Ziost - Crown of the Sith Empire

More info to come but a post Order 66, fallen order era game in Winter 2020. Some rules preview below.

Rules

Origins: Origins are the entry point into the campaign, this game has four basic origins; Criminal, Resistance, Outcast, and Local. The skill increase can not take a starting skill above 2 as normal.

• Criminals have a checkered past and are known to the underworld in some way, maybe it was not by choice but your daily life is on the wrong side of the law begin with 1 point in Stealth, Knowledge Underworld, or Streetwise but they must increase starting Suspicion by .5.
• Resistance means that the character has decided that the Empire or Imperial presence on Bankor is not in the best interest of Bankor and choose to resist. May select Discipline, Athletics, or Ranged Light but they must increase starting Suspicion by .5.
• Outcasts are new arrival from elsewhere maybe a refugee or just an immigrant trying to start over they do not gain any skills but may start with +250 credits and an increase of .5 to their starting Suspicion.
• Locals are the numberless masses that live on Bankor, they are folks just trying to get by or maybe just trying to blend in. They do not gain any additional skills but they start with +50 credits and may decrease starting Suspicion by .5 to a minimum of 0.

Force Users and Jedi: Force users do not have to be a Jedi, they can be unaligned folks who have no connection to the fallen order if so they use the rules as normal in Force and Destiny or may use a universal specializations that grants Force Rating, if there is a question please ask the GM. Those who were trained as Jedi must take the Jedi career from Rise of the Separatists or Collapse of the Republic, specifically the Padawan specialization.

Those that start as Jedi trained may begin with a lightsaber in lieu of any starting money and must also take Fallen Order (10) as their Obligation which is worth ten points, this will grant them +10 XP; they can forego the lightsaber but they still have Fallen Order (5) Obligation but only granted +5 XP. All Force Users start with +.5 Suspicion, Jedi Trained start with +1 Suspicion.

Special rule for Force Users, the first Despair rolled in a scene will summon Imperial scrutiny, the second Despair rolled by players in the scene will summon an Inquisitor or similar Imperial nemesis threat. If the character that rolls this has a Suspicion of 1 or higher will instead summon an Inquisitor or equal threat on the first Despair rolled in the scene, this can happen in event threads as well.

Suspicion: The Galactic Empire does not suffer sedition and is always on the lookout for dissidents. This is rated by a personal Suspicion score that is rated from 0 to 5, 0 being below notice and 5 being primary target of elimination by Imperial authorities. Characters that are caught doing criminal acts, supporting the Resistance, or suspected of being a Force User can draw undue attention to themselves.

Players begin with Suspicion at 0, adjusted by starting origin and other features. The higher the number the more notice and hassle by the Empire and local authorities they suffer.

• Suspicion 0 to 1: No modifiers, just another faceless rabble living under the boots of Imperial authority.
• Suspicion 1.1 to 2: The character is known to the authorities, they suffer a setback die to all event rolls.
• Suspicion 2.1 to 3: Your face is marked, suffer two setback dice to all event rolls and increase Obligation by 5 (Marked by Empire).
• Suspicion 3.1 to 4: Wanted by the Empire, cannot join public events and the character will be targeted by Imperial authorities on any day they start at this level of suspicion.
• Suspicion 4.1 to 5: Same as the previous level but the Imperial agents will be elite caliber up to and including an Inquisitor.

Alderaan is still on the schedule.

Local Organizations

The Resistance: What is called the Resistance is a local group who find the jackboots of the Empire and their lackeys distasteful, made up of folks who feel their rights are being trampled by this new galactic government they are not part of some galaxy wide rebellion but could be if allowed to flourish and survive instead they simply resist the local governance and their Imperial overlords; hitting supply lines, striking at industrial site, and basically impeding the work that the Empire needs done and making the local governance look bad. These are people who remember the freedom of the frontier and seem determined to recapture that nostalgia. They operate in the shadows and most members come from those who live in the shadow of wealth and power and feel that the world is no longer working for their best interest, they don’t have lofty ideals yet, but they could if they found the right cause to unite around outside of some general notion of self determination. They have a cell network at best and no real overall leader but some individuals seem to rise above others like ex-Republic marine, Yusandr Viks or the enigmatic Red Night, names known to the Empire and heroes to the downtrodden.

Yusandr is considered a folk hero despite herself shrugging off the title, she’s down to earth and accessible, well as accessible as a known Imperial criminal can be. She turned to the Resistance when her husband was killed in an Imperial raid, an innocent bystander caught in the crossfire and gunned down to the ruthless nature attributed to this new Empire.

In Contrast the rogue called Red Night is probably just a bandit who also seems to enjoy striking at Imperial assets and that has given him a bit of a legend and reputation. He is ruthless to the Empire but he tends to give back to the downtrodden in his own ways which makes him a likable trickster figure. Nominally a member of the Resistance, he tends to focus on doing what he can to line his pockets, aid those he sees need aiding, and causing some mayhem.

Aznuri: The kilometer tall forests of the sky-tree sea are home to tribes of sentients, human, twi’lek, and other common species who live in a strange techno-primitivism and call themselves the Aznuri. They speak their own language but some have been known to speak Basic and Huttese on the rare occasions they meet with outsiders. Many consider them violent and xenophobic but they seem to only be violent when people intrude into their regions of the sky-tree sea which are usually marked, as long as one knows what to look for. The Empire leaves the Aznuri alone, they have nothing they want and they are more concerned with the hypermatter industry than pacifying tribals living in a vast primal forest. The thick canopy makes the sky-tree sea a place of twilight lit by the plants and animal life that exist there. The Aznuri often wear war paints that glow in the twilight, not exactly stealthy but it can be terrifying to see when their warriors come at you.

The tribes do war with each other over resources but save their ire for outsiders and frontiersmen know better than to intrude into those regions the tribes call their own. Despite this they are not overly warlike and rarely chase outsiders once they leave their lands, it makes some think they are protecting something but what that could be no one can fathom or even care to contemplate.

The Hutt Cartels: The criminal syndicate of the Hutts is expansive and feared, this is no different for this local branch under the control of Tididol the Hutt. She is ruthless, callous, and always keeps her eye on the credits. They know how far they can stretch the law without the Empire slamming down on them like a hammer and make sure to grease the right palms to get things done and also providing legitimate fronts to aid the local business and keep themselves entwined with local industry. If you want to work and don’t care about getting your hands dirty there is always something that needs doing.

The Fallen Order

It has been four years since the Jedi Order was exposed as traitors to the Republic and their grand temple on coruscant was raided and their numbers culled. Those members that did survive went into hiding, some could not believe this was galaxy wide but in time they saw the complete betrayal and either fell into despair, hid themselves, or in some darker cases gave into their anger and fell.

Public perception of the Jedi is tainted by propaganda and most folks buy into the story that they were plotting to overthrow the government or at least up top something why else would they have been named enemies of the state. Those that knew the Jedi Order find it hard to believe that an organization that existed to defend the Republic would work against it, but they often keep their opinion quiet in these dark times.

Surviving the Jedi Purge often comes with great sacrifice and it scattered the Jedi who were often off world if they were full members fighting the Separatists; but obviously not impossible some may have simply walked away before the purge came, or were luckily not near clone soldiers, or simply survived the ambush and then found out the full extent of the betrayal. Whatever the case one of the earliest warnings after the attack was the message left by Obi-Wan Kenobi to stay away from the Temple and go into hiding.

Padawans that survived this purge are in a hard place, bereft of guidance and protection most try to blend into the shadows, some dismantled their lightsabers and tried to bury that past and live ordinary lives but this is rarely an easy task especially with the Empire actively hunting any survivors forcing most to abandon the Core for the outer regions of the Empire.

As a note most Jedi do not know that Darth Vader is Anakin Skywalker, most believe he perished in the betrayal and would be hard pressed to believe that such a great hero would have turned against the Order. Just something to keep in mind and as for knowing other padawans the Jedi Order is massive, and although the temple on Coruscant is the major center of learning and leadership for the Jedi that is not the only place training happens, and often padawans train in the field alongside their masters. This is important and players that choose to be Jedi survivors in this era should give much thought to who their master was as that is or was an important relationship for them.

Aznuri

The Aznuri are natives, as much as any sentients are native to Bankor, made up of humans twi’leks, and a smattering of other sentients that live in the Sky Tree Sea. These tribes are considered techno-primitives, they are well aware of the technology available but have no means to make their own outside of trade with outsiders and despite their percieved xenophobic attitudes they do make trade with outsiders from time to time.

The Aznuri are supposedly descended from some religious order that lived in the forests thousands of years ago, but much of that history is blended with oral history of legend and verse; they do not have a standard for writing for their native language but they are often familiar with Basic and Huttese languages at least in spoken verse. Aznuri shun outsiders but this is not universal among the tribes, some offer themselves as guides and others act as traders and then of course there are what the Aznuri call the Sky Called, those that leave the Aznuri tribes to seek a life with the outsiders. Being Sky called is not banishment, but it often is a sign that the Aznuri holds their well being above that of the tribe and people and can breed distrust but one can return if they remain in good standing.

The Aznuri are seen as hunters and warriors by outsiders but among the people the most respected are those who can create, every day goods or artwork are seen as the height of competence and even the most hardened warrior has some skills in crafting things. In fact among their courting traditions an Aznuri will bring a prospective partner an item they have crafted as a gift, something practical and also artistic. Another facet of Aznuri life is that personal belongings are not truly a thing, objects are owned either by the tribe or the family. Typically weapons, items used for preparing food or clothes, or the maintenance of the tribe are tribal owned and simply taken when needed. Homes and clothing are family owned, and things to maintain a household but personal objects are not really a thing; the closest it comes would be jewelry or tattoos, often made with glowing pigment. This can cause problems outside Aznuri lands but they are not fools and they adapt quickly though Aznuri dominated enclaves in the cities of Bankor, those who are sky called, tend to adhere to these traditions.

The Aznuri religious practices are animistic with a nuance of the Force and hold that spirits suffuse the land and through the actions of people they can become foul or benevolent. Often a tribe has what they call a Speaker of the land to interpret the signs but those who are truly touched the spirits are brought before the Hidden Ones who live in the Calm, a Force tradition of monks and a secret they do not share with outsiders. The Hidden Ones protect the Calm, but little else is known about their ways as they are reclusive even with their fellow Aznuri.

Bankor is up and running, you can register and then submissions begin on the 18th.

Pre-game will be the 22nd of January, game start will be the 25th of January, character submissions will be the 18th of January.

Players are starting characters +25 XP and please see this thread for additional info not yet posted: viewtopic.php?f=7&t=978

Forum is here: http://bankorshadows.fallenash.com/index.php