Friday Update: Rebirth of the Sith Empire Timeline



This week's Star Wars: The Old Republic Friday Update puts fans during the time of the Rebirth of the Sith Empire. The Timeline explains the efforts the Sith Empire undertook to claim Dromund Kaas for the Emperor. It highlights a human Grand Moff by the name of Odile Vaiken, who undertook preparations for the Emperor's true plans for the Empire. In true form, the Timeline leaves you with a tease with a further explanation only to be had in the next Timeline -- The Great Hyperspace War. You can find the original post by Stephen Reid, video embed, and a working dissection after the jump.


Stephen Reid

In the years following the Great Hyperspace War, the Sith exiles on Dromund Kaas faced a daunting future on a harsh world. The guidance of the Emperor and the Sith Lords were critical, but Republic Intelligence has stolen historical records that indicate the resilience and determination of the early Imperial Military were no less crucial to the Empire's reconstruction. Master Gnost-Dural has identified one Imperial Military Leader in particular whose story exemplifies the strength that runs throughout every level of Imperial Society.

BTC 1251 Following the destruction of their ancient civilization on Korriban, the Sith exiles sought to rebuild their Empire amid the jungles of Dromund Kaas. The man who eventually earned the distinction of the being the Empire's first new Grand Moff, Odile Vaiken, emerged as a critical figure in these dark years. While the Emperor and the Sith Dark Council were preoccupied with long-term strategies, Vaiken recruited non-Force users to form the new Imperial Military. This nascent but efficient army courageously battled the powerful native creatures on Dromund Kaas to carve out the space for a secure civilization. In later years, as the new Sith Empire grew in size and strength, Vaiken went on to establish the foundation for the modern Imperial navy and set the standards for constructing a fleet that would one day emerge from exile and crush the Republic. For common Imperial citizens, Vaiken became a model for their highest aspirations, proving that even non-Force users would play a vital role in restoring the Sith Empire to prominence and power.

Watch the latest Timeline holorecord, Rebirth of the Sith Empire, narrated by actor Lance Henriksen.

You can also download a high resolution version of this video.



Working Dissection






Comments

  • Nerf Herder
    aaronesf's avatar
    • Posts: 1
    #75 aaronesf Posted 12/15/2010 6:37:14 AM
    Wow what a lousy job of re-using an Imperial Star Destroyer schematic from the modern movies:
    http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20081003185538/starwars/images/0/04/ISD_egvv.jpg
  • FarScholar's avatar
    • Posts: 0
    #71 FarScholar Posted 12/13/2010 10:37:50 AM
    What I find disturbing is the fact that BW kept the KOTOR/TOR art style in the timeline while the comics leading to it are clearly different.
    You could say that the galaxy had taken a major leap in technology/ship design between the end of the war and the beginning of KOTOR or even the rise of Exar Kun, but the picture at the heart of our discussions clearly shows a style close to what people can relate to the movies... It's just like they're on the bridge of a Palpatine Empire Star destroyer... That doesn't sit right with me.
    I can see why they are doing it, it has been clearly important in their design to stay close to the movies, but in this video, I would have hoped they would remain close to the original material, that is, the comics.
    In the end it makes it hard to have a sense of a long time span between events, adding that to the wording in the narration and you have many possible misinterpretation:
    What emperor are they talking about? The person who was emperor when the Sith fleet fled Korriban? Or the current emperor (SWTOR time) who maybe was not yet emperor at the time... It would be nice to have some clarifications.
  • Nerf Herder
    darthuser2131's avatar
    • Posts: 18
    #72 darthuser2131 Posted 12/13/2010 3:33:35 PM
    Tell me about it. I've been scratching my head about this ever since. Given the wording that they use and the circumstances at the time, the only possible explanations sound extremely far fetched.

    Then this morning another light bulb turned on in my head. Kressh the Younger seems like he fits the bill for being the Emperor, yet his father Ludo Kressh said "My son looks like me--and so does the future of the Sith". The Emperor they showed in Blood of the Empire is a humanoid.

    So as far as I'm concerned, this is yet another reason why Kressh the Younger is ruled out.
  • Nerf Herder
    kolas310's avatar
    • Posts: 5
    #73 kolas310 Posted 12/13/2010 4:25:12 PM
    Yeah but the guy we all saw (according to the web-comic) might be just a puppet or a new body, filled with the essence of the real Emperor or just under his control (like his padawan almost was). I know it sounds cheesy but something like that seems likely I don't tink that all that designers could come up with is 15/16 years old boy/girl. :P
  • Nerf Herder
    darthuser2131's avatar
    • Posts: 18
    #74 darthuser2131 Posted 12/13/2010 4:51:29 PM
    It's possible. Kressh the Younger did lose the gauntlet at some point before TOR and could have had his physical body destroyed, leading him to take on another body.

    Now how do we connect Kressh the Younger in the TOR to somehow leading the Sith fleet to escape Korriban back in the Great Hyperspace War? With Naga Sadow in the picture as the Dark Lord of the Sith and having bad blood with Ludo Kressh (and I would assume his son too, if he knew about him), it's difficult to imagine.
  • Nerf Herder
    darthuser3286's avatar
    • Posts: 1
    #69 darthuser3286 Posted 12/11/2010 11:41:32 PM
    One thing i feel that should be said is that they do not say that pureblood is the emperor. Considering how even later on during the part where they had him addressing his people he was hidden by his chair they would not so carelessly reveal him like that. If anything that is a sith survivor and probably in charge of the ship
  • Dark Lord
    r2d2arm's avatar
    • Posts: 440
    #66 r2d2arm Posted 12/11/2010 7:10:13 PM
    Any ideas on the animal seen at 3:15? Nothing currently revealed or known about Dromund Kaas' inhabitants (in the TOR period or in the future) matches up with the creatures seen. The vine cat would appear to be the closest fit, but still, there are clear differences between it and the creature in the timeline video.
  • s1rr34l's avatar
    • Posts: 0
    #70 s1rr34l Posted 12/12/2010 2:05:42 AM
    Not a Vine cat. It's the same beast that the bounty hunter and his companion kills in the crew skills video.
    Don't know what it's name is though.
  • s1rr34l's avatar
    • Posts: 0
    #64 s1rr34l Posted 12/11/2010 3:06:28 PM
    I found this timeline video a bit weird. Mainly due to how the Sith race was portrayed in the star wars comics that show the events of the Great Hyperspace War.

    When comparing the Timeline Video to the comics , there seemed to be too many sith lacking Sith-features, or Sith with human features.

    In the comics (shortly before GHW) When Gav Daragon and Jori Daragon discovers Korriban and are captured by the Sith, there seems to be VERY little sith that actually look like humans. Maybe the Sith race is already diluted at this point, but the comics do not seem to portray them as THAT diluted.

    Now maybe that can be explained by saying that the comics are just one way off interpreting the events, and that maybe they don't portray things exactly how they "were",... but I found it a little weird none the less.

    edit: typo's and such.
  • DarthNemesis's avatar
    • Posts: 0
    #61 DarthNemesis Posted 12/11/2010 8:00:43 AM
    Cool Friday Update, I love Timeline updates.
  • Nerf Herder
    gawdzillajr's avatar
    • Posts: 1
    #60 gawdzillajr Posted 12/11/2010 6:52:51 AM
    I have got to agree, I don't think that's Naga Sadow as well. In Tales of the Jedi he (Sadow) flees with only the Massasi tribe to Yavin IV, so why would there be a young Odile Vaiken on his ship as seen in the video??? You can't see him in the picture above due to the caption cropping.
    No way the emperor is Naga Sadow

    First post on the forum. Great to read everyone's comments!
  • Gamorrean Thug
    darthuser3231's avatar
    • Posts: 48
    #59 darthuser3231 Posted 12/11/2010 5:15:07 AM
    Friday is the best day of the week. New info from Bioware, and in-depth analysis here. ^_^ I am a happy panda.
  • Dark Lord
    Vanlan's avatar
    • Posts: 368
    #58 Vanlan Posted 12/11/2010 4:04:46 AM
    That Star Destroyer in the schematic in the time line video is a modern Imperial Class Star Destroyer. It doesn't match the other drawing below it.
  • Nerf Herder
    JakeAUS's avatar
    • Posts: 22
    #56 JakeAUS Posted 12/11/2010 2:36:15 AM
    It's definitely Naga Sadow in the timeline video (he's almost identical to the wiki image), but that doesn't necessarily mean he is the Emperor.. as some people have said, it probably wouldn't fit the existing lore. Knowing BioWare, this is just one of their 'poking the bee hive' moments, where they then sit back and enjoy the show on the TOR forum and fan-sites.
  • Dark Lord
    Vanlan's avatar
    • Posts: 368
    #57 Vanlan Posted 12/11/2010 4:02:35 AM
    How is there a lore problem? The Emporor didn't run the empire, he almost immediately after forming it withdrew into isolation. It could have been Naga Sadow and the "isolation" was really an exile on Yavin 4 after he was over thrown by one or more of the other Sith.

    Could be the dark council wanted to run things without an emperor so banded to gather to make him vanish. A new emperor must have eventually arisen because there is one now.

    Or a significantly powerful Sith managed to challenge and force Naga Sadow out. Kressh the Younger fits that bill since he had that gauntlet to protect him from Sadow's Sith Sorcery.

    It would explain why Sadow and the Emperor are at odds in that earlier timeline.
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