Pandion Knights

A Symbol of Power

At the center of the galaxy, the gleaming towers of Coruscant symbolize the power and prosperity of Republic civilization—the result of thousands of years of progress and democracy. Coruscant has been capital of the Republic since its founding more than twenty thousand years ago. Home to the Supreme Chancellor and the Galactic Senate, Coruscant is the most politically prominent planet in the galaxy.

Protected by the legendary Jedi Order, Coruscant has always been the galaxy’s safest haven for law abiding citizens. All who would come in peace and partnership are welcome, and hundreds of alien species and star systems have come to be represented on Coruscant over time. These varied influences have made Coruscant the ultimate metropolis—a planet where anyone and everyone can find somewhere they belong.

Sitting at the zero point for hyperspace coordinates, Coruscant acts as the hub for all the galaxy’s trade routes. Though the city-world is without natural resources, it has long relied on member systems and allies to supply the raw goods for the population’s growth and prosperity. Though it has faced many difficulties in its long history, Coruscant has ever developed in a positive arc.

Where the Force was first discovered.

Mystical scholars gathered on the harsh and mysterious world of Tython millennia ago to begin the first studies of the Force, but controversy among the scholars’ ranks created a cataclysm which nearly destroyed the planet. A small group of survivors fled to another star system, put their dark past behind them, and founded the Jedi Order.

Thousands of years passed, and the true legacy of Tython was forgotten.

Rediscovering the planet early in the Great War, the modern Jedi began exploring the mysteries of Tython’s history, and learning much about the earliest Force users.

When the Empire sacked Coruscant and destroyed their long-standing Temple, the Jedi Council chose to rebuild the Temple on Tython and train a new generation of Jedi to battle the Sith menace. They soon discovered, however, that Tython’s mystical power carried its own dark legacy, a pervasive taint of unknown origins…

Homeworld of the Sith

The earliest Sith lived on the red, dusty planet of Korriban, determined to grow strong despite the inhospitable climate. Their success culminated in a bold civilization, made stronger when dark Force-users arrived and interbred after being driven out of the early Jedi Order. This ancient Sith civilization eventually became a superpower and challenged the Republic during the Great Hyperspace war. Their defeat drove a handful of survivors into deep space where they regrouped and rebuilt, determined to return.

Over time, the new Sith Empire lost its way back to Korriban, until a visit a few centuries ago by two Jedi returning from the Mandalorian wars. Turned to the dark side, the two Jedi, Revan and Malak, attempted to reclaim the Sith’s legacy in the known galaxy, but turned on each other and self-destructed.

The true Sith Empire, governed by a thousand-year-old Dark Emperor, wisely waited, and returned to the known galaxy only when completely prepared to defeat the Jedi and the Republic.

Retaking the holy planet of Korriban as a top priority, the Sith re-established the glorious Sith Academy and began training a new generation of Sith to inherit their dark legacy and seize their birthright as the true rulers of the galaxy.

Where Hutt gangsters go to relax.

In Huttese, the name translates into “Glorious Jewel”, and the planet more commonly called Nal Hutta is considered a paradise to the gluttonous tastes of the Hutts. To anyone else, though, the planet is a living nightmare—a disgusting and dangerous place to visit, and an unthinkable place to live. Current Underworld slang has shortened the name to a simple ‘Hutta’—a place where more civilized people threaten to send their children if they misbehave...

Volcanic islands and sprawling plains

The mountainous plains and volcanic islands of Ord Mantell are littered with the ravages of a ruthless civil war. Republic forces are fighting elusive separatists who are conducting guerilla style strikes against both military and civilian targets. Adding questions to an already questionable situation, the planet’s government, though loyal to the Republic, is merely a puppet regime for underworld concerns.

Desert Wasteland at the End of the Galaxy

Far in the Outer Rim, the sands of Tatooine bake beneath the glare of two bright suns. Small pockets of barely civilized communities dot the desolate landscape, surrounded by the endless expanse of barren dunes and rocky canyons that have silently slain so many of those who ventured out into desert. Among the small shantytowns and settlements that persist, travelers may find shelter from the brutal climate, but trust is as rare as water on this lawless world. Visitors and locals alike must constantly watch their backs in Tatooine’s townships.

For centuries, Tatooine was of little interest to the rest of the galaxy – until the Czerka Corporation showed up five hundred years ago, seeking to exploit the natural resources they believed were beneath Tatooine’s surface. Czerka’s efforts to mine Tatooine ended in failure, but the planet’s hostile environment proved to be the perfect place for Czerka’s Secret Weapons division. Able to operate with no restrictions, Czerka brought alien technologies and experiments too horrible or dangerous to be allowed on any other system in the galaxy. While the full scope of how far Czerka went with their research remains unknown, it’s clear that suddenly, and without warning, Czerka completely pulled out of Tatooine, leaving their Secret Weapons complex to be swallowed by the sands.

ON THE EDGE OF ALL-OUT WAR

Few places in the galaxy have seen the peace promised by the Treaty of Coruscant so thoroughly cast aside as the world of Balmorra. Fiercely independent, this long time ally of the Republic has led the galaxy in advanced droid and weapons manufacturing. Now Balmorra’s workers live and suffer under a full Imperial occupation force.

Soon after Balmorra was colonized, in the infancy of the Republic, it became a haven for some of the most prolific manufacturers of fearsome weaponry and battle droids in the known galaxy. These terrible military assets, combined with the planet’s strategic location close to the Core Worlds, kept Balmorra in a constant state of war. Setting its sights on the weapons of war manufactured on the planet, the Sith Empire resolved to take Balmorra, and in answer the Galactic Republic sent soldiers to aid the Balmorrans in their fight to preserve their independence.

As the war tore on and continued to spread, the strained Republic could no longer afford to spend its forces on Balmorra. Wave after wave of Republic troops were pulled off of the world for redeployment elsewhere in the galaxy, until finally, in accordance with the Treaty of Coruscant, the Republic was forced to officially end its support of Balmorra. A small, underground Republic force was left on the planet to aid their Resistance, but the Balmorrans knew the truth of it; they had been abandoned. Even so, the Empire was still unable to take full control of Balmorra.

Now, years after the treaty, a regrouped and rebuilt Republic is testing the limits of their fragile peace with the Empire, sending back the reinforcements they had pulled off the planet years before. Although the Balmorrans are accepting of Republic help, they do little to hide their resentment at having been abandoned years before. Meanwhile, the Sith Empire is escalating their presence on the planet, determined to claim Balmorra’s weapons, and put an end to this conflict once and for all.

BATTLE FOR THE THRONE

Since the Republic’s inception, Alderaan’s nobility has been at the political forefront, taking a stand in the Senate for peace, freedom and unity. While Coruscant has always been considered the heart of the Republic, to some extent, Alderaan has been its soul. In the aftermath of the Treaty of Coruscant, however, Alderaan withdrew from the Republic and soon became embroiled in one of the bloodiest civil wars in the galaxy’s history. The future of this once-proud planet is heavily in doubt.

Renowned for its captivating beauty, Alderaan’s verdant forests and snow-capped mountain ranges have always been a vision of utopia. Matching the landscape’s serenity, Alderaan’s political process has historically been smooth, though the crown has often been handed back and forth between several entrenched noble houses. At the height of the Great War, though, everything changed—Alderaan’s timeless tranquility was shattered. Seeking to sap the Republic’s morale, the Sith Empire invaded the planet with all its might, quickly overwhelming local defense forces and taking the royal family hostage. The reaction was equally swift and savage—Republic and Jedi forces tapped into previously unknown reserves of valor and rushed to Alderaan’s rescue. The Republic’s heroes obliterated the invaders and handed the Sith Empire a humiliating defeat.

The Imperial invasion was not forgotten, though. For the first time in history, Alderaan’s leaders became a voice for aggressive military action in the Senate. When the Treaty of Coruscant was signed a few years later, Alderaan’s crown prince marched out of the Senate in protest. Alderaan seceded from the Republic and became an independent system. The crown prince’s decision was met with mixed reaction at home; though many were supportive, others were outraged. Despite the controversy, order was kept until an assassin’s blaster took the prince’s life, and the queen died heirless just days later. Alderaan’s parliament soon became deadlocked on which of the noble houses should inherit the throne. When one of the houses sought to settle the matter through a show of force, civil war broke out on all fronts.

Adding fuel to the fire, one of Alderaan’s forgotten houses has now returned with Imperial backing to claim its rightful place, and the Republic has begun funneling support to the honorable House Organa. Though neither superpower has troops on the ground, Alderaan could become the tinderbox that sparks a return to a galaxy-spanning war. Still, no matter how violent and chaotic the political climate may become, the legacy of the planet’s rich history and its sheer environmental beauty make Alderaan a breathtaking place to behold. The question lies in whose hands this treasure will eventually end up....

Seat of Imperial Power

On the remote jungle world of Dromund Kaas, the Sith have spent a thousand years building their mighty war machine to prepare for an assault on the Galaxy.

Colonized in ancient times by the Sith Empire, the hyperspace coordinates of the Dromund Kaas were lost to time, allowing the isolated planet to fade into distant memory. Following a crushing defeat in the Great Hyperspace War, the handful of surviving Sith desperately sought to escape annihilation at the hands of their Jedi foes. The desperate Sith, leaving their collective destiny to chance, chose to forgo all known hyperspace routes and attempt a series of dangerously random hyperspace jumps and blind scouting missions. For 20 years the Sith armada drifted aimlessly in the forgotten regions of space before finally rediscovering the Dromund system.

The Sith’s first century back on Dromund Kaas was dedicated to reestablishing the glory of Imperial society. In the depths of the jungle, the magnificent capital city of Kaas City was established and a citadel built – a standing testament to the power of the Emperor. Ceaselessly, the Empire worked to raise both army and fleet in preparation for their inevitable return to the greater galaxy. Power hungry, the Emperor spent great energy discovering and perfecting esoteric rites of darkness – rituals that wrecked the atmosphere of Dromund Kaas, transforming the ionosphere into a swirling electric storm.

Now, more than one thousand years later, the Empire has returned to the galaxy – bringing full-scale war with it. The Sith have forced a great number of systems into submission in the war, however Dromund Kaas remains home to both the Emperor and his Dark Council. Even though the planet is bristling with the energy of the dark side, it is the Imperial military that has the largest visible presence on Dromund Kaas. It is here that the Empire’s power brokering games are played and alliances are forged and broken. For up-and-coming Moffs and Imperial intelligence operatives, success – and survival – hangs on the ability to master these games of intrigue.

It is from here, on Dromund Kaas, that the dark hand of the Empire reaches ever outward.

Legacy of Sith Destruction

Taris is a post-apocalyptic swamp, abandoned but not forgotten by the greater galaxy for three centuries. Until recently, only overgrown ruins bore testimony to the thriving civilization that once dominated the surface – a civilization annihilated by the Sith Lord Darth Malak while seeking to eliminate the Jedi Knight Bastila Shan.

As a symbol of hope and redemption in the face of Sith atrocities, the Republic has begun an unlikely effort to re-colonize Taris, establishing a spaceport, military base and the beginning of settlements amid the ruins. The remnants of the once great city-world have proven to be far more treacherous than anyone expected, though, and many believe the effort to reclaim Taris is doomed to end in disaster. One thing is certain – cleaning up what the Sith destroyed isn’t nearly as perilous as facing what they didn’t.

Deep in the dark swampy ruins lies the legacy of a centuries old plague, once confined to Taris’ demolished Undercity. Bands of horrific rakghouls – abominations created by Sith alchemy – ravage the planet’s surface. Each vicious attack carries the chance of transforming the victim into a diseased monstrosity. There are scattered reports that some of these rakghouls are evolving bizarre, freakish powers.

Determined to overcome the challenges, Republic and Jedi leaders are moving forward with the efforts at colonization. Rebuilding what the Sith destroyed 300 years ago would be a monumental symbolic victory, showing the galaxy that the Sith are not to be feared. But the Empire has no intention of allowing such a significant achievement.

Ancient galactic prison

Republic knowledge of Belsavis predates the Great Hyperspace War, but for centuries, the planet warranted little attention. With the exception of some unusual volcanic activity, the planet was deemed, in all ways, unremarkable. Belsavis was added to the star charts then summarily dismissed as nothing more than another curiosity of the Outer Rim.

Fifty years ago, while investigating the planet’s tropical rifts that seemed to defy the ice shelves in completely unnatural ways, Republic scientists stumbled upon an ancient prison constructed by the Rakatan Empire. Behind the force fields and ultra hard metals were the most terrifying prisoners in the galaxy. Republic efforts to explore and secure the dilapidated network of vaults were impeded by ferocious alien species, and nearly unstoppable droids.

Realizing it was only a matter of time before the vaults and stasis chambers containing the worst of these prisoners failed, the Republic committed a force to maintain the complex, and establish a new Republic prison on Belsavis’ unused surface. In secret Strategic Information Service meetings it was decided that this new prison, dubbed “the Tomb”, was only to be used in cases where execution was impractical or impossible.

Once the Great War erupted, the Tomb’s population rapidly increased. Mandalorians, Sith Lords, and creations of Sith alchemy were sent to Belsavis for containment. As rumors of the Tomb’s existence spread, Imperial Intelligence began searching for the legendary super prison. Despite Republic efforts to keep its location a secret, the Empire learned of the operation on Belsavis and sent strike teams to liberate all the imprisoned Sith.

In the short time since the Imperials arrived, the prison grounds have been transformed into a labyrinth of battle and chaos. The Empire has discovered that extracting its loyal subjects from among their violent fellow inmates will not be easy, and even though the Republic is rushing to restore order, the threat of the mysterious evil breaking loose from its ancient prison is becoming all too real.

MYSTERIOUS FORCE USERS, ETERNAL WAR

Voss is a planet of more questions than answers. Discovered by accident shortly after the Treaty of Coruscant, its rocky plateaus, unspoiled peaks and verdant forests were at first thought to be inhabited only by Gormak, a tech-savvy but pre-space flight species of extremely hostile natives. When the second, much less populous species on Voss made itself known, however, the galaxy was thrown into turmoil and the war almost restarted.

Primarily isolated on one tall peak and outnumbered by millions of their enemies, the non-Gormak natives use the same name for themselves as for their world: Voss. Locked in a losing war with an implacable enemy that sees them as a violation of the natural order, the hard-pressed Voss have survived centuries of Gormak assaults through the disciplined training of their Commandos, the placement and fortifications of their mountain city and the infallible guidance of the Voss Mystics.

The Voss Mystics are Force users of incredible power. Both the Sith and Jedi agree on this one point. The Voss do not. Voss know nothing of the Force and are uninterested in outsider opinions. Mystics have visions that are never wrong. The Voss follow these visions and survive. When the Sith Empire schemed to conquer Voss, the Republic sought to defend the planet--but the Mystics foresaw both plots and in the end a fleet disappeared, an Empire was humbled and two mighty powers came to Voss peacefully to win favor.