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Sacred Band of Ziost – Indie Faction Revival
Good morning/afternoon/evening SWRP writers!
Good morning/afternoon/evening SWRP writers!
First off, let me preface this by apologizing for the lack of formatting and aesthetics here. Normally I would spend just as much, if not more, time organizing this into a sleek template of some sort to distract you from the Bush League content I've vomited onto the screen, but I'm cramming to get a bunch of prep work done before the time skip and couldn't really spare the time to make this all purdy liek.
With that in mind, I'll cut straight to the chase with a short Q&A.
Q: What am I proposing?
A: In simple terms, reviving the old Sacred Band of Ziost into a fully formed Indie faction. I have been speaking with @Malon for a week or so now about opening a new potential story with the Empire that involves a rebellious faction seceding from the Empire and declaring war on the Sith. What initially began as ideas for just another random set of missions became an actual proposal to take this idea to the next level by making the rebellion an official Indie faction which could actually challenge the Empire and have a tangible impact on the story overall. And so far he has been entirely supportive of the idea, so this concept already has the blessing of Sith faction leadership to proceed.
Q: What is this faction about, and why is it called the Sacred Band of Ziost?
A: Undoubtedly the most important question on the list. For starters, the name. The Sacred Band f Ziost was an intentional choice I made to reflect the overall origins and goals for the faction. As most of you probably know, following the fall of Coruscant to the Sith and the formation of the Empire, the old SBZ ceased to be, replaced instead by the Imperial Legion. This faction, at its very core, plays on that by assuming not all members of the now defunct SBZ would be happy being rolled into the new vast Imperial war machine.
If you recall, the initial intention for the SBZ were to be equals to the Sith - even their betters in some cases - even going so far as to (historically) blame the Sith Lords for the collapse of the last Empire. Now, with the rise of a new Sith led regime, some among the old Sacred Band have taken it upon themselves to rebel in the hopes of preventing history repeating itself. Ideologically, the SBZ will fight not only to preserve their reputation as the elite among the Empire (feeling this crucial identity has been lost in the vast masses of the newly formed Imperial Legion), but also to rail against what they see as centuries of failed Sith philosophy in governance.
Q: What is the Sacred Band's end goal?
A: In short: topple the Emperor and instate their own rule across the Empire. I don't wish to give too much away as per their overall plans or how I intend to go about executing them, but rest assured the SBZ will not be an idle faction. Which brings me to the next most crucial question on the list.
Q: Will this faction be primarily combat oriented? Specifically, PvP?
A: Short answer, yes. I know the stigma surrounding PvP, and I know many of you hold some serious reservations, and that's perfectly fine, I'm not forcing anyone to join me on this, but this faction will aim to be actively involved in the overall war story. That means plenty of Open missions and daring raids into enemy territory, but as the old saying goes: you can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs. This is not to say there will be zero opportunities for the less PvP inclined - there will - but the overall thrust of the SBZ's efforts will be aimed at whittling away at the Empire and building support for their cause wherever opportunity presents itself.
Q: If this is a Sith aligned Indie faction, will having a character here count against my Main Faction limit?
A: I wouldn't think so, no. The SBZ are not “Sith aligned” per se, at least not in the strictest sense. They desire to control the Empire, yes, but to get to that point they begin beyond the Empire as a rebellious faction that holds no affiliation with the Sith faction proper. I will be working with Malon to iron out the details over what could have feasibly transpired in the 5 year gap between now and the beginning of the time skip to paint a clearer picture of how the rebellion began, and how it ended up in its current form.
Q: I have a Sith and would like to join. Is that possible?
A: I'm afraid not, unfortunately. The crux of the SBZ is to fight against disseminating Sith influence throughout the Empire. As such, any Sith PCs would be viewed as hostile (without exception) and thus barred from joining their ranks. Unless of course they become a prisoner of war, in which case they get a nice cozy 10x10 room of with a lovely view of a brick wall. How exciting!
Q: I have an Indie Force user and would like to join. Is that possible?
A: Perhaps. This would be handled strictly on a case by case basis, but it would be safe to assume that if your Indie Force user has had any obvious ties to the Sith Order in the past, then you might not want to stroll up and ring the SBZ's door bell. Jedi backgrounds would be more acceptable, but it would need to make sense and you would probably need the blessing of Jedi faction leadership to get the green light. Additionally, I might ask for your character to have an IC “voucher” of sorts from someone of fairly high standing within the SBZ. Overall though, the faction (at its core) will be suspicious of Force sensitives, so if you do manage to slip in, don't exactly expect a friendly smile and some hot cocoa.
Q: I have an unaffiliated Indie, can I join with them?
A: Yes. To put it bluntly, I am not naive enough to believe this faction can subsist entirely on people willing to fork over their existing Imperial Legion characters to join a random rebellion against the Sith. Especially if that rebellion implodes spectacularly within a week: then you're just left with a traitor to the Empire and nowhere to go but possibly the gallows (aka; the Character Archives). With that in mind, I have decided to cast a wider net in the hopes of catching some of those Indies floating around out there that might have nothing better going on and could be looking for a little direction or sense of purpose. After all, the original SBZ was little more than a warband of highly trained mercenaries and bounty hunters to begin with, so it makes perfect sense to preserve those roots by continuing to actively recruit from among the criminal underworld.
Q: Other than the Sith, who are the enemies of the Sacred Band?
A: I don't know, to be perfectly honest. I haven't reached out to any other faction leaders to see where their respective factions might stand on something like this. In any event, alliances or rivalries are something I'd like to see play out organically rather than being shoehorned in. Chances are, not many people would want to openly side with a nascent rebellion that wants to overthrow the Emperor for the purposes of claiming the Empire themselves. The SBZ may share a common enemy with certain factions, but that might be where the similarities end. Again though, these are things I would like to see develop naturally throughout the course of roleplay.
Those are all the questions I can think of at the moment that might be at the top of everyone's list. If you have any further questions though, please feel free to ask. I'm hoping for a decent turn out, but not necessarily expecting it. Let's face it, soldiers are always less fun than Sith/Jedi, and the soldiers types that do garner ludicrous amounts of interest are (almost without fail) Mandalorians. But hey, if the Dominion can exist as a non-FS combat group, then there may be hope yet for others to follow suit.
You never know!
