“Obviously, somewhere in the past the timeline skewed down into this tangent…”
-Dr. Emmett L. Brown
Every GM and player in any RPG wants an amazing experience, with an epic story. That story will often be made all the more epic with mystery, plot twists and unexpected action. And perhaps the story which does this the best is the story of Star Wars. Like many of our favorite established worlds, the world of Star Wars tells these kinds of amazing tales on the big screen with all the mystery and action we could hope for. Sit back and think of the first time you watched Star Wars (or any epic story, really) and recall how much more intense and amazing it all was. Naturally, we want to put those amazing stories into our games as well. At its core, it is why we play an RPG in the Star Wars universe – to take part in that epic story.
At its heart, creating that epic story with the same feeling as “the first time” is what creating an alternate universe is all about. First, I should probably attempt to define “alternate universe.” A commonly accepted definition of alternate universe (or alternate reality) is the occurrence of canonical facts about the setting or characterization of a particular fictional universe being explored in a non-canonical way. In other words, take the sandbox of the Star Wars setting, and change something in the history or setting to make it different, new, or fresh.
By making these changes in an RPG game like Star Wars you can still play in the world that you all love, but the possibilities are much less constrained. When playing a “canon game” your players will always know in the back of their head that the Republic wins the war, or that the Emperor and Darth Vader will be defeated. Sure, your own story can still be told, but it can be easy to feel as if your actions have no effect on the galaxy at large.
Below I give some ideas for making your own Alternate Universe and how that can be used to spawn some epic stories. At its simplest, you only need to ask yourself the question “What if…?” For the purpose of this article, I am limiting the categories to three: Events, Deaths and Setting. There are many others, but I think these are the easiest for someone just starting to look for some alternate universe ideas. I have given a few ideas below as examples, and there are many more! I’d love to hear some of your own!
Events
This is perhaps the easiest idea to do. Take a major event in Star Wars history and change it. This is so easy because the universe changing will often flow from that event. Consider some of the ideas below:
- What if Han didn’t come back to help Luke blow up the first Death Star? What would have happened? Would Vader have killed Luke? Would Luke still make the shot, but die in the process? Take each of these ideas and then build off them. If Luke dies and Vader later finds out it was his son, what would he do? If the Alliance leadership, including Princess Leia, dies at Yavin IV, what becomes of the Rebellion? If the Death Star is destroyed, but Luke dies, how are the Rebels affected? What about confronting Vader and the Emperor? If Vader is not on the second Death Star and is instead commanding the Executor, could he have affected the Battle of Endor?
- What if Anakin doesn’t kill Count Dooku? After the battle, could Dooku see his master is against him and escape to join General Grievous…this time without Palpatine pulling the strings? What would happen in the war? What if, at his trial, Dooku is able to garner support in the Senate for true reconciliation between the Republic and the Separatists? What would this do to Palpatine’s plans? How would it affect the Jedi and Order 66?
- What if Admiral Ozzell had to jump the fleet at the edge of the Hoth system instead of trying to surprise the Rebels? This could mean that Vader could insert a commando team to take out the shield generator and as soon as it was complete, they could jump in and obliterate the Rebels from orbit with massive casualties. How long would it take the Rebellion to recover from such a loss? Perhaps instead, Vader bides his time and waits for additional reinforcements to arrive, making the final assault on the base much more effective in an attempt to get more prisoners. What would happen if most of the Rebel leadership at Hoth was captured? Also, if Ozzell is alive, that means he would command the Imperial Fleet at Endor…assuming the Rebellion would have recovered enough from their loss at Endor to even attempt the assault.
Deaths
This requires less up front thought. Pick a character and kill them. How would it affect the story? Consider below:
- What if Han died? If Han dies at Hoth…how does that affect the Rebel Alliance and the further Battle at Endor? If he is dead, then Chewie might not go on the assault…and then might not have been captured by the Ewoks. Then what happens on Endor after the Rebels are captured? What if Han died from the bounty hunter they ran into on Ord Mantell? No one would have gone out for Luke in the Hoth night and he would have died as well. With no Luke, the entire outlook of the Rebellion could be very different.
- What if Yoda died earlier? Whoa! This could get crazy. If Yoda dies in Episode I or II then what happens with Padme and the twins? What plan would Obi-wan come up with without Yoda’s input? If Yoda dies earlier in Episode II he wouldn’t be around to save Obi-wan or Anakin and they could be captured or killed. These could change the entire outlook of the war and the history of the galaxy!
- What if Obi-wan died? This is also all over the place. If Obi-wan dies in one of the beginning movies, someone else may have been selected to train Anakin, or perhaps no one at all. Certainly he would never be around to train Luke. If Obi-wan is dead, does that mean General Grievous survives? With the general of the droid armies still in play, what could have happened after the Separatist leaders are killed? Would Grievous continue the war?
Setting
Setting can be more subtle of a change, but could have a great effect on history and the story just the same. Consider below:
- What if the dual between Anakin and Obi-wan had taken place on a planet other than Mustafar? This can be tricky. We could assume that the location had nothing to do with Obi-wan eventually utilizing terrain to get the upper hand where Anakin’s arrogance would eventually mean his doom. But without the lava and massive burns, Anakin wouldn’t need the full suit of Darth Vader. Would this change his outlook? Would things be different somehow? Darth Vader, without the mask could be an interesting change and one that might make him not so dependent on the Empire…
- What if the second Death Star had been built around a planet other than Endor? The obvious difference here is no Ewoks. And as much as I hate to say it…that shield never goes down without them. This means the assault on the Death Star eventually fails…even if the Emperor and Darth Vader are dead. It could have a massive impact on the events of the story.
- What if instead of Bespin, Han asks for help on a different planet? This means that Lando might not join the Rebellion, and therefore who would lead the fighter attack against the Death Star (we’ve all heard about his little maneuver at the Battle of Taanab)? Does this mean Han and Leia don’t get betrayed? Does Luke stay on Degoba to complete his training? All questions that could change the underlying story.
As I said, the above are just some random ideas to hopefully get the brain juices dripping. What are some of your ideas?
GM Lance
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