Content Background

While Deep Space greatly resembles the original inspiration of its setting, there are some differences between Star Wars and the galaxy of this game.

Despite the similar size of the two galaxies, inhabited planets are much more scarce in Deep Space.  Much of this galaxy is an unoccupied void with vast distances between even uninhabited planets, causing both a culture of independence on each planet and heightening the strength and fragility of them as well.  This also means that many of the seemingly empty and quiet reaches of space between civilization still have their mysteries hidden, tucked away, waiting for brave (or unfortunate) adventurers to come across them.  While lightspeed travel would help give a sense of intergalactic community and knowledge, hyperdrives are few and quite literally far between; this convenient piece of technology befitting Deep Space has not seen the development that the original series has. While someone might be able to save up enough and spend their life’s earnings on a low-to-mid tier hyperdrive, those able to manufacture a higher-end model are so unheard of that, even if you were lucky enough to find one for sale, you’d have to be equally as lucky to be one of the richest in the galaxy to afford it.  Of note, there are intergalactic companies that offer moderate lightspeed transport services between central high-population planets.

Technology in Deep Space more closely resembles what the original trilogy portrays, rather than some of the more exuberant advancements made in other releases.  Droids are most advanced when they have a single theme or focus (assassin droids don't also speak every language in the galaxy, starship repair droids aren't master hackers that can plug in to anything).  Facilities, starships, and computer systems follow a more standard 70's-80's dieselpunk feel than contemporary cyberpunk iterations (basically, compare KOTOR II and SWTOR versions of Nar Shaddaa).  While more advanced tech may be allowed for specific plot purposes, players shouldn't expect to see anything too crazy.

While its more organized and, well, ordered presentations are made canon specifically by the Jedi Order, the concept of The Force is much more mystic and shrouded in nature here.  The Force is best understood by force-sensitive individuals who study it, and characters are free to make their own groups of force users who study their concepts and interpretations of The Force.  Without such study, however, there are doubts of its actual existence, far-fetched stories of the extents of its use, or, at best, the understanding that it's some kind of magic power that the rough equivalent of witch-doctors possess.  You will still hear terms like "Jedi" and the less common word "Sith" thrown about without specific link to the original series, but groups (orders) of Force-users are smaller and more spread out, sometimes occupying influence over a small sect of planets much in the manner of guilds in a typical RPG.  It should be noted that light and dark sides is less polarized according to the general populace.  There's more gray-area between the alignments that people accept, though the effects of each (and the discrimination present in certain orders) are certainly evident. Still, distinction between force users are in each order's unique code, not strictly light and dark.

While the player handbook does an accurate job of portraying power levels, it should be repeated that players do not dictate reality with a gesture of their hand.  We are not pulling star destroyers down from the sky, we’re not incapacitating an entire platoon with a passing thought, and we’re certainly not spontaneously learning advanced abilities on the fly.  To clarify, characters like Luke and Rey were able to learn fantastic abilities with little or no training because a) the Force’s desperate need for balance between light and dark at the time and b) because general knowledge of force-abilities was public.  Similarly, the scale of powers possessed by Starkiller and Nihilus should be thrown out the window; you’re closer to a Han Solo.  While you’re sure to have moments of supernatural individual success on any class, this is not a universe prone to godlike individuals.  Without planet-destroyers or super-saiyan knights, most of history’s successes in this galaxy have been accomplished by a long string of smaller successes rather than one superhuman act.