Introduction Introduction The Empire The Imperial Sourcebook The Galactic Empire consists of a thousand- Perhaps nothing permeates the Star Wars thousand worlds caught in the iron grip of tyr- galaxy more than the notion of the evil Galactic anny. Using overwhelming armies and vast navies, Empire. Ruled by the mysterious Emperor the Empire instituted a reign of terror among the Palpatine and built upon the ruins of the fabled disheartened and enslaved planets. No world, no Old Republic, the Empire is the villain of the system, no species was immune to the terrible story. Even when the Alliance isn't directly fight- machinations of the New Order. ing against the might of the Empire, the over- But the galaxy was not always such a dark and whelming presence of Darth Vader and the Im- foreboding place. Once there was a good and pure perial stormtroopers is never completely out of government called the Old Republic, protected mind. by the shining light of the Jedi Knights. Into this The Imperial Sourcebook is set in that turbu- Utopia, however, there appeared unscrupulous lent time that begins with the destruction of the individuals who thirsted for wealth, power, and first Death Star. This is a period that begins with domination. Slowly, cunningly, they destroyed high expectations and hope among the Alliance the Republic from within, creating the evil and because of the stunning victory at the Battle of corrupt Empire. Yavin. But that hope must be quickly dealt with An ambitious senator named Palpatine, propo- by the Empire or the New Order is lost. nent of the New Order, declared himself Emperor What changes occurred in Imperial thinking and consolidated his power by destroying the when the Death Star exploded? What policies Jedi Knights and disbanding the Imperial Senate. and tactics had to undergo drastic revisions to But some worlds resisted. At first this rebellion fill the void the battle station left behind? The was disorganized and ill-equipped, but as more Imperial Sourcebook looks at the might of the planetd s an joine dHope agains New t A th e IV: tyrann Wars y theStar ne r w Alliafte e - Empir ance became a force to be reckoned with. presents exciting new aspects of the galactic In response, the Emperor ordered a military struggle for both players of the roleplaying game build-up unprecedented in galactic history. A ter- and fans of the movie mythos. rible weapon was designed, a weapon powerful So come with us into the dark abyss that is enough to destroy whole planets - the Death Star the Imperial bureaucracy. Follow us as we ex- battle station. It became the cornerstone of the amine the rumors concerning the very top of the New Order's governing doctrine. Imperial power base, as we explore the inner With the Senate dissolved, the Emperor gave workings of COMPNOR and Imperial Intelligence. his regional governors direct control and a free Prepare to view the power of the Empire's mili- hand in administering their territories. From this tary machine, from vast fleets to the order of point on, the Empire would be ruled by fear. Fear battle of an entire sector. would keep local governments in line. Fear of the The Imperial Sourcebook is packed full of Imperial Fleet — and fear of the Death Star. descriptions, explanations, histories, photo- Recently, the Rebel Alliance has won a signifi- graphs, illustrations and diagrams. It is an ex- cant battle at Yavin by destroying the Death Star. tensive look at many of the things that contrib- Enraged by this action, the Emperor has ordered ute to the unyielding might of the Galactic Em- the might of the Empire to crush the hated Alli- pire, the greatest armed force ever detailed in ance and its dream of a New Republic. Now the fiction. war has really begun ... It is a dark time for the Rebel Alliance indeed. Imperial Sourcebook 5 Prologue Prologue The Might of the Empire To: Mon Mothmas truth , Alliancn ca s e Supremfalsehood n ei Commandern eve r fo , ; matter o N other - Alliancre s thi ed officersstudie e . hav u yo e onc d An . found e b From:n Major betwee Arhuy onl l d Hextrophonrea u yo f i n , Executiveve t tha e e Secbeliev I - , port retarye anth du Masteyo w r sho Historian o t h muc ,r Alliancuncove el Higwil hu Comyo s - line e th mand. nature of the Empire and its methods. Consider this report a companion to our . data l Imperia g followin e Th : Regarding Rebel- the of History Official , progress n i k wor I d an f staf y m d ha e hav u yo h researc e Th lion, Volume One. We have thus far interviewed undertake concerning the events surrounding and documented the heroes of the Battle of - star e som d uncovere s ha n Yavi f o e Battl e th r Skywalke e Luk r Commande g includin , Yavin tling r informationothe t tha e . I unlik havt Bu e . compileOrgana a d alLei ls of thePrinces d an interceptes a t no ds i communiques— s reason s , technicaobviou r l readoutsone—fo s thi , , work . report e on o int s datapack d an s holochip e Empir e Th . established d an d researche l wel Sources for this material include high-level just isn't as cooperative about revealing certain l Imperia s variou y b s report , communications information. Be that as it may, I have included all - perfor t top-secre , datalogs l persona , agencies of the data we have uncovered for the sake of mance records and . otherstudy similar rfurthe material d an s . completenes While the information reveals much about When you read through the accompanying the tactics and inner workings of our enemy, I datafiles, you will see the Empire in its glory, its o int h muc o to g readin t abou u yo n cautio t mus victories and its failures. You will see its might this repor- tshad ak t thidar s, timedeep . s Nonit e ese l of thwil eu informatioYo . power s nit d an containee th dt herein hathroughou s g been confirmespreadin y d quickl o re docuar t -tha s ow mented outside of the data presented here. galaxy. And that is why, in the final analysis, I Unlikely though it is, this could be an elaborate have sent this report to you. If the actual figures ruse tt o passpiri s e alonth , g falsewrong informatioe ar s force nf o to s the Alli-division d an ance. behind them rings true. This report shows the I urge th e f yoo e u andcorps thd e resrotte t e ofth Alliancm fro n e Higgrow hs Comha t -tha l evi - perspec r prope e th n i t repor s thi w vie o t d man Old Republic, and that, we have already seen, tive. Until collaborated, this report should be cannot be exaggerated. considered high level rumor at best. At worst, I remain your humble servant, r fo s lie d an s half-truth d fe g bein s i e Allianc e th n Hextropho l Arhu r Majo - be t no o d I h althoug , purpose n unknow e som lieve this to be the case. 6 k Sourceboo l Imperia Chapter One: A Primer on Imperial Power Chapter One l Imperia n o r Prime A Power There is ad darknesha s s insenator thy e galaxygreed , . There is theunscrupulous w fe A . Empire c Galacti started the destructive chain reaction of mal- e th r ove n dominio d hel e peac e onc e Wher aise. They saw the first lingering problems as countlesd s planetcoul h swhic ot f the Old Republicgovernmen f o m , nosyste e wth fean i s r crack and terros r being hol e d swayThes . gain Planet l s sepersona tr tofo defend d exploite e b themselve- occu s againso to r fa t ane y externawer s l menaccolleague r e werthei t etha il ld foun prepared to deal with threats from within. And pied by the day-to-day running of the Republic so a galaxy was enslaved. to monitor their activities adequately. The idea of empire was old throughout the The corruption was too small to be noticed at galaxye lonth d g befordi o s , e Palpatingrew s e ascendeopportunitie de thth es throna t Bu e . first n upo s Hundred . Order w Ne s hi d create d an e th y b d seduce e wer o wh s senator f o r numbe y histor a e hav s world f o s thousand f o s hundred e Thes . wealth d an r powe e illegitimat f o e lur n i , authority l centra e singl a y b e rul f o , empire f o senators found an easy alliance with some of the their past. mammoth corporate interests which constantly e Th . example r fo , system i Atris e th t a k Loo a e mak o t s way r easie r fo t lookou e th n o e wer - Dy d Phar l Kite e th s recall l stil t plane l principa profit. A few arrogant, self-serving bureaucrats nasty with pride. These rulers unified the entire fell to seduction, and suddenly a virus was in the homeworld, eliminating opposition and estab- stars.