The Galaxy¶
The galaxy in Rebellion is not a battlefield with fixed front lines. It is a political and military space of 200 star systems distributed across 20 sectors—most of them contested, many of them neutral, and all of them potentially vital.
Star Systems & Sectors¶
The 200 systems are grouped into sectors, each containing roughly ten worlds. Sectors range from the dense, resource-rich Core to the scattered Outer Rim. Core systems tend to have better manufacturing infrastructure and higher populations. Rim systems are often poorer but may be critical as staging grounds or hiding places.
Every system has:
- A controlling faction (or none—neutral systems exist throughout the galaxy)
- Popularity values for both the Alliance and the Empire
- Manufacturing capacity (varies by infrastructure)
- A position in galactic coordinate space that determines travel times and sensor range
Who Controls What¶
Control is not binary. A system passes through several states:
| State | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled | Neutral—no faction governs it |
| Controlled | One faction holds it firmly |
| Contested | Opposing forces are present; battle may be imminent |
| Uprising | The population has revolted against the current controller |
You can hold a system militarily—with ships and troops—or win it diplomatically by raising your popularity until the population effectively shifts allegiance. Either path works; the best players use both.
Popularity & Diplomacy¶
Every system tracks two independent popularity scores: one for the Alliance, one for the Empire. They don't have to sum to 100—a world can be hostile to both factions or genuinely ambivalent. What matters is the gap between them.
Diplomacy missions send characters to work a population. A successful mission shifts popularity toward your faction (+10% own side, -5% enemy side per success). Characters with high diplomacy skill are more effective. Keep your best diplomats busy on important neutral worlds rather than sitting idle.
When your popularity is high enough and clearly ahead of the opponent's, the system quietly shifts to your control without a shot fired. Winning hearts is slower than conquest but leaves the infrastructure intact and requires no garrison.
Uprisings¶
Push a population far enough and they will revolt. When loyalty drops below a critical threshold, an uprising incident fires as a warning—the equivalent of civil unrest before a full revolt. Ignore it, and within a turn or two a full uprising can flip the system's control entirely, even if you have troops there.
The Alliance is much better at inciting uprisings in enemy space than the Empire. If you are playing the Alliance, this is one of your most powerful tools: send an operative into a heavily garrisoned Imperial system, stir up the population, and watch the Empire scramble to respond with troops it cannot spare.
Fog of War¶
You cannot see the entire galaxy. Systems outside your detection range appear dim—you know they exist, but not what ships are docked, who controls them, or how much manufacturing capacity they hold.
How Visibility Works¶
Three things reveal systems:
- Fleet presence—any system where you have a fleet stationed is fully visible.
- Sensor radius—capital ships with high detection ratings reveal all systems within a radius around them. Your most sensor-capable ships act as scouts even while anchored.
- Advance intel—when a fleet in transit passes the halfway point toward its destination, that destination is automatically revealed. You learn what is there before you arrive.
Visibility is permanent once gained—there is no regression. Once a system is revealed, it stays on your map. But revealed does not mean current: the fleet you spotted there six weeks ago may have moved on.
What the Enemy Can't See¶
The fog of war cuts both ways. The Alliance's greatest defensive asset is the Empire's inability to see where the Rebel base is. Keep your HQ system off the enemy's radar by avoiding fleet traffic that passes through it, and move it if you suspect the Empire has spies or scouts closing in.
The Empire, for its part, should invest in sensor-capable capital ships early. The more of the galaxy you can see, the better your chances of locating the Rebel base before its fleet grows large enough to threaten Coruscant.
Blockades¶
A fleet in orbit of an enemy system, unopposed, constitutes a blockade. Blockaded systems:
- Cannot manufacture anything—production queues freeze entirely
- Still generate uprisings if the population is already unhappy
- Can still be accessed by characters on covert missions (blockades don't stop espionage)
Breaking a blockade requires sending a fleet strong enough to defeat the blockading force in space combat. Maintaining a blockade requires keeping ships on station—expensive if the enemy contests it repeatedly.
Reading the Map¶
The galaxy map is your strategic picture. At a glance you want to know:
- Where your fleets are and where the enemy's are
- Which of your manufacturing systems are exposed to attack
- Where the fog is thickest—that's where surprises come from
- Which neutral systems are worth converting next
The map does not tell you the whole story. The galaxy has depth that only active scouting and intelligence missions can reveal.
Next: Victory & Defeat—the three ways a game ends, the Death Star, and how most campaigns actually conclude.