The Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious FAQ

No, Palpatine fully intended to share the Dark Side Compendium with his minions. It's the Encyclopedia Britainica of evil. Palpatine feels a certain kinship with his fellow Dark Siders and doesn't fear them (as he fears his own apprentice) so he's happy to provide large amounts of dark side knowledge to those beneath him.

It also saves him time from having to repeat it personally.

 

Just a couple of things
1.Did Palps have any sith tatoos?

2.Is there a reason why he beat Yoda? other than it was necessary for story advancement

 

Well, there was that mottled polka-dot motif on his clones in DE

Probably something about the Prophecy and emphasizing that it needed to be Ani. If that constitutes story advancement necesity for you, then I have no answers for you.

 

1. The implications are no.

2. Palpatine was trained in the Dark Side of the Force but also Jedi techniques. Palpatine knew where Yoda was coming and going from and what his next move was. He's as powerful as Yoda as well, despite the ancient one's age. Yoda simply didn't know how to fight Palpatine and the conflict would have ended with his death.

Yoda is more powerful than Palpatine possibly by this point but not more VICIOUS or capable in battle.

 

Can Palpatine truly be considered the greatest Sith of all time? And compared to him, is any other Sith as great or almost as great as Palpy?

 

Palpatine is greatest on multiple levels. In addition to being probably the most learned Sith of all time (having destroyed and devoured the knowledge of dozens of force sects), having destroyed the Jedi, and conquered the galaxy....Palpatine successfully survived death and thus achieved the immortality that all Sith have craved from time beginning.

Other Sith have achieved close to this level but have never done it within a single lifetime. Darth Revan required the aid of Darth Sion and Exar Kun beginning the work to bring the Jedi low and nearly the galaxy to its knees. Darth Ruin died well before the Sith would reign triumphant for a thousand years. Marka Ragnos died of old age solely due to his own caution.

Oddly, Darth Krayt seems to be the closest to matching Palpatine's deeds at this point.

 

1. Regardless of whether or not he ?lost the lightsaber duel? ? had Anakin not been there ? would Palpatine have been able to destroy Mace with lightning?

(I only ask because with Yoda he just blasts the lightsaber out of his hands, so I figured he could have done the same to Mace if he wanted)

2. Did Palptine truly lose the Mace duel, or was he faking all along? (hehe, good luck with that can of worms)

3. Which other Sith, if any, would Palpatine admire? (or come close to admiring...)

4. Palpatine was not as powerful in RotS as he was in Dark Empire right? (I've got a friend claiming he was capable of Force storms in RotS)

5. Why did he look so fat and bloated after he was scarred/revealed his true visage in RotS? Did he overfeed on the dark side?

 

Didn't Ysanne Isard, uniquely, know of Palpatine's return? There's a single line indicating it in 'Isard's Revenge'.

 

1. Regardless of whether or not he ?lost the lightsaber duel? ? had Anakin not been there ? would Palpatine have been able to destroy Mace with lightning?

Palpatine was going to be badly injured no matter what by his fight with Mace Windu but its debatable whether he was utterly prone. My guess is Palpatine might have died but more likely would have been able to get away before Mace could spear him.

At the very least, Palpatine could have taken one of the lightsabers off the late Jedi beside him.

(I only ask because with Yoda he just blasts the lightsaber out of his hands, so I figured he could have done the same to Mace if he wanted)

Mace has a unique relationship with the Dark Side of the Force that makes him almost invulnerable to direct assaults with the Dark Side so long as he has his lightsaber.

2. Did Palptine truly lose the Mace duel, or was he faking all along? (hehe, good luck with that can of worms)

My interpretation of the scene is that Palpatine was somewhat on the ropes at that point but the position he was in was faking at the time he was fighting Mace. Fighting Mace is almost as difficult as fighting Yoda so it wasn't going to be an easy kill even for one like Palpatine.

He also underestimated Vapaad and Mace's resolve to kill him.

3. Which other Sith, if any, would Palpatine admire? (or come close to admiring...)

Palpatine admired/hated his mentor Darth Plagueis for shaping him into the beast that he was. Palpatine also was known to honor Darth Bane for his secrecy and cunning. It's likely that Palpatine had an affection for the wisdom of Marka Ragnos since he sought out that Sith Lord's counsel. He clearly wanted Maul to know something of Exar Kun since Maul was very well educated about that Sith as well.

It's likely he was less sympathetic to Darth Revan and Ulic for their redemptions. Also, probably openly contemptous of Sion and Nihilus for acting like WWF wrestlers.

4. Palpatine was not as powerful in RotS as he was in Dark Empire right? (I've got a friend claiming he was capable of Force storms in RotS)

Palpatine's stats suggest that Palpatine could create Force Storms by Return of the Jedi. Dark Empire Palpatine was far more powerful than the Palpatine of RotJ though since he spent 4 years in seclusion enhancing his powers and drinking life energy. However, it's implied force storms were a development during his later years as Emperor.

5. Why did he look so fat and bloated after he was scarred/revealed his true visage in RotS? Did he overfeed on the dark side?

Palpatine's face was puffy from the tissue damage. It sags from that point on.

 

Isard knew of the Emperor's return as of Isard's Revenge but it seems this is a relatively new development and most likely she was contacted AFTER the capture of the Lusunkya. This, Stackpole explains, is why she's so desperate during the book.

Isard was hardly unique though as Palpatine had begun gathering his loyalists at this point.

 

Where is this from?

 

The implications of Isard's Revenge are that she knows of Palpatine's return. Yet, she seems to be different from the Rogue Squadron books and there's no sign she's aware of palpatine's return (she also destroyed his clone tanks at the Imperial Palace while killing Sate Pestage whom was Palpatine's most loyal follower). As for contacting his men, that was in the DESB

 

Are Force Storms a uniquely Sidious trait, or, are there other examples of others using similar powers? excluding in this the storms that happen on Nam Chorios, but as a direct cause and effect of a person

 

Given it's listed in Tales of the Jedi, its implied I believe that the Force Storm is a power that Sidious effectively "re-invented" after it was lost. I would wager that destroying stars is probably a function of creating a force storm in their core.

Also take note that Nam Chorios' storms are storms that are created by the Force, Force Storms are tears in reality.

 

If Palpatine was trying to create an apprentice who would eventually be powerful to try and succeed him, why didn't he try cloning one from samples of Vader or Luke. Then he could be in control of training right from the start.

 

Was Palpatine a believer in the Potentium? I'm talking about the conversation in ROTS when Anakin discovered he was Darth Sidious. Or was he just lying?

 

Palpatine actually cloned Darth Vader during the Galaxy of Fear books. In retrospect, the book's ridiculous plot actually makes a very good "game" of Palpatines. The fully empowered Darth Vader clone had all of Vader's skill implanted via clone memories plus his abilities in the Force. The original Darth Vader nevertheless successfully destroyed the clone.

Also, something about accelerated tissue growth screws with the Force. Joruus C'boath seems to have left a bad taste in Palpatine's mouth (though in retrospect, the Clone was actually no more crazy than the original). Plus, Palpatine's own clone bodies corroded at an advanced rate as soon as he moved into them (though this is probably a function of the Transfer Life power as opposed to cloning/the Dark Side).

In retrospect, it seems Palpatine just preferred "home grown" apprentices than those created by Sith alchemy.

 

Palpatine never intended for anyone to succeed him, he just needed a strong apprentice to get him to power, and Vader served his purpose as that.

Also, Palpatine himself was not the one who tried to make apprentices, at least not succesfully.

 

Palpatine's own philosophy is similiar to the Potenium but not a part of it. Palpatine doesn't believe in good and evil so the difference between the Light and Dark Side of the Force is academic to him anyway. However, Palpatine does hold that anything the Light Side of the Force can do with calm/peace/love, the Rage/Anger/Fear/Hate techniques of the Force can do better.

Thus, the difference between the Potenium (which attempts to use both sides of the Force) and the Dark Side. Brakiss taught the Potenium at his Shadow Academy but it once more devolved into Sith teaching because the Dark Side always wins.

 

1. I think I said that, though the sabotage of Palpatine's body didn't occur until Dark Empire II. Even then, Palpatine was preparing to abandon a body for a clone when Luke came to destroy Palpatine.

As for Darth Vader's use of the Dark Side to heal himself. That was Darth Vader's goal but I point out that it was a miserable failure. Vader couldn't even get a single part of his body to heal permanently.

Speculation: It might have to do with the Sith chemicals that Palpatine doled out to Darth Vader as part of his suit.

2. I agree with this conclusion and it is backed up by other sources.

III. I'm not so sure about that frankly, however, I may in fact be incorrect on that since I haven't read the book in years. Palpatine certainly liked to live dangerously and a fully powered Darth Vader is something Palpatine would gladly risk using.

I also point out Palpatine had the hand as a keepsake and may have been planning to clone Luke himself.

At the very least he might intend to use the genetic material to enhance his own clones.

 

Once Palpatine DID learn the clone trick, why did he risk going after Luke? With immortality assured, why go after the one person who could be stronger than you and try to power them up even further?

 

Because Palpatine believed Luke held the key for MORE power. As a superior enforcer than Darth Vader, Luke would be able to do even more damage to the galaxy as the vanguard of the coming Sith forces. Furthermore, he might have deduced that he could move his soul into Luke's body or perhaps one of his descendents at some point.

The Sith relationship with their apprentices is mutually beneficial even as it eventually turns parasitic.

 

As much as Palpatine is capable of destroying his enemies, he also gets a thrill out of controlling something dangerous more.