We are currently simultaneous with the end of The Last Jedi movie:

At the very least, Emperor Palatine's exploration of the Unknown Regions (UR) of the galaxy started as soon as he became Emperor, but it may have been started under the Republic. He established a network of UR study bases, where knowledge of the UR was pooled and applied, and specially constructed - and expensive - survey ships were sent out to map viable paths into the UR.

In the meantime, three other projects were started, the two Death Stars and Starkiller Base. Starkiller Base was bigger, more powerful, and the technology less understood, so it took considerably more time to perfect, and when the Emperor died, it was far from complete. It was finally finished by the First Order 30 some years after the Emperor died.

After the Battle of Jakku, a year after the Battle of Endor, the Empire was forced to sign a peace treaty that involved crushing reparations and strict disarmament restrictions, much like Germany after WWI. The Empire still exists as a rump state, with defined borders and no military, in the northwest portion of the galaxy as seen in the standard map.

Much of the military escaped over the next few years into the UR, via the Emperor's charted routes, where the New Republic could not go without charting their own routes. In the Unknown regions they found various world and system-wide governments, alien and slow-boat settled human, and began conquering them. They soon ran into Snoke's sphere of influence, and fell under his Force aided spell, forming the First Order.

Politically, after the peace treaty was signed, the New Republic was forced by internal politics - i.e. strong separatist sentiment which did not trust any strong centrist republic, like the Republic in the Clone Wars - to partially disarm, drawing down the Allieance war machine to much smaller levels. The Centrist worlds in the New Republic at first resisted the dominance of the Separatists, then began drifting away from the New Republic. Initially, it was a net gain for the New Republic, but since the New Republic was NOT Centrist, they had to allow worlds to join or leave the Republic as they wished.

These Centrist worlds either publicly or, more commonly secretly supported the First Order. But the First Order that could be seen, those few Centrist worlds that were publicly part of it, seemed tiny and weak, as no one knew about the far larger and more cohesive part inside the UR. Leia Organa found out that the First Order was much larger and powerful than the New Republic thought, and tried to warn the Senate, but bribed - and traitorous - politicians blocked her, and information that she was the daughter of Darth Vader was released, discrediting her generally.

She formed the Resistance with funding from a few governments in the New Republic who trusted and believed her, but it was always a scratch force, more as a picket than a true fighting fleet. The fighting fleet would be that of the New Republic, which despite its draw down, was capable of fighting the New Order toe to toe. Then the Movies (VII & VIII) happened...

I'm attempting to begin a campaign during the Rebellion era, but if you don't mind, I'll take some notes for a future campaign because what you're writing is pretty much nothing but awesomesauce.  Thanks!

I bet flyingmice won't mind. He often gives ideas away for free.

Quote from: CausticJedi;1020647I'm attempting to begin a campaign during the Rebellion era, but if you don't mind, I'll take some notes for a future campaign because what you're writing is pretty much nothing but awesomesauce.  Thanks!

You are absolutely welcome to take whatever you like! That's why I posted it here!

Quote from: Bren;1020650I bet flyingmice won't mind. He often gives ideas away for free.

Bren knows I am just an idea slut...

Something that occurs to me that would worsen the situation/make it more interesting is that if Leia is known as Vader's daughter, then would Luke be known as Vader's son? This would make the entire Rebellion appear to be nothing more than a teenager vs parent spat that cost billions of lives.

Quote from: jeff37923;1020655Something that occurs to me that would worsen the situation/make it more interesting is that if Leia is known as Vader's daughter, then would Luke be known as Vader's son? This would make the entire Rebellion appear to be nothing more than a teenager vs parent spat that cost billions of lives.

There is no indication of the Luke thing in canon one way or another, but the Leia parentage thing is definitely canon. Most of this is either canonical references I pulled together, or inferences I made based on canonical sources. None of it actually contradicts canon to the best of my knowledge.

Quote from: jeff37923;1020655Something that occurs to me that would worsen the situation/make it more interesting is that if Leia is known as Vader's daughter, then would Luke be known as Vader's son? This would make the entire Rebellion appear to be nothing more than a teenager vs parent spat that cost billions of lives.

I'd say that Leia being known to be Vader's daughter would give that indication, not Luke. Leia had actual political clout and was involved with the Rebellion at a high level from the beginning. Luke sort of fell into it later, and although he played a pivotal role, he had nothing to do with starting it.

Quote from: Baulderstone;1020675I'd say that Leia being known to be Vader's daughter would give that indication, not Luke. Leia had actual political clout and was involved with the Rebellion at a high level from the beginning. Luke sort of fell into it later, and although he played a pivotal role, he had nothing to do with starting it.

I'd agree with that. Leia was a mover and shaker.

Quote from: flyingmice;1020653You are absolutely welcome to take whatever you like! That's why I posted it here!

Thanks!  I guess I'm not living up to my user name yet, huh?  

Quote from: jeff37923;1020655Something that occurs to me that would worsen the situation/make it more interesting is that if Leia is known as Vader's daughter, then would Luke be known as Vader's son? This would make the entire Rebellion appear to be nothing more than a teenager vs parent spat that cost billions of lives.

Hmm... how so?  The rebellion began because of the Emperor taking over the galactic senate.  Vader just did what he was told. Could you expand on your thought?

Quote from: flyingmice;1020603... She formed the Resistance with funding from a few governments in the New Republic who trusted and believed her, but it was always a scratch force, more as a picket than a true fighting fleet. The fighting fleet would be that of the New Republic, which despite its draw down, was capable of fighting the New Order toe to toe. Then the Movies (VII & VIII) happened...

Did that change much? Given the scale of the galaxy, surely no particularly considerable element of a galactic navy would have been concentrated at the New Republic rotating capital system, even if what was there did get hit by the ultra-ridiculous cross-galaxy strike from Starkiller (chuckle) Base.

Quote from: CausticJedi;1020694Hmm... how so?  The rebellion began because of the Emperor taking over the galactic senate.  Vader just did what he was told. Could you expand on your thought?

Luke is considered the Hero of the Rebellion since he is the last Jedi Knight and was the one who destroyed the Death Star. I don't think that the secret of him being Vader's son could be kept for the years following the destruction of the Empire. Propagandists from the First Order would love this and spin it to be the family spat I was considering. The Emperor was trying to provide a secure galaxy for the betterment of its citizens (according to Imperial propagandists during that period). The story would be that Vader also supported Palpatine's dream and his children were raised to hate their father and the Emperor, after all Obi Wan Kenobi the turncoat Jedi Master of Anakin Skywalker had to have had a hand in raising Luke Skywalker since they lived in the same area of Tatooine.

This is about the spin placed on the truth, used for propaganda purpose, not the actual truth.

Quote from: jeff37923;1020709Luke is considered the Hero of the Rebellion since he is the last Jedi Knight and was the one who destroyed the Death Star. I don't think that the secret of him being Vader's son could be kept for the years following the destruction of the Empire. Propagandists from the First Order would love this and spin it to be the family spat I was considering. The Emperor was trying to provide a secure galaxy for the betterment of its citizens (according to Imperial propagandists during that period). The story would be that Vader also supported Palpatine's dream and his children were raised to hate their father and the Emperor, after all Obi Wan Kenobi the turncoat Jedi Master of Anakin Skywalker had to have had a hand in raising Luke Skywalker since they lived in the same area of Tatooine.

This is about the spin placed on the truth, used for propaganda purpose, not the actual truth.

Oh!  Duh, my bad.  I totally read it as Truth.  Sorry bout that.  But I do love your idea, thanks for fleshing it out.

Quote from: jeff37923;1020709Luke is considered the Hero of the Rebellion since he is the last Jedi Knight and was the one who destroyed the Death Star. I don't think that the secret of him being Vader's son could be kept for the years following the destruction of the Empire. Propagandists from the First Order would love this and spin it to be the family spat I was considering. The Emperor was trying to provide a secure galaxy for the betterment of its citizens (according to Imperial propagandists during that period). The story would be that Vader also supported Palpatine's dream and his children were raised to hate their father and the Emperor, after all Obi Wan Kenobi the turncoat Jedi Master of Anakin Skywalker had to have had a hand in raising Luke Skywalker since they lived in the same area of Tatooine.

This is about the spin placed on the truth, used for propaganda purpose, not the actual truth.

Jeff, if you are going to attempt to take the movies and extrapolate logic and consistency in the Star Wars universe...oy vey...I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy!

Clash, your game sounds really cool.

Quote from: Skarg;1020698Did that change much? Given the scale of the galaxy, surely no particularly considerable element of a galactic navy would have been concentrated at the New Republic rotating capital system, even if what was there did get hit by the ultra-ridiculous cross-galaxy strike from Starkiller (chuckle) Base.

According to Wookieepedia, "Hux then commanded that the weapon be fired, and massive beams of energy were fired across the galaxy towards the Hosnian system. When they arrived, the astronomical bodies of the system were destroyed, including Hosnian Prime.[1][5] With the destruction of Hosnian Prime, the capital planet of the Republic,[5] came the destruction of the Galactic Senate and much of the New Republic Starfleet." http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Hosnian_Cataclysm

I am trying to stay within canon. I figure it's like the Pearl Harbor attack.