Playing as a Sith

[Mojomoe]

Heya Rancor Pit, I need your help!

I'm currently working on a players guide which must include a section on Sith/villainous PCs, and I wanted to source some help. I don't recall ever having read a primer for villainous PC characters - there was a section in the Imperial Sourcebook which focused on being low-level peons, but that angle was designed around the PCs not knowing or thinking their actions were villainous ...just following orders, as it were.

However, what about truly villainous characters, who commit evil acts with full knowledge? How would you write a guide for such characters that would keep the game fun and balanced?

I can think of two angles, twisted perspective and fear.

Twisted perspective reflects Anakin's line in Episode III: "from my perspective the Jedi are evil!" This motivation says that the villains see themselves as heroes, and the true heroes as weak, misguided, or corrupt.

Fear is another motivator - fear of failure, fear of reprisal. A Sith is always afraid for their lives - first from their superiors, and eventually from their underlings. In an organization based on fear, one must always be the most merciless, vicious, and scheming character, lest their dark career come to an ignominious end.

Thoughts, comments? How should I present this?

[DougRed4]

It's an interesting concept. I know I've thought a lot about villainous motivations as a GM of a long-running supers campaign. I ended up coming up with the theory that all "bad guys" are motivated by one of three lusts or desires for:

- Money/acquisitions (greed)
- Power
- Pleasure

So all of them end up being about selfishness of some kind (the opposite of altruism and heroism).

Though I think the above is somewhat a matter of perspective. You could reason that your person who is afraid of somebody else (the fear you mentioned) is all about their desire for having control over things in their life, for instance.

Actually, the more I think about it, I think Fear could end up being just as valid as the ones I mentioned above.
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Currently Running: Villains & Vigilantes (a 32-year-old campaign with multiple groups) and D6 Star Wars; mostly on hiatus are Adventures in Middle-earth and Delta Green

[Whill]

Heroes & Rogues has a section on playing Imperials. That's the closest official source I can think of.
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[Mojomoe]

So I've been thinking more on this.

With the info here I think I could make a pretty coherent guide to playing a Sith... But what of Dark Side Points?

I can think of three answers.

One, ignore DSPs for dark characters; such a restriction no longer makes sense.

Two, replace them with Fear Points. Same concept as DSPs, but the Sith risks losing control of their character of they call on the force in Fear, rather than anger. Fear is just as dangerous to a Sith as to a Jedi.

Three, reverse DSPs to Light Side Points - if a Sith calls on the light side of the Force in kindness or compassion, they risk losing their character to the light. Redemption rather than corruption.

Thoughts? How would this work in a long running campaign?

[Zarn]

I would go with the option of ignoring DSPs. I think it's the simplest one, and the most elegant solution. Mirroring the Jedi mechanics doesn't make much sense in this case, elegant though it may seem on the surface.

[DougRed4]

And I can't see many people choosing to actually play a Sith doing much in the way of altruism/goodness/kindness.
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Currently Running: Villains & Vigilantes (a 32-year-old campaign with multiple groups) and D6 Star Wars; mostly on hiatus are Adventures in Middle-earth and Delta Green

[garhkal]

Big issue i see, is like with ADND. When playing an Evil game, it often breaks down to people 'feeding' their glut for mass killing and debauchery. Do that with a "Sith game" and i can't really see it lasting that long.
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[Mojomoe]

That's a good point. Perhaps that's part of the guide?

As in, Sith campaigns have a short half-life. They burn brightly, but don't last long, and this is expected. One thing all the literature reiterates is that Star Wars is a universe where good eventually triumphs, and evil deeds are punished.

Sith campaigns, then, are expected to come to an end at the hands of GM (or PC?) heroes. Like playing a Bond villain... Half the fun is putting up a good fight and eventually being vanquished.

The reason for this is stated in Heroes and Rogues: villains create enemies. The more ruthless, the more justice will cry out.

You know, when you put it like that, and the players KNOW they'll lose, it actually sounds fun!

[cheshire]

If you have to play a Sith game, then take a page out of Palpatine's book during and before the Clone Wars. Make it so that he can't reveal that he's a Sith. That will keep the "murder hobo" factor down to a minimum. Make sure there is a goal in sight, but it's one that requires him playing the long game, and he has to work out of sight.
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Before we take any of this too seriously, just remember that in the middle episode a little rubber puppet moves a spaceship with his mind.

[atgxtg]

I seem to recall something about Dark Side characters only getting back FPs when they commit evil, and having to call on the Dark Side to get new FPs . I think that it would be a good idea for an "evil" campaign to keep that way. It would make the Sith a bit more vulnerable to Jedi NPCs, keep them nasty backstabbers, and make them more paranoid. It makes those apprentices much more dangerous.

What might work would be if Sith got an FP or something when they advance along the "paht of the Sith". Basically, what we see in the films is that Sith seem to follow a certain path/progression and do certain things, such as:

- Get turned to the Dark Side by a Sith Master
-Act as an assassin/hatchet man for thier master.
-Turn someone else to the Dark Side as their own apprentice, behind their master's back.
-Turn on their master and try kill him off and take his place.
-Work on a "back up" apprentice.
-Pit the back up apprentice against the current one.

Perhaps when a Sith does one of these acts he could get an FP?

[atgxtg]