Following the presumed death of the Sith Emperor. Darth Malgus declares a new Empire, one free of the infighting of the Dark Council.

 

So my question is what is wrong with Malgus taking over?

He was pro-aliens. The imperial traditions are "You are Human, Sith Pure-Blood, and aliens are not welcome." Malgus removed the "not" from the equation and the Empire started hootin' and hollerin' about his defiance.

 

Also, don't get me started on the fact that we, the players, weren't able to accept or join his New Empire.. and were pretty much forced to confront/battle him. I thought Malgus was onto something. But the choices were something like "1. You're doing it wrong. 2. Huh? 3. You may be doing it right, but the Moff wants you dead.

more to the point what was wrong is that he was a threat to your power structure. Malgus was just an old war horse. and here he comes in saying "yeah I'm in charge we do as I say" remember every imperial character as of the end of act 3 (save maybe the bounty hunter) likely has a vested intrest in the status quo.

In-universe, he openly defied the Emperor (regardless of perceived absence/inactivity) and the entire Dark Council, the most grievous offense an Imperial or Sith could accomplish, by stealing resources and breaking away from the establish order. It wasn't the fact that he was progressive, it wasn't that fact that he wanted to change the status quo, it was the way he went about doing it. It's expected of Sith to challenge authority in the name of superiority, Malgus' mistake was breaking away entirely from the Empire, making his faction as much an enemy as the Republic.

 

The Empire couldn't risk losing any more resources to Malgus, so their response had to be quick and severe. For most, the eventual ramifications of a drawn out civil war that would eclipse any of the usual infighting surpassed any concern for Malgus' intentions or beliefs. Any of the players' characters can express their support for his ideas, and while those around them offer a typical loyalist responses, I'm sure that others share the sentiment. The problem was the situation they currently found themselves in.

 

The Inquisitor and Warrior wouldn't abandon all that they had worked so hard to achieve for the sake of joining someone whom they may agree with, but ultimately doesn't have the backing necessary to achieve his goals. The Agent and Bounty Hunter, whether loyalists or free agents, would know better than to ally with a group with as little resources and as many enemies as Malgus' Empire.

 

Malgus' 'betrayal' ultimately serves to act as a catalyst. Even after his 'death' he has left behind a legacy. Though he is gone, his thoughts and ideas aren't. The secession was doomed to fail, regardless of if any of the player characters would have or could have joined him. It did, however, serve its purpose. It proved the Empire capable of defending itself from more than just the Republic., but it also proved its leaders didn't have absolute control over everyone beneath them. It proved that people would remain loyal to the Empire, but traditionalism wasn't universally embraced. It managed to achieve what a prolonged conflict would in terms of story, but in a relatively brief amount of time.

 

The anti-alien beliefs were already slowly eroding at the start of the game. With the war starting back up, Dread Masters rebelling, new galactic powers surfacing, the Empire will most likely become even more inclusive. And as more and more of the Dark Council gets replaced, the direction of the Empire can change from within without being seen as the great threat that Malgus was.

Well.. your reason kicked mine in the face, then threw it out an airlock. lol.

 

Awesomely informative post. Thanks for this.

My main is rather nuanced, a greyish-red sith . It fit that he would have sympathy for what Malgus was trying to accomplish but would oppose him as he had not gone about things the *right* way.

 

Sith change should be more personal, and not involve the murder of thousands of battle ready troops and untold legions of credits worth of equipment. No wonder the Empire is losing the war.

 

I know you have to break a few eggs to make an omelette, but you don't have to kill every chicken on the farm.

 

- Arcada

Well, not everything is lost, if you read the Annihilation novel, you discover that Darth Marr agrees with Malgus filosophy, the Empire needs "aliens" (I hate that word, it doesn't fit in Star Wars) or they are doomed because, as of right now in the novel, the Empire is in a defensive position. Edited March 22, 2013 by yoomazir

Well, not everything is lost, if you read the Annihilation novel, you discover that Darth Marr agrees with Malgus filosophy, the Empire needs "aliens" (I hate that word, it doesn't fit in Star Wars) or they are doomed because, as of right now in the novel, the Empire is in a defensive position.

 

In the game are we not in the same place now? Most of the recent ops have been cleaning up internal messes, If the republic had half a brain they would not raid TFB and raid us instead.