Star Wars CLOSED Star Wars: Episode X: DUEL OF THE FATES ~ 2021 Best RPG ~

STAR WARS

EPISODE X

DUEL OF THE FATES

The iron grip of the FIRST ORDER has spread to the farthest reaches of the galaxy. Only a few scattered planets remain unoccupied. Traitorous acts are punishable by death. In order to suffocate the unrest that defeated EMPEROR PALPATINE, the mysterious SUPREME LEADER has silenced all communication between neighbouring systems. Led by POE DAMERON, the Resistance has planned a secret mission to prevent their annihilation and forge a path to freedom...​

A rich tapestry of stars, reaching beyond all we know.



A world, surrounded by a dock.

Kuat.

Two sharp points of a space station enclose us as we drift backwards into the glowing rectangular entrance of a docking bay.



A First Order transport, a TIE Marauder, touches down; a wide platform descends, revealing a variety of droids.

A black-grey BB unit carefully splits off from the group.

The graphite BB unit swerves to avoid all manner of labour droids, scraping BB's spherical side against the wall. His head tilts down, checking a scuff in his paint, revealing orange beneath. It's BB-8, deep undercover.

He lets out his almost signature 'uh-oh' beep and rotates the orange scuff beneath his head.

---
Coruscant, the First Order Capitol War Room

A clawed hand reaches into a silver tureen of baby shaaks, huddling together for warmth. We follow the squealing animal into the mouth of Lord Gherlid, a nonhuman with razor teeth that ruled much of the northern quadrant.

He sits at a table of Galactic Warlords - tribal, wealthy, coated in elaborate robes and stolen jewels.

Chancellor Hux speaks to them, nostrils flared at the smell. Nine years ago, he wouldn't have had to put up with these... aliens. But then again, without them, taking advantage of the chaos caused by the galactic uprising against the return of Emperor Palpatine, there would not have been a First Order left. It had been ridiculous to assume that all of the galaxies' species would unite behind a single call from Lando Calrissian. As many took advantage of the chaos, carving out fiefdoms in those difficult early days, only to find the First Order was not dead, merely humbled...

"I assure you," he continued. "The stolen Destroyer will be found. Our probe droids are scouring the galaxy as we speak."

Lord Gherlid, his mouth full, burped. "A Dreadnought just slipped through your fingers, Hux. Your words don't inspire confidence."

"A lone signal won't be difficult to fine," Hux said stiffly. "Our transmissions blockade has silenced millions of systems." Of course it had, and it was the main reason why the First Order had managed to retain supremacy - with communication cut, the galaxy had no way to even speak to each other. The First Order knew how to fight without the HoloNet, having spent decades in the Unknown Regions without such a thing. The ill-coordinated, hopeful masses? Not so much.

"You can silence planets, not people. There have been uprisings. We must not allow the seeds of revolution to take root." Gherlid huffed, and Hux responded swiftly, expecting as much, and looking to leverage this into an advantage.

"The First Order will punish those who defy your rule. Submit your youth for conditioning. They will teach their elders the rule of law."

Jor Nult, a nasty-looking dreadlocked Weequay - the Hutt representative - wagged a finger. "Its Skywalker they believe in, not the law. She's become a symbol of hope."

Raykar Shen, the Harch representative - a spider-like offshoot of the Aqualish, that ruled whole sectors of the Outer Rim. "The people believe she will destroy you, Hux - and your Master."

He seethed, remembering the voice of the man who had spoken to him in the days after Exegol, who had taken command of his successes, and returned Hux to being only the second most powerful person in the galaxy. Palpatine, Pryde, all of the other First Order leaders, dead.

But not him. Hux sneered at Shen.

"Kylo Ren is no Master, certainly not mine."

---
Welcome to Star Wars: Episode X: Duel of the Fates

Nine years have passed since Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker.

The galaxy may not look like what you expected.

The armada that went to Exegol, yes, it thrashed the Final Order, and decapitated the leadership of the First Order. Uprisings on Endor, Corellia, Jakku, Thyferra, Coruscant, Kuat, Lothal, Tatooine - they all happened, yes.

But that wasn't the end of things.

Chaos bred opportunity, and the First Order was given a chance - a chance to deploy what they had spent a year preparing - a complete communications black-out. Within days of the Battle of Exegol, the armada scattered, returning to defend homeworlds that were now isolated and exposed prey.

But that lack of galactic community... the inability the galaxy had to speak... it didn't stop the whispers of hope; of the story of Rey spreading...

Nor the rumour that Kylo Ren was not dead.

In nine years, the Supreme Leader has not been seen by the galaxy at large...

Until now.

---

Character Sheet

Name:
Age: The Game is Set in 44 ABY, ten years after the Episode VII and VIII, and nine years after Episode IX
Species:
Homeworld:
Affiliation: First Order, Resistance, Unaligned
Force Sensitivity: Y/N.
Personal Effects:
Personal Starship (if any):
Personal Weapon:
Bio: I will merrily accept a link to a Wookieepedia article for Canon characters.

---

The Rules

1. All sheets to the GM for approval first!
2. Kylo Ren and Hux are non-player characters.
3. Let the fun Begin!
4. All sheet will have an intro before it goes up!
5. This is a cinematic game. In that, the show must go on, and actors can and will be recast. Missing two TAGs without prior notice returns your character to the GM.

 

Following the Force to wander the galaxy, like Luke Skywalker before her, she would be forever questioning why she saw her Masters on Tatooine, but not her Ben.

Had he not given his life for hers?

Didn’t Master Skywalker see his father after his redemption?

Where was Ben?

And so she looked.

Whenever she went, she found victims, chaos, strife - occasionally even Jedi candidates. Who could say if she made things better, or worse, or how much she changed?

Ten years ago, she’d fought, triumphed, and lost... so much more than she had believed possible.

Han, Luke, Leia... Ben.

And nothing had changed.

No Jedi; no Sith, yes, but still the Resistance; the First Order. Still the War.

As Luke had said, the Force did not belong to her, but to life, and life called her to many worlds...

Today?

It called her to the people of Kuat.

Introducing Rey Skywalker - played by @QueenSabe7

 

The relationship between the idea of Coruscant and its inhabitants was often one of conflict. In those dark depths, entombed by the city-world, the veneer of civilisation became less and less until it was nothing more than brute force imposed daily.

Of course, now the First Order was overlaid upon the top of Coruscant, the higher up you went, the more likely you were to encounter violence. But there was a sweet spot where one could live just fine, on level 1313.

That was where Tirran Huxley existed.

TAG: @Mitth_Fisto

 

Conversely, the relationship between the Known and Unknown had not changed all that much in-spite of the rise of the Empire, the First Order, and, eventually, the Final Order. The efforts of Palpatine to use Jedi, Sith and Chiss navigational data to chart the region had only filled in the map in part.

There were still dragons, Terrors and monsters left to be found. As much as the Nikardun, Ssi-Ruuvi, Grysk, Vagaari and other hermetic kingdoms of the Unknowns had been conquered, erased or simply shattered by the advent of several Imperial remnants into their territories, there remained many worlds unreaped by the Palpatine and his successors.

In that wider uncharted realm emerged Xundel, drawn by who knows what, or perhaps, what knows who...

TAG: @darthbernael

 

GM Approved!

Character Sheet

Name: Xundel
Age: Unspecified
Species: Yoda species
Homeworld: Species Homeworld



Affiliation: Unaligned
Force Sensitivity: Yes
Personal Effects: Greater Krayt Dragon Bone cane, various cloaks, a pack filled with various supplies he’d need when on any world, including various types of grenades and knives, survival equipment and sundries that fit in the cargo spaces of his ship
Personal Starship: DeTA Interceptor the 'Mab'



Personal Weapon: Curved hilted, deep red (almost black) lightsaber

Bio:

Xundel began life as many of his kind did, becoming a Jedi, at a young age. He excelled in his studies and eventually found himself as a Knight. At this time, his travels throughout the Known Galaxy took him to many worlds, assisting and guiding as a Knight would.

However, things began to take a turn when he first visited the swampy world of Dagobah. Finding himself unconsciously drawn to the dark side nexus on the world he spent many days, weeks, in the nexus, learning many things that changed his outlook on life.

Once he returned to the Temple on Coruscant, he met with the Masters and, with their blessing, changed from his peacekeeper role to that of a scholar. Spending many years in the Archives, he delved deep into the history of the galaxy, studying not just what was known of light and dark nexuses in the Known Galaxy but those that had been mapped in the Unknown Regions. Eventually he reached a point where he had enough evidence, he thought, to take to the Masters to allow him to take a ship and begin a more comprehensive mapping of such sources of light and dark energy in the UR.

Given his previously stellar record and the information he’d managed to collate in the Archives about such during his studies, he was granted permission to do so and given a hyper capable ETA-2. Filling the minimal holds with what he thought he would need, he took his leave of the Known Galaxy and entered the UR. Knowledge of him, beside the records of his tenure as a Jedi, were lost and even those corrupted during the years of the Clone Wars and the subsequent fall of the Jedi and Republic.

He lost track of the years he spent out beyond the known regions, only that enough time passed that he had to make repair after repair to his ship, often having to make major renovations when certain parts wore out, until his ship was a hybrid of three different craft, unique but fully functional. In that time he’d mapped many of the dark nexuses, the light as well as they were often on the same world, but the focus was the dark ones.

He learned much in his time there, picked up skills he’d never considered as a Jedi and knew that he was forever in the dark, by choice. News eventually filtered out to him of a Galactic Empire and it’s fall, the chaotic years of a New Republic, and then the rise and seemingly subsequent fall of what he’d heard was called a First Order. The chaos that was strewn across the galaxy made him decide it was time to return to Known Space and find ways to utilize his new abilities and talents, to carve out his own place in the galaxy.

TAG: @Sinrebirth

 

Of course, there are the unknowns that lie within people themselves. Many souls go along impossible, convoluted journeys, but being the fall of the Old Republic was merely sixty years ago, the fates of even a simply one hundred/and-twenty year human lifespan could become twisted into all manner of shapes.

Imagine taking a political stance; any one whatsoever, and acting upon it. If you were a Separatist? You start by losing everything. A democrat? You fought for it, only to lose it to the Empire. A Republican? How long do you have? A Centrist? Did you believe in mass genocide, or not?

But with the endless loss of life and chaos of the end of civilisation, there was always the opportunity to do something that would have been impossible in a more stable and sane society; reinvent yourself.

Which is exactly what Aryan Graul did.

TAG: @HanSolo29

 

GM Approved!

​

Name: Aryan Graul
Age: 80 is the new 60
Species: Human
Homeworld: Nubia
Affiliation: First Order (Vice Chancellor/Senate Speaker)
Force Sensitivity: Yes
Personal Effects: Hand-crafted walking cane from the artisans on Nubia; personal datapad and wrist comlink; a worn and tattered hand-written journal; a small metallic canister, though its exact contents remain a mystery aside from those who work closely with him


Aryan’s walking cane, reminiscent of many of the styles on his homeworld

Personal Starship: Maxima-A class heavy cruiser Stringent (for official business); Refurbished Corellian Engineering CR90 Corvette Stardust (personal use)
Personal Weapon: A blaster pistol attached to a shoulder holster and concealed within his jacket; a vibroblade sheathed to the inside of his boot
Bio: For many, particularly in more recent times, Aryan Graul remains an enigma. Other than a few general notes sprinkled along a timeline that spans back decades, very little is known about his history. His refusal to talk about certain aspects of his past only amplifies this perception. Perhaps he even prefers it this way.

The first public record begins with his military career in the Republic Navy. Aryan served as a pilot during the Clone Wars, commanding one of the elite, non-clone squadrons assigned to the Mid Rim. His fortitude and determination led to many successful missions, which ultimately convinced him to go career as a commissioned officer. However, his dreams came to a crashing end when a scuffle above Kashyyyk resulted in a serious injury. His wounds were extensive enough that he lost his left leg, forcing him to medically retire from the military.

While he was in the Navy, Aryan also met his wife, Lyzia Eross. The two decided to get married in 20 BBY, with their only son, Arek, being born two years later. It was Lyz who became Aryan’s lifeline and moral support throughout the intervening months following his injury.


Lyz Graul, circa 44 ABY

Another record highlights Graul’s achievements in politics a few years later, a career shift that blossomed from the ashes of his military service. After a short stint as a Councilman at the local level, the people elected him to serve on the Galactic Senate as the Senator from Nubia during the height of the Galactic Empire. His tenure lasted 9 years, and during that time, his charismatic personality helped him to become an influential force across the vast political stage.

Many assumed that he would eventually ascend to greatness…

But then Emperor Palpatine disbanded the Senate in 0 ABY.


Senator Graul during an HNE broadcast in 1 BBY

It was at this point in the timeline that Aryan seemingly vanished from the galactic map. Some say he fled the Core to seek refuge in the Outer Rim after the Empire labeled him as a fugitive. Others insist that he returned home to Nubia to take over his parents’ mining and shipping company, working in isolation and contributing to the war effort in secret – there are rumblings that he even had a short stint among the pilots of the Resistance. Or perhaps he simply became a recluse. Whatever the case, there is no clear narrative outlining his fate. Only 44 years of rumors and heresy.

Until recently.

Aryan Graul, with Lyz at his side, emerged from the shadows to help lead the First Order, having been appointed by Armitage Hux to serve as Vice Chancellor and Speaker for the new government. It was an odd choice considering the uncertainty surrounding his past, particularly the rumors that he had a tendency to become unhinged under certain conditions, though Aryan vowed to separate himself from those negative connotations. He affirmed to rule with a strong hand, exercising the power, authority, and influence his position afforded him.

After all, he had finally achieved his ultimate goal – rising to the top of the galactic hierarchy.

TAG: @Sinrebirth

 

That political tumult could play out on any planet in Known Space, but especially in the Outer Rim, where worlds didn’t have the wealth, security or military to inure themselves against fate.

Take Akiva for example.

In the distant Outer Rim, it sided with the Separatists, hosting a battle droids factory. By the end of the Clone Wars, the rulers were overthrown by the Satrapy, and ruled by him on behalf of the Empire. It birthed Rebels, famous ones, including Norra and Temmin ‘Snap’ Wexley.

The Empire made one of its final stands on Akiva, but the New Republic triumphed and the Satrapy changed sides, being one of the first worlds to officially join the new galactic union. The famous Rebel, Wedge Antilles, married and settled here, but yet another twist of fate saw the destruction of Hosnian Prime a decade ago. Then, a wealthy merchant friendly with the First Order ruled instead!

More twists; more turns.

More lives ruined.

Not that it made any difference to Lin.

TAG: @Kurisan

 

And what of Wedge Antilles himself?

Well.

The man was last-minute gunner aboard the Millennium Falcon at the Battle of Exegol, and lost his adopted son, Temmin ‘Snap’ Wexley. It was a crushing, complete and total victory for the galaxy against the Final Order.

But the war didn’t end.

The First Order is weaker, yes, but it’s also more petty; more callous; more desperate.

Could one say things are better? Now? After all that loss? With the galaxy blanketed in silence, and chaos, and despair for nine more years?

What becomes of a man who has given it all to a cause?

Let’s find out.

TAG: @Kalio_Dynkos

 

Part of that personal trauma is the underlying fact that the war has never been between the Separatists and Republic, Empire and Rebels, or the First Order and the Resistance.

Not even Jedi and Sith.

These have just been names for the essential nature of the galaxies conflict; Light versus Dark.

Winner take all.

And in that war, both sides have taken immense casualties. But as these are essentially archetypes pitted against each other, there is always upon the side of the Dark the same entities; the Villainous Mastermind, the Shadow Warrior, the Murderous Fiend, and the Monstrous Creation.

Sometimes, these roles are broken apart and split among others, much like how the concepts of Darth Maul, Count Dooku and General Grievous all ended up within Darth Vader. A particularly insidious foe might even purposely draw upon the most successful of their archetypes again and again and again, and then it becomes a generational foe, a bogey man for every age.

Dark armoured Lords; red-robed Guards, Star Destroyers; TIE fighters of various designs; faceless troopers of black and white.

It was no different with the symbology of the Knights of Ren.

It was no different with Vicrul.

TAG: @Shadowsun

 

But these great concepts did not wage war within the sky, as Gods that decided the fates of all nations, species and gender. No, not anymore, anyway.

The fundamental battleground of this war was the heart, and that is why it appeared almost endless. The Light and the Dark lit and shadowed all souls, every sentience having the potential for good and bad. There was always a degree of choice, of course, but the more control the Dark Ones had over society, the more opportunities there would be for fear, pain and loss, and less choice would one have.

Seemingly, anyway.

Inevitably, the Dark could recreate its armies in the hearts of people without much effort, as a self-perpetuating cycle. Such a cycle inevitably became a wheel of almost permanent conflict, where the stars themselves were at risk of destruction. Thus, the Star Wars.

Thus, the creation of many strata of oppression.

Thus, the removal of self from sentience became key to the continuation of the war.

Brainwashing, chips in your head, child soldiers, indoctrination - all of these were the tools of the darkness

And that is how you can have someone like the Agent serving the First Order

TAG: @Jerjerrod-Lennox

 

But the reason for the wars continue that you cannot always keep the galaxy down. For all its indoctrination’s, superweapons and ability to raise said armies, the desire to dominate is unnatural.

Coruscant is the dark heart of the First Order, but even there beneath that level 1313, there is hope, not yet drawn into the abyss of despair. Move a handful of levels down, you encounter isolated communities, frequently raided by the First Order, subsisting notwithstanding it being all-but cut off from the surface.

Move a dozen more levels down, though, and who knows what you’ll find. The First Order may not be able to perfectly police the depths of the capital, but they can starve those even darker depths into emptiness. Under the Empire, nonhumans were driven down, but even the uprising after Endor was led by humans and aliens alike, especially when it became clear the Imperials only cared about power.

The First Order? It’s still as humanocentric as ever, but it does not discriminate in what it wants; submission - nothing more or less. It cannot be reasoned with; for three decades it has prepared for this conflict, and it has survived the last three blows against it - Starkiller, the Supremacy, the deaths of Pryde, Snoke and the others.

The war has already lasted a decade - soon a whole generation will be made, or broken, by the First Order.

But not if Dol Khan has anything to say about it.

TAG: @The Jedi in the Pumas

 

This brings us to the Resistance, fighting back notwithstanding that it has been over a decade since its founding. Years locked in a Cold War attempting to galvanise the New Republic Senate to act before it was too late; a year fighting back, destroying Starkiller, the Supremacy and triumphing the Battle of Batuu; Leia, Wedge, Poe, Finn, Rey and Maz painstakingly creating a network of contacts in time for the Battle of Exegol...

The strength they gathered nine years ago was incredible, enough to shatter the greatest armada the dark side could possibly create. But while their strength crushed the Final Order, the survival of Hux and seemingly Kylo Ren allowed them to nudge the blow off to the side, damaging the First Order by proxy, but not destroying it.

But the First Order has been no more successful on snuffing out the Light. The Resistance has lost Han, Luke, and Leia, but still burns with the fire of Poe, Finn, Wedge, Lando and others. Even then, the light is not solely represented in the Resistance.

As much as it strikes at the First Order, the Light resists all forms of darkness, and while Rey wanders, she does what Leia sought to in that year between the Battles of Crait and Exegol; reconnects the stars of hope within the Force.

One such new star is Kacynna Juwee

TAG: @Zedd-Vega


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There are of course older stars in the Force, those who fought the good fight and, for whatever reason, stepped back. Once upon a time that included Luke Skywalker himself, after the destruction of his academy and most of his students... and the loss of a nephew.

Ben Solo was Luke’s greatest failure, even more than any that came before. But Rey, she stood for right even when nobody else was willing to. That belief may end up within the new, but the old? Those lights who survived the disasters of Order 66, the destruction of Alderaan, and the Hosnian Cataclysm, to say they could be jaded, it would be an underestimation.

One such old star is Eleanor Magnus

TAG: @TheSilentInfluence

 

The wind blew through fields of Chandrilan wheat nearly ready for harvest. In a barn just away from a quaint farmhouse, a being worked on an Auto-Harvester. His rough grease stained hands finished replacing a hydraulic pump getting the much needed machine ready for the upcoming harvest of the second cutting. His long blonde hair was pulled back into a short tail to keep it out of his eyes while he worked. Those that knew him before would barely recognize him. It would be hard to see the clean cut pilot with short military style hair, under the scuff and oil stains.

"Rhoen…" A voice called out, "Rhoen Aquilla…"

The man let out a long breath, what was it this time...It wasn't enough for the First Order to take the harvest as taxes, they then had to demand taxes on each harvester, and the house, paid in credits that the family barely had. It was bad enough that his wife had to take rich idiots up on Airspeeder tours of New Hanna City, did he have to find a demeaning job to take as well? One of those flying clowns showing off his skill behind the stick of the joy of others?

He slid out from under the machine and looked to the being calling his name.

"No." He said right away recognizing the human standing before him. Sure his hair was dyed, and he was wearing a prosthetic nose but he could see Poe Dameron underneath the makeup.

"You haven't even heard what I was going to say." The leader of the Resistance said.

"I don't need to the answer is no."

"Come on, I need pilots and you're one of the best I've ever seen."

"And I need to be here for my family."

"Really you can stomach living under the rule of these despots?"

"I…" Rhoen let out a breath returning to his work of buttoning up the harvester. "I fought once...nine years ago, it didn't fix anything."

"We can make it work this time."

"Yeah, and when it inevitably fails? What then, do I just keep fighting, leaving my family without me?" He shook his head. "I'm not going to do what my mom did to me…" Valere Aquilla, his mother, hero of the Republic, killed at Hosinan Prime. She had served for many years, missing many birthdays, and firsts in Rhoen's life. "I won't keep fighting a war that never ends."

"Then you'll let her death be in vain?"

At this Rhoen slid out from under the machine snapping to his feet going chest to chest with his former commander.

"Don't you dare say that...I avenged her, I helped you kill the Emperor, you're the one that fracked it up. You're the one that couldn't keep the peace. I did my part. I bled, and sacrificed. My fight is done…"

"Fine, stay here, suffer if you want...but you won't get to stay on the sidelines much longer. Change is coming and I want you on the right side of this…"

"You don't get it, nothing ever changes, all we can do is survive the world we have…"

Dameron was about to speak again but was interrupted by a child's voice.

"Daddy…" a young girl called out, no older than nine years old ran up her golden blonde hair put into two little tails, a pair of overalls covering her. "Daddy Grandpa says dinner's ready…"

"Is it now." Rhoen said his tone quickly shifting from indignation to playful in an instant. He crouched down to scoop up his daughter.

"Daddy, who's this?" She asked, pointing to Poe.

"Oh, this is an old friend, just stopping by to say hi." He bounced the little girl, "Say hi Valerie."

"Hi," the girl replied following her father's instructions.

"Hello there." Poe answered.

"You staying for dinner? My dad makes a mean Nerf Steak." Rhoen said moving towards the farmhouse that had been in his family for generations.

"No, I...uh...already ate."

"Alright, can you see yourself out?"

"Yes."

"Catch you later then…" The former pilot gave a friendly wave to the disguised Resistance leader. Not waiting around to hear the reply. "Come here you." He said pulling his daughter in for a hug kissing her cheek.

"Daddy," she giggled, her laugh ringing out over the fields. He wouldn't go back, he wouldn't miss a moment with his daughter… but he felt a sudden weight in his pocket. Somehow Poe had slipped a datapad... about a mission to Kuat...

At the door a beautiful woman met him, shining blonde hair and sharp features. Syal Aquilla, his love.

"Hey you." He moved to kiss her but she pushed him away.

"Clean up first."

"Yes ma'am." He moved past her, though he couldn't help himself taking just a moment to pat her rear. She let out a squeak turning to look at him with a narrowed gaze.

"Mr. Aquilla,"

Rhoen just gave a her a cheeky smile. He was most of the way to the 'fresher when she called out again.

"Who was that leaving the barn?"

"No one, just an old friend from school…"

TAG: @galactic-vagabond422