 SNOKE, SUPREME LEADER OF THE FIRST ORDER
"It is where you are from. What you are made of. The dark side-and the light. The finest sculptor cannot fashion a masterpiece from poor materials. He must have something pure, something strong, something unbreakable, with which to work."
―Snoke, to Kylo Ren
Snoke was a Force-sensitive humanoid alien who served as the Supreme Leader of the First Order approximately thirty years after the Battle of Endor. Snoke was a powerful figure, skilled with the dark side of the Force, who had been the master of the the Force-sensitive Kylo Ren, the master of the Knights of Ren, and at least one other apprentice. Because of his influence, Kylo destroyed the new generation of Jedi being trained by his uncle, Luke Skywalker, destroying his uncle's chances of restoring the Jedi Order and forcing him into exile.
In 34 ABY, during the cold war between the New Republic and the First Order, Snoke sent the commanding triumvirate of Starkiller Base, Kylo Ren, General Armitage Hux, and Captain Phasma, to steal the map to Skywalker that contained Skywalker's location, find Jedi master, and kill him, thus destroying the Jedi once and for all. During the search, Hux unleashed the Starkiller superweapon, under Snoke's approval, on the Hosnian system, decapitating the New Republic. However, the Resistance retaliated and destroyed Starkiller Base before it could fire on their own base.
During the evacuation, Snoke ordered Hux to bring an injured Kylo Ren, who had murdered his father, Han Solo, at Snoke's urging, and been bested by a Force-sensitive scavenger named Rey wielding Skywalker's lightsaber during the battle, to him in order to complete his training.
With open war having begun, Supreme Leader Snoke deployed his legions to seize military control of the galaxy and stepped out of the shadows in order to personally lead the First Order to potential victory. Aboard his flagship, the Star Dreadnought Supremacy, Snoke berated his apprentice for his being bested by Rey, who was now training with Skywalker in a location still unknown to them. When Rey brought herself to the Supremacy due to a strange bond she shared with Ren in the Force, Snoke revealed to her that he had forged the bond between her and Ren and proceeded to tortuously probe her mind for Skywalker's location. Snoke sentenced Rey to death and commanded his apprentice to execute her, but Ren instead killed Snoke, which ended his reign and initiated Kylo Ren's reign as Supreme Leader.
(* has notes below for further details)
CHARACTER NAME: Snoke
RANK: Supreme Leader (First Order)
SPECIES - Unknown
GENDER - Male
HEIGHT - 2.2 meters
MOVE - *8 (12)
HOMEWORLD: Unknown
DEXTERITY: 1D
Archaic Guns 5D
Blaster 3D
Brawling Parry 3D
Dodge 3D
Lightsaber 8D
Melee Combat 4D
Melee Parry 4D
PERCEPTION: 6D
Command 10D
Hide 6D+1
Persuasion 8D+2
KNOWLEDGE: 6D
Alien Species 6D+1
Bureaucracy 7D
Cultures 6D+1
Intimidation 12D
Languages 7D+1
Planetary Systems 9D+1
Scholar (Jedi) 12D
Scholar (Sith) 12D
Scholar (Galactic Empire) 10D
Scholar (First Order) 10D
Scholar (History) 18D
Survival 8D
Tactics 6D+1
Value 6D+1
Willpower 15D
STRENGTH: 2D
Brawling 3D+1
Stamina 6D+2
MECHANICAL: 1D+1
Astrogation 9D
Ground Vehicle Operations 3D+1
Repulsorlift Operations 3D+2
Space Transports 4D+1
TECHNICAL: 1D+2
First Aid 6D
Lightsaber Repair 8D
SPECIAL ABILITIES:
*Force Skills: Control: 20D, Sense: 20D, Alter: 20D
*Force Powers: ALL
FORCE SENSITIVE : Y
FORCE POINTS : 50
DARK SIDE POINTS 50
CHARACTER POINTS 100
Equipment:
CREDITS: Unlimited
Black kyber crystal ring, Archaic observation device, The Supremacy star dreadnought (First Order mobile capital), access to all resources of the First Order
CHARACTER BIO:
EARLY LIFE
Snoke was a humanoid alien who was leader of the Attendants, a retinue composed of mute alien navigators who originated from the Unknown Regions. At some unspecified point in his life, Snoke acquired a black obsidian stone from the catacombs and mines beneath the castle of the Sith Lord Darth Vader on the planet Mustafar. He affixed this stone to a golden ring he wore, which was engraved with glyphs used by the Four Sages of Dwartii, controversial figures of philosophy that dated back to the early days of the Galactic Republic.
Eventually, Snoke witnessed the rise and eventual fall of the Galactic Empire. Through a secret Contingency, however, many former Imperial officers, nobles, and technologists fled to the Unknown Regions and took the shape of what eventually became the First Order. Although most of the former Imperial officers would have likely perished while crossing this uncharted realm, the ancient hyperspace trails blazed by Snoke's retinue helped them to stay there and organize themselves. Although he was a powerful practitioner of the dark side of the Force, Snoke was not affiliated with the Sith, which became extinct as a result of the deaths of Darth Sidious and Vader at the Death Star II thanks to the efforts of the Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker. As such, Snoke, a master of the Force, was a seeker of arcane lore.
SEDUCTION OF KYLO REN
Snoke became invested in the Skywalker bloodline, believing General Leia Organa and Han Solo's son, Ben Solo, the grandson of Darth Vader and nephew of the now Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, had the right balance of the dark and light sides of the Force in him. Although Snoke's physical skills possibly had already faded, but his Force-aided abilities of persuasion, manipulation and perception were tremendous.
Leia was aware of the influence Snoke could have on her son, but did not inform Han, believing he would not understand, and that, as a Force-sensitive, it was her responsibility to keep Ben away from the dark side.[1] Eventually, Snoke successfully turned Ben to the dark side, anointing him Kylo Ren, master of the Knights of Ren, and ordered him to destroy Skywalker's revived Jedi Order. Though Ren succeeded in slaughtering the entirety of the fledgling Jedi Order, Skywalker managed to escape into hiding.
COLD WAR and the MAP TO SKYWALKER
Following Skywalker's disappearance, Snoke assigned Ren to hunt down the last Jedi. Ren's search led him to Jakku, where he learned that the final piece of the map to Skywalker was in the possession of the astromech droid BB-8. Snoke ordered the droid's capture or destruction, preferably the former. Despite the efforts of the First Order, BB-8 managed to escape Jakku aboard the Millennium Falcon.
Ren and General Armitage Hux later returned to Starkiller Base to communicate with Snoke via hologram. Hux proposed using Starkiller Base's superweapon to destroy the New Republic government, which was backing the Resistance, an undertaking which Snoke authorized. He then spoke with Ren privately, asking if he had felt an awakening in the Force. He ordered Ren to kill his father to overcome his temptation by the light.
Shortly after the destruction of the Hosnian system, resulting in the eradication of the New Republic government and a portion of its fleet, Ren invaded Takodana in search of BB-8. He later deemed the droid unnecessary as he captured a scavenger named Rey, who had seen the final piece of the map to Skywalker's location. Snoke was later upset to hear that the girl resisted Ren's interrogation. Ren defended himself by explaining that Rey was strong in the Force, albeit untrained. As the Resistance base had been discovered, Snoke ordered Hux to destroy the Resistance before they could find Skywalker, and for Ren to bring Rey to him. However, Ren never got the chance, as Rey managed to escape with the help of her new powers.
Subsequently, Starkiller Base was infiltrated by Han Solo, Chewbacca and Finn, who managed to lower the shields through the aid of a captured Captain Phasma to allow the Resistance fleet to attack the base. Solo then tried to bring Ren back to the light, only for his own son to murder him. In rage and grief, Chewbacca wounded Ren and blew a hole in the superweapon's thermal oscillator, allowing Resistance pilot Poe Dameron to fly in and destroy it, causing catastrophic damage, preventing the solar energy from being contained. When the destruction of Starkiller Base was inevitable, Snoke ordered Hux to bring Ren to him in order to complete his training.
Eventually, the First Order managed to gain enough victories in the conflict that Snoke decided to risk coming out of the shadows to personally lead the First Order to potential dominance over the Resistance.
FALL FROM POWER
"Pathetic child. I cannot be betrayed, I cannot be beaten. I see his mind, I see his every intent. Yes... I see him turning the lightsaber to strike true. And now, foolish child, he ignites it, and kills his true enemy!"
―Snoke's last words, said to Rey
Sometime after the destruction of Starkiller Base, Snoke began directing several maneuvers designed to eliminate any possibility of hope returning to the galaxy. He empowered General Hux to pursue and destroy the Resistance fleet, and was delighted when Hux found a way to track the fleet's movements through hyperspace, thereby allowing the First Order to immediately pinpoint their location.
He also claimed to have used his own powers to link the minds of Rey and Ren through a Force-bond. Through the Force, both Rey and Ren could see each other and communicate from different locations in the galaxy. Believing she could restore Ben Solo to the light, Rey sought Ren out, and was brought to Snoke aboard the Supreme Leader's flagship known as the Supremacy. Using his own formidable powers, Snoke restrained Rey and tortuously probed her mind to discover Skywalker's whereabouts.
After obtaining the knowledge he sought, he contemptuously dropped the girl, only for her to attempt to summon Anakin's lightsaber into her grasp, which he redirected to knock her out from behind with a sneer. As a final gesture of contempt, her forced her to watch the destruction of the Resistance's remaining ships via a porthole; rather than breaking Rey's spirit, however, the sight prompted her to summon Kylo's sword to defy him once more, earning the Supreme Leader's respect as he sincerely complimented her for her courage.
Acknowledging Rey now as a genuine a threat to both himself and the dark side, Snoke commanded his apprentice to execute her. He was confident that Ren would not turn in spite of Rey's faith in his former persona, that of Ben Solo, but while reading his apprentice's mind he failed to detect Ren's use of the Force, subtly turning the Skywalker lightsaber in Snoke's direction. The blade activated through the Supreme Leader, cutting him in half and ending his reign. Despite his bodyguards' efforts to avenge their leader, the entire Elite Praetorian Guard was destroyed by the combined efforts of Ren and Rey.
Snoke's death created an immediate power vacuum that Ren took advantage of by assuming his fallen master's role as the new Supreme Leader of the First Order, much to the displeasure of Hux. Although Ren desired to rule the galaxy with Rey as his equal, the aspiring Jedi rejected his offer, leading Ren to falsely implicate her in the assassination of Snoke.
PERSONALITY AND TRAITS
Snoke was the Supreme Leader of the First Order, and appeared to be a calculating and reserved military leader as well as a powerful master of the dark side. Kylo Ren of the Knights of Ren described Snoke as "wise," while Han Solo and Leia Organa believed he was manipulative and that he exploited Force-sensitive individuals, such as Kylo Ren, only for their power. Snoke was very old, having a vast knowledge of the past and of the Force.
He displayed tendencies unusual for practitioners of the dark side, displaying an interest in Kylo Ren due to his embodiment of a balance between both the light and dark sides of the Force, as opposed to only one aspect. Although very powerful in the Force, Snoke prefered to issue commands from afar, often using a holographic image of himself that was magnified to multiple times his true height so he could "look down" upon his followers.
Snoke at times showed little emotion, appeared very calm, and didn't appear to be in any form of worry or distress, despite the circumstances against him and the First Order. When Starkiller Base was being destroyed, he calmly expressed his wishes without showing any form of anger or annoyance, a stark contrast to his apprentice Kylo Ren, who was prone to violent outbursts when faced with frustration. Also unusually for a Dark-Sider, Snoke shows genuine respect towards worthy opponents, such as his open admiration towards Rey's courage during their confrontation.
However, Snoke did demonstrate a considerable level of anger and frustration, revealing a dark nature that rivaled that of even the late Emperor Palpatine. Like most dark siders before him, he suffered from immense conceit and arrogance, which Rey noted when meeting him. This ultimately proved to be his downfall, when Kylo Ren proceeded to bisect him via remotely activating Skywalker's lightsaber, as he was goading the latter to kill Rey, with Ren exploiting Snoke's ambiguously-worded statement of who he was to kill beforehand.
Despite his intelligent, sophisticated and at times calm demeanor, Snoke was actually known to be incredibly sinister, cruel, arrogant, egotistical, narcissistic, terrifying, and overall a truly monstrous individual from presumably the most diabolical kind much like Palpatine before him, although arguably far darker in overall nature than even the deceased Emperor.[16] Similar to other practitioners of the dark side, notably the Sith, Snoke was motivated by fear, specifically the fear of losing his power.
Additionally, Snoke was a cruel master as well as a predator, who identified weakness and exploited it, demonstrated by how Snoke dominated not just the First Order but specifically Ren and Hux, making him a brutal tyrant.
PHYSICAL APPEARANCE
Snoke was very thin and frail with large hands. He had a distinctive, idiosyncratic bone and facial structure. His hologram used on the Starkiller Base projected him several times larger (around 25 feet) than his natural appearance, towering over Kylo Ren and General Hux. Snoke had an elongated face with pale, scarred skin and pale blue eyes. He sported a large scar from the top of his head, all the way down to his brow. Snoke also had what appeared to be a scar or burn on his right cheek that caused his mouth to be contorted. Snoke's left cheekbone was malformed. Snoke wore a simple cloak, and tended to speak slowly and enunciate his desires with a forceful undertone. However, at other times, he wore a gold outer cloak with a gray underdress. Because of his physical frailties, which left him way past his prime in terms of physical strength, he relied on material comforts such as slippers to deal with his ailing body.
POWERS AND ABILITIES
Snoke had the power of telepathy and was able to use Force chokes and throws, even across great distances. He was powerful in the Force Ability of Mind probe, as demonstrated by his use of it on Kylo Ren shortly before his death. He was also able to use Force lightning, which he used on Ren. His skills with the Force, unlike his physical strength, were still tremendous even upon his death.
Snoke was far more powerful than Rey or Kylo Ren, as evidenced by the time when he toyed with Rey aboard the Supremacy. He managed to effortlessly ragdoll Rey and resist her attempts to retake the Skywalker lightsaber, when moments later, Rey and Ren were shown to be evenly matched in their struggle to Force pull the lightsaber towards each other.
Snoke was powerful enough to be able to create a Force-bond between Ren and Rey, even over astronomical distances. One bond was so powerful, in fact, that it created a Force Projection between them.
GAME NOTES:
*Force Skills and Force Powers
Unless future information states otherwise, Snoke is treated as having 20D in all three Force Skills (Control, Sense, and Alter), and has every known Force Power. This is to reflect how he has been heavily implied to be much more powerful than Emperor Palpatine, as well as somewhat ancient and long-lived with a deep knowledge of history. Snoke's historic knowledge involves galactic events dating back to at least the events leading to the rise of the Galactic Empire. Snoke's historic knowledge also includes much information of the Jedi, the Sith, and information of the Force in general, and seems to go back much further than the Clone Wars and the rise of the Galactic Empire. Snoke may also know the hostory of Palpatine an his time learning of the Dark Side and becoming Darth Sidious, and maybe even have knowledge of Darth Plagueis, Palpatine's Sith master. During the Emperor's time ruling the Galactic Empire, Palpatine felt something in the Force, a signal or presence in the Dark Side, perhaps something deeper. It came from the Unknown Regions of the galaxy, and later was speculated that it may have come from beyond the edge of the galaxy in this direction. Even if this event was within the boundaries of the galaxy, this alone speaks of the power that Snoke possesses.
All of this implies Snoke has a vast knowledge of galactic history and events, and great power with a deep connection to the Force itself. Snoke's power is that of someone who can expand their senses to reach across galactic distances, and even connect with other minds of Force sensitive individuals across these distances. He did this with Palpatine, either intentionally or not, and later did this with Ben Solo, influencing the young man so much that he turned to the Dark Side, betrayed everything he knew, and became Kylo Ren.
Snoke's power is not in question, as his power at first glance seems to be absolute. Trying to match Snoke in the Force should probably be seen as impossible to players who meet Snoke. Instead, other means of defeting or evading Snoke would need to be sought after. Example, Kylo Ren was only able to kill Snoke (supposedly) by biding his time, letting Rey be a diversion for Snoke's attentions as Snoke tortured her, and even when he was preparing his lightsaber Kylo had to match his movements perfectly with both sabers, and probably used a Force Point during this event to avoid being found out by Snoke.
GAME DESIGN NOTES:
Snoke is designed to be physically weak, extremely knowledgeable in subjects he was shown to be aware of, and very powerful in the Force, if not unbeatable in this way. While Snoke is powerful, and would be a challenge even for veteran players if used right by the GM, he is not undefeatable, as seen in The Last Jedi. All of this being said, the sad thing is that there was very little information to pull from to write him up, and there is little to say here to explain how he is statted out.
Something worth noting on how and why I wrote Snoke up as he is here. Not only does he seem physically weak in the films, he also has extensive scarring on his head, if not his entire body. I make this write-up of Snoke with that in mind, remembering many other characters in Star Wars Legends/Expanded Universe materials that often used the Dark Side to survive what would have been their asured death. One great example of this is Darth Maul, who was cut in half by Obi-Wan Kenobi with a lightsaber, then fell hundreds of feet to what should have been his death, only to use his pain to fuel and strengthen his Dark Side powers. This allowed him to remain alive long enough to create cybernetic replacements for his lower body. Though the experience drove Maul insane for a time, he eventually recovered his sanity but became even more cruel and powerful than he was before. Darth Maul is not the only character strong in the Dark Side to go through such an experience. As Snoke is implied to be much stronger than Emperor Palpatine in the Force, this is why he has been given 20D in all Force Skills and all Force Powers. Due to Snoke's power, this would also imply that whatever injured Snoke in the past to leave such scars upon his body, this event, or perhaps series of events, may have caused more damage and required more raw power thn anything Maul of other Dark Side characters have ever experienced and survived. For Snoke to have survived such an event would be a testament to his power in the Dark Side. While remaining alive, healing his body could have taken years, decades, or even centuries, with his current form being the result of this healing process. This could be explained as anything from speeding up his body's matural healing speed, empowering the healing process to continue even when death would slow or halt it, controlling portions of the body through the Dark Side such as controlling and empowering the bodys Mitochondria to strengthen the cells which could then be used for other results to enhance healing, perhaps even regenerate lost tissue and limbs, and any number of other possibilities.
Snoke's Attributes have been set up to show someone very knowledgeable and experienced, yet physically weak, and not interested in Mechanical/Technical sinjects. As Snoke is long-lived, this could have been different in his younger days before learning of the Force, and he could have been a very different person. However, we have no information on this, so his Attributes are done to reflect how he was portrayed in the folms.
Snoke's Skills are set up to reflect the knowledge he showed in The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. A few other skills have been added to reflect his implied age, experience and knowledge, including Archaic Guns, Blasters, Dodge, Melee Combat and Melee Parry. While Snoke does not use these skills, they may have been more important to him in his younger years before he learned to use the Force and mastered the Dark Side. [EDIT] After looking at his information again and seeing he was the leader of a group of navigators, I increased his Planetary Systems skill and gave him Astrogation to reflect this.
Something else worth mentioning of Snoke's skills. He may in fact have many more skills trained up higher than his Attributes. Due to his hinted longevity, SNoke could be centuries old as far as anyone knows. If he is used this way, the skills listed above may not seem fitting for such a character. If GMs/players wish for Snoke to have skills to reflect a long-lived lifespan, simply give him every skill at +1D above his Attributes. This will reflect how Snoke has picked up some tidbits of knowledge and experience during his long years of life, and possible travels across the galaxy. Also, some skills under Dexterity and Strength could actually be lower than they used to be due to Snoke being physical frail, where once upon a time he may have been more physically fit.
*WHO AND WHAT IS SNOKE (AND HOW TO USE HIM IN YOUR GAMES)
Snoke is an unknown. That sums it all up rather well. We don't know who he is, where or when he came from. Worst of all, if any of us were hoping for an explanation on the character to sate our need to know, Snoke was killed off in The Last Jedi. Since then it has been implied that Snoke is not coming back. This leaves what feels like a masive black hole where Snoke's background, motivation, and goals are concerned. He was implied to be vastly powerful, and to have a goal. While this goal could have been as simple as galactic conquest, no we will never know anything more about the character.
Or will we?
In my humble opinion, the lack if information on the character is not a point of frustration, anger, or disappointment. At least not from a gaming point of view. In the case of gaming, with some workable stats, Snoke is whatever we, the GMs, players, gamers, WANT him to be. he could be old, or he could be long-lived and ancient. He could be massively powerful in the Force and stronger than Palpatine, or he could be a poser and usurper. He could be from any given world in the galaxy, from the Unknown Regions, or from far beyond. Perhaps from another galaxy, or maybe a different dimension all together. Maybe Snoke was a rival or enemy of the ancient Jedi, or both the Jedi and the Sith. Perhaps he began the orders that became said Jedi and Sith. Maybe he weas a threat that both could only defeat by allying together. Perhaps he as killed, or rendered as close to death as possible in light of his vast power with the Force. Maybe he was exiled on a world where it was though no starships could ever reach. Or maybe imprisoned in another dimension, thought to never be a threat to the galaxy ever again, only to reach Force-sensitive individuals like Palpatine and Ben Solo through the Force and eventually lead these "desciples" to release him from his prison.
Above under Game Notes and earlier in Game Design Notes, I give information and speculation of just how powerful Snoke could be, especially when looking at his ability to heal, regenerate, and otherwise survive death. This would imply that Snoke could survive, or resurrect, from something as simple as a lightsaber wound. From the scars on his head, putting his body back together could be doable, though could also take time. The point is that, wether Snoke ever comes back n Star Wars Episode IX, for the same of GMs and players, you can do whatever you want with Snoke in your games. He could survive Kylo Ren's attack and come back stronger than ever. Or begin some other plan to gain power that puts him against the Forst Order and the Resistance. The Order and Resistance may even have to ally together to challenge Snoke.
The point is, from an RPG gaming point of view, Snoke isn't a dead end. He's an open blank book just waiting to be written, waiting to be used by creative and imaginative gamers in any way they want. From that perspective, Snoke has vast potential as a villain, a challenge, or as whatever GMs and players want him to be.
For inspiration on how to use Snoke before, during, or after the events of The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, a quick way to launch this concept if you don't have any ideas, would be to do a quick search on Google or YouTube for "Snoke Theories". There are many out there, and you can simply pick one you like and go with that. Or, perhaps you already have your own ideas on how to use Snoke in your games. If so, I hope you post these ideas in the comments section for other gamers to see and be inspired by.
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