Immortality/Legends

"As one's body is consumed by the power of the dark side, the key to immortality is the growth of new bodies into which one can project one's life essence."

- Darth Sidious's strategy for achieving immortality

Immortality was the state of a biological being living indefinitely for a seemingly infinite or indeterminate amount of time. This state was the goal of many Sith Lords throughout history, as well as at least one Jedi Master. However, unlike their Jedi counterparts the Sith were far more obsessed with achieving immortality because of their natural fear of death and its interference with the Sith goals of power, control and self-glorification.

History

 * The Gorach species was thought to have a biological immortal lifespan, living for thousands of years, and only dying through violent means.


 * The Emperor Vitiate was the first Sith Lord to have successfully gained immortality by draining the life forces of an entire world in order to increase his lifespan.


 * Lord Scourge gained immortality as the right hand servant of Emperor Vitiate. However, this promotion came with a heavy price: Scourge would live for the rest of his life in excruciating pain.


 * Darth Andeddu created the Transfer essence ability which essentially was a form of immortality. He was able to return to life in 137 ABY when he drained his servant's spirit back into his corpse.


 * Darth Sion achieved the ability to rise from near-fatal injuries through sheer hatred. However, it left him a broken shell of accumulated injuries and wounds.


 * Darth Drear thought to cheat death by infecting himself with the Sickness and then feasting on the heart of a Jedi, having the midi-chlorians stabilize his condition. This method failed, but only because Drear could not find a victim strong enough in the Force.


 * Darth Zash sought to avoid death by using several artifacts created by Tulak Hord that when used in a unique ritual could allow one's essence to travel to another vessel. She looked for an apprentice who'd be able to find the artifacts and then take over their body. Although successful, her essence was instead transferred into a Dashade's body named Khem Val which she shared with him.


 * Darth Bane attempted to transfer his spirit into another vessel because of the increasingly decrepit condition of his body, which had been physically drained after years of harnessing the power of the dark side of the Force. Although he originally groomed Darth Zannah as his heir, Bane came to believe that she was ultimately unworthy to take up the Dark Lord's mantle. Thus, he sought to preserve his life in order to train a new apprentice. His plot ultimately failed when Zannah confronted and killed her Master in combat.


 * Darth Tenebrous achieved a form of immortality that backfired horribly on him. By converting his consciousness into midi-chlorians, he was forced to live his final moments for all eternity in a time loop.


 * Darth Plagueis discovered immortality through Midi-chlorian manipulation. Nevertheless, he was unable to prevent his own death in 32 BBY.


 * Obi-Wan Kenobi suspected that his fellow Jedi Master Fay had lived forever if she hadn't sacrificed to help him on Queyta.


 * Qui-Gon Jinn learned to manifest as a Force ghost after death, thus allowing him to retain his consciousness in the Force. Several other Jedi also achieved the same ability, most notably Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda and the redeemed Anakin Skywalker.


 * Darth Sidious intended to rule the galaxy for eternity after he rediscovered the lost Force technique known as Transfer essence. Using himself as a genetic template, Sidious secretly commissioned a batch of accelerated clones. Each clone was intended to serve as a temporary vessel for the Dark Lord's soul. As each shell became less stable due to his dark side energy, Sidious would simply transfer himself into another clone. This process was repeated several times until the death of his last clone on Onderon.


 * Darth Simi kept herself alive for thousands of years by sacrificing young Jedi to the dark side of the Force.


 * Dr. Cornelius Evazan invented a successful Reanimation Serum.


 * Darth Krayt managed to survive on borrowed time by preserving his body in a stasis chamber for decades. The side effects resulted in a gradual deterioration of his health, however. But through a near-death experience, Krayt was able to discover the Dark transfer technique; a dark side ability that could heal virtually any injury, even reviving his body from death. His final death was achieved when the Jedi Cade Skywalker launched Krayt's body into Coruscant's sun.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan
 * Red Harvest
 * Star Wars: The Old Republic
 * Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil
 * Star Wars: Darth Plagueis
 * Star Wars: Republic 53: Blast Radius
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
 * Galaxy of Fear: City of the Dead
 * Dark Empire
 * Dark Empire II
 * Empire's End
 * Star Wars: Legacy 15: Claws of the Dragon, Part 2
 * Star Wars: Legacy 27: Into the Core
 * Star Wars: Legacy 31: Vector, Part 12
 * Star Wars: Legacy—War 6