Out of the Unknown (SW, CKII-ish)

[Skywalker_T-65]

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It is a dark time in the Galaxy. The ancient, corrupt, and tottering Republic has fallen. Riven by civil war and darkness from within, it has been replaced by the Galactic Empire. An iron-fist has descended upon the Galaxy, as the remnants of the Jedi Order and their former enemies in the Separatists, scatter to the winds. The legions of the Grand Army continue to hunt down these few brave survivors, stamping out any and all resistance to the New Order. Emperor Sheev Palpatine allows no dissent. No questions.

With the might of the Imperial Starfleet, lead by the ruthless enforcer Darth Vader, the New Order is ascendant. From the glittering Core to the forgotten Rim. Those few lights of resistance have gone to ground, to survive another day. The Jedi are in exile. The Confederacy is shattered. And the Senate has become a paper tiger, no matter how those like Mon Mothma or Bail Organa deny it. To resist is to die. To struggle against the Empire is a lost cause.

And yet, even in the darkest of times, light remains. A cliche, perhaps, but not a lie. Some Jedi continue to stand for the Republic they had so long protected. Militia's across the galaxy transition into armed resistance. Leaders come from all walks of life. Rebellion against the Empire is inevitable. The only question is...where will this rebellion come from?

The wealthy core? Bastion of Republican thought?

The rebellious Western Regions, where the Confederacy has fought a guerrilla campaign for its very survival?

Perhaps the Outer Rim, suddenly discovering exactly what it means to be ruled from the center.

Or...somewhere that not even Darth Sidious would have expected.

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Out of the Unknown
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Starlight. Even here, so far from the Core, it was a magnificent sight. No spacer would ever deny the little joys of simply...staring out at the Galaxy, knowing they could visit each and every one of those stars.

Or, at least, that they once could. You imagined that going back would be a death sentence now. Your home was out here, on the world beneath you. On the bridge of this starship. With the man standing next to you bearing a smug smirk on his face.

"You know, sometimes I wonder why we're out here. This is the end of nowhere. As far from the bright center of the uni..."

A raised hand, "Finish that sentence, and I'll slap you."

The man beside you chuckled good-naturedly, holding his hands up in surrender. "Right, right. Still, can't blame a guy for asking, y'know? I understand the desire to get away from the Empire, but couldn't we have just gone to Hutt Space or something? Hell, Dantooine is pretty nice too."

"And risk being found out? Not in your lifetime, not after--" words fail you, as memories return to your mind. Memories of fire and death. White armored figures killing your family and everything that was ever important to you.

To his credit, all he did was lay a supportive hand on your shoulder. You couldn't bring yourself to move it. It had been years since the Fall, and the memories just refused to die. Part of you doubted they ever would. And the rest of you didn't want them to. Even as the memories choked your words, they stoked the dull fire inside you. The cause and purpose that you had so long held yourself to. And the only thing keeping you alive, in the wildest of wild spaces.

The Unknown Regions. The name wasn't an accident. Even in the glory days of the Republic, the lack of hyperspace routes and- frankly -willpower to explore had left the region untouched. Civilizations rose and fell without the rich on Coruscant ever knowing.

That suited you just fine. It was why you had fled to this world instead of any other. Safety in obscurity. And a chance to strike the Empire without worrying about being found.

"Well, we're finally ready to move again." With a much more subdued voice, your companion sent a soft smile your way. "All you have to do is give the word, and we'll follow you into hell."

Despite his softer voice, he couldn't resist getting the last word in with a twinkle in grey eyes.

"Not that we haven't already done that, considering..."

You simply slap the back of his head, ignoring the chuckling by your side. Your eyes are only for the planet beneath you now...your home and the start of everything....

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Character Creation:

You are a refugee. You fled from the Empire, from your old home and family, from everything. Those who came with you--those you found in your new home-- all of them look up to you. It's a lot of pressure!

Not least because you knew that they would follow you, even to war. If you were to survive against the Empire, you needed to expand. And that meant fighting. You almost wished that you could have escaped that, too...

[ ] Jedi Knight: That you survived at all was a miracle. Everything is still so foggy...but survive you have. You don't know how many other Jedi survived, if any. You almost don't care. Those who came here with you matter more than anything else. But, some old habits die hard. You want to help others, and you hate everything the Empire stands for. Damn the code.

Pros:

• It Binds Us All: You are a Jedi. The Force is with you. (Bonus to martial and diplomacy)
• Jedi Powers: Even now, you can still do things others can't. (Unlocks 'Force' options)
• Legacy of the Republic: You are loyal to the Republic. It had problems, but it was all you knew. (Easier relations with future Rebels)

Cons:

• Shadow of the Empire: You are hunted. If even rumors of a lightsaber reach Vader... (Higher Imperial Attention penalty)
• Darkness Clouds Everything: Your connection to the Force is weaker than it once was. (Intrigue penalty)

[ ] Officer of the Confederacy: Separated from the holdouts elsewhere, you fled with what parts of your command you could salvage. The Clone Wars were over, but it didn't really feel that way to you. The same reason you had joined the Confederacy in the first place remained--a central government that didn't care for those outside the Core. Only now, that government did the same to everyone. It was a forgone conclusion that you would keep fighting...wasn't it?

Pros:

• Freedom Fighter: Gunray and his ilk aside, you joined to free your home. And you were damn good at it too. (Martial bonus)
• Outer Rimmer: Your homeworld was on the Rim. You're a bit more familiar with things out here than most. (Stewardship bonus)
• Confederate Loyalist: The Empire has only increased your desire to have a home free of Coruscant. (Bonus to relations with independence groups)

Cons:

• The Clone Wars: There really is no getting around being on the losing side, is there? Force-damned Grevious. (Diplomatic penalty)
• Anti-Slavery: Is it really a question? Slavers are the scum of the galaxy, you know this very well. ("Hostile" with any slaver faction)

[ ] The Lowly Rebel: You weren't anyone special, in the grand scheme of things. You just were in the right place, at the right time. For becoming a Rebel. You were in the wrong place, for your family. You will never, ever forgive the Empire.

Pros:

• Unknown Soldier: No one knew who you were before this, and that can work to your advantage. (Low Imperial Attention)
• Local Specialty: You aren't quite from the UR, but you might as well be. (Intrigue bonus)
• Freedom Fighter: More than anything else, you are fighting for freedom. The specifics don't much matter to you. (No diplomatic penalties)

Cons:

• Building from Scratch: There are some disadvantages to being unknown too, you guess. (Stewardship penalty)
• Galactic Unfamiliarity: To say you don't know what it's like Coreward would be an understatement. (Less mission options in other regions)

And finally:

Gender:

[ ] Male

[ ] Female

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Right then. I'm sure this can only end well

Because my muse is an insistent one, a new quest. This one is based in part on the other CKII-style Quests floating around, though I have made some level of changes. In simplest terms though:

This is based on CKII for the primary system. This means that your character has certain stats- Marital, Diplomacy, Learning, Stewardship, Intrigue. I may also include Piety to abstract the Force. Debating that one. Now, each of these stats are directly related to how actions are taken. Your character will have a set of stats, and any advisers you have will have their own stats. Your stats reflect in rolls- if you have a high Diplomacy stat, it will subsequently increase your chances on a good roll with a Diplomacy action.

I'm sure most are familiar with these by now, but for those who aren't, that'll be in the next post.

For now, the big thing to know is that you are in charge of a faction in the Unknown Regions. This is what I'm calling a mix between a Rebel Cell and an Empire Builder. You're Rebels against the Empire, yes, but you're also trying to be Thrawn. In other words, you are building up a faction in the one part of the Galaxy that is more or less safe from Imperials. This is to allow the more fun parts of Empire building, without worrying about the Empire randomly smacking you down.

This being said...the UR is named such for good reason. There be Dragons here.



Once I have reserved all necessary posts, voting on character will be open. Hopefully I can actually keep this one going >.>

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[Skywalker_T-65]

And here are the character stat explanations:

Spoiler: Stat explanation

Martial: Military actions. Both leadership and direct combat abilities.
Diplomacy: What it says on the tin. How well you work in diplomatic circles and with other groups.
Stewardship: Economics 101. Stewardship is how well you run your faction economically.
Intrigue: Spying, really. All that deals with.
Learning: How well you, well, learn. This is typically abstracted in research points, and how well you research technology and other such things.
Piety: If used, this will relate to matters of the Force. Not really needed for religion like in the actual PDox game.

Another part of your character are Traits. In CKII, these traditionally relate to helping improve your dynasty (Genius, Attractive) or to your character stats (Genius again, Strong). For the purposes of this Quest, I won't use the simpler ones. These traits will be given in relation to the character you pick and the actions you take. For example, if you do something truly achievement worthy, this may become a stat boost.

At the start, each character comes with three positive traits and two negative traits. This is for balance purposes and to differentiate the starting positions. As the game progresses, these traits can be improved...or made worse...by character choices and actions. As well as new traits being added.



Finally, the Military will be using a variation of Empire at War's system instead of CKII. This is because I find Empire at War to work very well for a general abstraction. Why do I say this?

1. Economy: Empire at War has a system of Credits that you make after a certain amount of time. In game, that is one 'Galactic Day'. In Quest, it will be one Turn. This credit intake is directly related to buildings constructed and planets owned. The more (and better) you have, the more money you make. To adapt it to CKII, your Stewardship skill will impact how efficient your intake is.

2. Tech Tiers: To reflect how technology develops rapidly in this time frame, EaW's Tech Tiers will be used. Starting at Tier One, Clone Wars level, and moving up from there. How far it goes will be developed as the Quest goes along, and as technology develops. I don't want to put a hard cap just yet. However, do keep in mind there is a hard cap in the Tier you rest at. If you are at Tier One, you aren't going to be building Imperial Star Destroyers (yes I know these are technically late Clone Wars-era, work with me here ).

3. Unit Caps: You will have a Unit Cap, depending on tech tier and resources. As in EaW, this can be boosted by developing higher level buildings and by gaining new planets and resources. This is an abstraction (a very loose one, trust me I've been informed of how ridiculously complex this really is) of economics and resources. If you don't have the industry or technology to support beyond a certain number of units, you simply can't build anything more. This is also for balance purposes, to prevent spamming units out that you shouldn't be able to maintain.

4. Unit Points: Related to the above, each unit has a specific Cost associated with it. An abstraction of manpower and maintenance, this can be influenced by technology and by Faction Traits (more on that later). A basic fighter unit, say a Z-95 squadron, would be worth 1 point. An ISD would be more like 30, though I am still working out the fine details. If you have played Empire at War, you have a pretty basic understanding of what I'm aiming for with this.

5. Faction Traits: Just as your character(s) have traits, each Faction has traits. Rebels would have their traits/trait tree, Imperials their own, Chiss their own...so on and so forth. There are certain starting traits for each group, including your own. These influence anything from action choices to maintenance costs, to technology research.



I believe this is it for now. Will add to this post as needed.

 

[Skywalker_T-65]

*Character Sheets go here*

 

[Skywalker_T-65]

*Faction information goes here*

 

[Skywalker_T-65]

*Reserved*