DISCUSS! - DJB Canon Characters Episode 2

So, me and Anubis were talking on IRC today about the qualities of the DB characters. Generally, we all assume that characters like Grand Masters are essentially just one step away from godhood, and DP’s and DJMs are basically demi-gods. Anyways, this brought us into debate… where would characters from the extended universe, and movies fit into the Dark Brotherhood’s rank structure, assuming they were so evilly inclined, etc etc etc. The possibilities are legion, so I figured I’d start getting people out to the forums, by starting this little debate.

Topics like this have been one of the core arguments in geeky and nerdy circles since the beginning of time, and yes Luke Skywalker would kick Kirk’s ass, I don’t care what you say. Basically, after this little opening spiel, I’m going to open the floor to people’s opinions, and hopefully we’ll get some activity on the forums, and more people coming here more often.

Outsiders are welcome to post if you find the idea interesting. Everyone, Taldryan and otherwise, try to keep the flaming to a minimum, and have fun with your geekyness. I’m going to say, you can debate rank, order, whatever. Just have fun with it.

So, Next on the block: Emperor Palpatine. What rank and order would old Palpsy be?

He's Grand Master rank, for sure, with Krath as a base Order, IMO. Reasons:

1) He has the knowledge of the Sith and Krath in terms of his powers as well as the pure combat prowess of the Obelisk. Given the fact that he put together the Dark Side Compendium (which outlines the abilities of all three Orders, by our definitions), he clearly has mastery over all these disciplines.
2) He easily takes down three Jedi Masters in moments and fights Mace Windu with ease - not a feat a non-Elder can ever achieve. He also fights his equivalent number in Yoda and beats him (arguably, Yoda gave up, but we won't go into that). He's also mastered a number of Forms - Juyo and Trakata are prime examples but it's basically said he's mastered every Form.
3) His achievements in the EU are legendary. The creation of the Chrysalide Rancors, the planet-annihilating Force Storm, the total manipulation of the entire Galaxy to his will, transferring his will to clone bodies whenever he died, his mastery of Sith Alchemy. All of these point to Krath leanings, given the fact that his powers over the arts we associate with Krath (despite their name of Sith) are so ungodly overpowered it's not funny.

You might say that 'hey, Vader beat him', but that was an unexpected betrayal and that, I think, can't always be foreseen.

Palps is kind of freaking overpowered? Yeah. People complain about Luke, but Luke never really fought Palps at his prime.

Actually, I completely agree with Mirus. It would be nice to say that Palps is a Sith, but his art has always been more Krathy in deceptions, etc.

Also, there used to be a rule that "the longer you are a GM, the more powerful you are". Since he's been this powerful forever, he would not only be a GM, he would be a more-badasser-than-jac GM.

Jac

My own two cents...

I'd have to say he was a Krath, especially as the DB defines Krath/Sith/Obelisk. He had power out the wazoo, which is undeniable, he basically acted as a borg computer for the entire fleet at Endor, while focusing most of his power on screwing Luke up. So he was pulling off a pretty huge battle meditation, while flinging force lightning and taunts around, which is amazing. It also goes to show why he could have been taken so unawares by Vader's betrayal, he had his hands full, and probably had stopped truly worrying about Vader as a threat years before.

So yea, basically I'd say he's a Grand Master ability, with a strong Krath focus, but definitely some Sith disciplines in there as well. He may have been all super lightsaber combat in the earlier years, but by the time of the original trilogy, I'd say he'd basically moved away from / his body got too old for martial prowess, and had evolved from a balance of the three orders, to one of almost pure Krathdom.