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CRMcNeill
Director of Engineering
Joined: 05 Apr 2010
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Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.
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 Posted: Tue May 06, 2014 12:24 pm Post subject: Horrific Imperial Experiment Concepts |
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It's a part of the SWU that the Empire did some pretty awful things to a lot of different people in the name of advancing its own power. Enslaving races like Wookies is an obvious one, but the occasional mention of other, darker things like bio-experimentation, such as the process that produced Piggy, from Wraith Squadron.
A while back, I proposed using the Lensors from Chronicles of Riddick as a crossover idea for "Force Hounds" for helping Jedi Hunter teams track down Jedi. The explanation I reached was that the Empire experimented on Miraluka, using their Force Sight combined with a neuro-wired readout screen that allowed non-FS to "see" what they see. The process basically wiped out the Miralukan's sentience.
Yesterday, I considered another crossover, with the Empire experimenting on Force Sensitives to produce something like the Hybrid ship control units from the reimagined Battlestar Galactica, reprogramming a living being to serve as a living control module for a ship, with abilities like instinctive astrogation, track hyperspace trail (which is actually based off of an Astropath ability from WH40K), and maybe even long range communication with the Emperor via telepathy. They could potentially be a feature of elite Imperial military ships, such as those assigned to an Inquisitor or Executor. I haven't had a chance to flesh that one out yet...
What are ideas that you have had for the nasty things the Empire may have done as far as experimenting on its subjects?
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"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.
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Dromdarr_Alark
Commander
Joined: 07 Apr 2013
Posts: 426
Location: Boston, MA
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| Posted: Tue May 06, 2014 12:29 pm Post subject: |
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You're definitely making me think of 40K. Can you say servitors?
But nah. I don't think I would have any of this gruesome stuff in my game.
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CRMcNeill
Director of Engineering
Joined: 05 Apr 2010
Posts: 16320
Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.
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| Posted: Tue May 06, 2014 12:35 pm Post subject: |
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| Dromdarr_Alark wrote: | | You're definitely making me think of 40K. Can you say servitors? |
I considered servitors, but in a universe with droids, servitors wouldn't really be a viable option without some retooling of the concept. Not that there couldn't be instances where a brain-wiped cyborg would be more useful than a droid...
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"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.
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schnarre
Commander
Joined: 08 Oct 2007
Posts: 333
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| Posted: Thu May 29, 2014 10:39 pm Post subject: |
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...I had such things in my old game & it helped ram home the good vs. evil atmosphere of the OT. Looks like I'll have to dust those off once more! 
...In the interim, not only 40K, but also Babylon 5 has some good material for such projects.
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garhkal
Sovereign Protector
Joined: 17 Jul 2005
Posts: 14214
Location: Reynoldsburg, Columbus, Ohio.
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| Posted: Fri May 30, 2014 1:41 am Post subject: |
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How's about those massive beasts in the dark empire saga, that the Emperor had ripping open battle droids?
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CRMcNeill
Director of Engineering
Joined: 05 Apr 2010
Posts: 16320
Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.
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| Posted: Fri May 30, 2014 7:56 am Post subject: |
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| garhkal wrote: | | How's about those massive beasts in the dark empire saga, that the Emperor had ripping open battle droids? |
Chrysalis Beasts.
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"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.
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garhkal
Sovereign Protector
Joined: 17 Jul 2005
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Location: Reynoldsburg, Columbus, Ohio.
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| Posted: Fri May 30, 2014 3:12 pm Post subject: |
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That would be them. Wonder what stats they would have?
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death_jester
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| Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 2:50 am Post subject: |
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Since you mentioned 40K what about some Stromtroopers that were modified in the same way that the Emperor's Children were, with their pain receptors rerouted to the brain's pleasure center instead. Imagine the horror on the faces of the players as they find a world that has been attacked by them. Or worse yet imagine they response when the players find a group of characters that not only get a charge out of damage but actively seek it.
Sort of like the first time a DM used a DnD Nilbog on the party and we had to figure out we were only making it stronger.
Keeping up with the theme what about a group of clones left over from the clone wars that had their genetics altered to make them all sociopaths. Add in a special training regiment and they would be absolutely terrifying if let loose on a planet that had any kind of civilian population.
Also you may want to add in just some random mutilations like the ones you mentioned with the Miralukas' eyes. A trans-species transplantation procedure that mutilates an entire population to gain some advantage for the recipient but the process requires a constant supply of "fresh" donors for it to continue working. Or you could have a certain race has a rare combination of organically occurring enzymes that are completely addictive if ingested and cannot be easily synthesized. The Empire might enslave and destroy an entire race to have a cheap source of the drug to use anywhere they needed to subdue or subvert a particularly resistant planet or group.
Just some quick ideas to get you thinking.
Hope this is helpful.
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CRMcNeill
Director of Engineering
Joined: 05 Apr 2010
Posts: 16320
Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.
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| Posted: Sat Aug 16, 2014 5:20 pm Post subject: |
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| death_jester wrote: | | Since you mentioned 40K what about some Stromtroopers that were modified in the same way that the Emperor's Children were, with their pain receptors rerouted to the brain's pleasure center instead. Imagine the horror on the faces of the players as they find a world that has been attacked by them. Or worse yet imagine they response when the players find a group of characters that not only get a charge out of damage but actively seek it. |
My only reservation here is that the modifications made to the Emperor's Children to produce Noise Marines also had a religious focus, in that the enhanced experience of sensation was linked to the Chaos aspect of Slaanesh. The Empire's experiments seemed, to me at least, to be more austere, with an eye toward brutal efficiency as opposed to the sadomasochistic nature of Slaanesh. In effect, the Empire did not care about the pain and suffering they caused so long as their objectives were completed, while for the Emperor's Children, pain and suffering were part and parcel of worshiping Slaanesh.
| Quote: | | Keeping up with the theme what about a group of clones left over from the clone wars that had their genetics altered to make them all sociopaths. Add in a special training regiment and they would be absolutely terrifying if let loose on a planet that had any kind of civilian population. |
Now this could have some advantages. I recently read a novel entitled Barbarians At The Gates, the first in a trilogy. The plot is based on the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, but set in a military sci-fi setting. One feature of this book was the mention of Pacification Units, which were regimental or brigade-level units trained to ruthlessly put down planetary rebellions by any means necessary, up to and including completely massacring a planet's entire population. My thinking was that this would be in keeping with the Empire's mindset, and that Pacification units could be a third branch under CompForce (alongside Observation and Assault). Your idea of genetically altered sociopaths would be perfect for beings who would perform unspeakable atrocities against civilians without bating an eye, all in the name of "pacification".
| Quote: | | Also you may want to add in just some random mutilations like the ones you mentioned with the Miralukas' eyes. |
Making random mutilations falls in with what I mentioned above, in that modifications or mutilations would be made with a purpose in mind. My idea for the Miraluka was that the procedure would allow non-FS Jedi Hunters to perceive the Force (and Force sensitive individuals) through the eyes of the Miraluka.
| Quote: | | A trans-species transplantation procedure that mutilates an entire population to gain some advantage for the recipient but the process requires a constant supply of "fresh" donors for it to continue working. Or you could have a certain race has a rare combination of organically occurring enzymes that are completely addictive if ingested and cannot be easily synthesized. The Empire might enslave and destroy an entire race to have a cheap source of the drug to use anywhere they needed to subdue or subvert a particularly resistant planet or group. |
Hmm. Interesting concepts in general, but do you have any specifics?
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"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.
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Zarn
Force Spirit
Joined: 17 Jun 2014
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| Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2014 5:46 am Post subject: |
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CRMcNeill
Director of Engineering
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Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.
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| Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2014 7:56 am Post subject: |
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Have you been drinking?
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"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.
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Zarn
Force Spirit
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| Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2014 8:26 am Post subject: |
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death_jester
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Joined: 20 Sep 2008
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| Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2014 3:41 pm Post subject: |
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| crmcneill wrote: | | My only reservation here is that the modifications made to the Emperor's Children to produce Noise Marines also had a religious focus, in that the enhanced experience of sensation was linked to the Chaos aspect of Slaanesh. The Empire's experiments seemed, to me at least, to be more austere, with an eye toward brutal efficiency as opposed to the sadomasochistic nature of Slaanesh. In effect, the Empire did not care about the pain and suffering they caused so long as their objectives were completed, while for the Emperor's Children, pain and suffering were part and parcel of worshiping Slaanesh.? |
I seem to remember just the opposite. The fluff I read a long time ago mentioned that the Emperor's Children were modified before they encountered Slaanesh and their modification made them susceptible to His/Her influence.
What I was really thinking of is a Stormtrooper that doesn't take minus dice for being wounded or hurt but instead adds dice, and will fight until completely incapacitated (i.e. seriously maimed or dismembered as per normal star wars rules) in some way. Imagine a foe that gets hurt and instead of wearing down or getting tired gets better at combat. As a player that would be frightening because you'd never know when combat could escalate into a nightmare.
I believe that the Battle Meditation force skill implies that it would allow troops to function even when severely wounded. Well this would be better because no force user would be needed and Palpatine wouldn't need to worry about training someone that might one day become a theat. Just an idea.
| crmcneill wrote: | | Hmm. Interesting concepts in general, but do you have any specifics? |
There is a race of aliens and I can't remember their name but they can get addicted to salt. It causes their eyes to turn colors or something and they lose some tolerance to their native atmosphere I think. Anyway, I was thinking that the enzyme they release could be extracted and used as a kind of super opiate. If you have a troublesome rebel prisoner that you are interrogating or want something from you hook them on this and then wait until the need drives them to spill their secrets to get another "fix". However extracting a useful amount of this enzyme requires that the Alien producing the enzyme be overdosed to the point of death so that it floods their body.
Imagine a newly discovered race of primitives that have a hyper efficient adrenal gland. Transplanting it into the body a Stormtrooper makes them superhuman (in some story appropriate way) for periods of time but the gland isn't completely compatible with the trooper's body. Every so often the gland must be replaced to continue to work efficiently.
I hope that's helpful but no, I didn't have any specific ideas beyond the general thought. I can work on some more however. I'm getting ready to start working on my own Star Wars Campaign and really need to start thinking about some interesting hooks anyway.
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Zarn
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| Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2014 5:06 pm Post subject: |
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Darth Torquemadus
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Location: France
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| Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2014 5:00 am Post subject: |
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If you consider The Dark Empire trilogy as cannon you already have one of this horrifics experiments : the dark fighters with a dead trooper brain empowered by the darkside : A real cyborg-flying-fightning war machine.
In the same way the World Devastators are another horrific concept : eating a planet and producing automated weaponry with the raw material.
In the Thrawn trilogy : clone experiments and all the side effects.
In one of the "I dont remember the title of this Starwars comics" the gungans are killed by hundreds via a biological weapon.
Yes the Empire is truly "Evil"
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