To the emperor they weren't his allies, they were useful tools to be used when the opportunity presented. Like everyone around him is something to be studied used or thrown away. The way the emperor conducted himself through Ziost, FE and ET, it was clear that he didn't see people as anything more than something to be used and abused and then discarded if there was no further use to them.

The Dreadmasters may have considered the emperor an ally, but the thing with sith is that they are always out for themselves first, so i would be careful making assumptions that there was an alliance. more like sith working temporarily towards the same goal until they are not, at most an uneasy truce.

Even Marr kept your Inqusitor at arms length; even before forming a truce, Marr warned the inquisitor not to cross him. Level headed or not for a sith, Marr was still loking out for himself first.

To the emperor they weren't his allies, they were useful tools to be used when the opportunity presented. Like everyone around him is something to be studied used or thrown away. The way the emperor conducted himself through Ziost, FE and ET, it was clear that he didn't see people as anything more than something to be used and abused and then discarded if there was no further use to them.

 

The Dreadmasters may have considered the emperor an ally, but the thing with sith is that they are always out for themselves first, so i would be careful making assumptions that there was an alliance. more like sith working temporarily towards the same goal until they are not, at most an uneasy truce.

 

Even Marr kept your Inqusitor at arms length; even before forming a truce, Marr warned the inquisitor not to cross him. Level headed or not for a sith, Marr was still loking out for himself first.

YUP !

The Sith frequently use everyone around them like pieces on a chess board. They often see opportunities of manipulation as a simple means of directing a coarse of action to accomplish their goals. Anything (or anyone) that gets in their way either is pushed aside, forced into the obedience of doing things the emperors way ( sometimes turned into slaves) or.. if needed ... executed.

If there was an alliance .. it would be only as long as it suited the emperor's "needs" ... then he turns on them ! This is seen repeatedly throughout the SW legacy.

They were vitiates close allies, not his disciples. They could be close allies to the emperor and Disciples of Jadus. Which also would explain why the dread Masters turned on the emperor. What if they were there to keep an eye on the emperor this whole time and strike in the manner Jadus told them to when appropriate?

The Dread Masters were hundreds of years old, though. Wookiepedia has info on their serving Vitiate and honing their skills for centuries, which is one reason they were so tightly bound to each other.

Jadus was born in 3688, and thus only in his late 40s - early 50s in the years before KOTFE. The Dread Masters were operating for a very long time before he ever came to be, so how could they be his disciples?

And the Masters would have also been imprisoned on Belsavis from the time Jadus was a young Sith until after his disappearance in the IA story, since they are only released during the Belsavis arc. They seem to lose Stryak and go mad in the time period after Vitiate is MIA, so it doesn't seem as though they turned on the Emperor to me. Vitiate was MIA and they did their own thing, just like the Revanites and Malgus did.

So I'm not sure when Jadus would logistically even have had the opportunity to contact the Dread Masters, much less forge any sort of agreement with them or employ them as his agents.

rational for a Sith. Marr level rational...

His plan was to kill hundreds of thousands of his own people in order to spread hatred and terror throughout the people of the Empire. He's certainly intelligent and calculating (and a really cool character), but I'd still say it's hard to call him rational by the way we understand the word.

His plan was to kill hundreds of thousands of his own people in order to spread hatred and terror throughout the people of the Empire. He's certainly intelligent and calculating (and a really cool character), but I'd still say it's hard to call him rational by the way we understand the word.

Agreed. I would hardly call Jadus's plan to kill hundreds of thousands of people so that he could create a new epoch of terror as rationale plan.

Agreed. I would hardly call Jadus's plan to kill hundreds of thousands of people so that he could create a new epoch of terror as rationale plan.

Jadus wanted to "plant" terror and hatred in every heart when he spoke to the PC IA. So to him it was entirely rational to use the Eagle to grow the eradicators, to kill his rivals and spread terror and fear by killing indescriminately, it would of left a lot of anger and hate behind. All by design as Jadus mentioned to the PC IA on the bridge of his ship when it came time to get the other half of the codes.

I'd much rather see the return of Force Ghost Marr than Malgus, but at least the return of Malgus is interesting. He's not just plain back, he's somehow under control. Hopefully that plot will come to an interesting reveal. Also, the voice actor does an amazing job.

I was disappointed by my dialog options on my LS Agent, though. I really wanted to say something like...

NOoooooooooo!

Or... How is this possible? Why?

Or... Aaaah! *Jumps to kill him and must be held back.*

Something more than welcome back, funny meeting you here, or let's work together.

Overall, I'm thoroughly sick of the "surprise, he's back!" plot. We had enough of that with the Emperor, let alone other NPCs. It's not surprising or shocking or even interesting anymore. I hope Malgus will be the last NPC to follow that tired old trope.

Except for Marr, of course. Coming back as a Force Ghost isn't the same as resurrection.

As they brought malgus back how about darth marr i think his time to come back is overdue

Force bind Darth Marr's spirit to his armour! The Empire needs you Darth Marr!

While we're at it ... if Malora ever joins my Alliance then she can get to work on doing some Sith Voodoo to Vaylin

...while you find it freaking lame, most of us who have followed the game from the beginning feel like a wrong has been righted.

I don't object to Malgus being resurrected but I am irritated with him [currently] being a sad excuse of his former self. Malgus should have returned less pathetic. To fix that, his future story-line will need to be outstanding. After what transpired with Ossus, I'm not sure it will be.

Force bind Darth Marr's spirit to his armour! The Empire needs you Darth Marr!

 

While we're at it ... if Malora ever joins my Alliance then she can get to work on doing some Sith Voodoo to Vaylin

More often than not, sith spirits linger around because there is something to anchor them to the physical realm. If Marr had not imbued his power onto a lightsaber or armour and what he said was genuine about protecting the empire after making that terrible mistake before the emperor? That by itself isn't a connection to the physical world. Something has to be keeping Marr connected to the physical realm, otherwise he would disappear like all the rest.

I suspect that armour or lightsaber could be his anchor. Arcann had it stored in his personal vault for a short time before giving it to the Sith, where pieces of it could be spread out across the galaxy. I wouldn't be much surprised if in 6.0: Marr asks you to help him leave the physical realm by collecting his lightsaber off Satele and destroying it to cut his connection to the physical ralm.

The Dread Masters were hundreds of years old, though. Wookiepedia has info on their serving Vitiate and honing their skills for centuries, which is one reason they were so tightly bound to each other.

 

Jadus was born in 3688, and thus only in his late 40s - early 50s in the years before KOTFE. The Dread Masters were operating for a very long time before he ever came to be, so how could they be his disciples?

 

And the Masters would have also been imprisoned on Belsavis from the time Jadus was a young Sith until after his disappearance in the IA story, since they are only released during the Belsavis arc. They seem to lose Stryak and go mad in the time period after Vitiate is MIA, so it doesn't seem as though they turned on the Emperor to me. Vitiate was MIA and they did their own thing, just like the Revanites and Malgus did.

 

So I'm not sure when Jadus would logistically even have had the opportunity to contact the Dread Masters, much less forge any sort of agreement with them or employ them as his agents.

Thank you for the backstory. Frankly, I didn't know about most of it, because none of that is in the game or in a novel.

I still think the connection is worth looking into, given how the philosophies of the Dread Masters and Jadus overlap, almost perfectly. I think a post-Dread Master release connection could be warranted, but what we know about the Dread Masters is that when released, they did a quick check in with the Emperor, and then for a while...disappeared.

This period of disappearance is when you could have Jadus involved somehow, because when the Dread Masters returned, they were in full and open rebellion against the Emperor. Regardless of whether or not you feel like they turned on the emperor, that notion is EXPLICITLY stated in the game. They turned on the Emperor. So this period is worth looking into. After all, if the Dread Masters found out from Jadus that they would be sacrificed so the Emperor could become a god, wouldn't that do wonders for their loyalty or lack thereof?

His plan was to kill hundreds of thousands of his own people in order to spread hatred and terror throughout the people of the Empire. He's certainly intelligent and calculating (and a really cool character), but I'd still say it's hard to call him rational by the way we understand the word.

Semantics. He hated the Dark Council's infighting and the self-destroying nature of the Sith Empire. His whole "doctrine of fear" was an attempt to unite the Empire and get rid of the infighting, even if he had to scare everyone $***less to do it. So while, no, he wouldn't have our same rationale, he lived by a very consistent rationale that was indeed calculated, and everything a means to an end, and not just for power for power's sake, and not just betrayal for small gains in power.

He's the Grand Admiral Thrawn of his generation, AND currently the most powerful sith in the galaxy now that the emperor is gone (again, NOT debatable - this is stated explicitly in the game that his power was second only to the emperor, and his presence kept the Dark Council in line - when he faked his death, it was then the Dark Council began to make all their moves and powerplays.

Jadus would run a far more focused Empire - and far more deadly.

And story-wise, it would work if the Republic is continually beaten back and overmatched by Jadus, until such time that perhaps drastic measures are taken, the major corrupt senators are taken out of power by various means, and the Republic can start to have their own heroes rise out of the brink and have someone on par with Jadus's tactical thinking come up from the ranks, battling back the Empire and liberating worlds until we're at a bit of a stalemate.

And from there, with new heroes and old friends on both sides, it could make it very fascinating to take it from there.

Thank you for the backstory. Frankly, I didn't know about most of it, because none of that is in the game or in a novel.

 

I still think the connection is worth looking into, given how the philosophies of the Dread Masters and Jadus overlap, almost perfectly. I think a post-Dread Master release connection could be warranted, but what we know about the Dread Masters is that when released, they did a quick check in with the Emperor, and then for a while...disappeared.

 

This period of disappearance is when you could have Jadus involved somehow, because when the Dread Masters returned, they were in full and open rebellion against the Emperor. Regardless of whether or not you feel like they turned on the emperor, that notion is EXPLICITLY stated in the game. They turned on the Emperor. So this period is worth looking into. After all, if the Dread Masters found out from Jadus that they would be sacrificed so the Emperor could become a god, wouldn't that do wonders for their loyalty or lack thereof?

The stuff about Jadus' age is cited as being in the SWTOR Encylopedia, and some of the Codex entries have a lot of this.

I suppose it's possible, but I just don't see it, personally. The Dread Masters went mad because one of their members was killed, which upset their balance - and they actually ask the Sith Warrior and Inquisitor to consider joining them to restore that balance. I personally think that if they had any contact with Jadus, they would have asked him to join the Dread Masters as their sixth (and that actually would have been a good match).

They were old enough that they may have been aware of the Council rebellion that Vitiate tried to suppress (ie, centuries before SWTOR, there were Sith who discovered Vitiate's true intentions and were shot down - there's a Codex you can pick up on Balmorra about it) or the ritual he did at the Dark Temple on Dromund Kaas (discussed in the Sith Warrior story, Baras knows about it - Vitiate sacrificed a bunch of Sith Lords on Dromund Kaas).

Also, if they were truly aware of the Emperor's intentions, they would have known that killing people en masse would have fed into his immortality. All of their plans with the Dread seeds, invasions of different planets, etc. would have contributed to that, and the way people went mad and turned on each other on Oricon was a lot like Ziost. I don't know if they would have continued with the plan, knowing they were feeding Vitiate.

I suppose it is possible, and I would be very surprised if Jadus was not back at some point or controlling things somehow. He's one of the few big bads in the game that has not died.

The stuff about Jadus' age is cited as being in the SWTOR Encylopedia, and some of the Codex entries have a lot of this.

 

I suppose it's possible, but I just don't see it, personally. The Dread Masters went mad because one of their members was killed, which upset their balance - and they actually ask the Sith Warrior and Inquisitor to consider joining them to restore that balance. I personally think that if they had any contact with Jadus, they would have asked him to join the Dread Masters as their sixth (and that actually would have been a good match).

 

They were old enough that they may have been aware of the Council rebellion that Vitiate tried to suppress (ie, centuries before SWTOR, there were Sith who discovered Vitiate's true intentions and were shot down - there's a Codex you can pick up on Balmorra about it) or the ritual he did at the Dark Temple on Dromund Kaas (discussed in the Sith Warrior story, Baras knows about it - Vitiate sacrificed a bunch of Sith Lords on Dromund Kaas).

 

Also, if they were truly aware of the Emperor's intentions, they would have known that killing people en masse would have fed into his immortality. All of their plans with the Dread seeds, invasions of different planets, etc. would have contributed to that, and the way people went mad and turned on each other on Oricon was a lot like Ziost. I don't know if they would have continued with the plan, knowing they were feeding Vitiate.

 

I suppose it is possible, and I would be very surprised if Jadus was not back at some point or controlling things somehow. He's one of the few big bads in the game that has not died.

So now, out of game lore I might be a little lost on, but IN-GAME lore I am really tight on. There's something you are overlooking.

What you are quoting happened in the later stages, in fact at the end of the Dread Masters storyline. Here's the whole storyline breakdown for you in cliff notes:

*Dread Masters freed from Belsavis

*Dread Masters appear briefly before the Emperor...and then disappear completely off the grid for a while.

*Dread Masters quietly start attacking the Hutt Cartel - they were behind Karragga's paranoid behavior. (Karragga's Palace)

*Eventually, the assault on Denova happens, which is the first time the Dread Masters are known to work behind the scenes. They reveal themselves in the post operation cutscene. (Explosive Conflict)

*Section X happens as the Dread Masters reveal they have a dread army.

*Terror from Beyond then occurs.

*Scum and Villainy Happens - this is where what you said occurs.

*Oricon and finally, Dread Fortress and Dread Palace.

So, what I am saying is, in that period of time after they initially met with the Emperor vs the time when they start making their move by starting with Hutt Space, it is possible that this is the time frame that the Dread Masters encountered Jadus. And perhaps Jadus won them over. Shoot, maybe the Emperor sent them to find and remove Jadus as a hinderance to his plans, and Jadus being Jadus, got them to turn on the emperor and join him instead?

As for all the death helping the emperor, we don't quite know how the dread seed things work entirely. Maybe all that killing and the dread masters powers somehow could be diverted using the dread seed to Jadus instead of the emperor, feeding Jadus and preventing the Emperor from completely becoming a God?

Such a thing could even be why the Emperor shifted gears to Zakuul?

I am sure there is a way to make it work. I think it really helps establish Jadus as a massive big bad if some of the galaxy's major non-emperor goings on had Jadus pulling the strings.

During the reveal of the Dread Masters' treachery, they say that the Emperor going silent is what prompted them to turn on the Empire because no others were worthy of their loyalty, however, they also claim to no longer serve him regardless.

The Dread Master's have a somewhat similar philosophy to Darth Jadus, but their powers' aren't identical. When they speak of Darth Jadus, the Dread Masters say he "sees much of what we see," suggesting they respect him more than most, but still view him as beneath them.

During the reveal of the Dread Masters' treachery, they say that the Emperor going silent is what prompted them to turn on the Empire because no others were worthy of their loyalty, however, they also claim to no longer serve him regardless.

 

The Dread Master's have a somewhat similar philosophy to Darth Jadus, but their powers' aren't identical. When they speak of Darth Jadus, the Dread Masters say he "sees much of what we see," suggesting they respect him more than most, but still view him as beneath them.

Its an angle worth exploring.

Anyway, I'm busy geeking out. I read something we aren't supposed to talk about on these forums, but all I can say I now have full confidence that under Keith, BIoware is righting the ship with regards to respect paid to class stories...and to picking up loose ends....

So now, out of game lore I might be a little lost on, but IN-GAME lore I am really tight on. There's something you are overlooking.

 

What you are quoting happened in the later stages, in fact at the end of the Dread Masters storyline. Here's the whole storyline breakdown for you in cliff notes:

 

*Dread Masters freed from Belsavis

*Dread Masters appear briefly before the Emperor...and then disappear completely off the grid for a while.

*Dread Masters quietly start attacking the Hutt Cartel - they were behind Karragga's paranoid behavior. (Karragga's Palace)

*Eventually, the assault on Denova happens, which is the first time the Dread Masters are known to work behind the scenes. They reveal themselves in the post operation cutscene. (Explosive Conflict)

*Section X happens as the Dread Masters reveal they have a dread army.

*Terror from Beyond then occurs.

*Scum and Villainy Happens - this is where what you said occurs.

*Oricon and finally, Dread Fortress and Dread Palace.

 

So, what I am saying is, in that period of time after they initially met with the Emperor vs the time when they start making their move by starting with Hutt Space, it is possible that this is the time frame that the Dread Masters encountered Jadus. And perhaps Jadus won them over. Shoot, maybe the Emperor sent them to find and remove Jadus as a hinderance to his plans, and Jadus being Jadus, got them to turn on the emperor and join him instead?

 

As for all the death helping the emperor, we don't quite know how the dread seed things work entirely. Maybe all that killing and the dread masters powers somehow could be diverted using the dread seed to Jadus instead of the emperor, feeding Jadus and preventing the Emperor from completely becoming a God?

 

Such a thing could even be why the Emperor shifted gears to Zakuul?

 

I am sure there is a way to make it work. I think it really helps establish Jadus as a massive big bad if some of the galaxy's major non-emperor goings on had Jadus pulling the strings.

Yes, I know all that. But we'll have to disagree on this one. I just don't think the Dread Masters would have been at all interested in being Jadus's minions or helping him gain power.

Yes, I know all that. But we'll have to disagree on this one. I just don't think the Dread Masters would have been at all interested in being Jadus's minions or helping him gain power.

Fair enough - I think they shared a ton of philosophical similarities, so I don't think its a stretch.

Malgus was interesting, He was one the faces of TOR pre launch, I had wondered what the original plans for him were before they redesigned the game and content,

While it is good to see him back, and watching him just faceroll through mobs, I do hope they have something epic planned with him,

I'm guessing that Malgus's current state is fully meant to be a punishment and humiliation for what he tried to do with taking over the Empire. I also guess that as someone else said, some of that hardware is controlling him or at least keeping him from breaking his leash.

Malgus's new Body Parts (Implants) are keeping him "In-Line". Like Theron's Implants allowing Gemini/ Vin Atrius to see and hear everything but more Controlling? (Ending of "Saturn 3 Movie) Very Well could be. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out and hopefully there's alot of Big Names involved (Considering what we've accomplished, we deserve big names involved). From Malgus's codex its Acina but that also say's that theory is only Conjecture so maybe others are involved as others here have said. That "Traitors Droid" being cryptic also feeds into this and *Maybe Malgus all this time has just simply been a thought of as a deadly guard dog for Acina.

Malgus Codex

With Malora's appearance here and now this (Not Dead Malgus) really does seem as something she would have a part in or totally lead the project (Uncomfortable Science); Maybe she then would know whats behind this and most importantly How to break that leash..... Then Kill her...on the way to Acina.

Malgus's new Body Parts (Implants) are keeping him "In-Line". Like Theron's Implants allowing Gemini/ Vin Atrius to see and hear everything but more Controlling? (Ending of "Saturn 3 Movie) Very Well could be. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out and hopefully there's alot of Big Names involved (Considering what we've accomplished, we deserve big names involved). From Malgus's codex its Acina but that also say's that theory is only Conjecture so maybe others are involved as others here have said. That "Traitors Droid" being cryptic also feeds into this and *Maybe Malgus all this time has just simply been a thought of as a deadly guard dog for Acina.

 

Malgus Codex

 

The most popular theory holds that agents of Darth Acina then a high ranking member of the sphere of technology retrieved Malgus and resuscitated him transforming the Sith cyborg into her own Sith enforcer. That she gained control of an agent as deadly as Malgus would explain her subsequent rise to the throne. Some now theorize that Acina may have used Malgus to eliminate her rivals on the dark counsel during the confusion of the war against Zakuul though this remains only in conjecture.

 

 

With Malora's appearance here and now this (Not Dead Malgus) really does seem as something she would have a part in or totally lead the project (Uncomfortable Science); Maybe she then would know whats behind this and most importantly How to break that leash..... Then Kill her...on the way to Acina.

Gemini 16 didn't hack Theron's implants, but she could see him and the alliance commander chatting to each other, sugesting that the droids visual range is much greater than the standard light range and the droid can zoom in to get a better look. I doubt the droid could hear what was being said though, unless the droid had parabolic sensors that could pick up the conversation. Gemini droid capabilities weren't really explained through FE and ET, only that they are related to SCORPIO.

Gemini 16 did manage to get into the alliance network and know what the alliance was doing for some time before the encounter on Nathema with Zildrog and the alliance with Vinn Atrius.

As for Acina and Malgus: If Acina is using Malgus for her dirty work all the time? she is already proven weak by having Malgus doing everything she should be doing to prove her own worth. Empress or not, if she is not willing to show how strong she is in taking out a rival? she needs to soon, because the other Sith will sense that without Malgus, Acina may not have that much power at all and could be easily defeated. There are some things Malgus can't fix for Acina, and one day she'll have to prove it in true Sith fashion: in combat.

Baras had many of his own rivals and bodyguards through apprentices, yet it only took one of his own that he betrayed to show how weak he was without that rabid dog: Draag, to protect him. No amount of spy work will grant Baras security, it will only grant him a limited time window into what is coming next.

Vowrawn had guards as well and it only took one bounty hunter to take them out the picture before Baras's former apprentice stepped in to save him from harm. Sith that rely too much on bodyguards hardly remain strong as it can turn into a depedency.

Ironically for Acina, the more practice and fighting Malgus gets in, the stronger he gets and whatever hold Acina has over Malgus and it disappears, it is very likely Acina wouldn't have an answer for Malgus in a straight fight.

There is definitely a precedence for Marr to come back as a force ghost. You could even have him as a more permanent, but limited type of companion or more of a story driven protagonist.

How can you harm a force ghost that can't be seen? Force ghosts can only be seen when the ghosts interacts between the physical entity and the force by the connection. why would Marr give his enemies the advantage to see him for?

A force ghost Marr companion makes no sense at this point. But i disliked what happened to Marr in chapter 1 of FE, very much so. I am hoping he'll come back again in some form, but unless there is a way to get him back into a body again, Marr is likely going to remain unconcerned with the physical realm beyond his own desires.

Lucas always went on and on about how Star Wars was rhyming poetry, the things that happened before happen again and again.

Malgus was always the Vader of the Old Republic, so it works with Lucas's philosophy that the same sort of path is laid out. Malgus and Vader were both idealists, both ended up almost dying because of that idealism, and both ended up with cybernetics that enslaved them to the their emperors.

In case you forget why Malgus tried to form his own empire: He saw the systematic discrimination of other species within the Sith Empire, and wanted to reform the empire as an actual meritocracy, rather than a meritocracy between just the humans and Sith purebloods.

Vader wanted a dictatorship instead of a democracy, because from his perspective democracy created more injustice in the galaxy.

I think it's more than fine that Malgus is back, but it could of involved the players a bit. Maybe a flashpoint or a solo mission where they discover all the people Zakuul had in carbonite, or maybe some weird force cult had stolen Malgus's body and were worshiping it or something.

That would take imagination or some simulacrum of imagination to pull off though.

Lucas always went on and on about how Star Wars was rhyming poetry, the things that happened before happen again and again.

 

Malgus was always the Vader of the Old Republic, so it works with Lucas's philosophy that the same sort of path is laid out. Malgus and Vader were both idealists, both ended up almost dying because of that idealism, and both ended up with cybernetics that enslaved them to the their emperors.

 

In case you forget why Malgus tried to form his own empire: He saw the systematic discrimination of other species within the Sith Empire, and wanted to reform the empire as an actual meritocracy, rather than a meritocracy between just the humans and Sith purebloods.

 

Vader wanted a dictatorship instead of a democracy, because from his perspective democracy created more injustice in the galaxy.

 

I think it's more than fine that Malgus is back, but it could of involved the players a bit. Maybe a flashpoint or a solo mission where they discover all the people Zakuul had in carbonite, or maybe some weird force cult had stolen Malgus's body and were worshiping it or something.

 

That would take imagination or some simulacrum of imagination to pull off though.

Malgus saw aliens as a useful tool as an addition to his new empire, not because he was a force for change but simply because they were something the empire failed to use which gave the republic an edge, he wanted to level the playing field and show his new empire as less stained by old ways, but the problem with Malgus is that he was brought up with those old ways, so he couldn't lead the new empire anywhere even if he did succeed because those old values would be part of his new empire. He needed new leadership not tainted by such things and a Sith wouldn't give up power for another willingly and Malgus is not the type to share.

Then there is Serevin who was notoriously short tempered and didn't really care to know or understand, only use and abuse anyone he could. Bringing the Voss into it was his way of proving to Malgus that he was worth something to have Voss who could see things be apart of this new empire. Malgus only saw an extra resource, of course when Serevin was slain, not one word from Malgus which proved how much the old ways are apart of the man and how little he ultimately cared for those around him.

He mentioned Jindo Krey but that was meant to be a rallying cry and a propaganda tool for the remaining forces on the station rather than to discourage the PC. Malgus was ultimately out for himself even if others thought of him as an ally, very much the same as the emperor and dreadmasters.