After years of leaks, teases, and rumors, Respawn Entertainment finally revealed its secret Star Wars project to fans earlier this year. Led by God of War veteran Stig Asmussen, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order introduces players to former Jedi padawan Cal Kestis following his escape from Order 66 and attempting to carve out a new life as a rigger with the Scrapper Guild. Naturally, things don't work out quite as planned when an incident on his work place exposes Kestis as a Jedi, attracting the attention of the Empire.

As part of the major gameplay reveal at E3 of this year, it was revealed that Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order won't feature a major character like Darth Vader or Emperor Palpatine as the main antagonist working directly against the player. While players will face off against traditional Imperial Stormtroopers and the like, the major villains this time are being led by a relatively new and lesser known group called the Sith Inquisitors.

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These highly skilled and deadly enemies gained prominence within the Star Wars Rebels animated series and got a bit more backstory inside of some recent comics. For those who may not be too familiar with these enemies though, here is a bit more background on the group and the primary antagonist known as the Second Sister.

Origins

The Inquisitors are force-sensitive agents of the Imperial Empire created in the wake of the Jedi Purge from Order 66, a decree put forth by Emperor Palpatine that declared all Jedi to be an enemy of the Republic. The Clone Troopers used during this era were also secretly programmed to kill Jedi once this order was activated, resulting in the death of most surviving members of the order. However, many were able to escape this culling and went into hiding. Fearing the Jedi threat to his rule, Palpatine formed the Inquisitors with the sole purpose of tracking and killing any surviving Jedi. Darth Vader, formerly Anakin Skywalker, was put in charge of the group and began training them in the ways of the dark side of the force to reprogram them from their more defensive Jedi training.

Many, if not all, Inquisitors were former Jedi who had left the order or turned to the Dark Side. After joining the group, they received a new title denoting their rank as well as either brother or sister for their gender. For example, one of the higher ranking male inquisitors would have the name Second Brother.

The Inquisitors also used a unique weapon in battle, essentially looking a lot like a modified double bladed lightsaber. However, the middle of the blade was circular and allowed the blades to spin around 360 degrees. Oddly enough, the spinning blades created enough force from the propeller-like spinning motion that enabled the user to fly short distances.

The Grand Inquisitor

Season one of Star Wars Rebels introduced viewers to a character known as The Grand Inquisitor. He was the highest ranking Inquisitor and directly reported to Darth Vader. Always a menacing presence, he wouldn't make it beyond season one due to his failure to eliminate rogue Jedi Kanan Jarrus and his new apprentice Erza Bridger. Rather than confronting Vader and enduring his wrath, The Grand Inquisitor opted to take his own life instead.

It wouldn't be until the fourth season of the show that more was revealed about this mysterious character. A Pau'an male, The Grand Inquisitor was once a Jedi Knight and respected Temple Guard. It's unknown how he was educed or recruited to the Dark Side, though his access to the Jedi Archives helped him understand his opponents and how they thought.

star wars jedi fallen order saber battle

Second Sister

Inside of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, players will be hunted by the Second Sister, a masked and high ranking Sith Inquisitor that has been tasked with hunting down and killing any Jedi that survived Order 66. She was known for being cruel, ambitious, and her ability to predict what her opponent was going to do.

While her identity isn't known, she was once a member of the Jedi Order. As such, many Star Wars fans believe the Second Sister to be the fallen Jedi Knight Barriss Offee. Once a loyal member of the order, Offee soon became disillusioned with the group as the Clone Wars raged on becoming convinced that they had instigated the Clone Wars would lead the Republic to ruin. Looking to stop them at any cost, she bombed the Jedi Temple and framed padawan Ashoka Tano for the crime. Ultimately, the truth was revealed and Offee was arrested and excommunicated, though her ultimate fate has never been revealed.

It's this unknown fact mixed with the Second Sister's fervent hatred towards the Jedi as the reason most fans have made the connection between both characters. Lending a little more credence to this theory is the fact that writer Chris Avellone confirmed that Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is influenced by The Clone Wars and Rebels animated series. Either way, the Second Sister remains a massive threat for Cal Kestis due to the fact that she is a trained Sith assassin and he was ultimately never able to finish his Jedi training.

Purge Troopers

Players won't just have the Second Sister to deal with during the Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order campaign. Among the various Imperial troops at the Empire's disposal are a special and elite unit known as Purge Troopers. These troopers are the last generation of clones that were created at the facility on Kamino, activated once Order 66 was put in place. They assisted the Inquisitors, acting as death squads hunting down Jedi and other force sensitives who represented a potential threat to the Empire's rule.

star wars jedi fallen order combat system

According to lore, each trooper had no hair and a red line running down the right side of their face. They typically carry a blast pistol as well as an electrostaff, designed specifically to block attacks from a person using a lightsaber. Players have already gotten a brief look at these unique troops in the brief trailer footage of Cal infiltrating a facility on the Wookie homeworld of Kashyyyk.

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order releases on November 15, 2019 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

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Source: Starwars.com; Wookiepedia