The DarkStryder Campaign ( series ) The DarkStryder Campaign was a multi - book series released by West End Games for use with " " . Created by Bill Smith , Timothy Zahn , Eric Trautmann , Peter Schweighofer and Doug Shuler , the series spanned one boxed set and three additional supplements . The first installment , " The DarkStryder Campaign " , was released in July 1995 , with the following three books — " The Kathol Outback " , " The Kathol Rift " , and " Endgame " — being released in February , May , and November 1996 respectively . A deluxe boxed set which included all four products in the series was released in April 1998 . In addition , three blister packs for the " Star Wars Miniatures Battles " game were released containing miniatures based on several of the main characters . Set during the early years of the New Republic era , the Campaign follows the adventures of the New Republic CR90 corvette " FarStar " on its mission to track down the rogue Imperial Moff , Kentor Sarne . Crewed by an assortment of New Republic personnel , civilians , and fringers , the " FarStar " travels through the largely unexplored sections of the Kathol sector , Kathol Outback , and Kathol Rift in search of the Moff . Sarne , in possession of exotic alien technology , had allied himself with a mysterious entity known as the DarkStryder , a living , insectoid bio - computer charged with safeguarding the last remnants of the Kathol , an ancient civilization virtually wiped out by a disaster . Along the way , the " FarStar " has to recruit allies , fight off pirate and Imperial threats , and survive the passage through the Kathol Rift , an unstable and highly dangerous area of space before finally facing Sarne and his forces on Kathol . Development . Conception . During a conversation between Bill Smith , who served as the line editor for West End Games ' " Star Wars " products , and Daniel Scott Palter , the chief executive and publisher , the concept of a campaign boxed set was brought up . During the ensuing conversation , the idea was floated to combine " high - fantasy , gritty drama and space opera . " One of the basic ideas was the setting of a planet where " magic " worked . Following the initial conversation with Palter , Smith mentioned the project — tentatively entitled " The " FarStar " Campaign " — with Timothy Zahn , author of the " Thrawn Trilogy " . Zahn liked the idea , and in the following months discussed it several times with Smith . During this period , Eric S . Trautmann was involved in several freelance projects for West End Games , such as " The Truce at Bakura Sourcebook " and " The Last Command Sourcebook " , and was in contact with Smith on several occasions . During a telephone call between the pair , Smith mentioned the project to Trautmann , and revealed that they were having trouble finding a reasonable explanation for having a planet where magic was prevalent . Trautmann referred Smith to some of his early freelance work that he had penned for the " Star Wars Gamemaster Handbook " ; specifically , an ancient alien race of " super - scientist " known as the Cthol , who had developed a device called the Codex for studying and quantifying the Force . By coincidence , Trautmann had just started an original " Star Wars " campaign with his friends that incorporated the Cthol , a planet filled with alien technology , and a haunted region of space known as Cthol Rift . Smith incorporated these ideas into the project , and at Trautmann ' s suggestion , it was renamed as " The DarkStryder Campaign " . Creation . With Trautmann on board as part of the creative team , the structure of the campaign had to be settled on . It was decided that the Campaign would be of a fixed length , with a beginning , middle and end to the story . Initially , the Campaign was planned to stretch across six instalments but it was eventually reduced to four . One of the major departures from previous West End Games products was the notion that players would have to roleplay with pre - generated characters who had their own backgrounds and stories , rather than create a new character from scratch . However , the large cast of characters necessitated that the Campaign would have to support a multi - character aspect , with players controlling several characters , preferably one member of the main character cast , and one or two from the secondary character cast . This allowed for the inclusion of original characters into the Campaign . Amongst the initial ideas for the Campaign was the inclusion of High Inquisitor Antinnis Tremayne as an adversary . However , this idea was rejected as the character of Kaiya Adrimetrum had been selected to command the " FarStar " , and both characters had originated in the same sourcebook , " " . The decision was made early on to limit the effects of the DarkStryder technology to a single area of space to stop abuse in fan campaigns . A second ship , named the " PaleShadow " , was initially proposed but did not make it through the editing process . Finally , another element of Trautmann ' s work for the " Gamemaster Handbook " — that of a male Dark Jedi named Halbret in a hibernation trance — was extensively retooled into a " female light - sided Jedi " . Lucasfilm approval . With the basis of the Campaign in place , the creative team faced their biggest hurdle — approval from Lucasfilm . They believed that several elements they had created would be frowned upon by the staff who approved every aspect of " Star Wars " licensing — ancient Old Republic battlefields and Jedi ( which were traditionally " off - limits " ) , a new version of the Force in Ta - Ree magic , and even an extensive redesign of one of the film ' s most iconic vessels , the blockade runner . To the creative teams ' surprise , however , Lucasfilm ' s approvers sanctioned the Campaign , greeting it with enthusiasm . Launching the mission . Three months after completing the creative process , the Campaign ran into trouble . unveiled their latest series to the press ; " " , the third spin - off of the " " franchise . Despite both projects being developed independently and with no knowledge of the other , the concept of the show was similar enough to " The DarkStryder Campaign " to warrant last minute changes on the part of the West End Games creative team so that the Campaign would not appear to be a knock - off of a television show . Originally , Dave Dorman had been contracted to provide the cover art for the boxed set , a picture that the creative team termed the " " shot . Scheduling conflicts prevented Dorman from completing the work , and Stephen Crane brought in Christopher Moeller to provide the cover . Moeller ' s finished piece arrived just in time to see print . Star Destroyers , length issues and journey ' s end . The cover for the first supplement , " The Kathol Outback " , was actually from the edition of " Dark Force Rising " . It soon became apparent that the selection had a problem — the cover prominently featured an " Imperial " - class Star Destroyer , but no such vessel was featured in any of the adventures contained in the book . George Strayton rewrote his contribution , " Galaxy ' s Edge " to include a Star Destroyer . For the second supplement , " The Kathol Rift " , the designers found that the book was too long , and were forced to cut the adventure " A Cry For Help " by Matt Maneely . The adventure could have focused on the character of Makezh and his acquisition of the Codex , but the discovery of the artifact had to be included in Josh Miller ' s " Waystation " adventure . However , the back cover of the book was published stating that the supplement contained six adventures rather than the five included . Another potential problem was averted when it was realized that the original ideas for the DarkStryder and his minions were too close to the of the " " universe . The creatures were subsequently redesigned by Tom O ' Neill and Tim Bobko . Plot summary . The main plot of the series was the mission of the New Republic CR90 corvette " FarStar " , a highly modified vessel that had been captured from Moff Kentor Sarne ' s forces during the liberation of the planet Kal ' Shebbol . Although New Republic forces deposed the Moff , he was allowed to escape into the Kathol sector with the majority of his forces , and access to exotic new technology . Stretched too thin to launch a full operation to hunt down the Moff , a ragtag crew of New Republic officers , fringers and civilians is commissioned to track him down and neutralize any threat he may possess . The ship and its crew track the rogue Imperial warlord through the Kathol sector , the Kathol Outback and the Kathol Rift , finally facing the Moff and his ally , the DarkStryder ( who is the originator of the exotic technology the Moff possesses ) in the Battle of Kathol System . Main characters . Kaiya Adruimetrum . A former resistance fighter from Siluria III , Kaiya Adrimetrum was a member of Page ' s Commandos during the Battle of Kal ' Shebbol . Assigned to the " FarStar " mission as First Officer , Adrimetrum was forced to take command of the corvette after the unexpected capture of Captain Keleman Ciro during the Battle of Kolatill . Unsure of herself , and facing a mission of unknown duration , with little intelligence , supplies or reinforcements , Adrimetrum is forced to mould the ragtag personnel of the " FarStar " into an effective crew to stop Moff Sarne . During the mission , Adrimetrum has to deal with planetary governments who are either apathetic or hostile to the New Republic , internal dissent among the crew , pirate and Imperial forces , and a myriad of booby traps installed in the " FarStar " by Moff Sarne , the ship ' s previous owner . Eventually , Adrimetrum leads the crew to Kathol , where a loose alliance is formed between the " FarStar " , local natives , and other allies to defeat Sarne and the DarkStryder . Kentor Sarne . Moff Kentor Sarne was the Imperial ruler of the Kathol sector . After discovering DarkStryder on a scouting mission early in his career , Sarne coveted the power that the creature wielded , and planned to take it for his own ends . Engineering a transfer to the Kathol sector , he began an association with DarkStryder , promising to supply it with hyperdrive technology in exchange for the exotic technology it held . Following the death of Emperor Palpatine at the Battle of Endor , Sarne withdrew the Kathol sector from the Empire , setting himself up as a warlord . He ruled his territory for four years , until New Republic forces ousted him from the sector capital of Kal ' Shebbol . Sarne retreated to Kathol , preparing his forces for an ultimate confrontation with a New Republic regional force . Sarne was killed during the Battle of Kathol System . DarkStryder . A bioconstruct , DarkStryder was a living supercomputer designed by the ancient Kathol to watch over the Lifewell , a repository for the life energies of the last of their kind . DarkStryder was meant to release the Kathol — known to it as the Precursors — but never did , craving power for itself . Developing the desire to leave the planet Kathol , it entered into a deal with Moff Kentor Sarne , supplying him with powerful technology in exchange for the secret of hyperdrive engines . Over thousands of years , DarkStryder created — and subsequently enslaved — several species to do his bidding . He guarded the Lifewell , as the life energies contained within it were the power source for his technological constructions . Fearful of waking the " Sleeper " — a Jedi Knight known as Halbret — DarkStryder was eventually killed when the crew of the " FarStar " allied with several of his creations and stormed his fortress . Media . " The DarkStryder Campaign " . Published in July 1995 , The DarkStryder Campaign was a deluxe boxset that established much of the background of the Campaign , and set up the series . The boxset contained : The supplement contained information on the worlds of the Kathol sector , and backstories on members of the " FarStar " ' s crew , its potential allies and enemies . The most detailed information was on the status of the corvette itself including deckplans , operating conditions , and history . " The Kathol Outback " . Published in 1996 , The Kathol Outback was the first supplement to " The DarkStryder Campaign " . The book contained background information on the area of space known as the Kathol Outback , and included the adventures " Plant Food " , " Little Empires " , " Wildfire " , " The Masters of Exocron " , and " Galaxy ' s Edge " . " The Kathol Rift " . Published in 1996 , The Kathol Rift was the second supplement , and third instalment , in the " DarkStryder " series . Containing information on the mysterious Kathol Rift , the book contained the adventures " Harm ' s Way " , " Rogue Elements " , " Waystation " , " Home " , and " Showdown " . " Endgame " . The final book in the " DarkStryder " series , Endgame was published in 1996 . Unlike the multi - adventure format of the previous instalments , the book focuses solely on the " FarStar " < nowiki > ' < / nowiki > s final battle with Moff Sarne . " The DarkStryder Campaign " Deluxe . The DarkStryder Campaign , Deluxe was a boxed set containing all four " DarkStryder " roleplaying game products in a single package . Released in 1998 , it was the last product produced by West End Games for the D6 line . " Miniature Battles " blister packs . Three blister packs based on characters from " The DarkStryder Campaign " were released for use with " Star Wars Miniatures Battles " . The small models also had the benefit of being used as visual aids to the players during a " DarkStryder " adventure . The first pack included the characters of Kaiya Adrimetrum , Gorak Khzam , and Brophar Tofarain . The second pack contained Jessa Dajus , Ranna Gorjaye , and Darryn Thyte , while the third pack consisted of Loh ' khar , Lofryyhn , and Kl ' aal . Effect on later continuity . Elements of " The DarkStryder Campaign " have found their way into later works , mainly through the works of Timothy Zahn , one of the original creators of the project . In his 1998 novel , " Vision of the Future " , Talon Karrde travels into the Kathol sector in search of Jorj Car ' das , a former employer and friend . Zahn used locations established in the Campaign , including Pembric II , Dayark , and Exocron . He also referenced the characters of Crev Bombaasa and Horzao Darr , and the alien Aing - Tii were used a plot point in the later half of the novel . Bombaasa — sometimes misspelled as " Bombassa " would go on to appear in two of books , " " , and " " , as well as an appearance in " Star Wars Galaxies " . However , it is the Aing - Tii , a race of mysterious aliens with a unique perception of the Force , that have been referenced most in later " Star Wars " works , garnering mentions in " " , " " , " " , " " , " " , and " " . Indeed , the Aing - Tii ' s concept of flow - walking — the ability to witness past events from a neutral viewpoint — is a major plot point within " The Joiner King " , as well as assisting Jacen Solo in his decision to align himself with Sith . The Aing - Tii themselves finally appeared in the storyline of " " , the second book of the " " series .