New Player Guide for Star Wars Dark Times RP

## Introduction

So, you wanna play SWDarktimes, eh? Great! Before you think up a character, look at this list of tips of common things that frequently come up in character applications!

**Before getting started, here are two helpful links to help you get started:**
www.starwars.wikia.com: This is the most-comprehensive available go-to for all things in the Star Wars universe, use it to look up information on planets, races, cultures, events, etc. We adhere to a mixture of Legends and Canon continuity so don't be afraid to draw from either source.

This is the wiki page for our subreddit! Here you can look up the canon of our sub, characters other players have made, etc.  This remains a work in progress, especially as plots develop and charactors are added.

## I want to make an Imperial Character!

**Great! If you’re going to join the ranks of the glorious Empire, there are a few things to remember:**
The Empire is going to be made up of ~~almost~~ exclusively humans, **ESPECIALLY CORE WORLDS**. Lots of troopers may enlist from the Outer Rim territories, but the core worlds are the most common **ESPECIALLY** for officers. This means mostly planets like **Corellia** and **Coruscant**.
~~If any alien characters are able to join up, they would most likely be near-humans. IE, *a Mon Calamari would most likely never join the Empire under Palpatine.*~~**Too bad. The Empire is filled with racist dickheads. No alien scum in the Empire.**

The Empire has a very specific agenda of maintaining order of the galaxy over everyone at any cost. Please keep this in mind when making your character, particularly if they aren’t from the core worlds and this clashes with your character’s culture.

## I want to make a Mandalorian!

Too bad. Mandalorians have run both factions into the ground.

Mandalorians due to their outsider status and history of disloyalty are not trusted by either faction.

Ah, yes, the warriors of the galaxy. When making a Mandalorian, it is extremely important to do your research on their culture, beliefs, and factions.  All Mandalorians are part of a house and clan, which they pride themselves on. You can either make one up, or pick from the documented clans of both canon or legends.

Contrary to popular belief, most Mandalorians really don’t care about much outside of their planet. As such, most Mandalorians really wouldn’t be interested in working for the Empire at all, especially depending on the faction they associate themselves with. Yes, the clone troopers were based on the Mandalorians, but they were not actually Mandalorian. So far, in the Star Wars new canon, only one Mandalorian has actually been seen on the Rebellion and recruited one other due to special circumstances. This is always the exception; if you make an excellent backstory that can explain why your character joins the Rebellion or the Empire even though there is a culture clash, it may still get approved.

That said, here is the current state of Mandalore and its factions:

**Death Watch**: Death Watch was a faction of Mandalorians that wanted to go back to the old roots of raiding and looting outlying systems, generally perceived as the “villains” of Mandalore (Clone Wars Season 5). The Death Watch allied themselves with the Separatists during the clone wars, and, as such, is an enemy of the Empire. In both Legend and Canon, Death Watch has gone into hiding and is on the decline by the time of the Empire. As stated, they are generally viewed by the rest of the galaxy, including the rest of the Mandalorians, as bandits and barbarians. Making a member of Death Watch join the Empire would require an extremely good special circumstance to make sense, and a member of Death Watch on the Rebellion would very much clash with the Rebel Ideology of restoring the Republic.

**True Mandalorians**: True Mandalorians are the other end of the Mandalorian spectrum, believing that Mandalorians should be honorable mercs throughout the galaxy. The True Mandalorians are primarily bounty hunters and were all but wiped out in the Mandalorian Civil War by Death Watch. True Mandalorians would be tricky to make a character for in the current setting, as they would most likely have no drive to commit to either the Empire or Rebellion for the duration of the conflict and would only follow the money (as is the case for most Mando’a).
Independent Groups: Various other Clans have found themselves under the employ of the Empire in certain areas (such as Fang Squadron in Star Wars Rebels), but very rarely enlist. They would much rather remain an independent contractor than commit to the Empire. It is also important to note that the Empire is in control of Mandalore in canon and occupies it as a slaving facility in Legends, so there would be even less of a drive to enlist. Special circumstances are the exception and should be well thought-out!
**Oh, well I really only wanted to be a Mandalorian because they look cool. I’ll just use their armor then!**
That’s a big no-no in Mandalorian culture. If a Mandalorian sees someone wearing Mandalorian armor and isn’t Mandalorian, they will try to kill you. As such, this is most likely not going to be approved unless a good special circumstance is presented.

## I want to be an Imperial/Republic Commando!

Well, too bad. For the time being, we are not allowing commando characters due to their very specific lore and history.

**Can I use their armor then?**

Unfortunately, no. Commandos are raised as Mandalorian, and wearing their armor is just as much of an insult to their culture as well.
## I want to join the Rebellion as (insert alien race)!

**Great!** Make sure you look up information on their culture and society before making your character to know how they would operate. Check out www.starwars.wikia.com to get information on the different cultures of races throughout the Star Wars galaxy, and to understand the current time period Dark Times is set in a little bit better (12 BBY).

If you are going to differ from that culture, remember: Special circumstances are required!

## I want to have (insert exotic and or expensive equipment)!

**Woah, slow down, buddy! Let’s go over some basics on equipment for both sides:**

**Empire:** The Empire has very tight regulations on equipment. **99% of the time**, Imperial equipment will be standard E-11 blasters, stormtrooper armor, etc. There are a wide variety of Imperial blasters to choose from, and they most certainly are not weak. Imperial standard issue equipment is effective and lethal. An E-11 or DC-15s is effectively the M-16 or MP-38 of this setting.  Standard issue equipment for a stormtrooper is not the best in the galaxy but much better than any weapons and gear obtainable legally as a civilian. The Empire is all about uniformity, and this is enforced!
**Rebellion:** Alright, cool. No real restrictions on equipment, but if you choose crazy powerful, exotic, and expensive blasters or armor, you must explain how and why your character has it. If it is too overpowered, you will be asked to change it.
Any spacecraft need to appropriate to this era and justified in backstory.  Exceptional or unbalanced craft will not be allowed.  *A typical craft may be a YT-1300 Freighter, like the Millennium Falcon except maybe more of a Clunker or a battered ship left over from the Clone Wars like a weathered ARC-170.*  State of the art ships will be rare, especially in the backwaters of the Sanbra Sector.  As a safe assumption, if you have nice gear, you cannot afford a ship and vice-versa.
## I want to play a Jedi or Sith!

**Jedi Characters:** At this time the Jedi Purge is largely finished and the few Jedi remaining are in desperate hiding and scattered. Years of persecution, bounty hunting, and wholesale destruction in the name of hunting them down have taken a heavy toll. The Empire spares no effort in its efforts to completely eradicate the Jedi Order, leaving no place for them as player characters.
**Sith Characters:** In this era similarly the Sith and their fellow dark disciples including inquisitors are exceptionally few in number, dangerous, mistrusted, and are unsuitable for player characters. Other force-users such as the odd force-adept are usually aggressively hunted by the Empire making them probably inappropriate as well.
## Fine, if I can’t do that, I’ll just have my guy be a spec-ops-pilot-samurai-sniper-force using-genius-tribble-death trooper-ARC commander cyborg!

Well then you sound like you belong in the core worlds getting Sheev’s groceries! The Sanbra Sector is the equivalent of the galactic middle of nowhere, so no super crazy, powerful characters will be there. You can be smart, cunning, have a strong history, etc., but super powerful characters do NOT belong on this sub. If you have any questions, feel free to ask the mods for further details.