When Fantasy Flight Games first released their Star Wars: Edge of the Empire Core Rulebook, I was, like a lot of people, very excited for the future of Star Wars roleplaying. I’d spent the better part of the decade playing the d20 Saga Edition system (an excellent game, which I still play!), but suddenly, with Edge, everything old was new again, and for a gamer, that means going to old wells in order to find new things.
One of the first things I did after picking up the Edge core rulebook was dig through my old West End Games’ supplements; the stats and the rules materials were decades out of date, but the sheer amount of setting detail and other ‘fluff’ (much of which originally shaped the Expanded Universe as fans eventually came to know it) was still gold, and rife for campaign fodder.
The diamond in the old, dusty rough, for me, was a copy of Planets of the Galaxy, Volume Three, which details the Elrood Sector, an out of the way corner of the galaxy that makes for an absolutely perfect campaign setting for an Edge of the Empire crew.
Sector Overview
The Elrood Sector lies just off of the Rimma Trade Route, out in the Outer Rim, beyond even such far-flung worlds as Dagobah. During the time frame of the Galactic Civil War, the sector is under Imperial control, but the Empire thinks of it as little more than a worthless backwater with little to warrant a strong military presence.
While the Empire sees little of value in the Elrood Sector, a tramp freighter crew, a team of bounty hunters, or a group of smugglers can still easily make a living (and a name for themselves!) in the sector’s dozen or so inhabited systems. After all, even worlds out in the Outer Rim have wealthy corporations, criminal syndicates, pirate gangs, and the occasional flareup of Rebel activity to make life interesting.
A microcosm of Outer Rim society all unto itself, the Elrood Sector has a number of things going for it that make it an ideal destination for a gang of individuals living on the edge of the law–though of course it isn’t without its risks.
The Imperial Angle
As mentioned, the Empire doesn’t put much stock in the Elrood Sector, and hasn’t committed much in the way of forces to the region. After an initial blitz in which the Imperial Navy overtook the world of Derilyn, the rest of the sector was sufficiently cowed into submission. As a result, only a pair of Imperial I-class Star Destroyers are assigned to the system. A lazy Moff by the name of Villis Andal rose to his position through family prestige rather than merit, and spends more of his time vacationing out of the sector than actually governing it, further ensuring that Imperial oversight remains on the lax side.
That being said, a diminished Imperial presence isn’t the same as the absence of one; while there’s little in the way of the Rebellion facing the Empire in all-out war in the sector, it isn’t as if the area is a lawless wasteland. While there may only be two Star Destroyers around, that’s still two more than any captain of a secondhand Corellian freighter wants to have a run-in with–and of course, there’s always the threat of stormtrooper squadrons, wings of TIE fighters, and other well-armed Imperial patrol craft for ne’er-do-wells to worry about.
The captains of the aforementioned two Star Destroyers add another interesting wrinkle. Tanda Pryl, captain of the Thunderflare, is tenacious and manipulative, though it was through her own skill and merit that she was able to become one of the rare women in command of such a vessel. Possessing minor talent in the Force, she is determined, on her own time, to track down other Force-users, and either bring them into the Imperial fold, or destroy them if they cannot be turned.
Akal Zed of the Stalker is Captain Pryl’s bitter rival; while she considers him a simple-minded buffoon, he sees her as incompetent and unfit for her command. A very “by-the-book” commander, it was a botched operation that got him posted to the Elrood Sector as punishment, and he will stop at nothing to prove himself worthy of a better position.
Moff Andal, for his idle amusement, intentionally pits these two captains against one another, knowing that both of them will put in the extra effort to look good in Imperial eyes.
The Criminal Element
While far from Hutt Space, no place in the galaxy is safe from the grip of organized crime, and crime is alive and well in the Elrood Sector–which many enterprising crews can make use of, whether it’s working for the criminal element, helping the forces of law and order to bring them in, or perhaps a little of both.
Somewhat more noble crews might find a helpful ally in the form of Grakkata, a Wookiee pirate with her own unique sense of honor after escaping from her life as an Imperial slave. Anyone with a beef against the Empire would find her more than willing to help deal some damage. Or, they might fall in with the more ruthless Dorok Zalaster and his own pirate gang, several dozen strong, either finding less savory work or perhaps trying to bring him in for the bounty on his head.
A pair of crime bosses vie for the top of the Elrood Sector’s more white-collar criminal dealings. Boss Kaggle is a diminutive and meek-looking Dazouri–a shapeshifter who turns into a raging, maniacal beast over three meters tall when he’s angered or injured. Making his home on the icy, out of the way planet of Lanthrym, his organization has used shrewd tactics and violence to rise up in the underworld.
His rival, the enigmatic Lud Chud, focuses on loansharking, protection rackets, and other black market activities. A member of the curious, insectile Rakaan species, Chud stays in the shadows, with only a select few knowing Chud’s true identity or even species. Both syndicates are out to topple the other, and a pair of eager, driven crime lords means plenty of work opportunity for crews who might be willing to get their hands dirty.
On a more curious note is Slythor, a Squib crime lord who styles himself the “High Exalted Ruler of Korad,” a junkyard world along the Elrood Sector’s major trade route. While perhaps nobody is willing to challenge him over a ball of old junk, Slythor’s fixation on unusual, hard-to-find things (which might be little more than trash to anyone else) makes for a unique way to pay for favors–or to be paid in turn.
Species Demographics
The Elrood Sector is home to a number of sentient species that might be more rare elsewhere in the galaxy, but which make up everyday life locally.
The Coynites are large, powerful, furred humanoids with a proud warrior culture, ruled by a complex system of nobility and a code of honor. Gladiatorial combats are a common spectacle in their cities, and the Coynites are known for crafting high quality arms and armor, and a number of their species make their reputation as capable mercenaries.
The low-gravity jungle planet of Kidron is home to the Orfite species. Their sense of smell is one of the defining elements of their culture, and a popular pastime among Orfites is the use of “scent masks” that allow them to breathe in various pleasant or comfortable scents (sometimes with the addition of some intoxicating agents). Members of their species who travel off-world frequently make use of power harnesses in order to make up for their lack of physical strength, due to the low gravity of their home. Kidron is also home to the High City of Refuge, a bastion for all sorts of sentients who are on the run or otherwise in need of laying low, a place that has its own brand of “organized lawlessness.”
A pair of sentient species call the planet Merisee their home: the Meris and Teltiors. While the two species almost wiped one another out in the distant past, they have since made peace, making Merisee into a world known for agricultural production and medical technology. A secret society known as the Cult of Those Who Redeem strives to uphold Jedi ideals, despite not being a Force-using tradition itself, due to the Old Republic Jedi having dismantled a group of assassins known as the Loag–a group that may still exist in the shadows for anyone brave or foolish enough to look for them.
Other Points of Interest
There’s plenty in the Elrood Sector to keep any crew busy for quite some time. There are thousands of uncharted and unexplored worlds on the far end of the sector, beyond a massive stellar cloud known as “the Drift.” Numerous scouting and exploration companies would be willing to pay for teams to go on expeditions, hoping to find worlds with unique opportunities for mining, or colonization. Who knows what undiscovered wonders and threats might lurk out there?
The populated planets of the Elrood Sector run a wide gamut. Elrood proper is known for its fastidious adherence to rules, regulations, and order, whereas the underground communities of frigid Lanthrym thrive on lawlessness and criminal enterprise. Derilyn still remains under the grip of martial law at the hands of the Empire, enforcing strict curfews on the populace and doling out harsh punishments for the most minor of transgressions. The distant, tropical Almaran system failed to become the vacation paradise it had once strived to be, but anyone wanting to make contact with the Rebel Alliance might have luck at the space station orbiting the planet.
The Bottom Line
From an at-the-table perspective, there’s a lot that makes the Elrood Sector a great location for an Edge of the Empire game, either for a longer campaign or just a brief visit.
The Empire is present, but the battle against the Rebel Alliance rarely if ever comes into focus, allowing Imperials to be used as very suitable villains for lawless riffraff or even honest crews who happen to rub them the wrong way. They’re still powerful, but not all-powerful, and not ever-present throughout the sector, allowing players to have run-ins with the Empire while still living to see another day–and plus, the Imps are in an even better position than usual to be outwitted.
GMs who are tired of trotting out Hutt crime lord after Hutt crime lord to serve as either benefactors or adversaries for their players have options such as Boss Kaggle and Lud Chud–allowing them to fulfill a similar role and purpose, while still being different and unique enough that dealings with them don’t feel like a retread, especially for players well-versed in dealing with more prominent underworld entities such as the Hutts or Black Sun.
All in all, the Elrood Sector itself serves as a tiny reflection of the galaxy as a whole. There are plenty of opportunities for honest work and the safety of law and order outside of a strong Imperial grip; but also plenty to be done with the seedier galactic element, exploring the unknown, or even getting involved with strange Force traditions or fringe operations of the Rebel Alliance for groups or campaigns that want to incorporate or even just touch on themes and elements from Force and Destiny or Age of Rebellion, as well.
Since there’s literally an entire book dedicate to the worlds, species, characters, and other points of interest of the sector, there’s really only room to skim the surface in an article such as this. If the above interests you, while it may be hard to find nowadays, West End Games’ Planets of the Galaxy, Volume Three is an excellent resource for the setting material alone. Unfortunately, Wookieepedia seems to have less information on the individual pieces of the Elrood Sector than it does on most other topics, but most of what’s been detailed above can be found there for more information as well, if you’re having a hard time tracking down a 22-year-old, out-of-print gaming supplement.
Kevin Frane
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