EotE:Main Page
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Welcome to the Main Page for EotE.
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Introduction
EotE is an acronym for Edge of the Empire, a Star Wars campaign set in the period between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. The campaign was thrown together by William Bushway as a short-term replacement when other ongoing games were put on hiatus. EotE began in February of 2005, and ran for 4 sessions, going on hiatus itself in April of 2006.
Campaign Concept
EotE takes place in the period of time between Episodes 3 & 4 of the Star Wars saga. This is a period of time immediately after Palpatine declares himself emperor when some members of the Galactic Senate still believe that they can decline to participate in the newly-formed Empire without engaging in open Rebellion. The Empire has work to do consolodating its power - rhetoric flys in the Sentate that worlds attempting to leave the Empire are harboring dangerous subversive elements like the Jedi, who are still being actively hunted due to their attempted coup.
The newly formented and still secretive Rebellion pledges aid to such worlds. This sets up a situation much like the early days of World War 1 and 2, before the U.S. officially entered the war, when a number of idealistic young American men enlisted in the armed forces of many European nations. Unfortunately, the nascent Rebellion underestimates the iron hand of the Empire: Any time they attempt to stand against the Empire in open conflict, they suffer crushing defeat. Eventually only the most ardent and idealistic members of the Rebellion argue that independant worlds can co-exist with the Empire. Publically-known supporters of the Rebellion "disappear" all over the Core worlds, tried and convicted for crimes ranging from sedition to acts of terrorism.
This is a universe where realists still looking for a freedom and independance are moving Rimward ahead of the steadily growing reach of the Empire. The Rebellion itself is transitioning from an ideological organization to a more pragmatic one - they're developing the long game that will eventually pay off in the ep. 4-6 era. While the fate of the universe may seem grim now, the human (humanoid?) spirit perserveres: Peoples adapt, and there is plenty of room for intelligent, clever people to thrive if they're willing to live by their own code rather than one they're given.
Formula
Players take the roles of a group of rogues from different walks of life, united in the struggle to Make a Buck and Get By. Appropriate character types run the gamut from idealistic Rebellion recruits, veteran soldiers from a world that tried to resist the Empire who resents the Rebellion for getting his friends killed, and characters that thanks their stars for both the Empire and the Rebellion, and the business opportunites the struggle between them creates.
There is room for Jedi in this campaign, though they are less than common. While many were wiped out in the purge by Order 66, some Jedi were not attached to clone units but instead operated alone or in pairs where full units of troops were unfeasible. Many of these Jedi escaped to the less-populated Rim, or disappeared into the crowded Core worlds. These Jedi are being actively hunted by the Emporor's Right Hand, the fearsome Darth Vader. As such, with an eye towards the survival of Jedi knowledge and tradition, Jedi are forced to hide their identies from all but their most trusted companions. Jedi almost never gather in groups larger than three for fear of discovery, and even then most gatherings are only temporary. Some Jedi have even adopted a long-standing Sith tradition: One Apprentice, one Master. In the game as pitched, being a Jedi is actually a liability.
That having been said, this is Star Wars. Ultimately, the Empire is bad, and the Rebellion is good. Good people that support the Empire have been decieved or deluded, and bad people that support the Rebellion are selfish and greedy. Neither, however, is utterly irredeemable.
I see the Empire/Rebellion struggle as a backdrop for the campaign. The central conflict in the campaign is the the PCs vs. the Universe. Which side is the favorite and which is the underdog is also up to the PCs
Themes
Inspirations
- Firefly & Serenity
- Cowboy Bebop
- East Asian history (specifically China and Japan), and the Wuxia and Chanbara movies based thereupon.
- History of the Catholic Church, specifically the fall of the Holy Roman Empire
- The United Nations, specifically the organization and duties of the U.N. Security Council
Campaign Elements
Timeline
The EotE timeline draws heavily on, and is consistent with, Star Wars canon. This includes published material from the Expanded Universe (EU). No attempt has been made here to identify the specific sources of each timeline element or its "level of canon" (as per the Lucas Liscencing "holocron" database). In addition, elements relating specifically to the EotE has been inserted a logical points along the timeline. These entries can be identified by the inter-wiki links to pages on this wiki containing further details on the people/places involved.
Jedi
I see the Jedi order in the campaign as somewhat analogous to the fall of Buddhism as an organized religion in China during the reign of Emperor Wu-Tsung, or the fall of the Holy Roman Empire. Before the fall of the Republic, the Jedi Order was at its height: The Jedi had used their Force-given insight into the future to insinuate themselves into the processes of government in the Republic. While mostly accepting of the Jedis' guidance, most of the secular authorities that made up the Republic had come to resent the undue influence held by a group that set itself beyond reproach. While most of the Jedi Council recognized the rise of this negative sentiment, they continued to believe that they were necessary to maintain order in the galaxy: They had to save the Republic from worst angels of their very nature.
In addition, in its last days, the Jedi order itself became divided along philosophical lines. The most prominent factions were those Jedi who believed in a Unifying Force, and those who believed in a Living Force. Each faction argued over the ownership of ancient Holocrons recorded by the Jedi masters of old, which they claimed supported one theory or another as the One True interpretation of the Force. Jedi archaeologists and scholars were scattered throughout the Republic, racing to be the first to discover the next piece of evidence supporting their theories. This internal strife and hubris led to the (willful) blindness to the Force that allowed Emperor Palpatine to bring them low.
The average citizen of the Republic (and now Empire) has a pretty low opinion of the Jedi. Before the fall, they were seen as members of an arcane religion that only enjoyed their prominence due to them exploiting ties with the bloated Republic bureacracy. They kidnapped children, stealing them from their families to be turned into emotionless automatons. They acted as self-appointed peace-keepers whose jurisdiction superceded all local secular authorities. The average citizen may have pity for the Jedi's ultimate fate, but more likely than not they think the galaxy is better off without them. If you combine these views with ongoing Imperial propoganda campaigns that paint Jedi as terrorists and zealots, the life of a post-Republic Jedi has not gotten much easier since Order 66 was given.
Game System
EotE was run using Wizards of the Coast's Star Wars Roleplaying Game, utilizing the d20 system.
Character Creation Guidlines
One of the things established before the game began was that all the players' characters knew and trusted each other. If a character had a dark secret that drove them, then their fellow party members knew it too (and had reasons of their own for sticking around, which all the PCs also knew). Not only were players responsible for their character's background, but as a group they were expected to collaborate on (at bare minimum) a timeline of who joined the group when, what the characters initial impressions were of each other, and what they thought about each other circa the beginning of the game.
- Charcters started at 4th level, using standard point buy for stats from the RCR (pg. 18, under Planned Generation).
- Characters started play with whatever items/equipment the players thought they would logically have: The GM reserved the right to veto anything more expensive than 2,000 credits.
- Characters were given the maximum possible VP for the first level. For subsequent levels, players were given the option to roll additional VP (with GM as witness) or simply add the middle ground of their vitality die (i.e., d4 = 2 VP, d6 = 3 VP, d8 = 4 VP, d10 = 5 VP) and add their CON modifier.
- Players were free to select any of the character classes, skill, and feats presented in the core rulebook, Powers of the Jedi, or the Hero's Guide. In addition, the Jedi Sentinel class from the WotC website was made available for Jedi characters. All characters were reviewed by the GM prior to the start of play with an eye towards game balance and "schtick preservation."
House Rules
New Mechanics
Revised Feats
New Feats
Revised Skills
Characters
Player Characters
- Nion Alim, played by Andi Johnson
- Captian of the Eclipse.
- Tieg Coymer, played by Jim Johnson
- Jedi.
- Venn Tharak, played by Matt Daniels
- Zabrak Jedi.
- Tobias Grimm, played by Troy Lenze
- Soldier.
- Ked'ra Jazra, played by Jess
- Ship's Engineer, latent Force Sensitive.
Legacy PCs
- Gil "Hardtack" Finn, originally played by William Bushway
- Captain of the Stars and Garters.
- Dorian "Swill" Andrion, originally played by Chris Arduini
- Starfighter Pilot.
- Joe "Sliv" Sleevan, originally played by Robert Shields
- Mercenary Pilot.
- Lone Jedi.
- H8-U2, originally played by Chris Yates
- Astromech Droid.
- Version, originally played by Brandon Settle
- Cyborg Bounty-hunter.
