World Notes:
FoE (Forces of the Empire) is a Star Wars role-playing group set in the ROTJ era more or less.
The Emperor survived the Death Star II as did Vader who lapsed back to the Dark Side. The
Alliance now controls a swathe of territory and the galactic civil war continues.
The club was begun way way back before the pre-quels and the two Sith rule but otherwise
has incorporated much of these additional movies.
Purgatory was created by Perry Dyer for a Star Wars tabletop game. Shortly thereafter when Cathy Mosley and I imported it into FoE I used it for some roleplays, most notably the diplomats excursion, and have been developing it's evolution in FoE since.
Purgatory, Imperial (Original planetary bio)
System Description:
Sun: Hachuris
Sun type: Yellow, G3
Position: fourth of five
Moons: three
Astronomical anomalies: none
Places of Interest:
1 Freeport
2 Fortress
3 Outlands
4 Faraway
5 Landsend
6 Eastern
7 Hydro City) Freedom
8 (Arctic City) Independence
9
10 [ruined cities]
Planetary Description
Location: Outer Rim Territories
Sector: Axon
Climate: Tropical with no major temperature extremes between seasons
Tech Level: Nearing Galactic standard
Major Exports: Food, chemicals and pharmaceuticals [many of which are used by Imperial interrogation units] processed from chemical rich ocean kelp beds and creatures.
Major Imports: Metals and technology
Government: Purgatory is divided into five areas, each controlled by one of the five remaining autonomous Houses [Averrine, Harfax, Regina, Tyrphon, and Chaldis].
Religion: No established religion.
Loyalties: Imperial, but too busy with survival really to be political either way.
Population: C. 7 million
Nickname: Slimy mudhole
Planetary History:
Purgatory was founded two hundred years ago in one of the Old
Republics last colonization spurts by people who found out too late
that the planet was no ones idea of heaven. The mineral poor planet
soon lost contact with the Republic as they struggled to survive
against the native wildlife, and regressed to a largely
non-mechanized culture.
Seven Houses formed and over the next two hundred years, engaged in
constant territorial disputes against each other, and war against the
unusually large and hungry fauna of Purgatory that dominates the
oceans and so called land masses. Mostly reptiles and insects with a
few amphibian species, the native life [which commonly grows in
excess of several meters] kills several hundred persons a year. No
imported life forms introduced into the ecosystem have yet survived.
Twenty years ago, Imperial scouts rediscovered Purgatory and quickly
decided the planet was not worth the effort of bringing under
Imperial domination. All seven Houses signed trade treaties with the
Empire and Purgatory became in essence a vassal world. The Empire
took over Purgatorys education system, built a spaceport in a neutral
area which came to be known as Freeport, and placed a garrison there
as well.
Technology became available once more and has slowly but surely been
spreading among the population, however, wind-powered sailing
vessels and swords are still in common usage alongside skimmers,
vibroblades and blasters.
The first generation of children to graduate from the Imperial run
school system is loyal to the Empire and often impatient with even
the most progressive elders. Exposed to the lure of other worlds and
Imperial propaganda, many have joined the Imperial Navy and gone on
to serve the Empire far from Purgatory.
Some Houses actively encouraged their children to do so, and three
years ago House Danthos, one of the larger Houses, had maneuvered its
own people into command of a small Imperial fleet which they brought
to Purgatory to aid House Danthos in a bid for total control of
Purgatory.
Some old-timers, unhappy with the gradual loss of the old ways,
founded two cities, Arctic City Independence and Hydro City Freedom,
from which these isolationists began bombing outworlder installations
and murdering offworlders, particularly the Imperial-sent diplomats
attempting to negotiate a peace between Danthos and the other
Houses.
House Iracan was destroyed and House Averrine, now the second
strongest House, managed to get a message through the
Danthos/lmperial blockade to the regional governor. Before the Empire
could respond to this unauthorized use of personnel and equipment
blockading Purgatory, an Alliance task Force appeared over the
planet. The Danthos captain, realizing that if he engaged the
Alliance he would then be forced to provide an explanation for his
presence, recovered his troops and left. House Averrine and House
Harfax together destroyed House Danthos, incorporating the former
Danthos and lracan territories and survivors into their own Houses.
Alliance cells on Purgatory destroyed the Imperial garrison before
evacuating the planet. The Isolationist terrorists destroyed the
spaceport at Freeport, killing the remaining Imperials and
offworlders who lived there, preferring to stay in civilization.
The Houses have continued to meet their production schedules, but
with the loss of the spaceport, transport offworld to the Empire is
almost at a stand still. Small independent freighters have helped,
but often at exorbitant prices.
House Averrine has begun building a new spaceport at Fortress, the
new Averrine capital, and has come under heavy attack by the
isolationists for doing so. Both sides, isolationists and the
coalition of Houses, have begun buying advanced weaponry [something
the Empire strictly controlled on Purgatory] from black marketers
and are at war with each other. To buy the weapons they need, the
isolationists have turned to theft and extortion on a massive
scale.
Never safe at the best of times, Purgatory is in the process of being
declared off limits to travelers as an unsafe planet.
Update: A diplomatic mission to Purgatory (led by Anrit ar Lincaet
and Duchess Kather Organa) led to an end to the civil war upon
Purgatory. The diplomats were kidnapped by the leader of the outlaws,
and held for a time allowing negotiations to take place. Purgatory
was assigned a Governor, the elderly Lady Averrine, assisted by a Lt
Governor, her long time (and much younger) House rival in a power
sharing arrangement. A second landing area was completed and
Purgatory reopened to galactic travel and shipping.
A more recent Imperial Intelligence file on Hachuris IV (Purgatory),
Axon Sector, Eastern Rim
Description: Water world. Mineral poor. Five small land masses
compromise 7% of the planets surface. The land masses are comprised
of swamps.
Technology: After 15 years of Imperial aid, has risen to standard
Imperial levels although in the backwater areas, more primitive
technology is used as well.
Assets: Native flora and fauna produces a number of important
chemicals used to make pharmaceuticals, including many used by the
Empires interrogation units.
Fauna: Mostly reptiles and insects although there are a number of
amphibian species as well. Purgatory is not a tamed world and the
native life kills several hundred persons a year. No imported
lifeforms introduced into the eco-system have yet survived.
Government: Feudal system under two ruling Clan Houses.
Population: c. 7 million
History and Information:
Settled 200 years ago by seven Clan Houses (Danthos, Iracan,
Averrine, Harfax, Regina, Tyrphon, and Chaldis).
Each House controlled an area of the oceans of Purgatory. Extensive
kelp farms and fishing vessels provide the food to support the
population. Harvesting either of these is dangerous, however, due to
the large predators residing in the oceans of Purgatory, and due to
interclan rivalries and skirmishes.
Fifteen years ago the Empire remembered Purgatory* and created a
neutral area on the largest island. They built a starport and the
city of Freemarket using offworld workers, thus reopening Purgatory
to the galaxy.
Purgatory had lost spaceflight capabilities and regressed to using
projectile weapons and swords. Housing tended to be stone, and
transportation was primarily aboard large sail vessels or by heavily
armed caravan. Flight technology existed but was limited. Border
skirmishes were common and from time to time small conflicts would
break out over ownership disputes, but the hostile nature of
Purgatory made warfare impossible with the then current technology.
The Empire made trade agreements with all of the houses and gave them
advanced technology in return. The SAG Education division of COMPNOR
established schools across Purgatory with impressive results. The
younger generation considers the older generations too old fashioned,
and many now serve the Empire in the military.
Malcontents unable to assimilate the new ways and new technologies
founded the cities of Freedom and Independence in 83**. It is
suspected that these persons are responsible for the murder of
several diplomats that occurred in Freemarket in 92.
The most powerful House, Danthos, gained access to current Imperial
military hardware and using connections in the Imperial navy,
launched an all out attack on House Averine in the summer of 92. The
diplomats sent in to resolve the conflict made it worse until
eventually Averine and Iracan (the two next most powerful Houses)
destroyed Danthos.
The Alliance stepped in*** to protect the planet from the Imperial
fleet Danthos had control of (the Captain of the Imperial fleet was
named Danthos. He has since been executed) and in the process
Alliance cells on Purgatory destroyed the Imperial garrison in
Freemarket, wiping out the Imperial presence on the planet.
Further information on Purgatory is limited, but it is believed the
Alliance retreated back after the Imperial presence was destroyed,
and that the remaining Houses are at an armed peace.
Note: Samantha Connelly, the Emperors ward, was raised here [See
file] as was Princess Raven Palpatine [See file]
Alliance Appendix to Imperial File on Purgatory
* At this time, Alliance sympathizers on Purgatory were recruited by
Alliance personnel among the offworld technical crews. An unknown
number of cells were created. The Alliance was unable to equip these
cells and so they did little in the way of sabotage and tended
towards espionage activities.
** Alliance Representatives made overtures to these two groups but
the heads of Freedom and Independence wanted NO offworlder
interference, Alliance or Imperial, and nothing came of it.
*** House Averrine smuggled a message out with a smuggler named
Aretta Fariss. This message eventually reached the Alliance and a
task force was assigned to protect Purgatory before it came totally
under Imperial domination. Alliance cells had gained material and
during the confusion of the civil war, managed to, with the help of
the taskforce, destroy the Imperial garrison. The Alliance attempted
to evacuate its personnel but the Imperial blockade destroyed several
ships before it was lifted. Longtime Alliance Intel officers Jero
and Amanda Connelly were killed in one such attempt to run the
blockade, but had passed on to the Alliance nearly complete plans for
the new Imperial Super Star Destroyers. The Alliance team located
their young daughter, Samantha Connelly, and retrieved the two
remaining disks from her.
