Grand Moff/Legends



"They know they're accountable to some Grand Moffing Toffhead down the line, so it has to be spot on."

- Clive Flax to Ferus Olin as they plan an escape from Dontamo Prison

Grand Moff was the title given to the Regional Governors of Oversectors. These sectors, also called Priority Sectors, were locations that were of special interest to the Emperor. These included the Imperial capital of Coruscant and the Death Star. Some Moffs like Grand Moff Tarkin held authority over multiple Priority Sectors.

Authority of Grand Moffs


Grand Moffs received drastically increased authority, military forces, and funding in order to compensate for their enhanced position. The position of Oversector governor was the sixth highest in the Empire after the Emperor, Executor Darth Vader, Grand Vizier Sate Pestage, Imperial Ruling Council chief Ars Dangor and Grand Admirals/Grand Generals. Technically, this made them comparable to Imperial Advisors as they both answered directly to the Emperor. While Imperial Advisors could appoint Moffs, only the Emperor himself could appoint Grand Moffs. The actual nature of the upper levels of the Imperial government was extraordinarily complicated, partially because the Emperor wanted those below him to be uncertain where their position truly stood.

Grand Moffs were personally appointed by the Emperor's will but the first of their number, Grand Moff Tarkin, was actually promoted by Ars Dangor after the submission of the Tarkin Doctrine. The Grand Moffs reported directly to the Emperor and competed for his favor.

The Grand Moffs were higher in authority than the Moffs but there is no indication that Moffs actually reported to the Grand Moffs. Instead, the Grand Moffs held direct control over their territories. Grand Moffs also had drastically different levels of power with Grand Moff Tarkin, having control over most of Oversector Outer, while Grand Moff Hissa likely only had control over the Kessel Sector. It is possible the Emperor weakened the title of Grand Moff after the disaster with the Death Star, though this may merely be circumstantial in Hissa's case.

In theory, the Imperial Advisors were more prestigious than the Grand Moffs and closer to the Imperial seat of power on Coruscant. Their direct access to the Emperor gave them less practical power than Grand Moffs, whom often wielded supreme authority over their territories in a manner that brooked little opposition. This is demonstrated by the Grand Moffs' role in the Imperial Mutiny. Part of this may be because the Imperial Advisors had no military power by themselves while the Grand Moffs had their massive Oversector Fleets.



The Grand Moffs of the Legacy era wielded quite different authority than the Mofference under Palpatine. The Grand Moffs of this era did not seem to act as Regional Governors but instead have seemingly replaced the Ruling Council of the Emperor. The heads of Imperial Intelligence, Supreme Commander, and head of the Imperial Mission were all Grand Moffs on the Council.

History of Grand Moffs
The rank of Grand Moff was created by recommendation of Wilhuff Tarkin as part of his Tarkin Doctrine submission to the Emperor. It was an attempt to cope with the problems of increasing Rebel activity across Sector lines. His promotion further came with assignment to the Death Star project.

The rank suffered the first in a series of scandals when Grand Moff Trachta joined with others in an attempted coup d'état against the Emperor. The plot failed and the treachorous Grand Moffs were executed for their betrayal. This would not be the end of their plotting since the Emperor suspected (correctly) that Grand Moff Tarkin also held ambitions towards the throne.

During the Galactic Civil War, the Rebellion captured Grand Moff Ravik and intended to imprison him for trial when he was killed in a strange adventure involving the Charon. The mutated Grand Moff Ravik was eventually killed by Rebel Alliance agents.

The death of the Emperor resulted in a free for all amongst Imperial warlords for rule of the galaxy. One of the most powerful of breakaway warlords was Grand Moff Ardus Kaine. The successor of Grand Moff Tarkin created the powerful Pentastar Alignment that solidified Imperial power in the Outer Rim territories but removed a substantial portion of Coruscant's influence. Grand Moff Kaine would be killed during Operation Shadow Hand. Whether he was killed by Rebel forces or by the Emperor for treason is unknown.

Another act of Grand Moff treason occurred when Grand Moff Hissa united several powerful Moffs together into the Central Committee of Grand Moffs that attempted to usurp Ysanne Isard's rule over the galaxy. Despite having the forces of three Grand Admirals at their service, their coup failed with most sentenced with prison sentences. The exception to this was Rufaan Tigellinus, whom was executed by the Moffs for demanding a higher position amongst their ranks. The power of the Grand Moffs would be broken for the remainder of the Galactic Civil War.



It is unknown if any Grand Moffs survived until the period of the Emperor Reborn but it is noteworthy that at least some Moffs (which might include Grand Moffs) rebelled against the thought of a new Emperor being elected by the Advisory alone. These campaigned for their worlds to be given vote representation to allow them to control the process of selecting the next leader of the galaxy.

The position would be revived in the Legacy era with the Council of Moffs replaced by the Moff High Council. Presumably, this is the result of Imperial expansion. It is during this time that Grand Moff Morlish Veed and his consort Nyna Calixte collaborated with the Sith in yet another Moff born coup d'état against Emperor Roan Fel. The coup was supposed to place Morlish Veed on the throne but instead ends with his position unchanged in the Empire. Instead, Darth Krayt assumes the Imperial throne.

Rank insignia




The Grand Moff's rank insignia was composed of six blue bars, three red, and three yellow. This indicated that the Grand Moff possessed a rank in the military higher than even that of an Admiral or General in the Imperial armed forces.

With the establishment of the second Galactic Empire, the insignia of Grand Moffs changed. The new insignia was comprised of two epaulets joined by a neck-brace-like adornment worn instead of the usual rank insignia.

Galactic Civil War

 * Grand Moff Argon
 * Grand Moff Bartam
 * Grand Moff Vilim Disra (Braxant Sector)
 * Grand Moff Dunhausen
 * Grand Moff Dureya
 * Grand Moff 4-8C (IG-series Droid)
 * Grand Moff Gann (Sector 5)
 * Grand Moff Lynch Hauser
 * Grand Moff Bertroff Hissa (Kessel Sector)
 * Grand Moff Ardus Kaine (Oversector Outer)
 * Grand Moff Kintaro (Bajic Sector and Vergesso Asteroids)
 * Grand Moff Muzzer
 * Grand Moff Nivers (Tankadin)
 * Grand Moff Selit
 * Grand Moff Ravik (Tolonda Sector)
 * Grand Moff Tanniel
 * Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin (Oversector Outer)
 * Grand Moff Tharil Tavira (Eiattu VI)
 * Grand Moff Thistleborn
 * Grand Moff Rufaan Tigellinus
 * Grand Moff Trachta (Imperial Center Oversector)
 * Grand Moff Traeda
 * Grand Moff Nox Vellam
 * Grand Moff Gerald Weizel (Gerad?)

Legacy Era

 * Grand Moff Morlish Veed (also Grand Admiral and High Moff)
 * Grand Moff Nyna Calixte (Director of Imperial Intelligence)

Behind the scenes
The title of Grand Moff came from the title, "Grande Mouff", that was originally given to a (much changed) Tarkin from the rough, first, second and third draft drafts of Star Wars. In the former two drafts, Tarkin was a religious leader on Aquilae or Townowi; in the second and third drafts he was the Rebel commander of the Kesselian Dragoons on Yavin 4.

At least in earlier drafts of ROTJ, a Grand Moff is superior to the Shadow Hand/Supreme Commander: Jerjerrod had been a Grand Moff and Vader saluted him.

The Grand Moff Creation Timeline Controversy
Due to events of Revenge of the Sith, Grand Moff Tarkin's promotion must have taken place during or perhaps even before the events of the film. This is due to the fact that Grand Moff Tarkin received a promotion directly as a result of the Tarkin Doctrine and was only assigned the Death Star project because of it. The Death Star is partially completed during the film and given Regional Governors are a product of the Clone Wars, it's entirely possible that this was an Old Republic decision rather than an Imperial one.

This is a complex problem given the Death Star Technical Companion was written with the idea of Grand Moff Tarkin being elevated during the Empire and the Death Star being constructed well into the Empire's reign.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Journal: The Fight for Justice
 * Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope novelization
 * Star Wars: Rebellion
 * Star Wars Missions 13: Prisoner of the Nikto Pirates
 * Star Wars Missions 14: The Monsters of Dweem
 * The Glove of Darth Vader
 * Star Wars Empire: Betrayal
 * Star Wars Legacy 0