Stormtrooper Corps

**Stormtrooper Corps**, also referred to as the **Trooper Corps**, was an independent military branch operating alongside the Army and Navy of the Galactic Empire. Existing as an elite, fanatically-loyal force of troopers, the Corps existed to impose the Emperor's will on the military and the galactic populace alike Inheriting the military forces of the Grand Army of the Republic, the Corps would possess a large amount of trained infantry to support military excursions against the remaining Separatist holdouts. Due to the military buildup during the Clone Wars, the Corps continued to rely on clones of the era of the Republic for a few years after the Proclamation of the New Order. But nonetheless, the clones fighting skills ultimately deteriorated due to their accelerated aging process, and in response, the Corps began accepting non-clone recruits into its ranks, with most remaining clones being disbanded. Although their ranks seemed to be endless and armed with highly advanced weapons and armor, these soldiers were generally less respected as soldiers by the clones who preceded them. The Stormtrooper Corps was best known for its near limitless supply of obedient troopers trained at academies across the galaxy, as well as its near fanatical devotion to Darth Vader. Regarded as the Empire's chief enforcers, the Corps would serve to remind the civilian populace of the Galactic Empire's military supremacy.

During the Galactic Civil War, the Corps underwent an accelerated training process to provide more soldiers at a faster rate in order to suit the Galactic Empire's needs. Members of the Corps would see substantial action against the Rebel Alliance and its successor state, the New Republic. The Battle of Endor not only marked a critical point in the Galactic Civil War for the Rebel Alliance, but also a sharp and steady decline for the Galactic Empire. While both Palpatine and the Darth Vader perished aboard the second Death Star, the troopers suffered a devastating defeat against a rebel strike team and their Ewok allies. Due to the sudden vacuum of power created by the Emperor's death, the leaderless Empire fractured into numerous factions, fragmenting the Stormtrooper Corps between various warlords and claimants to the Imperial throne. Following the Battle of Jakku, the defeated remnants of the Empire had little choice but sign the treaty known as the Galactic Concordance, with one of its terms being that the mobilization and training of Stormtroopers was prohibited. The Imperial Remnants retreated to the Unknown Regions where they reconstituted themselves as the First Order, and in violation of the the treaty, they rebuilt the armed forces of the Empire including new Stormtrooper forces inspired by their predecessors, the new generation was one of many symbols the First Order derived from the Empire.

## Trooper Variations

   The Stormtrooper Corps had a variety of Stormtrooper specializations, each one trained in a specific role for enforcing the will of the Emperor and directly confronting any threats to the Empire. Specialized Stormtroopers were selected for training in the field at an early stage, and then conditioned with the appropriate knowledge and psychological training for the field in question. Upon being specialized, their psychological conditioning to their particular identity was strong enough that the trooper almost never wished to change his division. Shielded in the eerie anonymity of the white armor, Stormtroopers were trained to think of themselves as expendable and to ignore casualties within their ranks beyond a tactical standpoint in order to achieve the objective. Upon the implementation of a program to recruit from the Imperial citizenry as opposed to relying solely on clones, facilities for the training of new recruits were implemented. When they served with the Navy, Stormtroopers served as Marines and ensured loyalty aboard ships. On the ground, troopers led assaults, advancing ahead of Army units to take strategic targets like spaceports and gun emplacements, and deployed to the toughest fighting. A rapid deployment force rather than one for occupation, the Stormtrooper Corps was almost entirely infantry-based and was far smaller in number than either the forces of the Imperial Army or Imperial Navy.

### Standard Trooper Variations

#### Stormtrooper

A **Stormtrooper**, disparagingly referred to as a **Buckethead** by dissenting citizens, was a member of the elite shock troops in the Imperial Army, placed under the Stormtrooper Corps, the land-based forces of the Galactic Empire. They were particularly distinguished by their loyalty to Emperor Sheev Palpatine, the Empire's founder, and were reputedly incapable of betraying either him or the Imperial regime. They wore a set of white armor over a black body glove which, in addition to creating an imposing image, was outfitted with a wide array of survival gear and temperature controls that allowed its wearer to survive in most environments, but offered limited protection against blaster bolts. Like the Imperial Star Destroyers and TIE Fighters, Stormtroopers served as reminders of the power of the Emperor. The faceless troops of the New Order were considered an extension of the Emperor's will, and often used efficient yet brutal tactics to keep thousands of Systems throughout the galaxy in submission to the Empire, being symbols of major Imperial authority.

#### Scout Trooper

**Scout troopers**, also referred to as **Biker Scouts**, were specially trained troop variation of the Stormtrooper Corps. As light-armored variants of the Imperial troopers, Scout Troopers were specifically trained for activities too complicated for regular infantry troopers. As such, they were exceptional additions to the Imperial Military as reconnaissance troops, as well as spies and survivalists. Throughout the first two decades since the Empire's rise, the Scout Troopers became well known for their self-reliance and ability to operate alone or in small squads. Due to Scout Troopers skills in stealth and mobility, Imperial High Command recognized that the scouts were also natural snipers. Over the course of their service to the Galactic Empire, the speeder bikes became a signature piece of equipment utilized by Scout Troopers, a piece of equipment that had earned them the nickname of "Biker Scouts". Their training profile also included missions including infiltration and sabotage, and were instructed to call in the Stormtroopers should the situation call for their presence.

#### Snow Trooper

**Cold Weather Assault Stormtroopers**, commonly known as the  **Snow Troopers**, were elite troopers of the Empire's Stormtrooper Corps trained and equipped to operate in frigid environments such as the icy planet of Hoth. These Snow Troopers were utilized on many different icy worlds, with their most notable conquest being at the Battle of Hoth, where the Imperial Blizzard Force defeated the forces of the Rebel Alliance and overran Echo Base. Their armor was designed to be well suited to the climate extremes of frozen worlds because unlike other troopers, Snow Troopers wore a white, rugged body glove, which provided camouflage, and provided thermal insulation from the cold. Over this was an outer shell altered to include more powerful heating and personal environment units, and an airtight fabric oversuit for extra protection from the cold. A battery pack would power the suit and heated breather mask for up to two weeks. The Snow Troopers were often equipped with such weapons as E-11 blaster rifles and E-Web heavy repeating blaster cannons.

#### Sand Trooper

**Sand Troopers**, also referred to as **Desert Troopers**, were troopers equipped with modified armor and equipment to withstand the harsh climates of desert planets like Tatooine. They were nearly identical to standard Stormtroopers, but had additional training in specialized areas and advanced cooling systems in both their helmets and suits that offered them protection from the relentless heat. They also were designed specifically to take into account elements in desert worlds that can clog breathing filters and jam machinery. Visual differences in armor included a distinctive diamond-shaped left knee plate, non-ribbed chest and back plate connectors as well as reinforced abdominal plating. Survival backpacks were necessary for them to complete extended missions in unrelenting heat, and contains several liters of water, a vaporator for condensing water from atmosphere, a long-range comlink, and a reflective shelter. They carried weapons like E-11 blaster rifles, DLT-19 heavy blaster rifles, T-21 light repeating blasters, or RT-97C heavy blaster rifles.

#### Flame Trooper

**Flame Troopers**, often referred to as **Incinerator Troopers**, were a specialized variant of Stormtroopers, distinguished by the red markings on their armor and the incendiary weapons they were equipped with. Flame Troopers were sent on missions where an example needed to be made. They would march into enemy settlements and have them burned to the ground, leaving nothing left. They did not hesitate to even ignite any bystanders. Incinerator Troopers were raised with a intense urges to burn and destroy. Their armor was exceptionally heat-resistant, withstanding high temperatures, and bore red markings in order to indicate their specialty. They were equipped with visors on their helmets along with plasma rifles and very powerful flamethrowers. They were equipped with powerful plasma rifles to burn down villages and cities, along with standard weapons and thermal detonators, even though they usually relied on flamethrowers. As dissent grew, the use of psychopathic pyromaniacs within the Flame Troopers was used as a way to make an example.

#### Shore Trooper

**Coastal Defender Stormtroopers**, also called **Shore Troopers**, were a variant of Imperial Stormtroopers trained and equipped for combat in tropical environments. Stationed at the top secret security complex on the tropical planet Scarif, Shore Troopers patrolled the beaches and bunkers of the facility. Shore Troopers operate, effectively, as Sergeants that allow them to command small squads of regular Stormtroopers. On a galactic scale, Shore Troopers, as a whole, were extremely scarce, as the conditions for necessitating their employment is less frequent, with there being few stations or garrisons located on coastal or otherwise tropical planets. Shore Troopers wielded both the E-11 blaster rifle and the E-22 blaster rifle while stationed on Scarif. There were at least three distinct ranks of Shoretroopers, all with unique armor markings colored sand. Shore Troopers were also known to use different variations of armor load-outs or with weapon configurations based on the conditions of the locations they were stationed or the stations or garrisons they served.

#### Shock Trooper

**Imperial Shock Troopers** were high-class Stormtroopers pulled from the Stormtrooper Corps of the Galactic Empire. The Shock Troopers served as elite frontline forces of the Empire, and also as bodyguards for Galactic Emperor Sheev Palpatine himself. They were the successors to the clone Shock Troopers who were part of the Clone Troopers in the Grand Army of the Republic during the Clone Wars. The Shock Troopers wore Stormtrooper armor with distinctive red markings on the helmet, spaulders, shin guards, and utility belts which could maintain extreme resistance to small-arms blaster fire. However, some of them still wore the armor model of their Clone Wars-era predecessors well into the Galactic Civil War. Often being deployed in pairs, the stormtrooper variant served mainly as a support unit, taking vantage points, occasionally driving tanks and suppressing enemies with their heavy firepower while lesser infantry moved in for the kill. The arsenal at their disposal included a DLT-19 heavy blaster rifle or a powerful rocket launcher.

#### Imperial Heavy Trooper

**Imperial Heavy Troopers** were a branch of the Imperial Army's Stormtrooper Corps. These soldiers were large warriors that wore a specialized type of Imperial Stormtrooper armor and were trained for frontline combat against powerful foes such as Wookiees, Trandoshans, and other large aliens. They were rare but were almost always found at the front of a vanguard where they provided protection for standard Stormtroopers and other ranged weapon specialists. Due to their role in melee based combat, these troopers made use of large electro staffs against their enemies. The weapons a Riot Trooper wielded allowed them to stun their foes with medium-range electrical arcs, and were quite capable of killing in close combat. During the Imperial occupation of the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk, numerous heavy troopers were deployed in order to deal with highly resilient prisoners. Their armor gave them a limited protection against a Lightsaber. Their armor slightly resembled the Phase II clone armor, albeit slightly darker. Most troopers were issued backpacks.

#### Imperial Riot Trooper

**Imperial Riot Stormtroopers**, colloquially known as **Riot Troopers**, were highly-trained soldiers that contained and defused insurrectionist scenarios due to the spread of the influence of the rebels to even within loyalist populations in the Galactic Empire. As military enforcers of the Empire, Riot Troopers were stationed on subjugated worlds throughout the galaxy, although they were most common on megalopolis worlds through the Core and Colonies due to them being disobedient worlds, that according to the Empire, required "parental discipline". They were trained for close-combat, and thus were armed and equipped with electrostaffs. In addition to their weapons, the Riot Troopers wore suits which slightly resembled the armor of Stormtroopers. Every trooper was required to swear the oath of obedience only severed through death as a symbol of their loyalty to the Emperor and his Empire. Because they were trained specifically for confronting and putting down large-scale civilian insurrections, they lacked any fear of being overwhelmed by crowds.

#### Magma Trooper

**Magma Stormtroopers**, commonly referred to as **Magma Troopers** or **Lavatroopers**, were a specialized division of the Imperial Stormtroopers. Specifically trained to operate in active geologic vents, responsible for crushing revolts and other insurgent activities on volcanic mining planets such as Sullust and Shu-Torun, as well as assigned to defend any volcanic mines filled with rare ores from rebel guerillas. They wore a variant of Imperial Stormtrooper armor designed to withstand high temperature including some contact with volcanic magma, incorporating extra armor on the legs parts of the armor, black rankpauldrons similar to those worn by Sand Troopers and a respirator connected to a backpack via a tube. Some of the known weapons that they utilized included the E-11 blaster rifle, T-21 light repeating blaster and DLT-19 heavy blaster rifle. The Magma Troopers were also equipped with mobile-tech flamethrowers and heavy blasters.

#### Space Trooper

The **Zero-G assault Stormtroopers**, commonly known as **Space Troopers**, were members of a specialized branch of the Imperial Stormtrooper Corps equipped and trained to capture enemy vessels intact. Space Troopers were equipped to operate in Zero-G environments. Space Troopers wore a variant of Stormtrooper armor fitted with a rebreather pack. They wielded both an E-11 blaster rifle and a specialized heavy blaster. Space Troopers were used to patrol the outside of the Death Star, a moon-sized battle station. The suit provided a seal against the vacuum of space and propulsion that allowed Space Troopers to move and fight in space for extended periods. In addition, the suit let them to carry a heavy set of firepower, turning a trooper into the equivalent of a light tank. Space Troopers wielded grenade launchers able to fire concussion grenades, gas grenades, and stun grenades. They were equipped with laser cutters to penetrate ships.

#### Jumptroopers

**Jumptroopers**, also known as **Imperial Jump Troopers** or **Rocket Troopers**, were specialized Stormtroopers utilized by the Galactic Empire prior to and during the Galactic Civil War. Imperial Jump Troopers were equipped with the jump packs or jetpacks that allowed them temporary flight. They served several roles in combat, from being used to bound over walls to attack enemy fortifications directly, to aerial drops intended on attacking an otherwise untouchable enemy position. They carried burst shields and RT-97C heavy blaster rifles. Other than their jump packs or jetpacks, Imperial Jumptroopers were generally suited with the standard armor of the Imperial Stormtroopers, but at times could instead wear specialized armor, one of which included a mechanism attached to two tubes plugged into the helmet, similar to a TIE pilot's control box, and another variant with the tubes connecting the pack and the distinctively-different helmet.

#### Seatroopers

**Aquatic Assault Stormtroopers**, also referred to as the **Seatroopers** or **Aquatic Troopers**, were a specialized branch of the Imperial Stormtroopers. They were used by the Galactic Empire to maintain a presence on aquatic worlds under its rule. It is unknown if they had any ties to the aquatic Imperial navy. The standard Seatrooper utility belt includes high-tension wire, grappling hooks, spare blaster power packs, ion flares, concentrated rations, spare comlink, medpacs, rebreather filters, and a compressed air inflatable bubble tent. The armor was more flexible than standard Stormtrooper designs, preserving and even increasing a trooper's underwater dexterity. Supplementing a soldier's swimming skills are a back-mounted propulsion unit, and two propulsion boots with snap-down flippers. Aquatic Assault Stormtroopers were successors of the SCUBA Troopers that participated in the Clone Wars as part of the Grand Army of the Republic.

### Elite Trooper Variations

#### Death Trooper

The elite soldiers of Imperial Intelligence, **Death Troopers** were a variation of the Galactic Empire's Stormtroopers. They served as protective details and bodyguards for high ranking Imperial officers and members of the Tarkin Initiative. They were encased in specialized black suits of armor and specialized helmets that scrambled verbal communications. Death troopers were trained in unarmed combat, heavy weapons, and sniping. Specializing in commando missions, they were experts at covering their tracks, leaving little evidence of their missions. A squad these Death Troopers served as guards and enforcers of Director Orson Krennic's, wielded as his protection since at least thirteen years before the dawn of the Galactic Civil War. Another squad of Death Troopers was part of Grand Admiral Thrawn's Imperial forces during an early campaign against the Rebel Alliance and participated in the Battle of Atollon. The Death Troopers were known to wield such weapons as SE-14r light repeating blasters, E-11Ds, long-range blaster rifles, and C-25 fragmentation grenades.

#### Storm Commando

The **Storm Commandos**, also known as **Imperial Commandos** or **Shadow Scouts**, were the Imperial Special forces of the Imperial Stormtrooper Corps. One task for Storm Commandos was to instigate uprisings or subdue insurrections on Imperial-held worlds. They also served as second-wave attackers in the battlefield, tasked with holding territory won by the first wave. These commando forces were created with the intention of performing specific tasks that regular soldiers were incapable of accomplishing. As such, they were considered an elite unit within the Imperial Military and operated within small forces with an emphasis on stealth as well as covert operations over brute force. Their silver Scout Trooper armor earned them the nickname "Shadow Scouts"; the armor was enhanced with a coating of an advanced polymer, which deflected light and sensor energy. This made the wearers virtually invisible to all but the most determined scans. Storm Commandos used a wide variety of weaponry, with the primary weapon they utilized being the E-11 blaster rifle.

#### Shadow Trooper

The **Shadow Stormtroopers**, also known as **Shadow Troopers** were a specialized variant of the Imperial Stormtrooper. Their most distinguishing feature was their all-black armor which was a stark contrast to the more common white armor used by other Stormtroopers. This unique black armor provided some stealth benefits, which resulted from the stygian-triprismatic polymer material used in the production of the armor and equipped with cloaking devices that rendered the Shadow Troopers invisible, or at the very least enter a state close to such, for a short period of time by warping the light around them. The Shadow Stormtroopers acted as the personal Stormtrooper unit of the leading head of the Empire's Intelligence division, which earned them their moniker of "Blackhole Stormtroopers". The Shadow Troopers frequently underwent special training in infiltration and ambush tactics, and were often assigned to extremely classified missions.

## Trooper Personnel

The Stormtrooper Corps, before the time of the Imperial Remnants, was made up largely of Humans, and primarily with males in their ranks, with very few females becoming Stormtroopers. After the Galactic Empire was reduced to factions of the Imperial Remnants, the Stormtrooper Corps started recruiting more females and also started recruiting aliens into its ranks, mostly as desperation in trying to fight off the New Republic. At the Empire's height, the Stormtrooper Corps was almost exclusively Human but for a few experimental units, and overwhelmingly male since very few females could pass physical training, though female Stormtroopers were more common than most realized. Extensive indoctrination also produced unswerving loyalty to the Galactic Empire: throughout the entire Galactic Civil War, very few attempts to bribe, blackmail or seduce a Stormtrooper succeeded. Due to their role as Emperor's chief enforcers, and thus, being deployed when Palpatine requires their service and being recalled when needed somewhere else, the Corps was not concerned with long-term occupation of a planet, streamlined and ready for rapid deployment, operating on most of the Imperial planets. The Corps maintained its own command structure and training regimens, relying on its infrastructure for support. The Stormtroopers were the best-known Imperial soldiers, and one of the Empire's most iconic symbols.

### Stormtrooper Legions

#### 501st Legion

The **501st Legion**, also called the **501st Battalion**, and later known as "**Vader's Fist**," was an elite military division of the Imperial Military which consisted of highly-trained soldiers under the supreme command of Darth Vader. Following the rise of the Galactic Empire, the 501st transitioned into a Stormtrooper unit, like other clone units. Given new sets of armor and weapons, the 501st faithfully served the Empire, operating under the direct command of Vader. The 501st Legion became one of the last remnants of the Grand Army of the Republic, as opposed to the ever-growing and more diverse Stormtrooper Corps. Darth Vader was known to comb through the ranks of all units and transferring the best to the 501st, a fact that angered other Imperials who had to work with lesser qualified units. The 501st fought in a number of battles in the Galactic Civil War in an effort to defeat the Rebel Alliance, although the rebels ultimately triumphed.

### Stormtrooper Units

#### Blizzard Force

**Blizzard Force** was an elite military unit within the Stormtrooper Corps consisting of trooper units that specialized in cold-weather operations. It utilized multiple AT-AT walkers in which dozens of Snow Troopers could be stationed inside of along with numerous armaments, while the force itself was led by the ruthless General Maximilian Veers. The Blizzard Force spearheaded the assault of Echo Base on the ice world of Hoth while the Imperial Death Squadron loomed over their heads. Blizzard Force were not part of Death Squadron's integrated surface-warfare forces, but were called on at General Veers' suggestion when the rebel headquarters was located on the frigid world of Hoth. Not only were they the ideal troops to attack a snow-bound target, but they were well-positioned to assist, so that the fleet of the Galactic Empire needed only to make a brief rendezvous to take aboard the extra troops before proceeding on to the targets.

#### Desert Sands

**Desert Sands** was an Imperial Sand Trooper unit in service to the Galactic Empire during the Galactic Civil War. The unit was a specialized Sand Trooper variant with modified armor and equipment to withstand the harsh climates of desert such as Tatooine, along with heavy weapons, survival gear, and shoulder pauldrons denoting rank. Shortly after the theft of the Death Star plans, the unit was ordered to land on Tatooine, tasked with located an escape pod launched from the *T*antive IV to secure the stolen plans. Desert Sands discovered a trail leading away from the crashed pod, leading them to Mos Eisley where they attempted to apprehend the droid fugitives, without success. Once the two droids escaped the planet in the *Millennium Falcon*, Desert Sands was left on Tatooine to perform clean-up operations. Soon after the *Millennium Falcon* escaped the Empire, Desert Sands managed to secure Mos Eisley and wipe the rebels presence.

#### SCAR Squad

**Task Force 99**, also known as **Special Commando Advanced Recon**, or shortly as **SCAR Squad**, was an elite squad of Imperial Stormtrooper led by Sergeant Kreel of the 501st. One of their missions was to investigate Sunspot Prison, an installation that was recently abandoned by the Rebel Alliance. These elite soldiers were known as **Special Commando Advanced Recon Troopers**, also known as **SCAR Troopers**, whom represented an elite class in the military forces of the Galactic Empire. Task Force 99 consisted of a number of elite Stormtroopers under Sergeant Kreel with each of the members serving as specialists in particular fields including Zuke specializing in heavy weapons and explosives, Aero specializing in engineering, Cav specializing in close combat, Mic specializing in slicing, Misty specializing in his abilities as a sniper, along with Shrap who served as an additional specialist in the fields of heavy weapons and explosives.