Fanclub <=*=> The New Sith Order =*= Return of the Sith <=*=>... v.5

Greetings fellow Sith, Sithlings and Peons. Happy anniversary, our order was founded just before Halloween in 2003, thus making this our 13th year. Seems like an appropriate anniversary for a collection of such evil beings. What a glorious accomplishment for us, we must celebrate.

We have been through much. Our Order has risen to unequaled heights, and fallen into hellish depths, but we have always survived.

Happy All Hallows Eve my friends, may the Dark Side be with you always.

 

Well then, Congratulations and Happy Anniversary dar'jetiise!

 

The sort of armor that I'd like to see in the new canon:

 

Actually Dark Lord - I myself am wondering - CAN you imagine Tulak Hord or King Adas for the matter wearing armor? Afterall Anakin was encased in Sith armor for the matter - and well Ancient Sith 'once wore armor' ... and likewise I would too like to see someone wearing Tulak-Hord style armor in the new series coming up - in fact I'm surprised how the Storm Troopers didn't end up getting Sith-style battle armor - I mean Palpatine bothered with Anakin ... and surely Sith-style battle armor if augmented with The Force is surely more Powerful than whatever tech's up to date eh?

Master Mikaboshi! I take it you had a good time last night and today w' the festivities eh? Did you cosplay? Did you greet fellow Sith dressed up? Perhaps and to name a few? And a few Darth Mauls? Or did you also see Darth Hades, Darth Maleficent, Darth Tremaine, Darth Urusula, Darth Yeezma, Darth Frollo, Darth Grimhilde, Darth Goofy, Darth Donald, Darth Ursula, Darth Jafar, Darth Syndrome and Grand Moff Radcliffe, Grand Moff Shanyu and Grand Moff Mor-Tuffkin?

Alas we did not get as much festivities in Melbourne though coming home from work I myself did note some did dress up on the occasion; sorry no 'poor unfortunate Sith' in the crowds though ...

 

Oh I got a Sith for Halloween sorta

Kylo Ren

 

Really? So you cosplayed as him eh? Hmm ... did you FORCE plenty of Candy and Lollies from others?

 

Through surprisingly uncontrived means, Sinre and I have been attempting to do this already - apparently somewhat infamously, if Zor's posts in Lit are anything to go by - although you might as well throw Zakuul in there as well (which I tell you Sinrebirth, is providing much more material for those Infinite Sith connections, with its rich lore, mythology and many ancient evil deities!)

I've just finished chapter 9 of KOTFE. How did you do it, Bioware? How did you turn Vitiate from a Palpatine expy I hated to an increasingly lore-steeped world devourer I was grudgingly admiring (as of his consumption of Ziost) into now one of the most interesting and complex of all Sith Lords? And indeed, swiftly becoming my favourite ancient Sith? Notes of Traya, notes of Mnggal-Mnggal, and aforementioned notes of Palpatine and Nihilus sure, but this is one interesting character who is acting very much in ways an actually millennium-or-more old, truly immortal person might (rather than cliched Morgoths or Saurons who seem to just evilly brood without getting bored or without evolving as characters for untold millennia), and I'm loving him for it.

Well, Massassi didn't call each other such, no, because no Massassi achieved such station or title. But ancient (Kissai) Sith in general I find to actually be more excessive than their successors when it comes to addressing superiors or one another, likely because the Sith Lords were seen as living gods.

My personal preference would be cloaks and black robes worn over alchemically reinforced armour, looking something like the Witch-King. But that would only be for me. In general, Sith should wear what they think suits them and their purposes best. A blend of ancient and modern, in this context, would mean some would wear explicitly ancient apparel, others would opt for the standard hooded robes.

Well, I think you answered yourself on that one.

Indeed, there's plenty Palpatine could have done to munchkin his way into power quicker from a fan's perspective, but it's important to note that Palpatine was looking ahead, to the subtleties of crafting a historical narrative and manipulating the entire galactic populace. Order 66 told the narrative he wanted; the Chancellor of the Republic suddenly turning into a Nihilus-esque planet eater and unleashing a horde of Korriban zombies to sweep the galaxy and unleashing rituals to destroy the Jedi in one fell swoop... Well, that'd be one way to do it, but not only had similar been attempted before and ended in failure, but it wouldn't exactly be the narrative Palpatine wanted. By the time of the Clone Wars, Palpatine already had his immortality assured (the quest for which, by the way, I interpret to be the reason why he waited a decade to instigate them). He was a patient man who already possessed that which he initially set out to become a Sith for; there was no need to be too hasty in furthering the realisation of his goals.

Oh, I'm afraid I very much live by Andeddu's creed. A Sith peon possessing the knowledge of creating Force storms? It won't hurt? That'd be like handing out thermonuclear bombs to trick-or-treaters!

Anyway, do let me know if and when you are ready to undergo the Trials, and I'll assign you your first writing prompt.

 

Ah Master - I mean Lord Dreadwar - alright - I suppose I'm in. What is my first assignment? And I take it we will go abit by Darth Plagueis's 'play nicely for now' so no backstabbing and betrayals yes ?

And really - c'mon - Thermonuclear Bombs to Trick-or-Treaters? But thats abit extreme ... I mean I wasn't saying like ok Palpatine tells Darth Maul - here's how to cast a Force Storm 101 or Sith Alchemy 101 - all you gotta to is ... BUT I noticed how the Rule of Two Baneite system was how 'the Apprentice must learn as much by their own account and proactivity' whilst the Sith Master is to teach as little and hold as much information they already know about the Sith and Dark Side ... and the fact Palpatine was 'taught everything Darth Plagueis knew about the Force ... even the nature of the Dark Side' - that is still he was 'spoonfed bit by bit...' and well thats all I'm saying.

Alright - I guess I should also say 'IT IS MY WILL AND BY THE WILL OF THE DARK LORDS OF THE SITH AND THE DARK SIDE OF THE FORCE TO FOREVER MORE JOIN THE ORDER OF THE SITH LORDS AND COME UNDER THE APPRENTICESHIP AND TUTELATE OF DARTH DREADWAR!' Though you might find me a repetitive apprentice at times...

 

What if Vincent Price narrated a tour of Korriban?

 

Dark Lord it is simple; imagine his voice from Masque of the Red Death describing Korriban / Morraban - also kinda The Mummy Style - so you know how Ardeth Bey went 'for 3000 years men and armies fought over this land ...never knowing what even lay beneath it. And for 3000 years we, the Medjai Pharoah's sacred bodyguards have kept watch.'

SO - perhaps imagine a Masque of Red Death voice narrating 'Korriban. Morraban. A graveyard planet. A world rich in the Dark Side of the Force where few dare truly venture and exit ... alive and uncorrupted. It is the homeworld of the Sith, held together by a long and violent history long before even the arrival of the Dark Jedi Adjunta Pall and his 12 followers. For it is here that the Ancient True Sith the Massassi had lived and worshipped and developed the Dark Side Powers. Long before the arrival of the Dark Jedi Adjunta Pall, the Massassi were already a violent and animalistic warrior-society whom fought over one another by the Rule of the Strong where the strongest lived as kings and beasts and the weaklings all died. And for thousands upon thousands of standard years, many have fought over the Galaxy for foolish mortal's petty reasons and even here on the fringes of the Dark Side and even now there be conflict brewing upon the very hallowed and Ancient grounds you have come across. For remember this call of the Dark Side is strong but it is tainted with the essence of the Dead. It is particularly stronger as we proceed to enter the depths of the Nexus of the Dark Side - particularly in the Valley of the Dark Lords. We bid you welcome to continue if you will and temptation dares you to. But just you remember - as long as there is conflict. As long as there is the Force - there will always be the Dark Side of the Force. There will always be Sith from Ancient Massassi to the times of the One Sith now ...we will always thrive and return. We will always have revenge. We are the Sith' darklordoftech I forgot to add - also if you think about it imagine: 'For Millennials upon Standard Millennials - mortals fought over the land of the Sith, never knowing what true Power or Darkness that rested beneath these Ancient and blood-stained hollow-grounds...' Sinrebirth Lord Insipid! But really? Why Darth Krayt? What about suppose Darth Caedus? Freedon Nadd? Exar Kun? I mean they also were pretty dangerous and nasty ... and they did have quite some legacy with them ... and why Darth Krayt? I mean true there's the One Sith Empire whom now have agents infiltrating the furthest corners of the Galaxy ... but still ... and surely Darth Plagueis gets honorable mention eh? I mean HE DID either way Canon or EU train Palpatine and helped him alot - starting with FORCING him to 'DO WHAT MUST BE DONE' by goading him to murder House Palpatine and FORCING young Palpatine to SHEE-VER in Mygeeto's frigid naked cold for starters before decades and decades of knowledge and secrets he taught him ... and infiltrating the Republic as the Phantom Menaces of the Banite Rule of Two ... unless ofc we seriously want Darth Thanos, Darth Maleficent, Darth Hades, Darth Jafar, Darth Ursula or Darth Mikaboshi to usurp now that Disney is in the game ...darklordoftech you forgot to mention THE RULE OF TWO haha! You forgot to mention Peace is a Lie! Through Fear I gain Strength! On a side note - may I use what you just wrote as a template for a Poem? I write Poetry you know And also Chirikyât or Vesok Savaka!

 

The Sith Camp

The Dark Side falls across Moraband
The midnight hour is close at hand
Sithspawn crawl in search of midichlorians
To terrorize y'alls star systems
And whosoever shall be found
Without the soul for getting down
Must stand and face the Tuk'ata of Chaos
And rot inside a corpse's shell

The foulest stench is in the air
The funk of twenty five thousand years
And grizzly ghouls from every tomb
Are closing in to seal your doom
And though you fight to stay alive
Your body starts to shiver
For no mere Jedi can resist
The evil of the Sith

 

By your own will and words you join your destiny, now and forevermore, with the Order of the Sith Lords, and by my will and by my words are you elevated to the station and title of my Shadow Hand.

Your first task is simple: to create your new Sith identity. From the days of the ancient Sith, when novices such as Shas Dovos were rechristened Warb Null, to more recent days when the title Darth is readily bestowed, it has been tradition to cast off the shackles of one's old identity, and the potentially harmful habits that come with it, to reforge oneself in the fires of the dark side into a new person, a better person, a new name for a new destiny that shall describe the truth of you. While I believe in keeping the title of Darth precious, and so will only bestow such title when your tutelage is concluded, you should claim for yourself the latter half of that moniker now, and create your nascent Sith name that we may address you by such henceforth.

Then you are to decide which path you desire to walk. The path of the Sith Warrior, all flames and passion and rage united into a perfect marauder, the path of the Sith Assassin, shadow and secrecy and betrayal embodying true darkness, or the path of the Sith Sorcerer, the scholar, the master of all things arcane. Do these things, apprentice mine, and your journey towards the dark side will be complete!

What if Vincent Price played a Sith Lord, full stop? I always thought his character of Baka the evil Egyptian taskmaster from The Ten Commandments made a perfect ancient Sith, and even used such as a basis for one of my True Sith characters in the RPF.


Speaking of which, it is hard to believe, Sinrebirth, that it has been four years, four years... since the Lord Insipid stormed aboard Venomis' flagship bearing a mind trap cunningly disguised as Darth Gorog's holocron...

 

Well Master Dreadwar! Haha! Now I can address you as that ... well can't I just call myself The Camper? Or well ... hmm I don't really give a Force if I must have the Darth Moniker - given well Naga Sadow, Marka Ragnos, Tulak Hord didn't always get referred to those monikers BUT well ... hmm how about ... I GOT IT! SITHZILLA! > I propose SITHZILLA!

Hmm ... Darth Plagueis was the Powerful Sith Scholar of the Midichlorians hence I'll stick to SITH SCHOLAR! SITH SORCERER! I'll get to delve in arcane secrets of ESSENCE TRANSFER! TRANSFIGURATION AND TRANSMUTATION! POTIONS! HOLOCRONS! ESSENCE TRANSFER! HEALING! OR EVEN COSMIC POWER! Mikaboshi Master Mikaboshi don't worry I won't try to steal too much Cosmic Power - or I might as well consult with DARTH MAMMU (Dormammu!) and DARTH THANOS! OR DARTH GALACTUS! for extra Cosmic Powers haha!

Ok - so what tasks should I get next?

 

Might the Priestess planet have an opposite?

 

I approve. I too walk the path of the sorcerer; knowledge is power, and a Sith scholar acquires more than any assassin or marauder.

It need not be a Darth moniker if that appellation is not to your preference. Merely a Sith name a la Tulak Hord, or Aden Kya (aka Darth Insipid), or Azgath N'Dul (aka Darth Dreadwar). One that can be used in NSO role-playing if it comes to that, so I must veto Sithzilla for its silliness. You need not settle on such a name straightaway; take your time to think of an appropriate new identity.

Your next task will be to summarise, in your own words, the rules, regulations, code and expectations that apply to any and all members of our Order. You may find these in the opening post of this thread. Once this admittedly banal but necessary task has been completed, and once you have settled on a new Sith name, then I promise the next task will be more interesting, more befitting a scholar possessing such knowledge of the Sith as you have.

I liked the theory that the Priestess planet is in fact Tython, and that Korriban is its opposite. Certainly the fact Moraband is visited next by Yoda provides some in-universe evidence for it, as well as the fact that, according to speculations within the TOTJ Companion, the dark side is so strong on Korriban it evidently possesses some measure of agency, either creating the entirely Forceful Sith species or entering into some kind of bargain with them. I would tentatively suggest this agentic Sith-allying or outright Sith-creating Dark Side with a capital D is in fact a Celestial-esque immortal god of the Sith, a sapient dark side nexus like Sel Makor only greater.

 

Ah Master Dreadwar BUT speaking of Tython - I am also surprised WHY DIDN'T QUI-GON JINN BOTHER TO TRY TO CONTACT MACE WINDU OR OTHER MEMBERS OF THE JEDI HIGH COUNCIL? I mean I find it odd how only Obi-Wan Kenobi and Master were contacted and yet for a while the Jedi High Council thought Master was practically nuts ... I mean surely then they would realize whats at stake eh?

Darth_Dreadwar ah! But one thing Master Dreadwar that gripped almost EVERY Sith in a sense was FEAR - doesn't matter from Valkorion to Palpatine to even now - I mean if Treachery is rife in the Sith one way or another (that's basically my summary - the way I see it WE NEED TO LEARN TO PLAY NICELY! SITH NEED TO LEARN TO BE MOAR LOYAL! NO MORE BETRAYALS! MORE LOYALTY! NO TRICKERY AND PETTY JEALOUSIES ... AND THE FACT THAT IF WE GOT WORTHLESS IDIOTS LIKE KANN HENCE ALSO THE NEED TO CUT DOWN THE ARROGANCE AND PRIDE AND INCREASE THE LOYALTY (OR DARTH NIHILUS WHOM IRONICALLY 'NEVER GAVE A FORCE!' ABOUT THE ORDER OF THE SITH! I MEAN AS DARTH PLAGUEIS EXPLAINED - THE NEED TO AVOID PETTY JEALOUSIES TO AVOID BUTCHERING AND SUCH ... I MEAN WE ARE SURELY NOT ANIMALISTIC THUGS OF KORRIBAN / MORRABAN LIKE THE ANCIENT MASSASSI - AND WE ARE ALSO BEYOND THE RULE OF TWO PHANTOM MENACE BANEITE SITH! I MEAN HONESTLY - A MASTER TELLING THE APPRENTICE KILL ME YOU MUST! I'm pretty sure we don't encourage that - and I'm sure Master Dreadwar you wouldn't want to ask me - one day you must defeat and destroy me your Master to become the new Sith'Ari ... ) and the fact Fear of Death - Physical Death anyways ... but isn't there a co$t or twist? I mean Darth Andeddu - dependent on Essence Transfer plus the FEAR of losing his Power and Knowledge ... Darth Plagueis - ironic FEAR of losing all his Powers and yet couldn't foresee his Death coming ... Valkorion - FEAR of Physical Death just as much as Palpatine I'd bet ... and look at Darth Nihilus - a Galactus like entity all but no longer a shell of himself ... a wound in the Force who didn't even GIVE A FORCE about the Sith or Darth Sion? A Walking Talking Corpse like Mummy for all intents and purposes ... and Palpatine's use of Essence Transfer was limited to Fresh Clones and the fact his Fresh Clones could just be decaying rapidly ...

And yet the Jedi - well Qui-Gon Jinn encourages Love and Compassion and Selflessness to TRUE IMMORTALITY and well yet I've yet to see a 'compassionate Sith' ... well - when he redeems himself as Anakin again ... and well even Darth Maul at times he did care for Savage Oppress ... but otherwise definitely not Palpatine whom COLDLY murdered House Palpatine at just 17 ... and was FORCED TO SHEE-VER ON MYGEETO'S RAW NAKED FRIGID COLD ... and further manipulated and trained to a high standard by Darth Plagueis ...clearly devoid of Compassion ... and yet Sith rely on Passion and yet they say we be SELFISH AND ANGRY and have NO COMPASSION which is WHY we can't obtain Immortality ... hmm... (well more so with idiots like Kann and the Ancient Massassi animalistic thugs of Korriban / Morraban - I'm sorry I just don't approve of the Ancient Sith - a number whom are idiots or just animalistic butcher thugs whom are happy to survive on the Rule of the Strong and Weaklings die... )

 

Qui-Gon seemed to be a barely present Force ghost, likely as a result of his implied failure to pass the tests of the Priestesses completely. As such, he could only manifest as a disembodied voice which only a Jedi Master as powerful, learned and connected to the Living Force as Yoda might be able to perceive... and even then, with great difficulty. He is only able to fully manifest on Mortis before Obi-Wan due to Mortis' unique status as a conduit, and thereafter in the interim between ROTS and ANH, only because Yoda taught Obi-Wan how to commune with him.

Another example of Jedi inadequacy in mastering techniques of immortality; as far as I am concerned, contrary to popular opinion and that of Yoda for that matter, the Sith are evidently superior in maintaining their identity after death, because they are not so irrational and deluded as to think there is any netherworld beyond the purely physical realm which Sith shades appear to inhabit.

 

Is fear so wrong? Is it really a weakness? Fear was crafted by natural selection, as a means to avoid all those things which might lead to the ultimate root of all fear - death. Hence instinctive fear responses to big teeth, to darkness and the dangers night in the ancestral environment might bring, to the unknown (because the unknown might kill you!) and so on. Then again, this is from my admittedly somewhat judgmental viewpoint that anyone who doesn't fear death is rather irrational, and merely rationalising self-delusion to desperately escape that fear.

As for lack of compassion; (OOC) I read a very interesting book called The Wisdom of Psychopaths, which quite convincingly demonstrated how moderate psychopathy - which I'm sure we can agree many Sith possess - is an example of an evolutionarily stable strategy, providing many benefits not just for the individual but indeed for the species. There are many ethical dilemmas in which psychopaths, due to their unfeeling natures, do a heck of a lot better (at least by the metrics of any consequentialist ethical system) than the average individual, e.g. the trolley problem. Seeing people as mere things and numbers, they can therefore do very well in roles which involve 'the big picture,' such as in the realm of politics, by making the hard decisions that no one else can. Darth Plagueis himself said as much.

The weakness of Jedi compassion, which, while providing advantages in the very personal, small-scale tribal environment that our brains and therefore neurotypicals' morals were built for, is highlighted when considering the Big Picture, e.g. whether any Jedi could have started a war that killed millions to save the galaxy from destruction at the hands of the true Sith (or perhaps at the hands of the Yuuzhan Vong, if you're as fond of that fanon Palpatine theory as I am). And let us not forget the hypocrisy of any organisation that claims the moral highground, yet will happily enact (or at the least condone) genocide of an entire species.

There's simply not enough evidence to paint the ancient Sith as primitive, barbaric butchers, at least not by the time they developed complex civilisation in the form of the Old Sith Empire (as it would be unfair to compare the pre-Jen'jidai Sith with later, more developed creeds and peoples, as it would be akin to comparing Cro-Magnon man with modern civilisation). On the contrary, the Old Sith Empire seemed to be a stable, thriving and prosperous civilisation, far ahead of Jedi counterparts in seeking knowledge and understanding of the Force, and in defeating death, and it was not beset by petty infighting and jealousies which undermined the poor shadows of this past glory that were the later Sith Order replicas. Instead, each Sith knew his place, knew his caste and how best to use his talents to service his people and Empire, with absolute loyalty to the Kissai-Jen'jidai god-kings who guided the masses. Any infighting we see is structured and ritualistic, and designed to produce the ultimate knowledgeable and wise leader, and while us Earthlings might have a knee-jerk reaction to the Kaggath as immoral since it involved the killing of the rival more often than not, that's a perspective born out of an ethical system designed to accommodate a society where people don't just become Force Ghosts in their tombs if they're slain... a fate the spirits that advised Palpatine seemed more than content with.

The Jedi use the term 'becoming one with the Force,' but there's no evidence to suggest that this is anything but a fancy dressing up of what it actually is: the permanent dissolution of identity, true and complete death. We see that even the Whill technique is temporary, as Obi-Wan says he must be moving on to become one with the Force aka cease to be, dead, gone. From a scientific point of view, the Jedi are irrational, delusional deathists, whereas the Sith, even if their techniques are far from perfect (e.g. inhabiting one's moldering corpse, body hopping or being confined to one's tomb or holocron), still provide a far superior and permanent form of immortality IMO. A comparison I would make is between a quack salesmen offering an elixir of life that promises perfection yet fails to deliver, and scientists offering medicine where the results may be far from perfect but at least, you know, it actually works.

 

Before I found out that he's a Zabrak, I thought that Maul was a member of the Sith species. Was I alone in thinking this or did some of my fellow Sith also think this?

 

Are there are any British (or particularly adventurous non-British!) Sith here also planning on attending the 'For the love of the Force' fan convention (in Manchester, 4-6th Dec)?

You weren't alone! I'm sure you can imagine my youthful disappointment; I think it was my first inkling it wasn't all one planned out, perfect continuity, as it would have made so much more sense and tied things together so neatly... Which is why I occasionally contrive links between the Zabrak and the Sith, and contend that they are an offshoot.

 

I read that the Sith species was a red-skinned race that was conquered by exiled Dark Jedi, and Maul is red-skinned and is controlled by a human. I thought that Maul was a descendent of the Sith species and that Sheev was a descendent of the Jedi exiles.

I'd love to hear about your Zabrak as a Sith offshoot theory.

 

There was a reference book in 1999 that said that Sidious surgically implanted the horns into Maul's head. Is that the sort of thing that you imagined?