Friday, April 28, 2023

Veridian Prime
The Clone Wars & Clone Protocol 66
The current year for our homebrewed Clone Wars era campaign is set during 19 BBY.
Inspired By George Lucas

Veridian Prime, commonly known as Veridian, is a planet once defined by its stubborn independence, was a two-tiered society built around the singular beacon of Capital City. Within its fortified walls, a technologically sophisticated metropolis thrived, a monument to the resourceful pioneers who built it.

For centuries, its citizens enjoyed a peaceful, prosperous existence, powered by a steady flow of interstellar trade and a government that, for all its isolation, was a source of stability. The city's sleek, automated transport systems and towering hydroelectric generators spoke to a culture of progress and order, a stark contrast to the vast, untamed wilderness outside. Yet, beyond the city's gleaming towers lay a rugged frontier, home to scattered settlements of miners and farmers who eked out a living from the harsh land.

While they benefited from Capital City's trade, a cultural and geographical chasm separated them, fostering a resilient, self-reliant spirit that often regarded the city's sheltered populace with a mix of dependency and quiet resentment.

This fragile equilibrium was violently shattered during the final years of the Clone Wars by the marauding Crimson Scourge, a coalition of pirates and marauders who emerged from the lawless depths of the Outer Rim. The Scourge, known for their brutal and indiscriminate tactics, systematically plundered the outlying settlements, turning once-thriving communities into burned-out husks. Their attacks on Capital City's vital trade routes slowly strangled the city's economy, replacing prosperity with a growing sense of desperation and fear.

In their hour of need, the government pleaded with the Galactic Republic for aid, only to have their pleas ignored, lost in the bureaucratic apathy of a larger, dying war. This abandonment was a profound and unforgivable betrayal that bred a deep-seated resentment toward the galaxy at large, making the populace vulnerable to a new kind of salvation.

As the smoke of the Clone Wars cleared and the First Galactic Empire emerged, a new promise was delivered to Veridian. An Imperial fleet, led by the charismatic Commandant Valen Kael, arrived not as a conquering force but as a deliverer, their swift and decisive action against the Crimson Scourge a stark contrast to the Republic’s inaction. They established a permanent and highly visible presence, converting a major government building into a central Imperial Garrison and setting up numerous outposts to secure the once-lawless frontier.

Under the Empire’s rigid new rules—which include a planet-wide curfew and constant stormtrooper patrols—trade is once again secure, and a fragile peace has settled over the world. But this security has come at the cost of personal liberty, as the Empire's iron grip tightens around every facet of Veridian life. For now, many citizens, particularly in Capital City, are grateful for the end of the marauder threat, seeing Commandant Kael and his forces as true saviors.

However, the campaign begins in this moment of fragile calm, as your characters explore a planet whose deepest divisions and greatest danger may have only just arrived. The old wounds of betrayal still run deep, and the price of this newfound order is a debt that has yet to be fully paid. The uneasy peace is merely a veneer, and below the surface, the whispers of dissent and the machinations of Imperial ambition are already beginning to stir.

Notable Locations
Capital City
Jalanth
Dorrack
Trekar
Shantytown

Imperial Installations
Outpost 24
Outpost 25
Communications Center
Imperial Spire Dam & Logistics Hub
Power Relay Station

Thursday, April 27, 2023

Capital City
The Clone Wars & Clone Protocol 66
The current year for our homebrewed Clone Wars era campaign is set during 19 BBY.
Inspired By George Lucas

For centuries, Capital City stood as a monument to defiance, a self-sufficient metropolis that thrived despite its isolation in the lawless Outer Rim. Its founders had intentionally carved out their own destiny, far from the bureaucracy and entanglements of the Galactic Core, and their culture was defined by this fierce independence.

Citizens lived in a society built on orderly innovation, where clean energy from massive geothermal reactors powered efficient transport and pristine public spaces. But that cherished peace was violently shattered by the arrival of the Crimson Scourge, transforming their sanctuary into a beleaguered fortress. Trade routes were severed, prosperity withered, and Capital City, once a symbol of ingenuity, began to decay.

The city's bustling Grand Concourse grew sparse, and a gnawing fear replaced the population's quiet pride. The government’s desperate, ignored plea to the Galactic Republic was a profound betrayal, leaving a lingering, bitter fatalism in the collective psyche. The city’s inhabitants were weary survivors, clinging to the faint hope of a future they no longer truly believed in.

Then, the Empire arrived. A charismatic Imperial Commandant, Valen Kael, and his fleet swept into orbit, promising security where the Republic had failed. For a populace broken by years of constant threat, the Empire wasn't an occupying force, but an army of saviors. The stormtroopers, with their clean, intimidating armor, represented decisive action and competence, a stark contrast to the old, ineffective planetary militia. Within weeks, the pirates were gone, their marauding gangs systematically eliminated by Imperial forces with breathtaking efficiency.

Trade, under the watchful eye of the Imperial Navy, was re-established, and the city's main government building, a hub of the old regime's impotence, was swiftly repurposed into a formidable Imperial Garrison, a new and powerful symbol of order. The planetary curfew and increased patrols were not seen as infringements on liberty, but as the necessary medicine for a sick and lawless world.

The markets once again filled with goods, the streets felt safer than they had in years, and the citizens, for the first time since the raids began, felt a genuine sense of gratitude and hope. The Empire had delivered on its promise, and Capital City breathed a collective, grateful sigh of relief.

But now, as weeks bleed into months, the initial euphoria is beginning to fade. Small, almost imperceptible changes are taking place, visible only to those who are truly paying attention. The Imperial patrols, once a reassuring presence, now feel more like an ever-present watch. The propaganda on public comms, once subtle, now constantly reminds citizens to "be productive" and "contribute to the New Order." The celebrated efficiency starts to feel more like an inflexible, unforgiving system. Incidents once handled by local arbitration are now met with a disproportionate Imperial response: a merchant’s transport confiscated for outdated paperwork, a neighbor's beloved trinket seized during a "contraband inspection".

This quiet, creeping unease is slowly seeping into the populace, replacing the initial hope with a subtle sense of dread. The realization is beginning to dawn on some that the price for their peace may be far higher than they ever imagined, and that the true danger to their freedom was not the marauders they vanquished, but the powerful force they welcomed with open arms. The city's free spirit is being systematically suppressed, its past as an independent beacon erased, replaced by the cold, unfeeling machinery of Imperial control. The city is safer, yes, but no longer truly their own.

Notable Locations
• The Undercity