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One of the core assumptions of Age of Rebellion is that the players are on the side of freedom and justice, fighting for the heroic Alliance to Restore the Republic. But, for those who want something different, there is another galaxy-spanning faction complete with its own unique philosophy and aesthetic: the dreaded Galactic Empire. In today’s article I will introduce the reader to the basic why and how of running an Imperial game.
The Why
You may wonder why anyone would ever want to play characters serving the villainous Empire. Isn’t this just the typical “Evil Campaign” stuff from Dungeons and Dragons? I disagree. Playing an Imperial game does not necessarily mean running an “evil” game, whatever that means outside of an RPG with an alignment system, and instead is about challenging player assumptions and creating unique player experiences.
We’ll look at three main reasons to try an Imperial game. Firstly, putting your players in the jackboots of the Empire allows the exploration of many new themes and concepts, sometimes in competition with each other, that are much more difficult to execute in a normal Rebellion-based game. Second, having your players in the role of Imperial counter-insurgents offers them unique challenges which must be met with often completely different tactics. Finally, it can be a good change of dynamic to allow players, accustomed to scraping by as underfunded Rebels, to instead command the full might of the Empire.
For groups looking to explore alternate, and perhaps a bit more mature, themes the Imperial game is a good option. The Empire is built on contradiction. At once, it claims to be a bastion of justice and order but instead it is simultaneously corrupt and tyrannical. However, through indoctrination or even honest belief, millions of sentients rally in support of the Empire. GMs can leverage this contradiction to explore ideas such as the ends justifying the means, greed, or ethnocentrism and competing themes such as law versus justice or obedience vs loyalty. For an excellent example of exploring similar themes, check out The Clones Wars’ Umbara Arc, where the clones must grapple between loyalty, ethics, and the very personhood of clones.
Another amazing theme to explore in an Imperial game is divided loyalty. The Empire is deliberately constructed at odds to itself. Multiple organizations have overlapping roles according to the design of the Emperor himself through a divide to rule strategy. Will your strike force composed of storm commandos, ISB operatives, Imperial Intelligence analysts, and an Inquisitor put aside their political differences to stop the impending terror attack on Coruscant? Maybe some of the players are part of a rogue network who want the attack to go off, prompting even more power and influence to be transferred to Intelligence. Perhaps they will only work together long enough to steal the credit for themselves at the last second. This inter-party rivalry can be destructive in a normal game, but also highly rewarding if it is all part of the plan and everyone agrees it is the type of game to be played.
More pragmatically, playing as Imperials hunting down Rebels nicely turns Age of Rebellion on its head. Instead of figuring out where the gaps in Imperial security are in order to strike a blow, the players need to decide where to put those limited security resources. Instead of convincing the citizens to rise against the Empire, the players must determine how to secure the citizen’s loyalty by persuasion or coercion. Instead of falling into insidious Imperial traps, the players will be the ones developing a Palpatine-level scheme. If your play group is getting tired of the usual Age of Rebellion game, this campaign concept lets you shake it up while using all the same content you already have.
This reversal will not be advantageous to the players at all times. The Empire can look pretty stupid on screen, but how would you go about finding Rebel agents hidden among the population? This can create a significant new challenge for players while allowing even more themes to be brought in. GMs can look to historical and fictional sources covering conflicts like the American involvement in Vietnam, or the Global War on Terror, to provide adventure hooks and hard moral choices.
Many game lines, such as Warhammer 40k Roleplaying offer both rules and the in character opportunity to command and influence beyond their own party’s personal resources. Characters who are high level servants of the Emperor may call upon the overwhelming might of the Empire. If your group of PCs love to plan as much as I do, this may be just the campaign concept to let them exercise that urge. While planning can bog down a game if it isn’t planned for, if everyone’s expectation is that the campaign will run a bit more like the novel Tarkin with planning and investigation interspersed with surprises and action then a high influence Imperial game can be amazing. Believe me, I’ve run a very successful Dark Times campaign with the players as Inquisitor and entourage. What was amazing to watch was just when the players would throw their weight around, and how much they would often disguise just how much influence they had.
The How
The key to implementing this type of game is to have extremely clear expectations fully shared among the group. Topics and themes which may be distressing to some such as ethnic cleansing, racism, torture, and potentially intense inter-party rivalry are some examples of some issues to tread extremely lightly around as a GM. However, tackling these issues with players committed to a mature and rewarding exploration of the related themes can be immensely fulfilling.
Everyone, not just the GM, must be very upfront going ahead with these games to ensure all are comfortable with what direction the campaign will go in generally. If someone is not comfortable, that’s completely okay, as just like in other forms of entertainment tackling these issues are not for everyone. I’m personally a huge fan of Flashpoint because of the themes it explores, but am the first to admit it is not a show designed to make you feel good.
Having a highly cohesive group is critical to this experience. Each member, GM and player alike, must be totally committed to everyone’s enjoyment. They must feel comfortable communicating any concerns or issues that arise to keep the game fun and fulfilling. Communication is key before the campaign begins, during, and even after to help future GMs and campaigns understand exactly what sort of experience is desired.
With that said, I recommend these campaigns be designed around one fundamental: the villains are the heroes of their own story. I will again refer to Tarkin, a book that does an excellent job of blurring the lines between villain and hero. As a protagonist, Moff Tarkin appeals strongly to me. He is a man of great intelligence and willpower who has surmounted every challenge placed in front of him, physical or mental. I think he truly believes what he is doing will bring about peace and order to a war-torn galaxy. However, several times reading Tarkin I was shocked by his villainous actions. It sounds silly, that I was shocked by a villain acting villainous. But from his perspective, he is only doing what is right despite sometimes having to make hard choices for the benefit of the galaxy. This is the fundamental principle of an Imperial game.
What I recommend, and has been anecdotally proven by my own Dark Times Imperial game, is that you start with fairly unambiguously honorable missions. Whether it is rooting out terrorists who intend to target Imperial citizens, or battles with uniformed Rebels to eliminate strictly military targets, keep it morally defensible. Then, just as it is recommended in Force and Destiny regarding the dark side, slowly introduce opportunities to achieve greater results (more citizens saved, fewer brave Imperial soldiers killed, etc) by giving up some of that moral high ground.
Perhaps it is “enhanced” interrogation techniques, or softening up a formidable Rebel bunker with airstrikes despite the risk of “collateral” damage. Start small to give the players an opportunity to sacrifice absolute morality in to preserve “the greater good.” Over time perhaps your players will have a slow realization and ask, “Wait, are WE the baddies?” For me, this moment came after my Inquisitor player had finally caught a Rebel cell member after several attacks on Imperial installations, assassination attempts on the PCs, and a few narrow escapes from the PC’s arrest attempts. The cell member would not crack under normal interrogation, so the Inquisitor used Drain Knowledge (Saga Edition) for the first time. I described in sufficient detail the horrors visited on the cell member’s mind, the tearful wreck she was on the interrogation room floor, and while shifting to my neutral voice provided the player with all the details he needed before asking him what his next move was. This was the seed of his conversion to the light side and defection to the Rebellion.
Ultimately, this type of campaign is not for everyone. It may not appeal to you or your group, and it probably does not appeal to most. But for me and my group, it has provided for very powerful roleplaying experiences and a meta exploration of the evils of the real world that have proved to be extremely fulfilling. Not only was it an enjoyable experience for all, but an opportunity to learn and to grow professionally and personally. If this sounds appealing to you then you owe it to yourself and your group to carefully and considerately explore the possibilities.
Christopher Hunt
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