Creating an Imperial Knight

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Calixis

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So you want to create an Imperial Knight character, eh? Well, lets get started...

Who are the Imperial Knights?
The Imperial Knights were, in the past, a group of Force-practitioners who served the Empire. Founded during the reign of Jagged Fel, they rejected the dark side of the Force unlike previous Imperial Force-based organisations. Although they followed the light side, they were still considered to be "Gray" by the New Jedi Order. They took a more pragmatic view of the Force, looking at it as a tool, but still one that required care and respect. They served as bodyguards and when necessary elite agents of the Emperor. Were the Emperor ever to fall to the dark side however, it was their duty to either bring him (or her) back to the light, or remove him from power.

When the Sith launched a successful coup of the Empire, most of the Imperial Knights ranks were purged. The survivors spent the following years being hunted down, suffering numerous terrible defeats, attempting futile attacks against the New Sith Imperium before eventually being driven underground. Some surviving Knights joined the Galactic Rebellion and renamed themselves the Imperial Marshalls, though most launched a final, suicidal and alas, failed attack on the Dark Council. Now, the Imperial Marshalls have re-taken their old mantle as the Imperial Knights. Working alongside of the Rebellion, they actively persecute operations against the New Sith Imperium with the overall goal of seeing the Sith removed from power, and a new Emperor sat upon the throne of the Empire.



What makes them different?

Every member of the Rebellion has their reasons for fighting the New Sith Imperium. Whilst most fight either to see the Republic restored or just to destroy the Imperium outright, the Imperial Knights are unique in that they fight for the Empire; an Empire ruled by a light-sided Emperor, rather than by the Sith. They did not wish to see the Empire completely scoured from the galaxy and replaced by another Republic that will inevitably fall to corruption and choking bureaucracy. Some may struggle to see the benevolence in what is essentially an authoritarian society, choosing instead to see the Republic's vaunted 'democracy' as the center of all good, but the Imperial Knights are not so naive. The Empire has fought for good, alongside the Republic and other factions many times. If they are successful then it will do so again.


The Imperial Knights are still practitioners of the light-side, but they take a more pragmatic view to the Force and in the past followed the orders of their Emperor above all else. They respect the Force, but it is not something they spend time contemplating and meditating on. They are a much more militant, proactive force than the Jedi Order, with a strong emphasis on loyalty and of following orders. With that said, they know too well the dangers of falling to the dark side and despite their strict obedience to authority, they are not completely above questioning orders that are clearly influenced by 'negative' emotions. They are strict, disciplined, and often seem detached and cold. They do not however act out of anger or selfishness. Managing one's emotions and controlling one's fear in the face of adversity is a paramount aspect of the Imperial Knight ideology. The Knights have always been more willing to use questionable methods to achieve their objectives when the ends justify the means and thus rely on their strict mental discipline to ensure their emotions do not cloud their judgement, lest they risk falling to the dark side.


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How do you join?

Being exiles and after having nearly been wiped out, their means of recruiting are... limited, to say the least. Almost no Knights from before the Sith coup remain, with the majority of its numbers made up of force sensitives who were recruited and trained in the years after the Battle of Coruscant. With that being said, the Imperial Knights were never a particularly numerous organisation even at their height. The 'Imperial mindset' is a rare thing to find in those not currently serving the New Sith Imperium, so it should come as no surprise that almost all of its newest stock are former members of the Imperial Armed Forces, or at least born and bred within Imperial space. They do not discriminate based on race, though the majority of Knights are human.

Most potential recruits seek out the Knights, not the other way around. That said, if a particularly promising individual is made known to its leadership then efforts may be made to actively pursue and encourage them to join their ranks. This most frequently occurs among Force-sensitive dissidents from the Imperial military. The order is not so naive however to believe that the Imperium would not actively seek to infiltrate their ranks in this way and for this reason, they prefer to observe newer arrivals to the Rebellion from a distance rather than try and catch every new recruit to the cause that claims they want to fight the Sith.

Recruitment policies have been relaxed considerably compared to the times before the group was reformed as the Imperial Marshalls, by necessity more than anything else. In theory, any Force sensitive who is willing to take an oath of service to the Empire may enlist with the order. Of course in practice the leadership of the Knights scrutinize new recruits to ensure that their personalities do not clash with their ideology. Time, resources and manpower are limited and so the order cannot waste time on the training of Apprentices who enlist for the wrong reasons. Training remains harsh, but not cruel, with Apprentices pushed to rapidly improve not only their talents with the Force but physically and mentally.


Summary


The Imperial Knights are not intended to be a poor man's New Jedi Order (if you can get any poorer than them, amirite?). They're not Jedi and they're not Sith. They have a unique ideology and background compared to other Force users that makes them stand-out. How often do you see authoritarian but benevolent good guys in fiction? It's important to keep this in mind when creating your character. I will be actively scrutinising characters intending to join the faction where it just looks on first glance like they'd belong in another Force faction. For that reason, duel-membership will be very, rare (if even possible) given the conflicts of interest that would so frequently arise.

It is also important to note that all new characters for this faction will have joined post-Naboo. We are not accepting characters who were Imperial Knights before Naboo to this revamp with the obvious exception of those who actually had characters in the previous Imperial Knight groups. Exceptions to this will be few and far between and will need to be discussed at length with myself. Newly created characters not expected to possess particularly high skill in the Force, aside from those who are bringing existing characters over from other factions.

If you have any questions then feel free to send me a private message. I will be happy to answer any queries.



 
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