"In an era far far away... Napoleonic Starwars - Help needed" Topic

Simple question,
If the characters in Starwars were alive during the Napoleonic wars what would they be like?

Difficulty – NO steampunk

So for example, keeping with the base story I get;

Luke grew up on his uncles farm after his father – a Navel Captain went down at sea when he was a child. R2d2 and C3PO are bonded men/slaves who run away from his uncles farm. While chasing them Luke runs into Father Obiwan

So no droids, aliens, lightsabers or steam punk. Space ships are just sailing ships

What nationalities would they be? Jedi's are free masons or Templar knights or something like that, chewie's crossbow is a family relic and what empire has Leia been adopted into?

Thanks for helping me to flesh this out.

Let me reach for the Scotch…

lol nasty

Which ever you want, really.

Although the Austrian Empire is the longest lasting and most culturally and geographically diverse.

I suppose the Russian Empire could work too, a bit more authoritarian.

Leia, an Austrina Princess in the Russian Court?

Leia would have to be from the Duchy of Brunswick.

Luke joins with Spanish rebels.

If going for the Napoleonic version of things, you could say that Luke and Leia were Austrian, Han Solo would be a frigate commander Privateer for the British, has a really fast captured corvette, can make the Gibraltar run in 1 day. Chewie would be an Ottoman man servant to Han. Leia would be a minor noble of Austria, Luke would be a farmer who sees the French march on Vienna.

The Emperor would be Napoleon, Darth could be Davout, Soult, Ney, take your pick of Napoleonic Marshals.

Jar-Jar Binks…just leave that worthless waste of animation out of it all :)

And you know a name like The Millennium Falcon would be a great name for a frigate.

Maybe adjust it to the Centennial Falcon?

The Maltese Falcon?

Yes I just went there.

What about Eugene de Beauharnais as Luke?

"Eugene, I have something to tell you… I'm NOT your father!"

On the plus side, you can use any Napoleonic rules and unit formations, as is, for the land battles.

Let me reach for a double Scotch.

Do you realise that a translation of Star Wars to the Napoleonic era puts the French as the rebels against the evil empires of old?

Good boys who bring equality and meritocracy against aristocracy and right of birth, who are raised as sons of workers or farmers and work their way up the ranks by being brave, having talent or sheer luck. They fight against aristocrats and monarchs who rule by divine right, an allmighty fleet which recruits by force, a church that feeds its riches and privileges on ignorance and coertion…

So good old Napoleon would be like Ackbar, Leia would be the daughter of a revolutionary noble come army general from the border, or from ex-Austrian Italy, Han Solo would be an American corsair with an unusually hairy towering sidekick and Luke would be the adoptive son of a farmer who enlists in a hussar unit, creaming with a glorious charge deep into the heart of the enemy…

The emperor would be Austrian or Russian, Vader an ex aristocrat who escaped the guillotine and went serving the enemies…

Luke joins with Spanish rebels.

Then that +4 blessed saber the mysterious old Spanish monk gave him would might seen a lot more use against the Empire than in "New Hope"!

Princess Leia Alderanov: A minor noble of the Austrian Court

Obiwan Kenobi: ex-General Obidiah Pabodie of the French King, purged by the Terror, took refuge in Malta, saber duellist.

Han Solo: Handley Solothurn, Dutch 'merchant', captain of a fast sloop/trader, known pistoleer, rake and duellist.

"Chewie": Long Tall Kentuckian, bear hunter, Indian Fighter, constantly chewing tobacco and between his accent and spitting only Han can understand him. Has a Long Rifle of exceptional accuracy. And a large collection of knives, warclubs and tomahawks.

Darth Vader: D'artagnan Vadim, the 2nd Man in the Iron Mask, a spymaster for the Emperor

Luke Skywalker: heir to the Count of Monte Cristo

Jar Jar Binks: Jarre found the Rosetta Stone just before he
was stapled to the wall by a ancient booby trap("Lookee what I gots-AARRGGH!")

R2D2, C3PO: Welsh deserters from the British Army

Deathstar- a Massively overgunned ship of the line

the Santissima Trindad?

Napoleon should be Darth Vader of course.

Luke is Napoleon's bastard son who joins the Spanish Rebels.

Leia is Napoleon's bastard daughter raised in the Spanish court.

Han is the handsome American smuggler.

Chewie is a huge hairy Irishman only Han understands.

C3PO is a dithering British ambassador & R2D2 his faithful servant who always gets him, and everyone else, out of trouble.

Obie Wan is an exiled French nobleman.

Jar Jar Binks gets caught in his own umbilical cord and strangles himself at birth!

I like Corporalpat's take.

"Mon Dieu! C'est une TRAAAAP!"

Ewoks, untrained Portugese? Not much use until Luke turns up to lead them.

Gin rather than scotch …

One thing to remember as inaccurate as musket fire was back then, even militia could out-shoot the Empires storm troopers.

Louis the hutt: "Woh Whoh Whoh, I know you loved this man."
Boba Neyy: "I did once. But I promise to bring him back to your exalted highness incased in carbonite."

Wow, it's not just me. My idea was a little different, re-casting the Star Wars setting as an Age of Sail style setting (planets = islands) but my thinking was very similar. o_O

-Will

Dogged,

I think you got it wrong--remember that the rebels were trying to go back and re-establish the old order (which was called the Repuiblic, but had nobles, etc).

Luke and Leia would be the son and daughter of the Scarlet Pimpernel…

Rob

Napoleon would be the Emperor.

Imperial Guard would be the Red Storm Troopers normal French soldiers the white ones.
Ewoks would be Spanish Guerillas.

Not sure how to shoe horn other characters in.

Han would have to be a British privateer, on a swift frigate. Skywalker would be the poor son of some Welsh gentry. Who after his parents are killed in the Fishguard invasion is taken in by old sgt major Kenneth Nobby, a legless vet of the AWI. Trained in the way of the Gentleman by sgt Nobby he enters into a tavern in the rough town of Exeter…

Mean while princess leana of Saxe Weimer flees from her occupied homeland of Nassau on her small vessel persued by several Imperial ships. She has time before her ship is taken she has time to give a message to her gay manservant Cedric Peter Patrick Percival O'Higgins and mute Spanish dwarf Raoul II, to find an old soldier who served by her father.. They jump shimp shortly before the princess is bought before being dragged before Darth Ney hineself. The Emperors gingerest of the the ginger.

The stage is set.

I thought Napoleon would star as a jawaw.

In that anternate universe the old guard would be decked out in crimson armor.

"Bring her about Mr Bacca"
"Aye Ayeeeeoerrrow Srr"

"That's no Island!"

@ Katzbalger:

While I appreciate your correction, the old SW order only shares the words "old" and "order" with the European Ancient Regime, which was based on ignorance and opression (as was normal by those times; one can't blame people for not knowing better).

Beyond that, the essence of the fighting rebellion was about representativeness and equality, about freedom from opression and freedom of think. The French, even in the Empire times, did bring more equality, the chance to rise beyond what was conceded by birth and a modern civil code.

The Empire, being corrupt and opressive, was not worse than the monarchies and empires it was fighting against. One can even say it was much better. Rebels against Napoleon did so in the name of privileges, clinging on ignorance by the same people they told the fight the French.

I still envision Solo as an American smuggler comandeering a swift ship (small frigate?) with his hairy companion (a Scots Highlander Jacobite descendant?) and the rest as similar characters… Although the ewoks as Spanish guerrilla made me chuckle…

"Beyond that, the essence of the fighting rebellion was about representativeness and equality, about freedom from opression and freedom of think. The French, even in the Empire times, did bring more equality, the chance to rise beyond what was conceded by birth and a modern civil code"

Maybe so, but recall history is written by the winners. The Empire may well have been a beacon of equality and righteousness, and the old order an evil repressive regime (with justice administered by shadowy "knights" of all things) but we only see the version of history that the so called "rebel alliance" wishes to portray. Think along the lines of that recent book by the Russian chap showing the untold story of the Lord of the Rings.

Senator Palpatine is The Sith Lord Tallyrand.

So that's what Napoleon's holding in that hand under his coat? A blaster? Hopefully his finger is off the trigger, otherwise we may descend even further into silliness with the P Panther and Inspector Clouseau!

This is a cool thread – so what rules? Song of Drum and Shakos seems the best fit, maybe Flashing Steel, both by Ganesha Games.

I was thinking of the old variant of Brom's Standard Rules for the Napoleonic Period, if I can find them. I am wondering also about the Naval Rules.

Going for a nice dark beer to think this through. ( and wondering if I can grow bushy sideburns for the period flavor)

Wow!!!

I am blown away with the outpouring of great ideas.

Thanks all for the varied responses, lots of cleverness hidden in there.

Not sure how I am going to use this in the end but I am looking through the Perry's website at some of their infantry…

I'd love to hear other suggestions for rules as well.

"That's no island…"

@Dogged Yes, I could see Han as a Yankee privateer with Chewie as a Bigfoot with a Canadian accent, eh-rrrr?

link

At 1/100 scale, this bad boy (above and the first picture via the link) would be 6 feet long. Plenty of room for the Death Star interior scenes to be played out in.

I wonder if Strange Grogge could be used for the land game and Strange Tydes for the naval game; both from Wessex Games?

Corporalpat's suggestions made me laugh very audibly in the middle of the open-plan office.

Who would be Admiral Ackbar though? The Russian Tzar? I can imagine him exclaiming "It's a trap!" at Austerlitz… and at Friedland.

What if Napoleon was Darth Vader and the Emperor was the Grand Master of the Bavarian Illuminati. That would make Chauvin Inspector Clouseau, Chewie is bigfoot and everyone else is a midget.

is there enough vodka in the universe to support this? green storm troopers and dragoon grav bikes. ???? i wonder what a kiver would look like in green/black kevlar

I see it as more of an AWI kinda setting…

You can tell they were French by the accuracy of the musket fire…

And then there was this one time…at band camp…

Flute?