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May The Invisible Hand Be With You - (Star Wars CK2-Style Quest)

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Publicola said:
My analogy was not to 'reprogramming' a droid, but to 'deprogramming' a cult survivor. And Maul absolutely qualifies under that description; he was enslaved to Palpatine from a very young age, and trained to serve as Palpatine's pet assassin. Which is why he hates Sidious so much. Vectivus was himself a Baneite Sith who didn't fall prey to the lust for power & vengeance, and for that reason he would have special insight in how to help Maul overcome those temptations. For instance: "the best revenge is living well," that letting his hatred for Palpatine consume him is precisely what Palpatine trained him to do.

We're not Jedi, so we're not asking him to give up his desire for revenge -- if anything, we'd be promising to satisfy that desire. What we'd like, is for Maul to become a person (and not just a Sith tool) while he's waiting for that opportune moment.
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He may've just been a tool prior to his defeat at the hands of Obi-Wan, but we see in The Clone Wars that he has most definitely become his own person after his time in the trash heap. He has his own goals, opinions, plans, and he even formed a positive relationship with someone when his training was meant to dissuade against exactly that. He might hate Sidious for what he did to him but that doesn't mean he isn't a proper Sith himself.

Panory said:
Also, Sidious didn't kill Maul. Obi-wan did.
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My bad. I meant to say "take care of him".

Panory said:
And our greatest threat? Really? You know we're fighting Sidious, right? Do I need to link the scene of him casually roflstomping Maul and his brother? You can say Maul coming back is a bad thing, but he's nowhere near our greatest threat.
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I do know we're fighting Sidious, but by the time we enter into a confrontation with him we'll have all our cards lined up and ready to strike (hell, if we wanted him dead now all we'd have to do is call up the Jedi and let them take care of it). We won't have such a luxury with Maul, and he subjugated the entire galactic criminal underworld in a matter of weeks so he is most definitely capable of taking us on.

Panory said:
This. Talzin heals the mind, we heal the body. No one said those droid legs have to be perfect either. Maybe they have a weakness. Maybe we're the one who knows about that. Maybe his legs explode if he turns on us.
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A Hellsing Jackal gambit, then? Can't say I disagree with the idea, but let's not count on only that as a security measure if we do intend to use him.
 
So here I am, still chugging away at that galaxy survey. I'm working on the southeast Expansion Region, and just hit the Thaere sector, specifically the Cularin system.

Holy sithspit.

Did anyone else know about this? Apparently, Cularin was the location of the "Living Force" RPG campaign released by Wizards of the Coast -- the campaign lasted for six years (released alongside the movies), with twenty-one 'adventure trilogies' and a full eighty-nine individual 'interactive adventures'.

Again: holy sithspit.

So here I am, several hours later, having successfully reviewed all of two planets from a single system in this sector. There's so much here -- a Force-sensitive race of chameleons, a Jedi Academy led by a 'maverick' headmaster who teaches self-reliance and a bunch of non-Force technical skills, (not one but) two dark-side Force sects, plus a slew of Sith and Jedi artifacts, one of which recently caused the entire Cularin system to blink out of existence for ten years...!

So yeah. I'm thinking this might be an archaeology site we want to visit at some point.
 
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I'm kinda echoing Dooku's thoughts on Maul.
He's an animal, with some skill and cunning maybe, but not fit for greater tasks.

We could take the risk of trying to put that hound on our leash, but it's in my view too risky for limited use. Too unstable.
 
Andres110 said:
That may have matched his pre-Phantom Menace description, but that is not the case by the time The Clone Wars comes around. To put it simply, Sidious considered him a rival.
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I doubt that, their actions were an annoyance at best (Ciaran has managed to foil more Sidious' schemes than Maul ever was), BUT the fact that he knew the true identity of Palpatine made him a real threat, imagine what would have happened if the Jedi capture him...

So I don't think Palpatine considers him a rival, only a very dangerous loose end.

Plus even if we get Maul back to Talzin, I would prefer of she keeps him with a short leash. He is way too much unpredictable and treacherous to be in our inner circle.
 
Fanhunter696 said:
I doubt that, their actions were an annoyance at best (Ciaran has managed to foil more Sidious' schemes than Maul ever was), BUT the fact that he knew the true identity of Palpatine made him a real threat, imagine what would have happened if the Jedi capture him...
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Sidious straight up called him a rival, and how he gathered so much power in so little time despite having no connections or resources to start off with was a testament to his potential.
 
Andres110 said:
Sidious straight up called him a rival, and how he gathered so much power in so little time despite having no connections or resources to start off with was a testament to his potential.
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I am not saying that he had not a great potential and a lot of talent, but acting just by himself he would have become a powerful Crime Lord, and maybe he conquered a few star systems.

He would have become an annoyance to be eventually dealt with (what Ciaran is considered now, basically). But Palpatine acted the way he did in the Clone Wars only because Maul knew his identity, and was conspiring against him using that knowledge.
 
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Publicola said:
So here I am, still chugging away at that galaxy survey. I'm working on the southeast Expansion Region, and just hit the Thaere sector, specifically the Cularin system.

Holy sithspit.

Did anyone else know about this? Apparently, Cularin was the location of the "Living Force" RPG campaign released by Wizards of the Coast -- the campaign lasted for six years (released alongside the movies), with twenty-one 'adventure trilogies' and a full eighty-nine individual 'interactive adventures'.

Again: holy sithspit.
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Good grief, that's a bloody crowded system, is the place a damnned Force Nexus or something?

On the upside it seems like the perfect place for Ciaran upgrade from planet looting to system looting.
 
I don't know if it's been brought up yet, but has anyone contacted the Verpine about buying weapons? Don't know who they're aligned with..
 
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(Omake) Sabacc Night On The Oracle (Canon)
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    • Sabacc Night on the Oracle​

    The Oracle,
    Recreation Room

    "Hit me."

    *thwack*

    "I didn't mean literally, you asshole!"

    Laughter breaks out around the table. I roll my eyes and toss the Slussi a card. Around the table is a motley assortment of Watchers. First we have two Guardians, the Slussi Epsken and the Corellian Olvia. After that comes a Zeltron Agent who frequents the req room too often, Dani. A Devaronian apprentice, Javik, sits beside Martem the Coruscanti Seeker. And in the middle of it all, I deal the cards.

    Epsken finishes rubbing his shoulder and glares at Dani. She only gives him a wink and a smirk while throwing down her own card. Javik chuckles while shaking his head. He looks at me and asks, "Why are we even using these ancient things anyway?"

    I shrug.

    "We're using paper so that someone," I direct my gaze towards Olvia, "isn't able to cheat using a wildcard."

    Olvia leans back and throws her hands up in the air.

    "That was one time! I don't even have that on me tonight!"

    Epsken glances at her out of the corner of his eyes and hums.

    "Mhmm. Little Issy still wants that back by the way."

    "I already gave it back though."

    Dani gives a soft snort, "So she says."

    Olvia frowns at Dani but then a wicked grin grows across her face. Dani narrows her eyes in response.

    "Say Javik," Olvia prods, "how did the ceremony for the first Walker go? I'm sure Dani was sooo happy for the girl."

    Javik's easy-going smile becomes strained as he casts furtive glances at Dani. Dani's eyes have become so narrow that they're practically closed. Epsken and Javik shuffle slightly away from the obviously fuming Agent. Epsken because he's smart enough to move away from a pissed off woman and Javik no doubt from something with the force. That or maybe it's just from how strong Dani is gripping the table. Is that a dent?

    Dani Plenar was one of Tyro's earlier apprentices and the first apprentice to be considered a true Agent. It's fairly well known that she had also bragged that she would be the first to attain the rank of knight-level agent. It was a hard pill to swallow when a Kaleesh newbie soared through and took the achievement from her. In fact, it looks like she might be choking on it.

    Javik squeaks out, "Remember Tyro's control exercises Dani."

    Dani closes her eyes and exhales. Finally, she growls out, "The bitch fainted."

    Olvia's smile manages to grow even further. My head tilts at her expression. I didn't realize that that was physically possible.

    "Nooo~."

    "Yes."

    Martem scrunches his eyebrows and asks, "Why? Was it because of the moment?"

    Javik gives a weak chuckle and shakes his head.

    "I doubt it. Ciaran was there so I think that's what caused it."

    Epsken grunts, "Huh?"

    "You don't understand how much this girl likes her."

    Dani flops back into her seat and spreads her arms.

    "She is in awe of the ground that the Boss walks on. I wouldn't be surprised if Kygeetu put her on the level of a god!"

    "Wow."

    Olvia raises an eyebrow.

    "Did she ask for an autograph?"

    Dani rolls her eyes.

    "Ugh."

    Epsken chuckles and shakes his head.

    "I can just imagine that. 'Congratulations on your promotion. Your reward is a vacation trip to the boring plains of Dantooine and an autograph of yours truly. No raise though.' "

    The group laughs and Dani is able to smirk at the joke. The whole group goes back to focusing on the game for a round. Javik wins this one with everyone else bombing out.

    He chuckles, "Damn. Never saw a round like that one before."

    "Darling, you must not have played a lot then. I played a game once where everyone bombed out over three times in a row."

    "Isn't that the game where Issa had hacked the other cards?"

    "Yeah. I think her words were, 'If I bomb out, everyone else is as well.' "

    "Talking about bombing out, did any of you hear about the blackmail being loosed on Ciaran?"

    The entire group goes quiet at that and visibly shifts to focus on Martem.

    Dani whistles, "So the whole galaxy now knows of our illustrious leader's 'dark side'?"

    I ignore Dani's lame pun and finally speak up.

    "No. The wider galaxy is still ignorant."

    Martem nods his head to show he agrees with me.

    "Yeah, Cün is right. All of it fell flat."

    Dani leans in with a smile and purrs, "Oh I have to hear this. How did you Seeker boys fix this one?"

    "Paperwork."

    "What?"

    Dani is sporting an incredulous look and even Epsken is giving me a stare. Olvia looks like she slightly understands it though.

    "Hehe", she giggles. "Wait, so you're saying that all the possible dirt on us was dealt with by misplacing a few files on a server?"

    "Along with a few key edits here and there and bribes to the right people. In the end everything official that linked us to anything illicit were either a contradictory mess or just not there anymore."

    Javik's jaw is wide open and he looks helplessly over to Martem. He only nods his head with a big proud smile.

    "Don't forget the Black Sun. We used more than a few of their old records to pin the blame on them for some of the harder stuff."

    Dani has a hand over her large smile while Olvia is laughing her guts out in her corner. Javik can only shake his head. He raises a hand towards the ceiling in a mock toast.

    "Here's to the Black Sun. Were there ever a better bunch of scapegoats?"

    The entire table breaks out into a small cheer mixed with laughter. Epsken doesn't join in though and has his eyes narrowed. When everyone sits back down he asks, "You said official. What about unofficial channels? Surely there are people who are either too stupid to keep their mouth shut or could be paid to talk. I heard something about this from Sarrin, my squad mate. He said he heard some dirt about Ciaran from a loud mouth in a Hutt exchange. Obviously someone didn't have the brains to keep shut so others must be talking too."

    I nod my head in his direction. I then lay my elbow on the Sabacc table and show Epsken two fingers.

    "Two reasons why the unofficial channels didn't work either. One is because those who, as you said, 'didn't have enough brains' were either taught better or they disappeared. There's at least one guy who didn't care for a lesson about what's allowed and refused all entreaties in shutting up. One day he found himself spread across a few star systems when his hyperdrive malfunctioned."

    Javik grimaces at that while Olvia's eyes widen. Dani smirks.

    "I like how you guys think."

    Epsken hums and then grunts, "So reason number two?"

    "A mixture of minor reasons with a very large one. Lady Ciaran's own great reputation and the fact that everything official speaks for her benevolence, even if many of the officials themselves know better. For the usual individual, slander and rumor is only truly believed when known facts back it all up. Currently there are no known facts in unofficial circulation. We made sure that there aren't any per the original question. Right now there's only slander and rumors. In the end, what's one to believe?

    "Do you agree that Lady Ciaran is secretly a crime lord so prevalent throughout the galaxy that only the Hutts are her superior and that she secretly leads the CNS? All of this flies in the face of her known philanthropic enterprises and pushes for peaceful negotiations like Camaas. Or do you go with the simple statement that she is a successful business woman who sells medical supplies and who spends much of her time organizing rebuilding efforts such as Taris? After all, how could someone who funds refugee camps be an ally to the Hutts who are well known slavers?

    "The founder of the Abyss Watchers? Why, it says it right here on the paperwork we modified. One 'Ano Nym Ous'. It doesn't matter that the Jedi know of us because they're not talking and we certainly aren't. The same thing goes with Senate Security Solutions. There are no ties between Lady Ciaran and this mercenary group called the Abyss Watchers. There are no ties between Lady Ciaran and the SSS. There have never been ties with her at all."

    I show my hands to the group and then lean back. The group is deep in thought. A whole minute passes by when, finally, Epsken nods his head.

    "Fair enough. I wouldn't have believed all of that either."

    Everyone else nods with him at that. The game continues on until Martem of all people winds up with a +23. Olvia slams her cards down, Javik groans, and Epsken grumbles. Dani remains quiet but then winks at me and flashes me a quick smile.

    She asks, "So is our great founder really now named 'Ano Nym Ous'?"
     
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    • Publicola said:
    Again, not terribly subtle. Can anyone tell me why Ferrus Olin is considered such a particularly useful asset? I know very little about the character...
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    He was basically the Golden Boy of the Jedi order, and the second most talented/promising risings star that the order had in generations (being the first one Anakin with the whole The Chosen One thing). He and Anakin went together in missions and they usually clashed violently because Ferus was a excessively by the books Jedi.

    By the way, @Dr. Snark I´ve just noticed that you have missed my post with proposals for this turn. I understand that it is far too late to be included in this turn, but I would like to know your opinion regardless

    Fanhunter696 said:
    And I have a few more suggestions for actions @Publicola

    Archeologic expedition: find the legendary Katana Fleet (we talked for a while about getting it, but maybe there is no IC reason to try this)

    Intrigue

    Contact/hire Anzati Master Assassin: these guys are the best Assassins of the Galaxy and Masters of Stealth to have one of them training our heroes and agents, and/or working for us as a Hero or advisor. Plus they are easy to find (they have a planet and Assassin Schools)

    Personal

    Continue our studies in Makashi: we have some training holocrons, and the form 2 suits us (best for duels) so it's worth the try, I it's not we can find a instructor (Corellian Jedi I choose you...)

    Learning Martial arts: there are Martial arts on the Galaxy like the Echani or the Teras Kasi that covers one of Ciaran's weak points, unarmed combat

    Marksmanship: what it says on the tin, maybe redundant with Blazing chains, but everything helps.

    Learning

    Anti force research.

    Yslamari. Thrawn can not be wrong, and this cute little is probably the most useful weapon against force users

    Deshade. These fuckers are big, mean and completely immune to any force powers, they are an almost extinct race, but one of these guys with a full beskar armor is a force to be reckoned with

    Gather information of the creation of proper lighsabers, so both the agents and Ciaran can build their own proper lightsabers (this may fit best under lore)

    Create personalised armor: we have the mandalorians as allies, and they are the finest armores of the Galaxy, so it would be great to have them made personalised armors for our heroes and maybe the agents (but I suppose we should wait to take this action until was have researched cortosis, beskar and Phirik)

    Edit:

    I have seen the sheer amount of Archeology actions and we need at least 1 more action there to make things manageable, so I suggest to have an action to hire more Archeologists, so we can take two of those actions each turn
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    And I have a question about the base in Naboo, the next turn we will be able to choose either to turn our state into a resort or a private retirement, but I don´t know why these options have to be exclusive, especially with the good relationship we have with Naboo in general. What prevent us to turn our first state in one of the options, then buy another property and turn it into the option not taken?
     
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