Dawn of the Republic - Sacred Band of Ziost

So a group of ruthless blood thristy bastards who think nothing about killing entire villages of innocents in order for their masters to accomplish their ultimate goals of wiping the jedi out and expanding the empire

Necris said:

So a group of ruthless blood thristy bastards who think nothing about killing entire villages of innocents in order for their masters to accomplish their ultimate goals of wiping the jedi out and expanding the empire

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Not exactly? While im sure they wouldnt think twice from a moral standpoint, wiping out massive amounts of civilians is hardly subtle.

I think it's also important to emphasis that they're not drones, Sith-mind slaves, what have you. The Sith aren't this all-encompassing Empire in this timeline (not yet anyway). There needs to be some reason for the non-Force sensitives to serve them, especially since loyalty isn't exactly something Sith generally have on their priorities. Even if it comes down to the Sith paying them decently enough for their services, being forced into exile with the only lot in the galaxy who they can be sure the authorities won't come hunting for them in, etc.

I think it's going to be interesting to see what each individual Band member's motivation for sticking around with these bunch of psychopaths who will only grudgingly see you as 'equal' at best is.

I for one can say I won't be playing to the "murderous sociopath" stereotype with my character. The Band are a cut above the rest, sure, and they may be in league with some of the worst kinds of people, but even a Sith is capable of showing restraint every now and again.

Besides, as a mother, torching an entire village in the name of galactic peace - or whatever equally propagandized agenda the Sith will be peddling - isn't the kind of example she wants to be setting for her son. Her reasons for remaining loyal to the Sith are [for now] admittedly a touch on the shallow side, but I'm hoping once we hear more about the new lore and storyline I'll be able to fill in the gaps with more substance to add more clout to her motivations.

Arclight said:

Not exactly? While im sure they wouldnt think twice from a moral standpoint, wiping out massive amounts of civilians is hardly subtle.

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But would draw out the jedi for our sith bosses to deal with them

Necris said:

But would draw out the jedi for our sith bosses to deal with them

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I don't think we'll need to draw out the Jedi. They're pretty much witch hunters now, and we're the witches.

@Calixis
I really like the stuff you've been saying so far. You make a lot of good points. Especially the part where we aren't Sith slaves. I think it would be cool to see, as a whole faction, Super Duper Zoisters demanding absolute respect from the Sith. Maybe even see ourselves as superior to them, noting that the Sith's use of the Force is the only thing that makes them special.

You do have to take into account that we are supposed to be the non force sensitive people who have grown up under sith rule, Sith society is highly militarised and conscription is common

We are also mentioned as Ben enthralled to our Sith rulers

Service to the Sith for some will paid for either by money or the promise of power, others will serve out of fear more I think will serve because it gives them the freedom to be free to do as they wish, others will be utterly dedicated to their Sith masters

Gives a lot of options for creating characters.

But unlike the stormtroopers I'm seeing the sacred order as each having their own skill sets that set them apart from anyone else in the galaxy

Alright, so my main character for the timeline will be Andromeda, a Sith Warrior who couldn't give less of a fuck about magic or spirits and thinks immortality is a load of BS. She's barely force-sensitive, as a large portion of her body is mechanical, so she relies almost entirely on her physical prowess.

So Andro is a bit of a misfit in the Sith, but I reckon she would get along great with you guy's characters.

Unless, the SBZ could include more non-religious, Warrior-type Sith aswell?

has anyone started working on their characters yet?

Yep. Been outlining them since well before the official announcements, now I'm just fine-tuning details where possible. Mostly it's just an extensive psych profile at this point, which suits me fine because I hate writing bios.

I've got a short-ish character profile started. The link is in my sig if anyone wants to see. Its kinda basic but it'll be greatly expanded once he's in a few RP's. Besides, I'll probably change my mind about some minor details a million times in between now and when the new timeline is released. For now I'm going to model him after a WW2 American war correspondent but with a SBZ twist, meaning he'll be armed and will gather first-hand intelligence for field commanders (or Sith higher-ups if they're leading the skirmish). I still need to figure out how I'm going to fit that in with his "real boy" plot line though.

Necris said:

You do have to take into account that we are supposed to be the non force sensitive people who have grown up under sith rule, Sith society is highly militarised and conscription is common

We are also mentioned as Ben enthralled to our Sith rulers

Service to the Sith for some will paid for either by money or the promise of power, others will serve out of fear more I think will serve because it gives them the freedom to be free to do as they wish, others will be utterly dedicated to their Sith masters

Gives a lot of options for creating characters.

But unlike the stormtroopers I'm seeing the sacred order as each having their own skill sets that set them apart from anyone else in the galaxy

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Enthralled is probably a bit of poetic licence on my behalf there, so maybe I gave the wrong impression there. I think the more important message to take out of the blurb is that, historically, the Sacred Band were Non-Force Sensitives who underwent the cruelest and harshest of Sith crucibles and survived. That's the legacy of the Sacred Band of Ziost - you're non-Force Sensitives who faced down the worst the Sith can throw at you and survived. That makes you the best of the best, the most elite group of specialists remaining in service to the Sith. You're commandos, master hackers, droid savants, and so on. That not only is a source of pride, but it's also a major point of respect - and while the Sacred Band doesn't have the same glory they once had, the name still holds weight that you can throw around, even at your Sith peers, who not only should treat you as equals, but you have every right to demand respect when they don't as well.

Green Ranger said:

Enthralled is probably a bit of poetic licence on my behalf there, so maybe I gave the wrong impression there. I think the more important message to take out of the blurb is that, historically, the Sacred Band were Non-Force Sensitives who underwent the cruelest and harshest of Sith crucibles and survived. That's the legacy of the Sacred Band of Ziost - you're non-Force Sensitives who faced down the worst the Sith can throw at you and survived. That makes you the best of the best, the most elite group of specialists remaining in service to the Sith. You're commandos, master hackers, droid savants, and so on. That not only is a source of pride, but it's also a major point of respect - and while the Sacred Band doesn't have the same glory they once had, the name still holds weight that you can throw around, even at your Sith peers, who not only should treat you as equals, but you have every right to demand respect when they don't as well.

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Oddly enough, this has been the entire basis for my character's persona and motivations. She strives to prove that the Sith are nothing special just because they command mystical powers:

"Sith bleed like everyone else. Only difference between us and them is the size of their ego."

Well that sorta leads us to my personal worry about this faction and what I'll personally be bringing up in the Think Tank:

What makes this faction worth a Main Faction-status all on its own? Even Boli's explanation makes it honestly sound (to me, at least) like Sithie Sidekicks Mk. II. So you have the respect of the Sithies. Cool story. So did Vader's Fist. Your move.

So, I ask all of ye here:

How would you avoid the pitfalls of being relegated to SITHIE SIDEKICKS?

(It should be noted that I'd really like for this to become a serious Main Faction and I'm just hoping to avoid the massive failures of the IAF, Chiss, and Mandos of this timeline)

Well, I feel that question has two different answers bearing two separate situations:

One being the Sith as they start out the next timeline as a comparatively weaker force when stacked up next to the Republic and Jedi. And the other being when, if ever, the Sith gain any sort of major traction in the galaxy and are able to disseminate their influence beyond whatever tiny chunk of the galaxy they start in.

And since I can't see into the future to see what the Sith faction may look like months out from its inception, I'll address the former.

It is my feeling that [initially] the SBZ will be unique in it's function by being able to operate across the galaxy in places where the Sith simply cannot. They will be fairly nondescript to begin with: I'm not envisioning legions of troopers in shiny suits of spiffy battle armor marching in formation under Sith banners while Stardestroyers loom overhead. In its initial stages, I imagine the SBZ will more closely resemble a loosely organized PMC that harkens to the backgrounds of its overall membership rather than reflecting the archetypal state sponsored military we're accustomed to seeing with the Sith.

My particular plan for avoiding Sith Minion Mk. II status relies on the fact that ICly - and perhaps even OOCly as the military isn't as glamorous a prospect on either side of the aisle when compared to lazar swards!!! - the Sith will need to take what they can get when it comes to recruiting members for their war effort. This timeline they had the advantage of an endless pool of NPC Stormtroopers that they could literally throw at anything and roflstomp the competition. This time around, that magical endless geyser of nameless Redshirt bucketheads doesn't exist. At least not yet anyway.

What I plan to do is remind the Sith [ICly] that they can't just march into the Republic and conquer it with truckloads of red sabers, black robes and a metric ton of daddy issues and teen angst. The Sith will need the unique background of each member in the SBZ to infiltrate their enemies and sew chaos the way a fully mobilized and militarized "IAF style" fighting force never can. If the 501st is Vader's Fist, the SBZ has the potential to become something akin to Rogue Squadron in terms of it's flexibility and effectiveness.

The Kyzer said:

Well that sorta leads us to my personal worry about this faction and what I'll personally be bringing up in the Think Tank:

What makes this faction worth a Main Faction-status all on its own? Even Boli's explanation makes it honestly sound (to me, at least) like Sithie Sidekicks Mk. II. So you have the respect of the Sithies. Cool story. So did Vader's Fist. Your move.

So, I ask all of ye here:

How would you avoid the pitfalls of being relegated to SITHIE SIDEKICKS?

(It should be noted that I'd really like for this to become a serious Main Faction and I'm just hoping to avoid the massive failures of the IAF, Chiss, and Mandos of this timeline)

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Can't really go into much detail atm due to time but I'd say for us to be our own 'main faction' we have to work for ourselves first and the Sith second. Spread our influence outside of Sith spheres, gather intelligence for our use, keep tabs on our Sith comrades just as we do our enemies, stuff like that. We work with the Sith for our own goals, not for theirs. Though that isn't to say sometimes our goals wouldn't align. Following this philosophy, and whatever ours may turn out to be, it could be entirely possible that some Sith would even prefer to follow/work with us (There's already been a few player examples).

While Sith philosophy revolves around their culture, eternal life as a force ghost, and the twin planets ours could revolve around the here and now. Ziost is a crucible, filtering out impurities of weak mind and body and leaving only the best of what 'force-less' individuals can be. For the lack of a better analogy atm I see us as the Spartans of the 'morally ambiguous', making the most of what we have of our own device damn what the rest of the Galaxy thinks. I'd say aside from the history behind the SBZ's creation it would be our passion, our drive, our pinnacle of skill, and our darker nature that allows us to relate to the Sith so well, but by no means does that imply we have to follow their lead.

We must take care to ensure this is an alliance of mutual benefit, that we don't become tools for the Sith to toss around as they please.

@Spud

I know you said you're lacking for time, so I don't expect an immediate reply here, but you mention the SBZ's goals. What should those be, exactly? I admit that I'm at a loss for what the SBZ could try, or want for that matter, to accomplish independently of the Sith. I don't see many entrepreneurial types signing on with the SBZ. Unless they were forced at gun-point by the SBZ themselves to serve a purpose of their own unique design. Moreover, what political or financial goals could the SBZ hope to achieve by operating beyond the scope of the Sith's overall war plan?

@Gamov

I'm not sure what the specific goals would become, I'd imagine that would be up to the members who join and whomever might be chosen as FL to decide. I see surviving the crucible of Ziost and joining the SBZ as a potential act of freedom akin to the Sith philosophy of gaining power to break their own chains. As many of the people who join would have been mercenaries, assassins, bounty hunters, and various other criminals it would be just as natural for them to band together and seek their own fortune just as Sith do.

I see a lot of similarities between the mindsets of the two groups, the only difference is that the SBZ lacks the religion and the focal point of the Force that the Sith have. We'll have to wait and see what comes of SBZ philosophy as more info is released, perhaps they'll have a culture all their own as well.

Another thing as well is that the Sacred Band also represent the former strength of the old Sith empires. Part of what we always do when we're writing up the story is do a background lore topic outlining previous events that help shape the current setting, and we'll probably cover the old territories of the Sith before the timeline. The old empire was much larger than it is now, so the cultural influence of the Sith will probably still exist on quite a few worlds outside of the current Sith territory, so you can also use that as momentum as well - rebuilding the old empire through the toils and works of the Sacred Band, not the Sith who have led them to the brink of annihilation.

I rather like the sound of that, uphold and adapt the old ideologies without getting bogged down in the whole 'Force Superiority' complex Sith Empires usually revolve around or caring much about the Force in general. The philosophy of the Order of Revan comes to mind, but we would walk a path completely separate from the Force, a path all our own free from the direct influence of the light side or dark side.

"We learn from those who come before us and gain strength from their triumphs and failures. We learn to be better, more powerful. Even though the Old Empire has collapsed and the Sith are in decline, we believe in the Empire's ways, and we can carry on where they have failed."