operation, the heroes must spend time observing the target and assessing the best way to achieve their objective. They can follow Imperial officials and Vehicles, draw a plan of a military or commercial installation, map possible ambush sites, note defenses and sentry routes, and check out possible access and escape routes- all tasks related to the particular target for an upcoming operation. They might conduct surveillance from a well-placed observation post or from simply wandering the nearby streets. If they hope to infiltrate a facility to steal supplies, download data, or sabotage vital systems, they need to examine the intended target to make sure they can enter and exit surreptitiously. The tricky part of surveillance is making sure nobody notices you. Most citizens pay no mind to a slightly more observant person walking past an Imperial facility; but some who are trained in counterintelligence, including ISB agents, know exactly how to spot someone who is observing and assessing a target. Although the average person who spots some really obvious surveillance would report it to the authorities immediately, more subtle people make note of the details and act on them later.
Infiltration[]
Heroes often break into (and out of) enemy installations to gather information, plant false intelligence, steal equipment, hijack Vehicles, or sabotage facilities. Doing this requires some knowledge of the target's security measures and the means to deactivate or circumvent them. Sometimes heroes need to acquire specific equipment or hire specialists to gain entry. Aside from the usual dangers involved in evading traps, dodging sentries, opening locked hatches, and slipping past alarm sensors, the heroes must avoid causing any kind of alarm, lest they alert authorities to their presence and their possible intentions.
Turning Agents[]
Although the heroes constantly cultivate new contacts, allies, and recruits, they always remain watchful for enemy personnel they can persuade to join to their side. After first identifying potential targets and assessing their usefulness, the heroes can pander to one of their weaknesses by offering money, promising power, questioning their moral perspective, or even deceiving them altogether in an elaborate ruse; anything to encourage them to cooperate with the heroes in achieving short- or long-term objectives. These compromised agents usually come from the ranks of minor functionaries- guards, technicians, petty bureaucrats, low-ranking officers, and maintenance staff- though once in a while the heroes have a chance to turn an influential enemy agent who can really help them. Depending on their occupation, access, and authority, turned enemy personnel can provide weapons, supplies, and Vehicles, allow undetected entry into restricted areas, pass along sensitive intelligence or data files, misinform other personnel about resistance activities, and generally provide an inside edge on activities focused on that individual's location or position.
Ambush[]
Heroes could plan an operation to attack mobile enemy forces from a carefully prepared position at a vulnerable point in the route. They might seek to intercept a repulsorlift caravan carrying arms, prisoners, medical supplies, equipment, or troops. If they have access to Starships, they might assault a freighter to capture its cargo. They could ambush an important person to kidnap that individual, deny the enemy his expertise at a critical moment, or gain information about a future objective. These operations require foreknowledge of the target's intended course, awareness of its defenses, and preparation of an ambush position with weapons, booby traps, light fortifications, and a swift escape route.
Sabotage[]
Destroying Imperial installations and facilities run by those who support the Empire remains a top priority for most resistance groups and one of the most visible and meaningful types of operations they can undertake. Since few insurgent cells have the resources to conduct an all-out frontal attack, they rely on subversive measures of sabotage: damaging vehicle engines, introducing viruses into computer banks, jamming comm-scan arrays, and setting timed explosives on vital machinery. Most such operations require a combination of good surveillance of the target and discreet infiltration (and exfiltration) for success at the overall objective.
Rescue[]
When enemy forces arrest members of the resistance or allied personnel, the comrades of those detainees often come to their aid. Rescue missions require the same sort of surveillance and infiltration as sabotage operations, but since they aren't destructive in nature, they demand a greater degree of care to successfully extract the imprisoned comrades. Would-be rescuers should exercise caution: A prisoner who appears to be lightly guarded might serve as bait to draw unwary insurgents out into the open and into a carefully set trap.
A less Civilized Age[]
The onset of The Dark Times launches an era of decline throughout the galaxy, as the former grandeur of the Republic- however eroded or tainted by corruption- deteriorates in the face of a shining New Order that leaves much of the galaxy in the dregs. Those who are loyal to the Empire rise in prominence and splendor, leaving everyone else to wallow in neglect and decay. Palpatine's friends gain power, prestige, and riches, while anyone beneath his notice suffers at the whim of his minions.
The Empire, its loyal followers, and those who seek to make a profit through its oppressive policies make life much more difficult for heroes. As The Dark Times progress and the Empire expands its grasp over more systems throughout the galaxy, Palpatine's insidious influence affects more aspects of life than before. Imperial personnel stretch the limits of their authority, learning how they can project their power, influence important people and ordinary citizens, and increase their standing in the new regime.
Palpatine's New Order instills changes in many basic assumptions about life in the galaxy, particularly in the realm of law enforcement, but also in the way ordinary citizens view suspicious activities. Here are several situations that heroes might find themselves in and some suggestions for how the Gamemaster might address them.
Everyday Paranoia[]
When Imperial personnel move into a system- whether in the form of a trade delegation or a full occupation force- most average citizens quickly learn to watch their backs. The Empire rules through mistrust, betrayal, and fear; its minions and policies reflect this tactic of intimidation at every level of life. Simply walking down the street might put the heroes in an uncomfortable spot, especially if they are known insurgents wanted by the authorities. The Gamemaster can use the following adventure hooks simply to add atmosphere to any scene in a public environment, or can insert them as incidents to precipitate action in an adventure.
Imperial Patrol[]
The heroes spot an Imperial patrol or checkpoint directly in their path. They must decide whether to try passing by the troopers or to find some other way around without attracting unwanted attention. If the heroes are wanted by the law for some recent operation, the patrol might be searching specifically for them. The patrol could be actively seeking known outlaws (including the heroes), questioning bystanders on the street and stopping individuals to inspect their identification and personal possessions. Perhaps they're simply in transit from one post to another. In most cases, however, such patrols have broad orders that center on maintaining peace, detaining and questioning anyone who seems engaged in suspicious activities, and making the Empire's presence felt, and feared, among the general populace.
A checkpoint usually exists to restrict access along a thoroughfare, often to screen people on the street, stop people from entering a high-security location, or limit traffic into an area where Imperial troops are conducting a police action. If the heroes seek some other route around the patrol or checkpoint, they run the risk that a perceptive bystander might spot their change in course, consider it suspicious behavior, and report it to the troopers.
Shadowing[]
In public areas, the heroes must always remain on guard for people taking note (even casually) of their presence, watching for unusual behavior, and alerting authorities to their possibly dubious activities. These observant individuals might really be ISB or COMPNOR agents under cover, local law enforcement officers, diligent civil servants, or minor functionaries of local government seeking to improve their stature. Attentive heroes constantly ask themselves if anyone's following them when they go out in public. Is that businessman the same person as the technician who followed their route yesterday, just in a different set of clothes? Where might well-placed security sensors monitor traffic along a busy boulevard or plaza?
Savvy heroes can take countermeasures to help ensure that nobody's following them in public. Rather than constantly peering over their shoulders, they can stop in front of shop windows to see who's behind them. They could disappear into a store or some other public place and slip out the back. Taking multiple forms of public transportation might help to shake someone who was tailing them. The heroes can never exercise too much caution in making sure they're not followed, especially when they head from a public place toward the hidden facility that supports their resistance activities.
Shady Offer[]
Whether in public or private, the heroes must closely examine anyform of contact people might use when offering to aid them. They might receive an innocent-seeming offer from someone who has access to restricted supplies, useful communications equipment, medical facilities, Vehicles and Starships, or even vital intelligence pertinent to their current objective. In their excitement to accept help for their cause, they might fall into an Imperial trap intended to ferret out and capture insurgents, or even an elaborately set ambush specifically set to capture them. A fellow who offers to sell them a used landspeeder for a good price could start asking more sensitive questions about where they live, how they earn their credits, what they intend to do with the speeder, and what other, possibly illegal, goods he might try obtaining for them. Even an acquaintance the heroes have come to trust could suddenly have reason to betray them through an offer of aid; the authorities might have recently trumped up some evidence blackmailing that individual, or might be threatening harm to an imprisoned friend or family member in order to induce that person to lure the heroes into a trap.
Suspicion of The Force[]
Jedi who are fleeing the galaxywide purge engineered by Vader and his minions must take particular care to mask their true nature. Once proud defenders of peace and justice throughout the galaxy, they must now set aside their pride and arrogance and lurk in the shadows, ever watchful for those seeking to betray them. No longer can they afford to attempt fighting injustice with the authority of the Jedi Council behind them, nor can they even speak out without attracting attention. Where they once stood out as bold defenders and astute arbitrators, they must now blend in with the rest of the galaxy's populace, lest their righteous attitude and bearing reveal their true identity.
When a Jedi might encounter anyone outside their immediate sphere of comrades, they must make sure their Lightsaber is concealed. Some simply hide their weapons in a safe place in or near their base of operations. Vehicles offer many places to hide a Lightsaber- inside maintenance panels or storage hatches, under control consoles, stuffed between seat and bunk cushions- where one can easily grab it from in times of trouble. Others prefer having it on hand if an emergency arises; they conceal the weapon somewhere in the voluminous folds of their robes and capes, or in their gear bag or other accessory.
Displaying the trappings of the Order can betray a Jedi in hiding. Jedi must adopt the more practical dress of everyday citizens, lest they stand out among the crowd. Anyone who quotes Jedi wisdom or speaks of the Jedi Knights in a favorable manner comes under suspicion from those who believe the lies Palpatine has spread about the Jedi Council's treachery and its role in the Republic's decline. Even reading Jedi writings or spreading Jedi teachings remains forbidden.
Jedi who use Force Powers in public should take care to employ only those powers whose activation and effects remain subtle enough to avoid casual notice, such as Farseeing and Mind Trick. Jedi cannot easily conceal the use of some Force Powers, including Force Disarm, Force Grip, Force Lightning, Force Slam, Force Thrust, Move Object, Negate Energy, and, in most cases, Surge.
Any open indication that a hero is or was a Jedi Knight immediately arouses suspicion. Subtle uses of The Force might go unnoticed, but the more overt the effect of a Force Power, or the presence or use of a Lightsaber, the more severe a reaction the Jedi provokes. The obvious presence of a Jedi immediately causes alarm among most citizens and retaliation from law enforcement, security, and Imperial military personnel. Local and even corporate security forces fear Jedi so much that they often evacuate the area of civilians and cordon it off, trying to trap the Jedi before more experienced bounty hunters or Imperial forces can show up to deal with the threat. Assuming that the Jedi escapes a situation when their presence causes an incident, they must be wary as Imperial troopers, bounty hunters, and agents of The Inquisitorius soon descend on the site to search for leads in the persistent hunt to eradicate the last vestiges of the Jedi Knights.
Imperial Intrusiveness[]
During The Dark Times, the citizens of the galaxy become more accustomed to checkpoints, inspections, and general Imperial interference in all aspects of life. Customs inspectors scrutinize passengers on starships, as well as freighter pilots and their crews; they examine personal identification and baggage, cargo, freight manifests, and official vessel operating permits.
Most inspections occur at the point where one boards or disembarks from a vessel: a starport docking gate, a landing bay, or a security checkpoint leading to such an area. Sometimes an Imperial craft on patrol or blockade duty docks directly with a ship and conducts a boarding action to carry out a customs inspection.
On most worlds loyal to the Empire, local law enforcement conducts customs inspections with the same degree of efficiency and inflexibility as its Imperial counterpart. In many cases, Imperial agents oversee or consult on local customs actions to represent Imperial interests and offer guidance in dealing with those who would flaunt the law.
People passing through a customs inspection must show their identification (checked through planetary and Imperial databases) and offer their personal belongings for examination, including any items in their pockets, gear bags, or any other container they carry. Expensive personal items and bulk cargoes are subject to tariffs usually amounting to a percentage of their original value; depending on the degree of oppression the Empire exercises in an area, this tax could range from five to twenty-five percent. Customs agents usually conduct inspections of freighters and cargo areas to ensure that what's listed on the cargo manifest matches what they find in the hold.
Getting caught in an Imperial customs Inspection carries a great risk of imprisonment (see "Imprisoned by the Empire" below). The penalty for infractions depends on whether local or Imperial agents conduct the inspection, how stringently laws are enforced in the area, and how seriously the subject reacts to criminal charges. Agents can arrest people for any number of legitimate or fabricated charges: carrying illegal or restricted goods (weapons, narcotics, or suspected intelligence data); using false identification; falsifying a cargo manifest; or having improper or outdated Starship permits. Also subject to immediate arrest are wanted criminals, those suspected of being insurgents, those who actively seek to avoid an inspection, and anyone who openly criticizes or questions the Empire's right to such an invasion of privacy.
Imprisoned by the Empire[]
People arrested by Imperial forces can find themselves in detention facilities, the severity of which corresponds to the Empire's perception of their crime.
Few detainees escape some form of initial interrogation before they're summarily sentenced to some term of incarceration. This questioning seeks to determine their true identity, the purpose behind their criminal activities, any accomplices who should also be arrested, and any hints of larger plots against local or Imperial objectives.
In the early days of The Dark Times, as the Empire quickly extends its control over hundreds of systems, hastily erected prison camps process those rounded up in large raids or police actions against protesting crowds. This impresses other citizens with the Empire's diligence in rounding up both criminal troublemakers and potential insurgents. It also enables ISB personnel to compile lists of potential agitators in case of future disturbances. For most citizens, incarceration in a makeshift camp for a few weeks cures them of any future ideas of resisting Imperial control.
Those who are arrested for minor infractions and don't show evidence of treasonous intent usually find themselves in regional detention centers. On worlds with any Imperial presence, those forces maintain criminal processing facilities usually attached to the Imperial garrison. Here they separate the dangerous criminals, traitors, and insurgents from the petty lawbreakers. In the most minor cases, Imperial forces turn prisoners over to local law enforcement for incarceration in regional jails along with other petty criminals and miscreants.
Most sectors host a regional prison on the central administrative world, though some clusters of systems also provide such facilities. These regional Imperial prisons house the majority of criminal offenders; sometimes they also hold captured resistance fighters who might have some future value in tracking down other insurgents, connections to relay false information back to resistance cells, or usefulness when blackmailing or otherwise influencing friends and family to do the Empire's bidding.
Those suspected of acting as enemies of the Empire are subjected to lengthy interrogations to determine their true intent, known associates, and future plans, followed by a lengthy stay at any of several infamous Imperial penal facilities, including the spice mines of Kessel and the penal colony on Despayre. The Empire uses these prisons as final dumping grounds for criminals and traitors, working them to death in harsh conditions to further support Imperial domination of the galaxy.
Escaping from an Imperial penal facility proves extremely difficult. At first the makeshift detention camps offer the easiest means of escape, since their hasty construction doesn't allow for many defenses and deterrents. Most average citizens incarcerated in such camps, however, grimly accept their fates, endure the petty injustices, and eventually obtain release. They have little reason to break out. Those imprisoned in more imposing facilities face a host of obstacles when seeking to escape: electrified fences, force-field gates, strict security protocols, patrolling sentries and Probe Droids, security monitors, underground sensors, speeder and Starship patrols, and an array of unscalable walls and code-sealed hatches. Those brave and lucky heroes who manage to escape from Imperial captivity then face the challenge of evading pursuit forces and bounty hunters who persistently track them down to capture or kill them.
Bounty Hunters[]
Bounty hunters and mercenaries grow in numbers and influence during The Dark Times as they feed off the corruption and injustice that oppressive Imperial policies create.
The Clone Wars leave many systems in chaos. Ordnance remains strewn about in wreckage and on battlefields. Many trained soldiers, particularly from the Separatists, find themselves with no useful profession in the Empire's New Order. Those who had been serving with security forces usurped by Imperial occupation troops choose between finding new careers or using their expertise in some other military field. Aliens faced with deportation, imprisonment, or slavery take up arms and fend for themselves in one of the few acceptable fringe occupations available to their kind. These conditions help to form a base of bounty hunters and mercenaries who pursue their own selfish agendas (greed, revenge, carnage) in the guise of hunting down galactic criminals.
When law enforcement officials at any level- local, sectorwide, or Imperial- seek assistance in apprehending or eliminating an individual wanted for a crime (justifiably or otherwise), they post a warrant at security centers, in newsnet broadcasts, and on information terminals in public places. Bounty hunters regularly monitor these venues for new targets. Some maintain a professional rapport with area security forces and receive warrants before they become publicly released. A few bounty hunter guilds exist in various places that work with law enforcement to distribute warrant notices among their memberships to increase the opportunity for a capture (and a nominal share of the bounty). Occasionally security forces- and particularly the Empire- actively hire bounty hunters to track down the more dangerous and elusive enemies, freeing up Imperial forces for actions of a more military nature.
Bounty hunters operate in a number of ways. Some work established and familiar territories- a particular system, sector, or region- while others seek the most dangerous prey, pursuing criminals across the galaxy. Loners go off on their own, relying on their independence and personal contacts for support. Others band together in loosely knit groups, though by nature they rarely trust each other.
Individual bounty hunters vary in equipment, weapons, and method. A few subtle ones track their targets quietly under the cover of some more benign identity. Some have such notorious reputations that they cannot effectively operate under cover; in these cases they use intimidation to gather information and hunt down their bounties.
Those who have an active bounty on their heads must maintain a higher level of paranoia than usual. Most local and Imperial law enforcement units have responsibility for entire populations, but bounty hunters care only about apprehending or eliminating a few individuals. Targets must take greater care in their movements, possibly abandoning familiar territory or avoiding contact with resources used in the past, lest their trail attract attention. It's easy to evade well-armored, weapon-toting bounty hunters whose gruff attitudes and hulking silhouettes cut a path through more civilized crowds. But even these toughs prepare elaborate traps as devious as those meticulously constructed by hunters who work under cover. Even more than usual, the heroes must question everything they rely on and remain on guard for betrayal at every moment.
Adventure: Round-Up on Salliche[]
Main Article: Round-Up on Salliche
Upon announcing his New Order, Palpatine immediately seeks to solidify his hold on systems vital to the Empire's survival. Imperial forces spearheaded by ISB agents descend on Salliche, an agricultural planet that supports many neighboring Core Worlds with its abundant crops and efficient harvesting corporation.