Edge of the Empire campaign

The first (and currently only) Star Wars: Edge of the Empire role-play campaign that the Pixelated Pickaxe crew have done is current and ongoing. Five members are participating, Nathan Wells is the Game Master (GM), and the players are Rob Bauer, Chance Wen, Brodie Snavely and Brady Coles, playing as Petra Tyche, Rush Kiyanu, Zid Dirpas and Ulim Daal, respectively. The campaign begins with the characters meeting each other in a cantina.

The Player Characters

Zid Dirpas

See also: Zid Dirpas

Zid Dirpas is a Rodian scientist and pilot played by Brodie Snavely. At the start of the campaign, Zid is 26 years old. He has been a scientist, inventor, and pilot much of his life, working for both the Imperial shipyards and the Hutt crime lords. At the start of the campaign, he finds himself greatly indebted to Teemo the Hutt.

Ulim Daal

See also: Ulim Daal

Ulim Daal is a Duros smuggler played by Brady Coles. At the start of the campaign, Ulim is only 20 years old, and has barely started his career as a less than savoury element operating on the sidelines of the Empire. Born on a small colony planet in Wild Space, Ulim took an opportunity to permanently get off world less than a year prior to the start of the campaign. Hired aboard a cargo vessel, he made his departure on bad terms, and has been planet hopping on what little credits he has left.

Rush Kiyanu

See also: Rush Kiyanu

Rush Kiyanu is a Human marksman played by Chance Wen. At the start of the campaign, Rush is 32. A former Special Mission Trooper in the Imperial Army, Rush is now a deserter, a gun for hire, and is haunted by his experiences with the Imperial military.

Petra Tyche

See also: Petra Tyche

Petra Tyche is a Clawdite shapeshifter played by Robert Bauer. At the start of the campaign, Petra is 28. A former dancer from Coruscant, Petra has grown up adopting a human form much of the time. After getting in with the wrong crowd who used her for her shapeshifting ability, Petra ended up on the run with a major Hutt crime lord after her.

The Setting

The campaign takes place in the year 5 BBY (5 years before the Battle of Yavin, aka Episode IV: A New Hope). The player characters are from varying backgrounds, but have become involved in some way with the galactic underground, and are living life at the fringes of the Empire.

The Galactic Situation

It is the year 5 BBY. The Imperials have been strengthening their grip on the Galaxy, and on nearly all planets outside of the Galactic core, the only remnants of the Republic are the relics and wreckage of the devastating Clone Wars. In the core worlds life is much as it always has been, although galactic politics is becoming more and more centralized under the great Emperor Palpatine, who purged the Jedi in 19 BBY prior to the shift from Republic to Empire, and prior to his re-branding from Supreme Chancellor to Emperor. Much of the galaxy still remembers the Republic and the Clone Wars, but few have time to reflect on such things as the Empire drives galactic business and economic activity to the tipping point to fund the massive militarization and shipbuilding efforts. Only the most astute galactic observers have noted that the amount of money and resources being pushed towards the Imperial Navy, especially Doonium metal, is not matched by the output of new ships and other equipment.

Rebel activity against the Empire is beginning to increase on worlds like Lothal and others, but it separate and sporadic. Although the Empire is not yet in any real danger, the beginnings of what could become a galaxy wide rebellion are beginning to take root as more and more people are realizing the tyranny of Imperial rule.

Although the Imperial Senate, formerly the Galactic Senate, is still the political center of the galaxy, its power has been so diminished that it serves little other than to provide the illusion of representation. Palpatine and the Imperial Court have final say on all policies, and disagreement with those policies is a sure way to lose your position, or even your life. The Senate has also begun to shrink, as worlds have begun to realize the futility of sending representatives, and regional governors, appointed by the Imperial Court, have gained more and more power over the galaxy's governance.

Day to Day Dealings with the Empire and Others

The player character's, or crew, are not all that interested in the galactic situation, or in the political machinations running the Empire. What affects them is day to day dealings with the Empire while conducting less than savoury business. Many planets in the Outer Rim, and especially in Wild Space are still mostly devoid of Imperial control, though occasional outposts or patrols of Stormtroopers can still catch the crew off guard. Some worlds are heavily controlled, and the ability to land or leave them is difficult if your ship is in an Imperial database of wanted vessels, but other more populace worlds have more traffic than even the Empire can deal with, and flight traffic controllers rarely have time to run all the checks that might turn up inconsistent behaviour. Even the galactic capital, Coruscant, is hardly changed from its days in the Republic. An Imperial facade merely coats the surface of it's thousands of levels, and trillions of inhabitants, whose lives and business take the form of anything possible in the greater galaxy, and more.

Crime families still have massive empires, syndicates rule far and wide, the Hutts still control much of the Outer Rim. You are as likely to anger a criminal organization as you are the Imperials when conducting shady business. That said, the crew has not gone unnoticed by the Empire. There are certain people and organizations in the Empire who have taken notice of members of the crew, all for different reasons, and occasionally those people catch up to the crew's trail.