History of the Compendium

The following was taken from the Dark Empire Sourcebook, Michael Allen Horne, West End Games, 1994, pp. 64-65):

"While his Vizier and ministers maintained the day-to-day operations of the Empire, Palpatine spent decades, frequently in seclusion, in meditation and study on a masterwork of his thoughts or teachings. No one can say when he first began work, but his advisors suspect it dates back to the time he first embraced the Dark Side. Numerous beings have succumbed to its temptation over millenia, but few have pursued its power as relentlessly as Palpatine.

The Dark Side, as far as its servants are concerned, is obviously stronger and easier than the Light. What Palpatine realized was that the Dark Side had never gained the fame the Light held because it was a personal, secretive thing. The Light was good for simple tricks and for the altruistic, but such things were useless to one who knew the things the Force made one capable of.

Palpatine became convinced the Dark Side was ignored because few had the courage to pay the price it demanded. Since the Dark Side didn't lend itself to sharing and other such weak-minded attitudes, there had not been organizations of Dark Side servants to endure the ages. There was no great collection of Dark Side lore, nor any gathering of its masters. Realizing the task that lay before him, Palpatine knew he must begin at once to attain control over the Dark Side.

With the resources of a galaxy at his disposal, he gathered the greatest works of knowledge from over a million worlds. He studied the Force in all its guises throughout the galaxy, whether it was the shamanism of Jarvashquiine or the tales of Tyia. Coupled with perversions of the secrets he ripped from the living minds of Jedi he captured during the Purge, he learned more than he ever expected.

One such victim was Ashka Boda, possessor of the famed Jedi Holocron itself. With this artifact in his grasp, he had little need for any more living Jedi, save as pupils.

He sifted this lore till he could find every secret he needed to continue his studies. He had long ago gone beyond any knowledge to be found in the recovered teachings of the Krath or the Heresiarchs. Since then, his studies had principally been experimental. He gathered this knowledge, mostly crude and simplistic variations on traditional Jedi teachings, into a great assemblage of Dark Side Lore. He completed two volumes in this Codex: The Book of Anger and The Weakness of Inferiors.

The Emperor's third volume, The Creation of Monsters, is still in manuscript....

THE BOOK OF ANGER

Emperor Palpatine's first volume deals with the use of emotion to control the Force. He considers anger to be the most potent emotional form. With anger, the Jedi can call upon the Dark Side, harnessing it for great power and destruction. Palpatine teaches that anger and rage, mixed with intelligent control, call upon the Dark Side with a very fine level of control, and can even kill from a great distance.

THE WEAKNESS OF INFERIORS

This second book teaches control, without violence, over the innocent, the ignorant, and 'all inferiors'. Palpatine's main philosophy is quoted below:

1) ALL POWER COMES FROM OUTSIDE THE WEAK. The weak have never been known to believe in themselves or in their ability to wield power.

2) THE FACE OF AUTHORITY. The weak live as in a dream. All their thoughts, actions, and urges are governed by the face and the voice that controls this dream. The face and voice they have learned to obey. The face and voice of Authority.

3) THE LAW OF FEAR. A consequence of the first two tenets is that the weak live in fear. The mere suggestion of violence from one in authority is enough to inspire their obedience. How can one who doesn't believe in his own powers stand against the power of another? It is impossible.

4) THE WEAK DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE FORCE. The Force is the ultimate means to gain authority over the weak. The weak do not understand the Force. The weak do not sense the Force, therefore how can they understand or use the Force? So it is that the weak are at the mercy of those who know and use the power of the Force. The proper use of the Force can inspire awe and obedience in the weak."

Table of Contents: The Dark Side: History of the Compendium