The Golden Age of the Sith

Shadowbound

Incorrugible
Joined
Mar 4, 2007
Messages
4,062




Thousands of years before feeble Jedi corrupted their name, there was a Sith Empire. The True Sith Empire, one founded on strength and blood sacrifice, by the True Sith, a species that understood the power of the Dark Side of the Force. Before the Republic it ruled dozens of worlds across the Stygian Caldera, united in fear of the ruling Sith Lords. This is their Golden Age.

In Golden Age, players take on the role of a Sith Lord in the ancient Sith Empire of the Star Wars (Legacy) Universe. The game begins soon after the death of Marka Ragnos, the ruler of the Sith Empire, and focuses on the struggle to succeed him as Dark Lord of the Sith. Fight across a dozen worlds, in space, with armies and the power of the force to claim a place in the legends of the Sith.

Golden Age is a character-driven game, which means the player explicitly controls a single Character (a Sith Lord), as in the popular incest simulator Crusader Kings. This character commands Legions, directs Fleets, and governs Planets, but whenever they are not personally present they delegate through other characters. These characters are part of your Pyramid, a feudal structure of Sith Lords personally loyal to you that forms your power base. Players can be part of another player’s Pyramid, but any empty slots will be filled with NPCs. Pyramids are identified by their head, so a player serving under Marka Ragnos would be Pyramid: Marka Ragnos.

Characters
Spoiler :
Character Stats
Name:
Pyramid:
Level:
Traits:


Each character has three simple stats. Name is self-evident, and is a unique personal identifier used to distinguish this character from others. Level is a representation of that character’s experience and competency, and improves their effectiveness and survivability. Level increases as they survive battles and achieve victories. Traits are unique features that distinguish them from another character of the same level. A character can select a new trait at every level, and can receive traits during the update to reflect actions taken therein. As a character gains level, they become overall more powerful and their traits become stronger. They can select the same trait multiple times.

Every character begins at level 0, and can gain levels either during character creation or from the update. In the update, they will gain levels chiefly from combat, leading armies or fleets into battle. They will also gain levels from stories, as they develop their powers over the dark side. Level progression will slow as a character becomes more powerful: a level 0 character will immediately level up, while a Level 5 character will require multiple updates.

  • Duelist (character is less likely to be injured in single combat, more likely to win)
  • Tactician (character is more effective leading troops)
  • Battle Meditation (character can boost the effectiveness of all troops and allied characters on the same world, but cannot command troops or easily defend themselves while doing so)
  • Alchemist (character is skilled at a Sith blend of Dark Side powers and technology, which among other things means they can recruit special auxiliaries and heal crippling wounds)
  • Admiral (character is more effective leading fleets)
  • Guerrilla (character is more effective leading troops when outnumbered or in extreme terrain)
  • Infiltrator (character can avoid personal detection in battle more easily, making them harder to intercept)
  • Charismatic (character improves the morale and loyalty of allied troops on the same world)
  • Mentor (character increases the rate of levelling up for all allied lower level characters on the same world)
  • Diplomat (Improved relationship with NPC Sith and Aliens)
  • Pilot (skilled at flying ships)
  • Administrator (25% bonus to income when governing a planet)
  • Lucky (character is less likely to be injured, killed)

Legions
Spoiler :
Legion Stats
Name:
Pyramid:
Leader:
Composition:
Strength:
Experience:


Legions are the armies of the Sith Empire, representing a standing force of troops that can be replenished and reinforced. Their Leader is the character currently in command of them, which will be a level 0 NPC if not otherwise specified. Their Composition is the make-up of the Legion itself, composed of Regulars, Officers, Auxiliaries, and Traits. Their Strength is the number of troops in the Legion, out of a base strength of 5,000. It can be reduced below this number, but it cannot be raised above it. Experience is an indicator of how effective it is as a fighting formation from, well, experience, and is on a scale of 0-20 (beginning at 0). Experience decreases over time and as a result of new recruits being added to reinforce a legion.

Legions cost $20 to recruit ($15 for conscripts). Strength is replenished at a cost of $1 for 500 troops (or 1000 droids). Legions require $5 a turn in upkeep.

Composition
Regulars:
Officers:
Auxiliaries:

Regulars are the rank-and-file of the legion, selected from one of four options. Conscripts, Warriors, Droids, and Mercenaries.
  • Conscripts are alien or lesser Sith troops pressed into service from the local world the Legion is recruited on. They’re of questionable enthusiasm, but are most effective on similar worlds and gain a bonus Trait reflecting that.
  • Warriors are members of the Sith Warrior Caste, raised from birth to serve the Sith Lords. They’re ferocious shock troopers and loyal to death, but take higher casualties.
  • Droids are mechanical beings equipped with rudimentary artificial intelligence. They’re cheap and expendable, but dependent on their officers and not good at adapting quickly to changing circumstances.
  • Mercenaries are recruited from an errant soldier class, Sith and non-Sith, that drifts from Sith Lord to Sith Lord, seeking the best opportunities to profit. They’re cunning and resourceful fighters, but value their own hides above anything else.

Officers are the commanding troops of the legion, selected from one of three options. Sith, Veterans and Warriors.
  • Sith are minor Sith apprentices in service to the Pyramid, hoping to gain advancement on the battlefield and the recognition of their superiors. They excel at inflicting damage to the enemy, but aren’t concerned about their own losses.
  • Veterans are old soldiers with decades of experience across the Empire. They’re quick-thinking and ruthless, but they didn’t survive this long by being willing to take risks.
  • Warriors are members of the Sith warrior caste. They are fanatically loyal and will push their soldiers on to the point of exhaustion.

Traits are special formations and equipment attached to the main Legion, which provide additional capabilities.
  • Assault Pods (less casualties landing on a planet)
  • Sith Assassins (targets officers and leaders!)
  • Techno-beasts (requires alchemy) (corrupted terror weapons that smash through enemy lines)
  • Cyborgs (requires alchemy) (less likely to retreat or waver)
  • Medical droids (reduces casualties)
  • Honor Guards (protects leaders and characters)
  • Pureblood (fights better against aliens)
  • Technicians (more effective against droids)
  • Marines (more effective in naval battles)

Fleets
Spoiler :
Ship Stats
Name:
Leader:
Class:
Modules:
Integrity:


Ships are space-faring warships capable of travelling from one world to another. They are defined by their leader, their class and their modules. Their integrity is a value of how much damage it has taken. Damage is repaired automatically when near a ship with a repair module or around a friendly world. Combat effectiveness decreases as integrity decreases. Multiple modules of the same type can be built in a ship.

There are three types of ships:
  • Destroyers are large warships with lots of room for modules. They have 10 modules, cost $20, and can only be built on planets with shipyards. They require $4 a turn in upkeep.
  • Frigates are smaller warships. They have 5 modules and cost $10. They require $2 a turn in upkeep.
  • Parasite squadrons are groups of one or two man craft. They have 2 modules and cost $4. They require $1 a turn in upkeep.

There are several types of modules:
  • Hyperdrives allow travel between different planets.
  • Armor makes the ship more capable of sustaining damage.
  • Repair modules allows a ship to repair a portion of damage it or other ships have taken.
  • Torpedoes are short-range weapons designed to engage capital ships.
  • Turbolasers are long-range, heavy laser cannons that cannot be equipped on Parasites.
  • Laser Cannons are short-range weapons designed to engage smaller craft.
  • Engines are additional engines that make a ship more maneuverable, allowing it to dictate the terms of combat and the distance of engagement.
  • Hangars allow a parasite squadron to be carried internally, and repairs that squadron after battles.
  • Boarding modules are a very short-range weapon that allows a ship to transport an onboard Legion into an enemy ship.
  • Command modules improve the effectiveness of an onboard leader in coordinating a battle.

Legions do not require dedicated transport ships: they are assumed to either possess or be capable of requisitioning their own transports. However, they are hideously vulnerable if attacked in space without escorts. They can also be carried within warships.

Planets
Spoiler :
Planet Stats
Name:
Pyramid:
Value:
Terrain:
Traits:


Planets are worlds of the Sith Empire. They are ruled by the representatives of a given Pyramid. Their value is how much income they contribute to their Pyramid every turn. Their terrain is one of several terrain types that is dominant across the planet, and gives bonuses or penalties to troops on that planet. Their traits are unique features.

Every planet's value is set at the start. A world’s value can be reduced through conflict and instability, in which case some can be reclaimed through reconstruction. Economic growth requires a long period of peace and stability, which generally won’t happen within the confines of the game.

Terrain types
  • Arctic
  • Desert
  • Forest/Jungle
  • Mountainous
  • Ocean
  • Plains
  • Volcanic

Traits:
  • War-torn (Legions recruited here begin with 5 experience)
  • Shipyards (Allows construction of destroyers)
  • Extreme Terrain (Terrain penalties doubled)
  • Force Nexus (Characters here gain levels faster)

The Empire

The Sith Empire is a collection of worlds ruled in a feudal structure through a single Dark Lord. At the beginning of the game there is no Dark Lord, and his recent death has the Sith fighting over his successor. The core of the empire was settled by the Ancient Sith under the semi-Legendary King Adas, and on his death it fragmented until the arrival of force-sensitive exiles from outside the Empire, who seized power over the Sith.

Sith society is structured by caste. At the top are the Sith Lords, who are force-sensitive and are a mix of pure Sith and human exiles. Below them is the Priest Caste, who serve as administrators. Then the Warrior Caste, who fight in armies. Then the Engineer Caste, who build and maintain technology. Last, the Slave Caste, who are low-ranking Sith and Aliens.

Travel within the Empire is accomplished through hyperspace lanes, along which nearly all ships must move.

The two most important worlds are the capital, Ziost, and the ancient homeworld of the Sith, Korriban, which contains the Valley of the Dark Lords. Control of these worlds will provide long-term benefits. They are not available to the players at the start of the game.

Aliens

“Aliens” technically refers to non-Sith, but in this context it refers to political structures outside the Sith Empire, ruled by non-Sith. These worlds are unplayable, but can be conquered. They are usually richer than Sith Worlds, but less militarized.

Conquest of alien worlds will be more involved than taking a world from another Sith Lord, and there will usually be significant pacification necessary. Alien worlds are strange and there may be hidden benefits or technology outside the normal Sith paradigm.

Players

How do you join? Express interest, whip up a quick Sith Lord. A set number of creation points are given to players to begin with to allow the creation of your starting character and some beginning forces. The best applications will be given the role of members of the Dark Council, the ruling body of the Sith, and additional creation points.

Starting characters begin at Level 1 with $100, Councilors begin with $200.

  • Planet (worth $10/$20/$30): $20/$40/$60
  • Legion: As Cost
  • Fleets: As Cost
  • Experience: $1 for 1 point
  • Traits (for planets and legions): $5
  • Extra Level ($10 for level 2, $10 for level 3, $20 for level 4, $30 for level 5, increasing according to the Fibonacci sequence)

Any unused points can be banked.

Death

On death, or when joining the game after it has begun, a player can either take over an existing NPC Sith Lord or receive a modified number of points to craft a new Lord from scratch. The number of points they receive will be determined by the mod, on the basis of the state of the game at the time.

Victory

When one player is unopposed Dark Lord of the Sith, and begins the construction of his own tomb on Korriban in the Valley of the Dark Lords.
 
Frequently Asked Questions

1) Can I have a lightsaber?

Yes. Lightsabers were introduced to the Sith Empire by Jedi exiles. However, the lightsabers of the time (5000 BBY) are not as advanced as those of the "modern" era. They are less powerful and require portable battery packs to operate. They are also more costly to make and maintain, requiring specialized training to use effectively. Thus, most Sith and many Lords operate using alchemical war swords, made out of the same material as starship hulls and sheathed in a force-fuelled plasma current that provides most of the cutting power of a lightsaber at a fraction of the cost.

2) Can I be a non-Sith Lord?

The majority of Sith Lords are hybrids between human Dark Jedi and the Sith Warrior and Priest Castes. The racial superiority of the Sith and the Empire's rigid caste structure provide substantial disadvantages to force-users of inappropriate genetic background. They will gain a negative "Slave" trait to reflect their appropriate caste in Sith Society, with a corresponding penalty to relations with NPC Sith.

3) Can I combine traits X and Y?

Yes. Surprise me.

4) What would a generic Sith Lord look like, for someone who doesn't like customization?

EXAMPLE
Name: Horrud Maan (Level 2, two traits)

$100 to spend
-$45 on $20 planet with 1 trait
-$20 on legion
-$10 on a second character level
-$20 on a destroyer
-$4 on a fighter squadron
-$1 banked

Reserved for Stats
 
Wish to express my intrigue, especially with possibility of playing as a master of assassins.
 
not sure that's how it works but if it does, dibs on Korriban
 
Wish to join as Darth Venius. Full sign up later.
 
Very hype, two small issues.

One, there is no teleportation in the Star Wars Universe. As such, the fleet "boarding" module makes zero sense.

Two, Torpedoes in space would simply be missiles, no?

Three, are you making it possible for "parasite" squadrons to have attached hyperdrives?
 
Very hype, two small issues.

One, there is no teleportation in the Star Wars Universe. As such, the fleet "boarding" module makes zero sense.

Two, Torpedoes in space would simply be missiles, no?

Three, are you making it possible for "parasite" squadrons to have attached hyperdrives?

Boarding Modules make absolute sense. They happen all the time in TOR. There's no teleportation, but rather small shuttle like things that peirce the hull of the enemy ship before disgorging it's crew.
 
Very hype, two small issues.

One, there is no teleportation in the Star Wars Universe. As such, the fleet "boarding" module makes zero sense.

Boarding modules, a very short range device, represent a variety of fun equipment used to breach airlocks and starship hulls.

Two, Torpedoes in space would simply be missiles, no?

Star Wars calls them torpedoes.

Three, are you making it possible for "parasite" squadrons to have attached hyperdrives?

yeah sure why not

I would like to claim Ziost, full sign up incoming when I'm off work.

not sure that's how it works but if it does, dibs on Korriban


Ziost and Korriban are not available as starter worlds.
 
Ooh, certainly interested. Subbing for potential join. ^_^
 
If you really want sure

I would encourage you to dig deeper into your imagination
 
Darth Faqar

Spoiler :





Planet: Svolten(40) (Mountainous)
2 levels (10) (Infiltrator, Diplomat)
1 Legion (Warriors) (20)
2 Traits for the Legion (Honor Guard, Sith Assassins) (10)
2 Traits for Svolten: Force-Nexus, Shipyards
1 Frigate, Bladeborn (Engines, Repair, Laser Cannons, Boarding Pods, Torpedoes)


Jaynoah (Apprentice)
Spoiler :





The life of a slave on Svolten was a hard one. That was the life Jaynoah was born into. Backbreaking labor, hunger, and daily suffering. Her parents had been slaves, their parents had been slaves, and their parents, probably as far back as the Rakata.

Some might argue that this was by design: Slavery itself has no place in a technological society where droid labor is as common as air. It did, however, produce adversity, and adversity bred anger, and anger bred Sith.

And so it was with Jaynoah.

She was thirteen when the she first reached out with the force to snap the overseer’s neck. As his lifeless body slumped to the ground, she first drank from the deep well of power that was the darkside.

The Overseer’s guards swarmed over her, beating her to within an inch of her life. As she lay on the ground, her blood soaking into the mud of Begeron, gazing with fading eyes at the great pyramid of the Sith, she felt it for the first time.

The curious gaze of something far more powerful and eldritch than she could comprehend.

Even as her life dripped out of shattered bones and broken skin, he swore that she would survive, and that that power would be hers.

In that moment, the Sith tradition of slavery was vindicated.

It was years before Jaynoah set foot on Svolten again. She had been taken from that muddy grave, her wounds treated, and had been unceremoniously dumped aboard a transport to Korriban. The Academy was hard, a human slave amongst nobles.

But perhaps that was by design as well, because, while those around her coasted, secure in their own superiority, she was forced to push beyond all of them. Even as the disdain of her peers grew into resentment and resentment into hatred, even as they tried again and again for her death, it became apparent even to the most blindly arrogant pureblood that Jaynoah was destined for greatness.

And so the smartest amongst them, the weakest, gathered around her, seeing in her their salvation in the blood soaked sands of Korriban. And for a time they prospered. Countless ancient artifacts of the Sith and the Rakata were brought back, always they credited Jaynoah with their success, and always, magnanimously, she shared that success.

But through her they learned their most important lesson. Power comes from within, not without, and, when she left the Academy, those who followed her fell prey to her rivals. But she did not care, for she had finally found the man who had touched her mind so many years ago. That same Eldritch power that had given her the will to live, the lust for the possibilities of the darkside, no longer seemed so strange, so powerful. Still a sun compared to the arc-light of her own power, but comprehensible none the less.

Darth Faqar, Sith Lord. He had once sat at Marka Ragnos’s knee, had rubbed shoulders with Ludo Kresh and Naga Sadow themselves, but had wisely stood aside as they consumed themselves in their conflict over Ragnos’s Throne. And now, it was whispered, with a few key words here, a murder there, Faqar stood absolutely powerful where Kresh and Sadow were interred on Korriban, their ghosts left with little but the fear of apprentices.

And now Jaynoah was to be his apprentice. Last among many at first, but finally first amongst them. Where they sought to lavish extravagant gift after extravagant gift upon their master, Jaynoah understood the lessons of Korriban, of the sith, that power is the ultimate gift.
 
did Venom infect Bumblebee and Cyborg's child
 
Ignore!

------
 
So is it assumed we stick to the outer rim/wild space?
 
Top Bottom