Campaign Overview
Across the Outer Rim, Force-sensitive individuals are vanishing. A healer on Lothal, a street performer on Nar Shaddaa, a child on Dantooine. At first the disappearances seem unconnected, but the pattern is undeniable to those paying attention: the First Order is hunting Force users, and no one knows why.
Then the rumors begin. Survivors whisper of a towering warrior in black armor, his face hidden behind a respirator, wielding the dark side with brutality not seen since Vader. But this is not Vader. This is something older. Something that should not exist.
His name is Darth Malgus—the Sith Lord who sacked the Jedi Temple on Coruscant over three thousand years ago. He has returned, and he is hunting.
The players become entangled in this mystery through their own paths—perhaps as investigators, perhaps as hunters, perhaps as targets themselves. Their allegiances will shape how they interact with the truth, but the truth remains the same: an ancient evil has awakened, something terrible is feeding on the Force, and the galaxy’s future hangs in the balance.
PLAYER ENTRY POINTS
Resistance/Republic: Recruited to investigate the disappearances and expose First Order operations.
First Order: Assigned to support Harvest operations, eliminate interference, or hunt a specific target—until orders stop making sense and questions become dangerous.
Criminal/Independent: Hired to acquire a Force-sensitive target, only to discover the buyer’s true intentions. Or a crew member vanishes, taken by the Harvest.
Force-Sensitive: Hunted personally, or seeking answers after someone close was taken.
Sith/Dark Side: Drawn by rumors of ancient rituals and a legendary Sith Lord, seeking power—only to discover that power flows one direction: away from them and toward an unknown master.
THE TRUTH
Malgus survived the millennia through Sith alchemy and carbonite preservation, discovered in a hidden tomb on Exegol by the Sith Eternal cult. Emperor Palpatine—who himself survived Endor through dark science and cloning—revived the ancient warrior to serve as enforcer and field commander for the Harvest.
The Harvest is the systematic abduction of Force-sensitives across the galaxy. Captives are transported aboard the Ascendant, a modified Star Destroyer serving as Malgus’s mobile command post, then processed at Starkiller Base before transfer to Exegol. There, their life energy is drained to sustain Palpatine’s decaying clone body. The most powerful are drained slowly over months; the weak die immediately upon testing.
Every vanished gifted child, every withered corpse left behind, every “failed” test subject—all fuel for the undying Emperor’s resurrection. The Harvest has been feeding him since before the Battle of Jakku.
Malgus finds the modern galaxy strange and disappointing. The Sith have been reduced to shadows, their Empire replaced by bureaucrats and stormtroopers, their philosophy corrupted by Palpatine’s obsession with manipulation over conquest. He serves because the Emperor represents the Sith’s best chance at restoration—but privately questions whether hiding and scheming constitute true Sith power, or its corruption.
KEY ELEMENTS
Darth Malgus: The campaign’s primary antagonist and physical threat. A warrior-philosopher who believes the Sith must be forged through conflict and that weakness must be purged. He respects strength—even in enemies—and despises incompetence in allies.
Malgus should feel insurmountable in early encounters. He has survived millennia, defeated countless Jedi, and wields the dark side with brutal efficiency. Players who fight him directly should barely escape—if they escape at all. He remembers the Old Republic, the Jedi at their height, and Sith secrets lost to history.
He views Snoke as an artificial abomination unworthy of Sith legacy. The tension between them creates fractures that observant players might exploit.
The Ascendant: A mobile processing facility where hundreds of captives are kept in medically-induced comas, slowly drained during transit to Starkiller Base. Malgus commands operations from here, meaning any strike against the vessel risks drawing his personal attention.
Starkiller Base: The First Order’s hidden headquarters where captives are sorted. High-value specimens transfer to Exegol; others are drained completely to fuel the base’s construction. Even learning of its existence marks someone for death.
Exegol: The ultimate destination. A hidden Sith world where Palpatine waits in darkness, surrounded by the Sith Eternal cult and ancient machines sustaining his broken body. Discovering its existence—let alone reaching it—would be campaign-defining. Malgus has walked its black shores and seen what Palpatine has become, a vision that fuels his private doubts.
Ben Solo: Luke Skywalker’s nephew appears on First Order target lists, but marked differently than other Force-sensitives. The orders specify capture and delivery to Snoke—not draining. Malgus finds this distasteful. He sees in Ben raw power that deserves to be tested and tempered through combat, not seduced through whispers and manipulation. His disagreement with Snoke’s approach could become a factor in the campaign.
THEMES
Ancient Evil in a Modern Galaxy: Malgus represents a living connection to mythic history. He walked the galaxy when the Sith numbered in thousands, when wars between Force users shaped civilizations. His presence makes the conflict feel larger than politics—this is about the fate of the Force itself.
Conspiracy and Hidden Evil: The galaxy believes the Empire is defeated and peace has come. The players know otherwise, but proving it is nearly impossible. Even those who accept the First Order threat cannot imagine that Palpatine survived or that ancient Sith Lords walk among them.
Moral Complexity: There are no clean sides. The Resistance operates outside the law. The First Order contains true believers who don’t know what they serve. Criminals profit from suffering. Even Malgus has a code—he can be respected, even understood, without being redeemed.
The Cost of Knowledge: Every truth uncovered makes the players more valuable—and more hunted. Malgus does not tolerate loose ends. Those who learn of the Harvest become targets of a predator who has been killing enemies longer than the Republic existed.
Hope Against Despair: The campaign is dark, but not hopeless. Every life saved matters. Every secret exposed weakens the enemy. Malgus can be opposed, even wounded. The players may not defeat Palpatine, but they can ensure that when the final battle comes, the galaxy is ready.
MALGUS: WARRIOR AND PHILOSOPHER
Malgus is not a mindless brute. His beliefs create opportunities for complex interactions:
On Strength: “The Force rewards those who seize power. It punishes those who hesitate. The galaxy belongs to those strong enough to take it.”
On the Jedi: “I respected the Jedi I killed. They believed. They fought. The Jedi who hid while the Empire rose deserved extinction.”
On Palpatine: “He achieved what no Sith before him accomplished—total dominion. And then he hid. He schemed. He let others wear the face of power while he rotted in darkness. Is this the culmination of our philosophy?”
On Ben Solo: “The boy has power beyond his understanding. Snoke whispers to him like a serpent, coaxing him toward darkness through manipulation. If the boy is to become Sith, let him be tested. Let him fight. Let him earn his place or die trying.”
On Worthy Enemies: “You survive. Again and again, you survive. Perhaps there is something in you worth cultivating—or perhaps you are simply lucky. Either way, you have my attention now. That is not a gift.”
Players might appeal to his warrior code, exploit his disdain for Snoke, or challenge him to honorable combat. They won’t turn him good, but they might redirect his wrath or earn moments of unexpected mercy.
FACTION DYNAMICS
Resistance Players: Fighting Malgus directly is suicide. The New Republic doesn’t want to hear warnings, and resources are scarce. How do you oppose a legend? How much can be sacrificed for the greater good?
First Order Players: Serving under Malgus means witnessing brutality that disturbs even hardened officers. Are they tools to be discarded, or can they rise within a system built on lies? Defection means being hunted by a Sith Lord; staying means enabling atrocity.
Criminal Players: The Harvest creates opportunities—bounties, smuggling survivors, information brokering. But Malgus pays well and punishes betrayal absolutely. Cross him once and spend the rest of your life—however short—looking over your shoulder.
Dark Side Players: Malgus represents what the Sith once were: powerful, proud, forged through combat rather than scheming. His philosophy might prove compelling. But serving him means serving Palpatine, and any dark side player must eventually choose: serve, supplant, or oppose.
TONE
The campaign should feel like a thriller wrapped in space opera, with ancient mythology pressing down on modern conflicts. Malgus brings gravitas that elevates every encounter—this isn’t just fighting stormtroopers; it’s opposing a legend who shaped history before the Republic existed.
Early sessions focus on mystery as players uncover the disappearances and hear rumors of the impossible warrior. Middle sessions raise stakes with direct encounters and moral dilemmas. Late sessions confront players with impossible choices as the full scope of Palpatine’s plan becomes clear.
Throughout, player agency matters. Their allegiances shape the story. Their choices have consequences. The galaxy won’t be saved by campaign’s end—that’s a story for another time—but the players will determine what kind of galaxy survives to face that future battle.
The Harvest continues. The Emperor waits. An ancient warrior walks the stars once more. And the players are about to learn that some evils never truly die.