Jurcen Drift - A Star Wars Sector (ABY-1)

[Nihilistic_Impact]

Hello folks, I've been toying with creating my own Star Wars sector to play around in for a while now and have often considered opening it up to others to assist. The time for that is now as I've created this thread in the hopes of garnering a little interest, a few ideas and a lot of creativity. So with that declared I should probably set some guidelines.

Star Wars, in the current era Star Wars is owned by Disney and there is a lot of spilled digital ink as to the quality of the output under their management. Personally I think the only sequel film that tried to do something new was The Last Jedi, even if it was a very flawed delivery. The first couple seasons of the Mandalorian are entertaining television and Andor is a fucking master piece and is ultimately why I'm doing this. Old EU was an uneven mess and while you had good and entertaining works such as the X-Wing books and the Thrawn trilogy you also had Darksaber and the Crystal Star. Honestly I'm glad I stopped reading Star Wars towards the end of the New Jedi Order series so I didn't have to see Jacen fall to the dark side or Dalaa fail her way up to the highest seat of power.

Why I felt the need to bring this all up? Because I don't give a fuck about canon. I am a buzzard picking away at either timelines for what is interesting and fun. The only canon I'm applying here is the original trilogy (A New Hope, Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi), Andor and Rogue One. To a lesser extent the prequel trilogy in broad strokes. I'm using a small sector of space so moments in the wider galaxy can be mystified and propagandized.

Why ABY-1, or one year After the Battle of Yavin? Because the rebellion era is my favorite, the Rebel Alliance has had their first taste of victory of the Empire; but they were still forced to hide away on Hoth. They are not in a position of strength. They are losing tell they win. The rest of the galaxy can see that forces are acting and opportunities are there for those that act as the old status quo has been swept away.

So what is Jurcen Drift? Jurcen Drift is a sector of space, a small one, just off the Perlemian Hyperroute and coreward of the Hapes Cluster. Initial human habitation happened as a result of the Jedi purge of pirates from the Hapes Cluster. In the current era it is managed by Concordant Sol Junfa(CSJ) a loose collective of warlords who act as the representatives of the Empire. Prior to the rise of the Empire the systems within had joined the Separatist Movement during the Clone Wars but had been swiftly subjugated and became lawless. Disaffected military forces turned to piracy and banditry and the new Empire found this a worthwhile partnership as Commission for the Preservation of the New Order(COMPNOR) partnered with them.

So what comprises the Jurcen Drift? An as yet undetermined number of systems, the very reason for this thread to exist is to expand further; but a few details are known. The Jurcen Drift exists as a strange collection of stars orbiting at the edges of the Transitory Mists, held together by the gravitic pull of Asena, a black hole. Anchoring the cluster this black hole gives shape to the movements within. In a stationary orbit just beyond the event horizon is a relic of prehuman colonization, the Asena Redoubt. Due to its location no warlord actively claims it and it has become a home to refugees and cults to the Force.

The brightest star in the cluster would belong to Jurcen, which gives the sector its name, a supergiant blue star. Orbiting it is a world of the same name and official capital. The world Jurcen is less known for its rule of law but for its violent solar storms that forests of ferrous crystals.

Gellin is an industrial wasteland of a world, scarred and scoured for all its material wealth its population must struggle to survive within what has effectively become a global weapons test site. Local warlords under direction from COMPNOR have partnered up with Sienar Fleet Systems to test a multitude of ship and ship's weapon designs.

Bellator, a Star Dreadnaught because the Empire needs a threatening dagger to pose above any world or ship.

Worlds, I need more worlds, a multitude of them. And locations on them or between them. I am inspired by Star Wars books like the Han Solo Adventures and the Lando Calrissian Adventures, tales of adventure at the edges of the empire. But also by the Corellian Trilogy and its Center Point Station is a direct influence on the Asena Redoubt. Real world history also influences me, Star Wars is always most interesting when it pulls a little from our world and reflects it back at us.

So what factions are at play within the Jurcen Drift? For sure we have COMPNOR, the Imperial Navy, Imperial Security Bureau(ISB) and the Warlords. To properly depict a fascist regime there must be many competing factions within the larger structure. This also has the benefit of creating friction which makes story ideas easier to develop. But we can not ignore the parapolitical, while there is an established private public relationship with Sienar and the warlords there also needs to be organized criminal elements. Black Sun and Crimson Dawn should be represented; but like the Empire they are outsiders, there must be a local criminal element that also acted as a parallel legal structure. Thankfully I have already come up with the name for this organization, Dark Ocean.

Who populates these systems? I've only come up with a few thus far. ISB agent Evol'a Vate. Imperial Admiral Carrera Dada. Also have a Moff Gozih Primo but I'm not entirely sold on the name.
What established characters should pop up, between old EU and new canon what names could cross these stars with their strides?

Aliens, what is Star Wars without a Cantina Scene. There must be aliens and Star Wars has so many. Jurcen Drift needs a population that precedes the human colonization. It needs waves of settlement, enclaves and expats. A diversity of people and creatures. For sure the Fosh exist within because I really enjoyed the book Traitor.

What of the Force? While the range of opinions on the Jedi are varied I think you can not do Star Wars without touching on the Force. I've already established the idea of force cults within Jurcen Drift; but what do they believe? How many are there? Do we have pretenders to the dark side like the Prophets of the Dark Side? Are there Inquisitors hunting force sensitives? Is there a Jedi hiding in those hills?

I've always enjoyed the collaborative experience of Role Play, and so I invite folks to join me. I might not take all of your ideas, but I welcome them as possible stepping stones to develop this setting.

 

[SoleAccord]

This is a lot to tackle all at once.

I'd suggest starting at building up the capital world and going from there. Rather than needing multiple worlds, build up the ones you have right now, and worry about the rest of the sector after you've gotten your footing. I'm not comfortable making decisions for you, because this is your idea. So, let's ask some questions and get them solved.

Why would anyone come to a world buffeted by frequent and violent solar storms? Despite the weather, are there some decent tourist attractions that bring a wealth of credit via tourism? Do they have amazing shipwrights here that make the trip worthwhile? Do they produce incredible works of art, perfumes, designer clothing, etc. Is there a mineral mined here that makes its refinement important to the Empire, or the criminal underworld in some capacity? Are the people happy under Imperial rule? What was the government like before its occupation by Warlords? What's the culture, is it largely a melting pot, or is there a dominant species with a dominant religion? Just how welcome is the average visitor? Do they take Credits, or another form of currency similar to Tatooine, thus reducing the purchasing power of Credits?

What's the total estimated population of this capital world? What sort of creatures call it home? How many cities and settlements are spread across it? How is the agriculture of a world with violent solar storms -- do they have a means of producing enough food to sustain their population, or do they require imported foodstuffs to feed their people? Are they a largely peaceful people similar to Alderaan?

I'd make this world one worth going to for some reason or another before picking established characters to go to it.

Also, you can absolutely do something Star Wars and not touch on the Force. But it sounds like you want to. You have an opportunity to build a world completely shy of Jedi or Sith influence, but if you seek to include that, give this place a reason to have hosted Force sensitive people, or those who worship the Force in some capacity. I'm still stuck on your violent storm decisions, because if this place is so rough, why would Force sensitives of any alignment settle down in this place? Inquisitor's would only come if there's a Jedi fugitive believed to be hiding there. If you want a survivor of Order 66 there, there's another potential character you can create to justify their presence.