Edge of the Empire Book

JEDI AND THE DARK SIDE

Since before the earliest days of the Old Republic, the

Jedi existed in the galaxy. The Jedi studied the Force

and wielded it to protect life and defend peace. For a

thousand generations, the Jedi stood as guardians of

justice and order in the Old Republic, protecting it and

those within it from cruelty, injustice, and oppression.

A true Jedi stood as a paragon of virtue, displaying

patience, courage, and wisdom. His order served as ar-

biters and protectors in the Old Republic, remaining

vigilant for corruption and malevolence. They called on

the Force when they were calm and tranquil, at har-

mony with themselves and others. In turn, the Force

imbued them with great powers. There have never

been more than a handful of Jedi in the galaxy, when

counted against the countless planets full of sapient

life. However, with the Force by their side, they were

enough to protect the Old Republic for millennia.

However, they could not do so forever. Just as the

Force has a malign, dark side, there are those who

are willing to take the quick and easy path to power,

and use the dark side of the Force to accomplish their

nefarious goals. Those who embrace this destructive

path have long stood in opposition to the Jedi. They

have gone by many names, but the one best known to

the Old Republic was the Sith.

The Sith believed the true power of the Force lay

within the dark side. They claimed its strength and

determination provided a power denied to the Jedi.

They did not always stand alone, either, for to deny

the dark side and stand true to the light is a most dif-

ficult task. Many Jedi have proven unable or unwilling

to remain true to the tenets of their order and resist

the temptation of easy power. These Jedi fall to the

dark side, becoming agents of evil. Only the strongest

and most resolute can pull themselves back to the

light after embracing the darkness.

Two of these individuals, a Dark Lord of the Sith and

a fallen Jedi, proved the final downfall of both the Old

Republic and the Jedi Order. After the horrors of the

ancient wars between the Old Republic and the Sith

Empire, the Sith faded into obscurity and myth. The

Old Republic entered an age of peace and prosperity,

and eventually complacency and stagnation. However,

the Sith still existed, and they had not forgotten. The

dark lord Darth Sidious rose to power in secret, ma-

nipulating the framework of galactic governance. At

the same time, he adopted a public guise as Palpatine,

the Republic Senator from a minor planet named Na-

boo. None knew of his dual personas, and he secretly

manipulated events to create crises and become Su-

preme Chancellor, the elected head of the Republic.

Meanwhile, as Darth Sidious, he secretly manipulated

many members of the Republic into outright insurrec-

tion, thrusting the entire galaxy into the terrible Clone

Wars. Possessing the emergency powers of a wartime

leader, Palpatine was on the cusp of taking control of

the Republic from within. However, he needed one final

piece to accomplish his goals, and he found it in the

young but extremely powerful Jedi Anakin Skywalker.

Skywalker's corruption and fall to the dark side was

arguably one of Darth Sidious's greatest achievements.

Reborn as Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith, Skywalker

and his master turned on the Jedi Order and destroyed

them. Palpatine crushed the separatist forces, then

turned the Republic's armies on the Jedi. Flush with tri-

umph, he declared himself Emperor, proclaiming a de-

sire to protect order and stability in the galaxy. Though

almost nobody knew it, Darth Sidious had accomplished

what the Sith had not been able to—the conquest of the

Old Republic and the destruction of the Jedi.

THE FORCE IN THE EMPIRE

Most, though not all, species have some connection

to the Force. However, some are more sensitive than

others. Typically, Force sensitivity is an inherited trait,

passed down through generations of Force users, but it

can appear in others without warning. In the days of the

Jedi, Force-sensitive beings were usually discovered at

an early age and taken to the Jedi temple to learn the

ways of the Force. Those days are gone.

Under the Galactic Empire, Force users are hunted

down and destroyed, or sometimes corrupted by Darth

Vader and the Emperor to embrace the dark side. A

Force-sensitive being has to learn how to use the Force

on his own. This can often be a painful process that takes

a great deal of dedication, as well as trial and error, to

grasp even an inkling of understanding about the Force.

Without proper training, such beings rely on will and in-

stinct to guide them through their journey. They possess

powers they barely understand, and thus risk falling to

the dark side without even realizing it. Thus a Force user

must keep his connection to the Force a secret, only di-

vulging his abilities to those few he knows he can trust.

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THE FORCE

EDCE OF THE EMPIRE

FORCE DICE

The Force die # is the seventh die in EDCE OF

I THE EMPIRE, a twelve-sided white die. On it are

white circular symbols representing the light side

of the Force • and black circular symbols repre-

senting the dark side of the Force Q

The Force die is unique among the dice in EDCE

OF THE EMPIRE because, unlike the other dice,

the Force die does not generate symbols that

contribute towards success or failure. In addi-

tion, the Force die's light and dark side sym-

bols do not cancel each other out. Instead, the

Force die generates resources, both light and

dark, available for the player to use.