Sith Covenant

[Arris Windrun]

THE PATHS OF THE COVENANT​

The Three Paths of the Covenant are optional flavor choices for your character as you enter the Sith Covenant. The idea is to give writers specific handles to easily plug into the faction with narrative choices, styles, opportunities, and goals for your character. This offers an easier path forward, making progression something that you can quantify and build on for your character.

The Three Paths are extremely porous and should not be seen as separate branches. A Sith can switch from one Path to the other at their leisure and - if they wish - participate in multiple Paths at once. You are not locked into it, and in fact, we encourage people to find narratives that link the branches together when roleplaying.

Within these Paths can exist organizations that are dedicated towards these ideals or influenced by their motifs. A secret society of Sith who wish to gain more influence through backroom dealings could be part of the Corpo path, for instance, and a band of Crusaders who want to annihilate xenos can be part of the Void Path.

The most important part is this: No matter who your Sith is, they believe in breaking their chains, increasing their power and furthering the cause of the Covenant… the domination of the Dark Side in the Galaxy.

The Paths are as follows, with the motif/theme that belongs to it:

• The Arcana Path - Power through understanding
• The Corpo Path - Power through influence
• The Void Path - Power through reach

The Arcana Path is the path of understanding. The Sith who choose this life have decided that power is gained from understanding the past, unlocking the secrets of ancient Sith history, and experimenting to build their future.

These Sith are scholars, archaeologists, alchemists, explorers, and more. They provide the Sith Covenant with the future by unlocking the past.

If you are interested in hidden ruins, secret worlds, or if you enjoy hunting for artifacts or extracting knowledge from the Core and beyond, this is the Path for you.

Examples of themes and subjects
Sith history, archaeology, relic hunting, sorcery, ancient languages, tombs, rituals, mysteries.

The Corpo Path is the path of influence. These Sith understand that true power is built through ingenuity, industry, infrastructure, and influence through corrupt connections with corporations, criminal networks, political figures and diplomats.

These Sith are envoys, emissaries, industrial leaders, and corporate rulers. They provide the Sith Covenant with the future by building the road and offering you a comfortable speeder along the way.

If you are interested in corporate backroom deals, criminal circuits, diplomacy and making connections, then this is the Path for you.

Examples of themes and subjects
Corporations, diplomacy, criminal enterprise, trade, colonization, industry, political maneuvering.

The Void Path is the path of reach. These Sith traverse the space between worlds, carving a lane forward for the rest to use for their ambitions. They understand that the unknown cannot be seized until it has first been charted. Without their daring and their ingenuity, the Corpos would not have worlds to colonize, and the Arcanas would not have tombs to ransack.

They are the lane blazers, the explorers, the naval nobles and the captains. They reveal the hidden corners of the map and shape it for the rest of the Covenant to exploit.

If you are interested in exploring the unknown, if you believe every ship has its own character and that the only way to power is through domination of space, then this Path is for you.

Examples of themes and subjects
Exploration, starships, naval fleets, hyperspace routes, naval battles, privateering, forward bases, unknown regions, first contact, frontier expeditions, monster hunting, colonial expansion and subjugation of hostile territories.

 

[Arris Windrun]

“There is always another secret.”​

Some see the Empire that is built up around them. Yours is below the dirt, behind the sealing stone, and across distant worlds whose names are no more. An entire universe of forgotten truths awaits you. Unexcavated golden ages and the specters of long-dead powers that once held this galaxy by its throat.

From the legendary abilities of the first Dark Lords to the means that gave rise to their nations.

You give voice to all of it. Herald of the dead. Keeper of the forbidden.

With the past, the alien, and the arcane in your arsenal, you stitch the threads of past, present, and future along one trajectory - the next Sith Golden Age.

Of course, it’s only natural that this arsenal should grow your own power, too. Power to overcome the order of things. Life… Death…

Even the destiny of the Force.

What could possibly elude you?

So get out there and make the galaxy your repertoire.

As it expands, so will your following as acolytes and cultists flock to learn at your feet, and see the galaxy as you see it.

Naturally, you might feel a little jealous. After all, they could take what you have and use it against you. But give them just enough, and they may prove useful.

Hoard it. Share it. Let it consume you. It’s your knowledge. Do with it what you will.

YOUR SANCTUM IS A BEACON

“I have amassed a library; I dream of dangerous places.”​

Is it a temple, a garden, a laboratory? Your sanctum can take many forms. What matters is that it speaks of your character and their philosophy.

Atris had her secret academy on Telos with a hoard of holocrons and the unquestioning obedience of her handmaidens. Just as Vader had the Inquisitorius and their fortress. Each cultivated a following to suit their own needs and purposes, but they shared something in common: they had skills, secrets, and beliefs that their followers drew upon to grow their own power.

There’s a balancing act between nurturing your followers so they can become more useful tools, and keeping them hungry so they never think to leave you.

But the more you have to offer, the more influential you are.

Are you a keeper of relics - legendary weapons or ancient holocrons? Have you mastered techniques that defy the limitations of nature? Do you see the universe in extraordinary ways, giving meaning where none was found before?

Consider what kind of following your character will attract. They could be a cult that worships them as a deity, turning belief and blind loyalty into a source of power. Or they might be trained assassins, ridding you of rivals and enemies. Maybe they’re alchemists conceiving of clever concoctions and terrifying sithspawn beasts.

At the end of the day, your sanctum is a living, evolving thing. It will wax and wane with your actions.

Whatever plots or discoveries unfold in your sanctum are up to you.

REALITY IS YOUR PUZZLE

“Outside the boundaries of the universe lie the raw realities. The could-have-beens, the might-bes, the never-weres.”​

Your sanctum is the place you go to at the end of a mission. It churns while you’re away. It isn’t where secrets are buried.

You must scour the galaxy for them. These could be dig sites, information networks in the underworld, or expeditions to exotic worlds. Run experiments. Have secret outposts. Blackmail researchers or pillage other libraries.

Send your followers on dangerous missions. Do they do it gladly? Is it out of fear? Do they hold a grudge and secretly plot your demise? Is that kind of pressure valuable to you?

There should always be an ultimate goal. Whether it’s immortality or the mastery of a specific set of Force Powers. Or maybe you just want to be worshipped. Whatever the case, you need to walk the path that leads you there, and face every challenge along the way.

That’s how you become powerful and respected.

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER

“But do you have any particular skills?”​

The Arcana Path and your Sanctum are your means to becoming invaluable.

Knights and Lords may count among your followers. Your rituals could secure victory.

These are forms of leverage and influence. They can open doors for you or close them for others. If you’re a master of death, then Sith may come to you for secrets on how to overcome it. This is currency. The more potent your offerings, the more value you gain in return.

Darth Sidious was able to build a Galactic Empire by luring powerful people to his side with the secrets at his disposal.

What Can You Write?

The Arcana Path can support almost anything that happens when secrets and the arcane are at play:

• Exploring ancient tombs.
• Creating powerful relics.
• Experimenting with alchemy.
• Building a library of Sith power.
• Matters of cult and secrecy.
• Conducting dark rituals.
• Leading expeditions in search of legend.
• Attracting a following of those devoted to your power.
• Unleashing Sithspawn creations in the galaxy.
• Teaching prospective acolytes.
• Upholding the values and purpose of the Sith.
• Running academies and training facilities.
• Puppeteering the powerful from the shadows.
• Competing with other Sith as a means of building influence.
• Exploring the meaning and limits of your philosophy.
• Perfecting powerful techniques and sorceries.

 

[Arris Windrun]

“You cannot plan the future. Only presumptuous fools try to. The wise man steers.”​

You put a table down in the middle of a war zone. Better yet, you make your lackey put one down. Two chairs. A cup of tea. And you wait until the battle-hardened, scarred rival you have been fighting for the better part of two weeks finally joins you at the table.

He is hesitant. He doesn’t want to sit with you, but deep down your rival knows there is no option left anymore.

At the start of your conflict, he had the guns, the personnel, the ships, and he was three times your height too.

By the end?

The gun supply ran dry, his people switched sides, and the fuel ran out, forcing his ships to the ground.

He is still three times your height, but you are in control now.

All you had to do was bribe the right person, purchase the right contract, destroy and merge the specific companies. You can’t say you won the conflict without firing a single shot; you aren’t a Jedi, but… you won the war while everyone was focused on the battle.

Bravo.

YOUR ORGANIZATION IS SUPREME

“One arm, but dozen hands. Dozen hands, but hundred fingers.”​

You have the connections, the contracts; you know how to walk the walk and talk the talk. But all of that is a chaotic blend, until you do one thing: organize.

Jabba the Hutt had his crime cartel. Kuat was nothing more than a very nice-looking city-planet until it formed Kuat Drive Yards. And you are nothing but a Sith with a very big ego until you build an organization and start projecting your influence through it.

Your organization can be anything.

A shipyard, a weapons manufacturer, a trade company, a law firm, a diplomatic embassy, a crime syndicate, a mining corporation, or something else entirely.

No matter what it is, the organization is an extension of your will and your ability to project your desires onto the world.

People work for it. Departments, lieutenants, associates, or representatives handle the day-to-day. It is based somewhere, perhaps on one world, perhaps across several, and through it you gain the ability to accomplish your aims without having to personally stand in the room every time.

You want to carve out a new piece of territory? Your organization can buy the rights to the land.

You need to take out a rival? Your security force can deal with the competition.

You need a planetary government to listen? Perhaps your embassy already knows the right minister.

The most important thing is that every organization is its own beast.

Czerka is not the same as Kuat Drive Yards. Neither is similar to Santhe-Sienar Systems or BlasTech Industries. Jabba’s cartel was something else entirely.

You get to decide where it is located, what it does, how it does it, who works for it and everything in between.

EXPRESS YOUR DESIGN

“Your mind expressed through power.”​

You pick your name, you pick your locations, you pick your operations.

But this is only the start.

We forget that organizations aren’t just abstract boxes that accept resources and output power. They are living creatures, populated by people, powered by politics. And all this defines what your power looks like.

Are you a boardroom executive who relies on the shadows to push your agenda?

Are you a tyrant who rules by fiat, using your organization merely as a money pot?

Do your people fear you or love you?

Have you replaced your personnel with droids, forgoing organics entirely, or does your organization only exist on the HoloNet with ones and zeroes as your soldiers?

You can have a corporate fleet that shows up to support your plays or maybe a shadowy army of assassins that removes any obstacles in your way.

But it all has to start somewhere.

One factory that churns out rifles for a local conflict that tips the scales and lets you seize control over the battlefield.

One shipyard that produces a type of ship needed to dominate a planet the Sith Covenant is hungry for.

One diplomatic mission that gives the Covenant access to a government that previously wanted nothing to do with it.

One criminal network that can move things across borders nobody else can cross.

You identify the need, and you grab the opportunity by filling it with your assets.

Do this often enough, and you don’t need to shed your own blood.

You will be considered valuable because without you nothing happens as smoothly or as successfully.

IRREPLACEABLE POWER

“Become that which everyone needs.”​

You move among the boardrooms and factory lines. You understand that to win the war, you don’t need to kill the soldier; you just need to buy the dream.

Everything is buyable.

Everything can be solved if you know the right person and have the right connections.

As your organization grows, your reach across the stars does too, and all of it is possible because you have friends in high places. Other organizations need to compete. But you have someone in your corner.

No…

Something in your corner.

The Sith Covenant will always remember those who make themselves useful. And you are a pro at making yourself useful; you made a whole career out of it.

The Void carves the path open. The Arcanas break open mysteries. But it is the Corpos that allow the Covenant to exploit all the resources it conquers through its wars and campaigns.

And the Sith Covenant rewards its friends and associates.

Imagine it destroying a planet. You are annoyed for a moment, because that was valuable infrastructure that could have been weaponized for the next campaign.

But then the contract lands on your desk.

Wealth, drawn from the Core, funneled through expense accounts, rushes into your organization as you are ordered to rebuild the infrastructure that was just destroyed.

Efficiency, after all, isn’t the name of the game when the board has been captured and controlled by your friends in the Covenant.

There… there is that happy smile the Sith Covenant values.

What Can You Write?

The Corpo Path can support almost anything that happens when the Covenant wants to exploit that which it owns:

• Corporate espionage.
• Hostile takeovers.
• Smuggling and organized crime.
• Sanctions evasion.
• Money laundering.
• Bribery and political corruption.
• Blackmail and extortion.
• Theft and industrial sabotage.
• Private military contracts.
• Corporate security work.
• Exploitation of conquered worlds.
• Unethical research and experimentation.
• Illegal technology and weapons development.
• Rivalries between shareholders.
• Deals between Sith, criminals and legitimate businesses.
• Competition over contracts, resources and territory.
• Shell companies and hidden ownership.
• Investigations into Consortium activity.
• Diplomatic pressure and political manipulation.
• Building embassies, lobbying groups or political fronts.
• Creating criminal syndicates, cartels, or smuggling networks.

 

[Arris Windrun]

“Hic Sunt Dracones… here be dragons.”​

Where most see the stars and see the danger between worlds, you see the opportunity the Void provides.

There are worlds nobody has charted. Routes nobody has opened. Derelicts still drifting where their crews left them centuries ago. Civilizations that have never seen the banner of the Sith. Monsters hiding in the dark between systems and signals coming from places nobody has any business reaching.

There is always someone who goes first.

That is you.

The Void Path belongs to explorers, captains, privateers, naval nobles, and anyone who looks at terra incognita and wonders what lies beyond the danger. What wonders can be discovered and then exploited for your own benefit.

Your purpose is simple.

You blaze the lane and show the path forward to your brothers and sisters of the Sith.

Break the way open. Rip down the curtains. Establish the first foothold. Give the Arcanas somewhere new to excavate and the Corpos somewhere new to exploit.

And it all starts with one thing.

A ship.

​

YOUR SHIP IS LEGION​

“One frigate with a history is worth more than twenty unnamed star destroyers.”​

One thing we often forget as we roleplay is that size and quantity don’t matter as much in Star Wars. Not as much as legend and ingenuity do. Luthen utterly wrecks a patrol corvette while sitting in a freighter ship a tenth its size. The Millennium Falcon destroys the Death Star II. Luke’s X-Wing destroys the Death Star I.

This is what we are after with the Void Path.

You pick a ship class, you pick some art, and you are off. You forget about fleets, you forget about extreme ratings or double-triple molecular shielding systems; it is just you and a ship that you make your own.

Decide the culture on board, the style, decide if it's known for being fast or known for being hardy. Decide what life aboard it feels like. Decide what sort of people serve there. Decide what traditions have developed among the crew and what stories they tell about the vessel when their Sith Lord is not listening.

Maybe nobody uses Turbolift Six anymore because something happened there during an expedition three years ago.

Maybe your chief engineer has been keeping the ship alive through increasingly questionable modifications.

Your ship is part of your character and part of the legend growing around you. Some Sith rule a planet as their kingdom, but you take your kingdom wherever you go with you. It is never far away, and when you need support- be that an orbital bombardment or a squad of marines to enforce your will, there they are already.

As the exploits of your ship grow, so does your own legend.

​

YOUR SHIP IS A PLACE​

“Yes, Professor; and I love it as if it were part of myself... Under the sea are tranquility and safety.”​

Do not think of your ship as a piece of equipment. Think of it as your kingdom, your fiefdom, a home, a setting in which to roleplay. Every room can have a purpose. Depending on the ship's size, your people can number in the hundreds to thousands; what is that, if not a castle in the sky?

When you explore the alien skies, the stretch of void between stars, your ship is the only safe refuge. This is where you return to after a mission goes horribly wrong, or horribly right. It is where you rest your head and where you hold court. It is a place that will change from story to story, warped by the adventures you have and the acts that are visited upon it.

It might be made of metal, but through all of this it becomes something almost organic. Flexible, alive, and constantly changing depending on what you do.

And no two ships are the same, even when they share a class. One Sith might rule it as a feudal kingdom. Another Captain might maintain the atmosphere of a military monastery.

But the Ship reflects the Captain.

Always.

​

JOURNEY BEFORE DESTINATION​

“What mysteries will we find, amidst stardust and voidborn?”​

If your ship is an expression of your reputation, then the Void is what lets you grow your reputation further. You travel between stars, you blaze lanes for others to follow, and you are the first one to encounter danger and opportunity before anyone else.

Exploration is at the heart of the Void Path.

While a quintessential lightside or spacer faction might concern itself with bringing safety or pacifying danger to save others, you are part of the Sith. Your goals need not be so charitable.

Being first means threats, but it also presents opportunity.

Ancient ruins for the Arcana Path to uncover. Hidden resources for the Corpo Path to exploit. Yes, both will be thankful to you. But they will never know of the golden statues you have hidden under the decks of your ship. They will never know of the moon you discovered and decided to keep for yourself, to establish a port of call and shadowport just for yourself.

As long as an enterprising follower of the Void Path is careful… they can amass riches and power under everyone’s noses and be thanked for it too.

What Can You Write?

The Void Path can support almost anything that happens beyond the safety of an established world:

• Explore an uncharted system.
• Chart a new hyperspace route.
• Hunt a creature living in deep space.
• Discover a derelict and learn what happened to its crew.
• Establish a frontier outpost.
• Escort an Arcana expedition somewhere dangerous.
• Carry Corpo colonists into newly opened territory.
• Encounter an isolated civilization.
• Capture a vessel and decide what becomes of it.
• Deal with mutiny, sabotage, or internal politics aboard your own ship.
• Develop recurring officers and crew.
• Return to places your vessel has visited before.
• Fight naval battles where losing a ship actually means something.
• Spend an entire thread dealing with something that went wrong below decks.

 

[Arris Windrun]

PROGRESSION​

THE ARCANA PATH

Through knowledge I gain power.

The Arcana is the basis of the Covenant’s Sith belief. You can gain power and notoriety within the Sith Covenant by doing the following things:

• Unearth artifacts and exploit their power to enable the machinations of the Sith Covenant.
• Excavate ancient tombs and bring back forgotten knowledge, secrets and more.
• Translate Sith tomes to uncover hidden truths to educate the masses.
• Teach the new generation of Sith for the future of the Sith Covenant.
• Establish new academies to expand your reach across the territories of the Sith Covenant.
• Destroy heresy in all its forms. May the Light never see the day again within the territories of the Sith Covenant.
• Uncover the truth and ensure everyone knows what it is. Spread it through media and more.

Escalation of power:
Join an excavation -> make your own discovery -> build a collection or field of expertise -> establish an academy/archive/laboratory -> become an authority whose discoveries influence Covenant doctrine.

THE CORPO PATH

Through influence I gain power.

The Corpo Path is the base of the Covenant’s industrial might and diplomatic strength. You can gain power and notoriety within the Sith Covenant by doing the following things:

• Forge deals to the benefit of the Sith Covenant
• Expand shipyards, factories, and other industrial bases within Covenant territory
• Create new companies to exploit the resources within Covenant territory
• Establish diplomatic relationships to exploit them for the benefit of the Sith Covenant
• Destroy rival assets to weaken their opposition to the Sith Covenant
• Create new products to give the Sith Covenant more tools for its ambitions
• Pay tribute to the palace economy of the Sith Covenant

Escalation of power:
Make your first deal -> establish an asset or company -> build relationships and dependencies -> control significant infrastructure or markets -> become someone whose influence can move governments, industries, or entire worlds.

THE VOID PATH

Through reach I gain power.

The Void Path is the base of the Covenant’s reach through the Galaxy. You can gain power and notoriety within the Sith Covenant by doing the following things:

• Discover new locations for the Sith Covenant to exploit.
• Establish frontier outposts that can be used for the Sith Covenant to expand its power and enable its exploitation.
• Reduce and weaken native opposition, softening up targets, before the arrival of the Sith and its war machine.
• Establish a fiefdom on your ship. Every ship is a legion unto itself, with its own character, personality, and culture.
• Increase your power by adding to your legend. One ship with a notorious reputation is worth more than ten ships that have no name.
• Create naval anchorages and fleet lines to feed the Sith Covenant’s war machine across its territories.
• Hunt for monsters and eldritch creatures that may pose a threat in the regions unknown.

Escalation of power:
Command a single named vessel -> build its reputation and culture -> chart routes and establish outposts -> control anchorages, supply lines and distant fiefdoms that extend Covenant reach far beyond its borders.