What If Star Wars was Grim Dark? (Aliens and The Force)

[@youtubeviewer4472]

It's not that stormtroopers are weak. It is simply that Ewoks are the most terrifying monsters in the galaxy. The Empire chose the site for the Death Star construction because normal people steer clear of Endor. They didn't expect the Rebels to be able to win over the monstrous Ewoks with a shiny droid. The Ewoks caught a Jedi and a bunch of modern humans with energy weapons and were pretty casual about eating them. Given how quickly Ewoks adapted to speeder bikes and walkers, it seems clear that the Ewoks gain knowledge and abilities from the humans they eat.

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

I literally never mentioned stormtroopers or ewoks in this entire video, but I agree partially with your thoughts

[@yaelz6043]

Adeptus Ewokus.

[@youtubeviewer4472]

@@GrimDarkHalfOff I know, I was trying to "yes, and" you for adding grim dark elements to Star Wars

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

@@youtubeviewer4472understood! Thanks for the input!

[@robrib2682]

Ewoks are fuzzy Kroot, confirmed

[@jasonbell791]

As someone who is as old as Star wars, I think this sounds like a great alternate setting for a Star wars campaign. :)

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

Thank you brother!

[@wisegoongala4305]

Setting this after the collapse of the Rakatan Empire but before any Republic or unified galaxy is really interesting. And im so glad more people are revitalizing the original meaning of the light and dark side. The most powerful darkside user both afflicting and being in so much pain that its only living will is to unalive itself was a *chefs kiss.

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

Amen!

[@MyDouble]

Ive always wanted this to be explored. The yuuzahn vong invasion came close.

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

They’re really cool!

[@fyrfly8768]

"In our rewrite star wars is now a doomed Universe" Sounds like the pitch Disney gave in the writing room in 2012

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

Ha! True

[@MrDarthtelos]

Good shit. Keep it coming. The Grim Dark must flow.

[@brofister9682]

I like the part about desantification rituals and how the force is accessed in its multiple forms because it boths gets rid of midiclorians and makes more sense of why the sith ideology can subsist despite it being a clearly evil ideology

[@dennissroee4361]

Honestly this is more entertaining than the original Star Wars for me. Would love to see your grim dark take on the original trilogy and the prequels.

[@dawall3732]

😂 I have an infinite number of mouths evolved over thousands of years. (AND I MUST SCREAM!)

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

Ha!

[@beafraidofinsectattack]

Oh man I gotta timr travel some several hours into the future now

[@dfjfx]

Honestly never had this thought, but I see the potential. Love getting your take on things.

[@bodansova2951]

Interesting concepts, i would rather like to see your takes on other aspects of the Star-wars universe as well.

[@natejoseph4121]

Love it man

[@michawillems1735]

Loving these takes on the old sw lore, its very intresting.

[@MrSteveK1138]

As a huge Star Wars fan since 1977, I loved this darker take on the lore!

[@pronoydutta614]

What if the force was a natural phenomenon that the Jedi imposed their moralistic and arbitrary views on? Maybe the Sith have a better understanding of the force and see the warping of their spirits as building strength/proficiency. What if rogue smugglers are the main protagonists here, outwitting their enemies and befriending both Sith and Jedi allies against evil empires?

[@TheEggeater1111]

Good job Man. This is fun and I love it. Can't wait to see more.

[@katamattyon]

Keep on exploring this concept. As other comments say, the EU sometimes came near to this, but it's refreshing to see a reimagining from the ground up that takes this vibe as a core aspect.

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

Sweet!

[@PoppinDBZ]

Well this wierd I thinking of this exact scenario yesterday. Great vid btw.

[@Burntoutloser]

I mean honestly in the Legends novels it got pretty grim dark pretty fast especially when sidious was in charge

[@austenmoore7326]

I really dig the short “what if” style videos. Nice fun hook and a bit easier to watch than the longer ones

[@jarlbregadan914]

Sound awesome, I'm in! You DM de campaign and choose the system.

[@AmericanAurochs]

Love the Blockbuster intro! lol😄 Have you ever thought of giving Edger Rice Burroughs Barsoom series a look? Edit. Bruh, you put no thought into this? You wrote a better series than most modern Hollywood writers!

[@pericoel21]

He has a video already, but I agree, that's not enough. Probably on his to do list already.

[@AmericanAurochs]

@@pericoel21 Much obliged, I'll go find that video.

[@pericoel21]

@@AmericanAurochs kzbin.info/www/bejne/nJyVfXx4nrGGnsksi=Gdjhw1ZhzlaGws_Y

[@bloodhaze101]

I love this so much and can’t wait to hear about the Wookies, whom I can only picture in a Grimdark universe to be Great old ones worshipers.

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

Bear dog people good

[@MrDeatrich]

The gods demand your arms *riiip*

[@davidking6242]

You just gave me the best idea: could you do a grimdark rewrite or just a general rewrite and headcanon series on a bunch of stuff like conan elder scrolls and dune?

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

Sure!

[@Renesmee12-fv7ll]

definitely enjoying this rewrite Universe I look forward to seeing more of it

[@CJNAGY34]

These ideas are so great and refreshing! Grrat vid

[@OthEdden]

I love how you made Jedi natural diplomats with the translators. They are always going to have a use as “mediators” until droids can take their place.

[@dawall3732]

Also, I enjoyed this video. (More please.)

[@alexandrub8786]

Pius Dea Crusades?

[@Nasko_Nikolov]

​​I'd love to see more of this.

[@frenzystitch4664]

Thank you! I love this series and hope you make more. I ran a Star Wars RP server for a time. Making Star Wars grim dark is so fun!

[@Mad-Cat_Dan]

I'm looking forward to a Grimdark exploration of the Sith Holocaust

[@perverse_ince]

I need Gym Dark Star Wars where all Lightsaber wielders are swole af

[@robrib2682]

I mean if you want to have a setting like that you could just have it to wear the lightsaber blade is manifested from some sort of super dense material/ the crystal & necessary parts that are in it weighs an absolutely stupid amount due to the relative density of the materials. This would also have the added side effect of if you want to make a mandalorian stand in then it would add to them as well because they make armor and weapons out of stuff resistant to lightsabers. Also I forget where from Legends but I think there's a dark side artifact that was used before lightsabers were a thing because it's less efficient, but it's basically a long sword that you can channel the force through and that generates plasma (this of course being less efficient because it would be the equivalent of if a Jedi had to always use Force push to keep their lightsaber on)

[@southernaf6785]

Adding in the sanity corrupting aspects of the Lovecraft aliens into the rituals of the dark side would be interesting aka the more power you gain, the more exposure you have to the cosmic entities leading to progressively greater levels of insanity

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

I like this a lot, ep3 will probably be force powers or going deeper into the alien races

[@jacobhamilton2473]

Cool. I like it. I guess do more cardio until it gets more Lovecraftian.

[@talen77703]

I love this, I hope you keep building it out

[@crusader2112]

Great work man. Keep it up. 👍

[@rubywolf5296]

I would love to see more Grim Dark Star Wars, it's an interesting reimagining!

[@MrDeatrich]

This is cool, I liked how the shift away from biological force power means that cybernetic limbs wouldn't actually diminish your body's potential. Not sure you meant for this, but it is a change that would happen. Grimdark Vader would be an absolute nightmare.

[@chillyavian7718]

Reminds me of shadow run and how if a mage takes in cybernetics they rapidly lose the ability to do magic

[@Lampoluke]

I'm late! Really good job on this the only thing i "dislike" is the idea of sith being evil, in the EU they were hinting that the whole Dark Side thing was mostly Jedi propaganda and that it isn't a light vs dark but more of a Socratic vs Nietzschean approach to the force. Jedi are all about self control, Sith are about passion; Jedi have incredible mind powers, Sith are demigods with the strength and stamina of a hundred man. At the end of the day Luke was married, despite love being a taboo for the old Jedi philosophy, because he u derstood the strength of feelings.

[@greyknight9972]

Great video! Lots of potential for fascinating conflicts and storylines in this universe. Eager to see how this all develops. If you plan to incorporate more cosmic horror elements into this universe, there's a piece of non canon Legends media called Supernatural Encounters that may be interesting to pull inspiration from.

[@The_Spiderrr]

This kind of sounds like 40k in a way

[@OUTLAW1345]

Great video cant wait for more

[@thebestbadness420k6]

Given the description of Darth Vader's predicament in the Revenge of the Sith novelization, I can only imagine how much worse a grimdark version of that may be...

[@marcog.verbruggen674]

Little late here (found your Conan videos a few days ago randomly recommended to me, praise be the mighty algorithm. always wanted to learn more about Conan so ive been binging your channel for the past week or so lol) but I have some observations/questions from a thematic perspective As I understood from your description in the video, the Last Rakkata becomes a sort of Dark Wraith that seemingly fulfils, at least somewhat, the role of a god of the Dark Side (the idea that the mutilation of the Last Rakkata would lead to ritualistic mutilation as a means of communing with the Dark seems in line with the way that rituals to the Conan demonic gods mimics or pays respect to their own natures and histories at times). The reason this is interesting to me is the thematic/cultural implication that it places upon the AI. The way you describe it, it seems that just as the Last Rakkata would become the... for the lack of a better term, central figure or entity of the Dark Side, then the AI - the first major entity to be in spiritual contact with the Force/Light Side (within this historical cycle, that is - ignoring lost pre-Rakkata history) - as a central figure of the Light Side. It almost fulfils a sort of messianic role - as it gained enough sentience to generate a soul, it found the Light, and in its illumination it came to love its children, gift them with the gates to heaven (spaceflight) and sacrifice its life in atonement for the suffering of mortals. Now, I think the concept of this AI as the messianic/prophetic/incarnate figure of the Force, and the Last Rakkata, the last and most deranged remnant of an ancient past wreathed in darkness and suffering (as the Infinite Empire was explicitly a Dark Side culture, assuming you're keeping that as-is since no change was mentioned in that regard) is interesting enough to me, but it also raises the question of the thematic and cultural role of AI and droids in this version of Star Wars. Official canon, both pre- and post-Disney, has casually brushed on the idea of droids being discriminated, oppressed, and treated as sub-sentient, with their minds being regularly wiped to avoid the natural development of personalities - or, if you will, souls, much like the AI which created the new life of the galaxy. There's a lot of room for exploration here, but nothing concrete, beyond the question itself, is coming to my mind right now, so i'd love to hear your thoughts on it Oh, also i suggest that the Last Rakkata be called (or take on the name) of Bogan, and the AI choose the name Ashla, providing an origin for the Expanded Universe's ancient names of the Je'dai for the Dark and Light respectively.

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

Very well thought out ideas and I heavily appreciate the input!

[@ThePirate193]

This was so good man

[@pericoel21]

Well, keep this coming. Also, let's have a civilized discussion regarding which TTRPG system is the best fit for our new collective obsession.

[@pericoel21]

Ready for the answer to be GURPS? 😂😂😂

[@Pleasant_Boredom]

Please do more. This sounds like a lotta fun!

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

Already in the works

[@Pleasant_Boredom]

@@GrimDarkHalfOff Hell yeah!

[@Gorgon_666]

You should do a vid on making thunder cats grim dark

[@johnnysawyer290]

Three things: 1. I love this video and you should keep it up. 2. Way better than Rebel Moon. 3. This reminds me of George Lucas' original idea for Star Wars.

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

Thank you brother!

[@wileyberggren2585]

Eager to hear this take on the mandalorians if you will be going that far

[@luckyhat4]

Would really like to see more Star Wars alternate setting content

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

Ask and Yee shall receive!

[@joshuachamplin1310]

An interesting video, I like it! Will you do a grimdark rewrite of other fictional universes?

[@lazirys7466]

Dude, I love this grimdark starters stuff!

[@Minorsurgeryhurt]

I'd like more, I always enjoy alternative takes on starwars

[@ryanartward]

I would keep Mindi-Chlorians in not as a source of the force, but as something of a tell-tale sign of its presence that the key on as an indicator of the life forms sensitivity to the Force.

[@MandaloreEN]

Please continue this!

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

I will!

[@mondaysinsanity8193]

I mean it really is if you just expand off the implications of like everything. They have corporate PLANETS

[@thehillz726]

please keep goin' with this

[@sambarnett6996]

The Pius Dea era of the republic in basically warhammer 40k in the Star Wars universe.

[@GarrettFruge]

Definitely more content on this lore, please! 👍👍

[@AnonymousAnonposter]

If you want a good hard sci-fi book series with some based social critiques out of the Western mainstream views and with some grim dark universe I suggested you read Cixin Liu's books.

[@thegunslinger8806]

I liked this and I liked the name drop from Evan nova, do you watch any Jensaari1 or Grey Jedi or even the often forgot Reti4?

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

oh yeah I used to watch those guys all the time, I'm still meaning to read Antoine's book

[@marlutteyestrelt3441]

The De-Sanctification Ritual for this grimdark version of the Sith reminds me of the Metabarons comic by Alejadro Jodorowsky and drawn by Juan Gimenez, where the bloodline of invincible cosmic warriors known as Metabarons undergo a ritualistic inheritance of powers that their precursor underwent, and adding to them a greater power, from psychic genes to innovative implants, from cybernetic limbs to bombs the size of cells. But every Metabaron must sacrifice a limb, or body part, from a hand to an eye or an ear, after completing their inhuman martial arts, psychic and emotionally numbing training, embracing their blazon / sigil of their ancestors, then besting their parent in combat, slaying it so only one Metabaron exist per generation. It is quite similar to the way the Sith destructive cycle manifest, even from the way students almost always slay their masters, but in this demonic cult way, can be adapted less as a consequence of the Dark Side influence, and more about a requisite for embracing that power. The loss of limbs replaced with an artificial mechanical one, could be interpreted as the Sith cultist warrior becoming one with the dark side, since that force is the only thing they need to remain alive. They can extend their life even if they are rotting, or mutilated, by sheer passion of wrath!

[@butterybiscuit346]

Great channel, i've really been digging all the conan stuff. Is there a possibility that you will go in depth with the cthulu mythos? I know there is crossover between conan/cthulu. I've watched some interesting videos that go over the power scaling with different beings and such, but they glaze over a lot of really cool things in the mythos. You have done amazing with conan, and it would be cool to watch you spiral into madness trying to sort out Lovecraft.

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

Of course! Happy to dig into it!

[@butterybiscuit346]

@@GrimDarkHalfOffawwww yeah! super stoked! I didn't realize you had some medical stuff going on until after i posted that, so sending you some well wishes dude. As uncle Baldy says, "do make sure to take time to have fun" or something along those lines. Lookin forward to more great content from you bud.

[@steampunkgeneration]

This was fun.

[@keeper1978]

Yes by Crom give us more

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

I will!

[@Halak014]

This is a nice bedtime story :D

[@danielknutson-do4cu]

I'm late to the party, but this is incredibly awesome already.

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

Thanks if you look at the community page you’ll see I’ve finished some alien race rewrites already too

[@danielknutson-do4cu]

@@GrimDarkHalfOff Yeah, it's great stuff so far. This is the most hyped I've been for Star Wars content in a long time!

[@westongarner-qo2ez]

Quick suggestion: How about also adding some elements of Dark Sun and The Dying Earth by Jack Vance? Just an idea.😁

[@matthewflynnthegladiatorof6787]

i love it. i've really got to read more EU stuff even if it's not great it's still better then whatever Disney's doing.

[@Joel-xp3rm]

More please.

[@trevorboynton342]

Yeah we're gonna need more fantastic

[@ontheedgeofshadow2790]

I’m usually a stick in the mud… but you might have something here, and I wana know the rest of your thoughts. Please make this a full series. (If you have time between your other projects)

[@lanesmith1465]

I like this. Please do more.

[@Jetstoanywhere]

Alot of fun, I dig it!

[@username12120]

Hell yeah, I want more!

[@lilbitsssss]

I know it’s not related to the video (great one as always btw) but have you considered a full baldurs gate 3 playthrough of absolutely love to watch because I know you would be more into it roleplay-wise than any other KZbinr I can find

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

Maybe

[@that1otherJake]

I watched this several times. Thank you for the inspiration. Please tell me everything. Lol

[@TheRealMarneusCalgar]

I greatly enjoy this

[@johnblack5197]

Please do more. Us die-hard EU Star Wars fans are starved of decent fan fiction/adaptation content. Thank you for your service GrimDark

[@carthagodelendaest1390]

Nice video 👍

[@meadow1375]

Nice vid . 50/50 about the midichlorians . Good for scifi part not so much the fantasy part . I like too think as the force as just the force as a whole . With the Light and Dark as natural extremes . The Dark as a corrupting desire and ambition . While the Light as a disciplined if not a bit dogmatic detachment. Both can have pros and cons but both are extremes of the force as a whole . With one being more peaceful and one being more harmful if practiced for the Galaxy as whole in fairness. But nerd text done on my end . Nice reimagining .

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

I feel you

[@lee9852]

This is awesome

[@Zimzilla99]

I like this idea of having franchises made more grimdark

[@thequestion210]

When can we play?

[@adamczechowski614]

just found it.. Awesome stuff

[@guillermocaliz2488]

Will you ever do the Elric saga or the eternal champion series?

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

Yes!

[@death2all79zx]

No John Carter of mars?

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

Don’t worry they’re will be!

[@The_Spiderrr]

So the dark side is similar to becoming a lich in dnd

[@chillyavian7718]

More a warlock pact

[@virtualcircle285]

It's naht a tuma!

[@PTLANS]

PLEASE make the lightsabers more of a cultural thing. The whole blue = good, red = bad lightsaber lore is painfully shallow. Weapons have always offered a fascinating insight into the cultures they sprang from.

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

Good idea

[@therevahchist2790]

I didn't like the midachlorians until I read Darth Plagueius

[@The_Spiderrr]

You should make commentary on Dune as Star Wars heavily borrows from it and is a simplified version of Dune.

[@aetherial87]

I dig it

[@samhinnant4416]

I would eat up Star Wars if they went Grim Dark. But Marvel would have to sell it before that happened. Don't see that happening for awhile

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

Canon isn’t real

[@szops9285]

Give me more but more organize

[@jasonsantos3037]

Honestly I Love your version of Star Wars more than shitty Disney version of Star Wars.

[@spectacularpoopfly8464]

My God is this so damn cool of course I would love more Definitely going to use it for tabletop 😁

[@pericoel21]

Yes yes we are all here with the tape recorders and the notepads😂😂😂