Sith/Legends



"Treachery is the way of the Sith."

- Darth Tyranus

"Empathy is a Jedi trait. Empathy leads to understanding, understanding leads to compassion, compassion leads to love. There is no place for love for a Sith... Only hate."

- Anonymous Sith

The Sith Order was a dark-side Force organization bent on galactic conquest. The Order existed in many forms and structures throughout history. Originally, the Sith were a humanoid species, enslaved by a group of exiled Dark Jedi. These renegades came to call themselves the Lords of the Sith, or simply Sith. Through the years, it became common for the Sith to append the name "Darth" to their own. The goal of the Sith was to exact vengeance on the Jedi Order.

Philosophy
Forged by fire "Without strife, your victory has no meaning. Without strife, you do not advance. Without strife, there is only stagnation."

- Uthar Wynn

Sith philosophy emphasized conflict. The Sith believed that it empowered both individuals and civilizations by forcing them to change, grow, and evolve. Conflict ensured that only the strong would survive, thus leading the Sith down the path to perfection. Sentients only deserved what they were strong enough to take and those too weak to protect themselves were fair game.

The pacifistic teachings of the Jedi were viewed as obstructions to progress; lack of conflict led only to stagnation and decline. Morality was treated as an obstacle to be overcome. It got in the way of a Sith's ability to recognize and grasp opportunities for advancement.

Empowered by passion "What fuels your power with the Force but your passion? The stronger, darker emotions. Anger, hatred, fear... these passions empower us."

- Yuthura Ban

The core of a Sith's power came from emotion. The Jedi taught that fear and anger were negative emotions that must be overcome, but the Sith understood that every living creature was subject to such passions. They believed in harnessing rather than suppressing these natural urges. The Sith did not endeavor to place themselves beyond passions as the Jedi did, on the contrary, they recognized that emotion was required in order to attain a wholistic understanding of the Force.

However, not all emotions were embraced by the Sith. They, like the Jedi, considered 'love' a dangerous emotion, but for different reasons. The Jedi discouraged love because it led to attachment, but the Sith taught that love led to mercy which was anathema to them.

The Sith code

 * Peace is a lie, there is only passion.
 * Through passion, I gain strength.
 * Through strength, I gain power.
 * Through power, I gain victory.
 * Through victory, my chains are broken.
 * The Force shall set me free.

Timeline of major events in Sith history



 * c. 24,500 BBY - 24,400 BBY - Xendor and students leave the Jedi Order in The Great Schism
 * 7,000 BBY - Banished from known space, the Dark Jedi arrive on Korriban after The Hundred-Year Darkness, where they discover the Sith people.
 * 5,000 BBY - Naga Sadow defeated in The Great Hyperspace War
 * c. 4,400 BBY - Jedi Knight Freedon Nadd falls to the dark side and is trained by the awakened Naga Sadow
 * c. 4,000 BBY - Exar Kun finds and destroys the spirit of Freedon Nadd. Kun takes fallen Jedi Ulic Qel-Droma as his first apprentice and begins the Great Sith War.
 * c. 3,960 BBY - Jedi Knight Revan, hero of the Mandalorian Wars, discovers a deserted academy belonging to the old Sith Empire and forms a new sect of Sith.
 * 3,959 BBY – 3,956 BBY - Revan builds an army using the Star Forge and makes war upon the Republic. Many more Jedi fall to the dark side before Revan eventually returns to the light.
 * 3,956 BBY - 3,951 BBY - Darth Traya, Darth Nihilus and Darth Sion wage a shadow war upon the devastated Republic, but are eventually defeated by the Jedi Exile.
 * c. 2,000 BBY - Darth Ruin, another fallen Jedi, forms a new Sith order and begins the New Sith Wars. Lasting a millennium, by 1,466 BBY the Sith conquer all of known space outside the Colonies.
 * 2,000 BBY - 1,000 BBY - The Sith prove to be their own undoing, as internal struggles for power destroy their organization. Lord Kaan unites the survivors under the Brotherhood of Darkness and grants the title of "Dark Lord" to many Sith.
 * 1,000 BBY - Both Jedi and Sith armies are destroyed the Battle of Ruusan, leaving Darth Bane the only survivor. To ensure the continued survival of the Sith, Bane institutes the Rule of Two.
 * Between 1,000 BBY and 33 BBY- The Rule of Two continues. Palpatine is trained under the tutelage of Darth Plagueis and is given the title of Darth Sidious. Palpatine kills his Master in his sleep. He then trains Darth Maul as his new apprentice.
 * 33 BBY- Darth Maul kills Black Sun's leader, Alexi Garyn, clearing the way for Prince Xizor.
 * 32.5 BBY- When Hath Monchar steals Darth Sidious's plans for the blockade on Naboo and ties to sell them, Darth Maul hunts him down and kills him. Eventually, the plans are returned to Palpatine and Maul kills the last witness to the plans.
 * 32 BBY - The Sith go into hiding for nearly one thousand years, resurfacing again when Darth Sidious orchestrates the Battle of Naboo.
 * 27 BBY- Outbound Flight is destroyed by Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo as part of Sidious' scheme to kill Jorus C'baoth.
 * 22 BBY- 19 BBY - Darth Sidious and Darth Tyranus initiate the Clone Wars, and many Jedi die or turn to the dark side.
 * 19 BBY - Darth Vader becomes Sidious' new apprentice.  The Galactic Empire is established by Darth Sidious. The Sith rule the Galaxy once more, from the Core worlds to Wild Space.
 * 19 BBY - 1 BBY - Darth Sidious takes efforts to eradicate the Jedi in the Great Jedi Purge. Some include Roan Shryne and The Dark Woman.
 * 4 ABY - Vader is turned back to the light side of the Force by Luke Skywalker, resulting in the deaths of both Sidious and Vader.
 * 11 ABY - Last known death of Palpatine, presumed extinction of the Sith Order.
 * 11 ABY+ - Rumors abound of a last Sith, an Emperor's Hand, named Lumiya. However, such rumors have not yet been confirmed.
 * 25 ABY to 30 ABY- Dark Jedi Lomi Plo and Welk help then hurt the strike team at Myrkr, resulting in Anakin Solo's death.
 * 35 ABY- Lomi Plo and Welk are killed during the Swarm War crisis.
 * 40 ABY- Lumiya appears in the galaxy again.
 * 140 ABY - The Sith return to prominence in the galaxy, once more nearly eliminating the Jedi.

Organizations
The term Sith refers to numerous disparate dark side organizations that rose and fell over thousands of years of galactic history. No single entity long survived the vigilance of the Jedi Knights, but even in defeat the ancient Sith teachings proved difficult to suppress. Each time the Jedi Order grew complacent, a Sith cult, brotherhood, order, or empire would arise from the ashes to threaten the galaxy once more. New iterations of the Sith would be linked only tenuously to past traditions through a shared ideology.

Sith (species)

The Sith were a species of red-skinned humanoids native to Ziost and Korriban that were enslaved by exiled Dark Jedi. Prior to their discovery, the Sith were divided into a meek and lowly slave class, a skilled and intelligent engineer class, and the warlike Massassi class. Over time, the Sith interbred with the Human Dark Jedi through the practice of Sith Alchemy and the two peoples became one.

Massassi

The Massassi were the warrior class of the Sith species. Under the rule of the exiled Dark Jedi, many Massassi captives were subject to Sith Alchemy which resulted in them being more deadly and easier for their Sith masters to control. They were distinguished by bone spurs which erupted from their skin and by their abnormally giant size. They would serve as soldiers for the Sith Empire.

Sith Empire

The Sith Empire was a rich and powerful empire that was established by Dark Jedi banished from the Galactic Republic after their defeat at the Battle of Corbos during the Hundred-Year Darkness. After developing in complete isolation for thousands of years, the Sith eventually rediscovered the Republic. The Dark Lord of the Sith Naga Sadow led the Empire in an invasion during the Great Hyperspace War, but he was defeated. The Sith Empire was utterly destroyed by Republic during the Second Battle of Korriban.

Brotherhood of the Sith

The Brotherhood of the Sith was a group of Dark Jedi founded by Exar Kun who broke away from the Jedi Order to study Sith techniques. During the Great Sith War, the Brotherhood attempted to conquer the Republic with the aid of the Krath and the Mandalorian Crusaders. The Brotherhood was defeated and virtually exterminated during the Battle of Yavin IV.

Krath

The Krath was a secret society founded in the Empress Teta system by Sith dabblers Aleema and Satal Keto. Following a Krath attack on a Jedi conclave, Ulic Qel-Droma attempted to infiltrate the sect, but he failed. He was seduced to the dark side and eventually became the leader of the Krath. During the Great Sith War, the Krath became the military arm of Exar Kun's Sith Order and fell with it on Yavin IV.

Sith Empire (Jedi Civil War)

The Sith Empire was temporarily resurrected by the Dark Jedi Revan and Malak. Built upon a hardened core of veterans from the Mandalorian Wars and a host of Jedi converts, the fledgling new galactic power very nearly succeeded in conquering the Republic during the Second Sith War. After the redemption of Darth Revan and the death of Darth Malak, their Empire splintered into factions and eventually collapsed.

New Sith Empire

The New Sith Empire was a vast area of galactic territory which the Brotherhood of Darkness ruled over with an iron fist. At its height during the New Sith Wars, it was even greater than the Sith Empires of Naga Sadow and Darth Revan. The New Sith Empire crumbled after the devastating Seventh Battle of Ruusan.

Sith Order (Bane)

The last surviving Sith Lord, Darth Bane, reinvented the Sith Order into an organization based on stealth and secrecy after the Sith defeat on Ruusan. He founded the Rule of Two that would allow his eventual successor, Darth Sidious, to finally triumph over the Jedi and the Republic 1,000 years later.

Legacy Era Sith

By the year 140 ABY a new Sith Order has risen to take the place of that of Bane's. Little is known about this new threat save that it threatens to dominate the galaxy all over again. The Legacy Sith have risen.

Sith Empire


These were the ranks of the Sith Order before Darth Bane instituted the Rule of Two.

Sith Minion

Sith Minions where the lowliest members of the Sith. They where usually not even Force-sensitive and often worshipped the Sith Lords as gods. Sith Cultists can be considered examples of Sith Minions.

Sith Acolyte

Sith Acolyte were Force-sensitive apprentices who had only just started down the dark path under the tutelage of a more experienced Sith.

Sith Warrior

Sith Warriors were midranking Sith who generally focused their energies and skills towards battle, spending little time on actual dark side philosophy or other concerns of the "purer" Sith.

Sith Lord

Sith Lords were the leaders of the Sith Order. They commanded armies of Sith Minions, Acolytes and Warriors during wartime and ruled through a governing body known as the Sith council.

Dark Lord of the Sith

Dark Lords of the Sith were the greatest and most powerful of the Sith Lords. It was a title that was only given to those that were acknowledged as the leaders of their order.

Up until the reign of Kaan, the title was unique, and only one Dark Lord existed at a time, but by the end of the New Sith Wars the title was held by many Sith Lords simultaneously.

Post-Bane
"Two there should be; no more, no less. One to embody power, the other to crave it."

- Darth Bane

To ensure the continued survival of the Sith, Bane institutes the Rule of Two. In Bane's order, both Sith held the title Dark Lord of the Sith.

Sith Master

Sith Masters where Sith Lords that had an apprentice serving beneath them. Notable Sith Masters include Darth Sidious, Darth Plagueis, and Darth Bane.

Sith Apprentice

Sith Apprentices were Sith neophytes that were studying under the tutelage of a Sith Master. Notable Sith Apprentices include Darth Maul, Darth Tyranus/Count Dooku, and Darth Vader.

RPG prestige classes
Note: the following text refers to the Sith class structure as presented in the Star Wars D20 RPG System; the division of classes is for RPG gameplay purposes and does not necessarily represent the "real" structure of the Sith.

In addition to their standard hierarchy, the Sith maintained a system of titles called "prestige classes," similar to the Jedi sub-categories of Guardian, Consular, Sentinel, Master, Watchman, and Weapon Master.

Sith Assassins

Sith Assassins are Sith who prefer to attack from the shadows and assassinate targets rather than engaging them in standard combat. Almost always working solo or in small groups, they stride through crowded areas undetected using special stealth field generators or the rare art of Force camouflage, launching a surprise attack on a victim. While most may use lightsabers, some may use electro-staffs or blasters especially designed for sniping. Darth Sion commanded legions of Sith Assassins in the aftermath of the Second Sith War, causing the near-destruction of the Jedi.

Sith Marauders

Sith Marauders are often responsible for the most brutal murders carried out by the Sith; they are trained to become a living embodiment of a combat master empowered by the dark side. They are drawn from diverse groups, as varied as Jedi Knights, survivalists, martial artists, dark side marauders, mercenaries, and pirates, but they all use a lightsaber more often than the Force, with few emotions other than hate, rage, and cruelty; the dark side rewards these emotions with immense power, thusly a single Sith Marauder can often go toe-to-toe with any normal single Jedi in saber combat and win. While Marauders are not always the masterminds behind dark plots, they are usually the ones carrying out the plans of their Sith Lord masters.

Sith Lords

Sith Lords (this a title distinct from the appellation given the most powerful Sith) are the geniuses behind the most insidious plots and murders. Using the dark side of the Force to inflict misery, suffering, and corruption, few dare step in their way; Sith Lords are also charged with preserving the ancient lore of the Sith by passing them onto other Sith and their acolytes, and delving deeper into the mysteries of Sith alchemy and the Dark side itself. While they don't enter combat as often as the other classes (for they have more pawns and servants), they are the most fearsome of the Sith prestige classes, as they are the pinnacle of a Sith's evolution- almost all Sith Lords were previously a Warrior or Assassin, as rarely is an Acolyte talented enough to make the transition. Each Lord takes the long view. Their goal is to utterly destroy the Jedi, assuring themselves dominion of the galaxy. Their role is to nurture this grand project, extending their tendrils of influence throughout the galaxy. Each Lord may never see the fruition of his life-long dream, and must be content in the knowledge that they have advanced the project in the shadows a little bit, and that one day it will succeed. The most effective and infamous Sith Lords would likely be Darth Sidious and Darth Revan.