Comprehensive analysis of Vitiate's power and addressing misconceptions about him

In this thread, I have comprehensively analyzed Vitiate's power by uncovering and analyzing as much factual information about his capabilities as possible for me at the moment and also addressed some misconceptions concerning his capabilities and feats.

This is no ordinary analysis. If anybody needs to learn facts about Vitiate, just consult this thread to get answers.

Command of the Force is determined by proficiency in following aspects of Force manipulation:-

1. Control
2. Sense
3. Alter

"As Jedi initiates, you will learn and hone many abilities that draw upon the Force. These abilities follow three themes: Control, Sense and Alter. Control is centered on one's own body and is the focus of training for initiates. If you cannot remain in control of yourself, you will never be able to extend the Force and command your surrounding environment. Sense and Alter abilities will be the focus of your training later, when you are more skilled. (Jedi Seer Sabla-Mandibu)

From Star Wars: The Old Republic: Codex Entry (The Emperor's Fallen Jedi (Knight)

The Sith Emperor has mastered the dark side's power to become the most dominating Force-user the galaxy has ever seen.

Control:

"Control is internal. It is the Jedi's ability to recognize the Force in himself and to use it to his benefit." (Jedi Master Bodo Baas)

1. Tutaminis

"Tutaminis, or energy absorption, is the ability to channel or diffuse potentially harmful radiation by using the benevolent energy of the Force. It can be as simple as shielding the skin from excessive sunlight or as advanced as deflecting a blaster bolt with outstretched palm - something that even I have not mastered." (Jedi Seer Sabla-Mandibu)

Every Jedi (& Sith) is taught to protect himself/herself from various external threats. This is the art of Tutaminis.

Vitiate did not received any formal training but was proficient in the matters of defending himself from external threats:

From Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan

Revan's body was engulfed in agony as the electricity coursed through his body. His skin began to boil and blister, the flesh of his face melting and sticking to the superheated metal of his mask as the Emperor poured more and more power into him.
Through the haze of indescribable pain, he saw T3-M4 rushing in to help him. The droid let loose with his flamethrower, bathing the Emperor in fire. At the last instant the Emperor cocooned himself in the Force to save himself from being incinerated, breaking his focus on Revan.

In addition, Vitiate's ability to significantly slow down or prevent the decay of his original body (see below) is further indicative of his impressive grasp of matters of Tutanimis.

2. Ritual for accomplishment of prolonged life, decay prevention and power progression:

From Star Wars: The Old Republic: Encyclopedia

The ritual lasted ten days. Lord Vitiate orchestrated the sorcery and the planet Mediraas was consumed by the largest dark side nexus the galaxy would ever see. When the ritual ended, Lord Vitiate emerged as the only survivor. The pain, energy, and suffering of every living entity on the planet fueled his power and would prolong his life for centuries. The lifeless planet of Mediraas became a void in the Force and was erased from history. From that moment forward, the world would forever be known as Nathema, birthplace of the one and only Sith Emperor.

This is arguably the most complex ritual ever performed by dark side practitioners in the mythos. In this ritual, Vitiate not just tested the limits of his Alter abilities but also his Control abilities.

Q: Tested the limits of his Control abilities?

Check these revelations:

From Star Wars: The Essential Reader's Companion

The Emperor is one thousand years old. In a dark side ritual, he drained the life of his home planet, Nathema, to achieve immortality. The world is now a lifeless husk, devoid of the Force. Scourge comes to understand that such power is madness, and the Emperor has lost all reason.

From Star Wars: The Old Republic: Encyclopedia

Lord Vitiate takes command of the Sith Empire, now in shambles following the Great Hyperspace War. He executes the Sith Council and consumes the life force of thousands of Sith Lords in a terrifying ritual that extends his life and vastly increases his capacity as a practitioner of the Force.

From Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan

Meetra was no expert on dark side sorcery, but it was safe to assume Vitiate not only survived the ritual, but emerged more powerful than ever. And with the destruction of everyone on Nathema—including his research team—he alone would have known the location of Dromund Kaas.

The plan was both horrifying and brilliant. In addition to becoming more powerful than Meetra could imagine, Vitiate could blame the extinction of his homeworld on the Jedi, further panicking the remaining Sith worlds. Then he could have offered them a glimmer of hope, promising to lead all those who swore loyalty to him to a place where the Jedi would never find them.

From Star Wars: The Old Republic: Encylopedia

"Once they arrived on Nathema, they quickly fell under Lord Vitiate's control. He dominated their minds, crushed their resistance. He turned them into slaves to his will, forcing them to participate in the most complex ritual of Sith sorcery ever attempted. Calling on the dark side, Lord Vitiate devoured them. He fed on their power, absorbing it into himself, utterly obliterating all traces of his victims.

But the ritual was not confined to the doomed Sith Lords. They were but the eye of the storm; the center of a vortex that spread across the entire planet. Every man, woman, and child on Nathema died that day. Every beast, bird, and fish; all the insects and plants; every living being touched by the Force was consumed. When the ritual ended, Nathema was no longer a world. It was a husk sucked dry. Lord Vitiate sacrificed millions, stealing their life force to make himself immortal. Their deaths also made him stronger than any Sith who had come before, and he ceased to be known as Lord Vitiate. On that day, the Emperor was truly born." (Darth Nyriss's account)

From Star Wars: The Old Republic: Encyclopedia

The Sith Emperor, history's most powerful dark side master, performed a ritual of incredible scope to consume the life energy of every being on his homeworld.

It is absolutely clear from the aforementioned revelations that Vitiate performed this ritual to create a reservoir of energy for himself which he utilized to extend his life (transformed himself in to an immortal being) and also became more powerful then ever before. This ritual latest 10 days and Vitiate controlled every aspect of it (demonstrating incredible command of Control), using it to modify/improve his personal capabilities and attributes; none of the other participating Sith Lords demonstrated matching level of Control during this ritual and they ended up dead/vaporized at the time of its conclusion.

Q: Decay prevention?

From Star Wars: The Old Republic: Encyclopedia

The Emperor created his first Voice after the legendary Jedi names Revan attempted to assassinate him on Dromund Kaas. Though Revan's plot failed, he approached within striking distance of the Emperor. To guard against further vulnerability, the Emperor created the Voice to deliver his orders while distancing himself from the forces that conspired against him. Centuries later, this very safeguard would save the Emperor once more.

Revan attempted to assassinate Vitiate twice; once in 3960 BBY and once in 3950 BBY respectively. Vitiate was born in 5113 BBY and ascended (became Sith Emperor) in 4999 BBY. Therefore, Vitiate was about 1163 years old by the time of Revan's second assassination attempt on him. This indicates that Vitiate had been using his "original body" throughout this span of existence. Now this would have not been possible unless Vitiate could prevent decay and destruction of his original body (NOTE: dark side practices take toll on physical bodies) and he actually did. This is another remarkable feat of Control exhibited by Vitiate (something that Palpatine never demonstrated).

3. Essence Transfer:

From Star Wars: The Old Republic: Encyclopedia

The Voice is the mouthpiece through which the Emperor delivers his orders. This possessed being sacrifices all consciousness to become a hollow vessel for the Emperor. Over the centuries, the Emperor has taken many Voices from young children to alien species. When the Voice speaks, it does so with the Emperor's cold, emotionless, and commanding tone. The Voice also wields the Emperor's incredible power and is capable of striking down anyone who displeases him. Those who converse with the Voice are overwhelmed with dread and unshakable obedience. To speak with the Voice is to speak with the Emperor himself.

To further increase his safeguard or chances of survival, Vitiate began to transfer his conscious from host to host, demonstrating remarkable power even in this form (matching Abeloth in this aspect). It shall be kept in mind that the act of essence transfer was a very risky task since the invasive conscious could be resisted by a self-aware individual (if strong enough to do so), resulting in failure of the essence transfer attempt and vanquishing of the essence itself. However, Vitiate was very powerful even in this form since he was able to possess many self-aware hosts and even influence external environment such as he damaged the Dark Temple (a gigantic structure which was extraordinarily durable as well) in an attempt to kill HoT and his allies during the phase of one of his essence transfer attempts.

If you succeed in turning this into a fourth Vitiate Versus Sidious thread, I will break you.

4. Force concealment:

From Star Wars: The Old Republic: Encyclopedia

The Jedi remained blind to the Emperor's children due to the presence of the First Son, the being who was first imprinted with the Emperor's power. While the First Son lived, the Emperor's secret army remained hidden and undetected beneath the Republic's nose. By the time of the Great War, hundreds of the Emperor's Children were embedded within the Republic. Devoted Jedi, loyal soldiers, and influential politicians all unknowingly served as the Emperor's spies and, when the Emperor willed I, acted to tear down the Republic they held so dear.

It is obvious from the aforementioned revelation that Vitiate had mastered the art of Force concealment himself since he granted this capability to his special minion known as the First Son. Vitiate, himself, did not needed to conceal his presence from his potential enemies because he predominantly resided in his Sith Empire but he wanted to conceal the presence of his minions/agents (Children) whom he planted within the organizations such as the Jedi Order and the Republic, so he granted such power to First Son, a being who would monitor his Children.

It shall be kept in mind that the Children are not dark side practitioners themselves. They are "alternate personas" of the otherwise self-aware individuals which can be triggered/activated within them by the will of Vitiate. During this triggering phase, Children can perform actions that are unknown to them and beyond their capabilities because this hidden power within them was planted in them by Vitiate himself and is representative of his personal abilities actually. Here is an explanation:

From Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan

By drawing on his incredible dark powers, the Emperor imprinted his consciousness onto unwitting pawns who would serve as vessels for carrying out his will. Through the eyes and ears of these "children," he would uncover threats in both the Empire and Republic while they were still nothing but whispers. And should the need arise, the Emperor could seize control of his children and instruct them to crush any plot that dared defy his will.

5. Force speed

Every trained Force-user can use the Force to augment his physical capabilities such as the ability to react and move. Vitiate have fought many opponents during his span of existence and he was able to react to some of the greatest Jedi warriors/duelists of the mythos without issue.

From Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan

EVEN AS SHE CALLED to Scourge to help, Meetra was already sprinting toward the far end of the throne room. Scourge hesitated before joining her, taking a moment to survey the situation, memories of his vision of their failure still fresh in his mind.

What he saw was not good. Revan was being electrocuted, his body spasming uncontrollably as the Emperor blasted him with dark purple lightning.

Revan's astromech launched a jet of flame at the Emperor, freeing Revan, who collapsed to the ground. In retaliation, the Emperor disintegrated the offending droid, strode over to where Revan lay, and picked the vanquished Jedi's lightsaber up off the floor.

It all happened in the space of only a few seconds.

It is apparent from the aforementioned revelation that Vitiate was an adept in the matters of Force speed as well. Within a span of few seconds, Vitiate managed to perform multiple actions:

- Electrocuted/severely injured Revan;
- Defended himself from flamethrower based attack;
- Disintegrated a droid;
- (&😉 Moved towards Revan's position and picked up his lightsaber.

In-fact, the entire duel between Revan and Vitiate didn't lasted long (it ended in a span of some seconds); both Revan and Vitiate actually had been swift in their actions and reactions during the course of this duel.

Conclusive remarks:

Vitiate was remarkably talented in the Control aspects of the Force. Vitiate could use the Force to augment his physical capabilities, defend himself from various external threats and went to extreme lengths to significantly extend his life, increase his power and personal safeguard.

Vitiate seemingly accomplished what Plagueis wanted to accomplish; extend his life, prevent or minimize decay of his body and make himself stronger with midichlorian manipulation/alteration. However, Vitiate went beyond the mechanics of midichlorian manipulation/alteration after becoming proficient in the matters of immortality.

Aptly put here:

From Star Wars: The Old Republic: Encyclopedia

Driven by his quest for immortality and fueled by energy sapped from his victims, the Emperor lived for centuries, amassing insurmountable power, rebuilding his exiled Empire, and plotting his ascension to ultimate rule.

Sense:

"…Sense involves the next step, in which the Jedi recognizes the force in the universe outside herself." (Jedi Master Bodo Baas)

"Sense is a natural broadening of the principles of Control. As you extend your reach beyond yourself to your environment, be prepared to gain a deeper cosmic awareness as the Living Force reveals itself to you." (Jedi Seer Sabla-Mandibu)

Their are certain powers which require combination of Control, Sense and Alter abilities to manifest (Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi Companion; Star Wars: Dark Empire: Sourcebook).

Following are some examples:-

1. Doppleganger

Vitiate created several dopplegangers (duplicates) of himself during his second confrontation with HoT and his allies.

According to Star Wars: Dark Empire: Sourcebook, following abilities are the prerequisites to create dopplegangers:

- Control pain
- Emptiness
- Life detection
- Life sense
- Magnify senses
- Receptive telepathy
- Sense Force
- Telekinesis
- Projective telepathy
- Control another's pain
- Transfer Force
- Affect mind
- Dim other's senses

This power requires considerable command of Control, Sense and Alter abilities:

Control: Very Difficult
Sense: Very Difficult
Alter: Heroic

2. Force Drain

Force Drain represents spectrum of powers which are used to steal life forces of targets. Vitiate was a master of these powers.

From Star Wars: The Old Republic: Encyclopedia

Through the Sith, the dark side expresses the true nature of life - strong, aggressive, and willing to survive at any cost. If a Sith can endure the physical price of drawing on its power, they deserve to be ascendant. Through their focus on these elements of the Force, the Sith have developed terrifying powers, such as the ability to drain a being of its life force, or unleash their hatred as crackling bolts of energy. The Sith Emperor, history's most powerful dark side master, performed a ritual of incredible scope to consume the life energy of every being on his homeworld.

From Star Wars: The Old Republic: Encyclopedia

Servants of the Hand share their Masters longevity, living untouched by age for centuries under his command. In return, the Emperor draws on his servants' strength in the Force and body to feed his ever-increasing power, leaving the servants withered and frail.

From Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan

REVAN COULD FEEL THE EMPEROR FEEDING ON HIM, drawing on his power to sate his endless hunger.

According to Star Wars: Dark Empire: Sourcebook, following abilities are the prerequisites for Force Drain talents:

- Control Pain
- Hibernation Trance
- Life detection
- Life sense
- Magnify senses
- Receptive telepathy
- Sense Force
- Telekinesis
- Far-seeing
- Projectile telepathy
- Control another's pain
- Transfer Force
- Affect mind
- Control mind
- Dim other's senses

This talent requires command of Control, Sense and Alter abilities:

Control: Very Difficult
Sense: Depends on number of targets
Alter: Depends (Easy against willing; Difficult against ambivalent; Heroic against opponents)

3. Telepathic abilities

According to Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi Companion, Force bonds or telepathic links require proficiency in both Control and Sense abilities.

Vitiate was an absolute master of telepathic abilities, he created bonds with many Force-users to further his agenda and manipulate them in ways like never seen before.

Vitiate created telepathic links with following:-

- 8000 Sith Lord who participated in his most ambitious ritual on Medriaas
- Imperial Guard (all)
- Children (all)
- Hand (all)
- Revan (forced)

Vitiate could bolster the capabilities and power of those individuals with whom he shared a bond of telepathic link as apparent from the examples of Children and Imperial Guard:

Children of the Emperor:

From Star Wars: The Old Republic: Encylopedia

The Hand alone could not reach as far as the Emperor desired. He thus created a new breed of servant. Infants of every species across the galaxy were secretly visited by the Hand and brought before the Emperor where he sunk his insidious barbs into their malleable minds. The children were then returned to their cradles, unaware of the hideous power that lay dormant inside. For the rest of their lives, these unwitting pawns would serve as the eyes and ears of the Emperor. And should he desire their action, the Emperor could reach out and control them to enact his will.

From Star Wars: The Old Republic: Codex Entry (Children of the Emperor)

Despite the Jedi Council's best efforts, only a little is known of the so-called Children of the Emperor. Infants of all species taken before the Sith Emperor, the children are infused with the Emperor's strength, sharing some measure of his thoughts and power for the rest of their lives. They become the Emperor's eyes and ears, and–should the Emperor focus his presence upon them–his puppets. It is believed that the children have some way to hide their dark presence from Jedi senses, meaning they can exist undetected within the Republic.

Imperial Guard:

From Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan

Revan landed on the ground and wheeled around to face the other man. He thrust out with the Force, the impact hitting the soldier square in the chest. Instead of sending him flying, it only staggered him back half a step—this close to the Emperor they were sworn to protect, the guards were able to draw on his power to protect themselves.

NOTE: Vitiate could share his personal power with his minions, increasing his reach in the process. Vitiate had accumulated so much power that he eventually began to share his power with large number of his minions as apparent from the aforementioned revelations.

In addition, Vitiate could even siphon energies of the individuals with whom he shared bonds, weakening them in the process. This is apparent from his actions against his Hands and Revan (See Force Drain section above).

Vitiate could telepathically communicate with any Force-user he wanted to from lightyear distances.

Notable feats:-

- Vitiate telepathically warned HoT that he cannot allow his plans to succeed prior to any confrontation with him.
- Vitiate telepathically taunted Exal Kressh in normal circumstances and also in her dreams.
- Vitiate telepathically reached out to a mighty Sith Warrior to help him in Voss.

Vitiate could also probe the minds of his targets as apparent from his actions against Revan:

From Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan

Yet the Emperor wanted more than to leach off his fallen adversary's power to sustain his own twisted existence. Revan could feel the enemy inside his head. He could sense the unmistakable darkness of the Emperor sifting through his thoughts and memories, seeking, probing, digging for answers.

NOTE: Vitiate didn't chose to probe the mind of Scourge but he could do so if he wanted to. More likely, this is a product of a poor storytelling.

Foresight

As apparent from the example of Force Drain, Vitiate did possess foresight abilities.

Here is additional proof:

From Star Wars: The Old Republic: Encyclopedia

Taking one last breath to help gather his thoughts, Revan launched into the tale. "About two years before he declared war on the Republic, Mandalore was approached by a man with skin the color of blood—a Sith."

"I thought the Jedi wiped the Sith out."

"So did the Jedi. The Sith species vanished after the Great Hyperspace War. One of their kind hasn't been seen in Republic space in over a thousand years. But this red-skinned being came to Mandalore. He claimed to be the emissary of a powerful Master—a descendant of the Sith Lord who had driven Dramath into exile—and convinced Mandalore to help him search for his enemy's tomb."

Revan was speaking slowly, the words coming out only as fast as the details came into focus. His recollections were still hazy and jumbled. The original time and place of each specific memory was unclear. Mandalore had told him some of this. Other details had come from the datacron in the tomb. Most of it he had learned much later, after he and Malak had journeyed into the Unknown Regions themselves.

It was impossible to sort it all out. Out of necessity, his damaged mind had collapsed his memories into one another, merging them into a semicoherent whole as he'd slept.

"Mandalore helped the Sith find Dramath's hidden crypt,"[/I] he continued. "The Sith took the remains to give to his Master, and in exchange he told Mandalore of a vision his Master had had of the Mandalorians rising up against the Republic. He told him they would conquer world after world, crushing their enemies until the Republic collapsed in on itself. He promised the Mandalorians a glorious victory, and Mandalore believed him."

"Mandalore the Ultimate wouldn't lead us into war against the Republic just because some stranger told him we'd win," Canderous protested.

"It's more complicated than that. The Sith used the power of the dark side to manipulate him. Only as Mandalore lay dying at my feet was the spell finally broken and he realized he'd been tricked. That was why he told me about this place. So I could come and see for myself."

Explanation:

Mandalore The Ultimate was visited by an agent of Vitiate (Vitiate is the Master) who informed the Mandalore about a vision of Vitiate about Mandalorian Wars and high probability of victory of the Mandalorians in this conflict.

Their were two Dramath(s) actually. Both were father and son as well. The father was killed by Vitiate and the son fled from Medriaas, fearing Vitiate's wrath.

This agent was tasked by Vitiate to find the remains of the son and convince the Mandalorians to attack the Republic.

Conclusive remarks:

Even though the existing lore does not expands much on the subject of Vitiate's proficiency in the aspects of Sense, he is proficient in these aspects nonetheless. It makes sense for him to be otherwise he would never have been able to manipulate his surroundings in extraordinary ways or unleash powers that require proficiency in Sense.

Now their is some confusion about this matter due to this statement of Revan:

"The Emperor used me as his link to the light side of the Force—the Jedi Order. Through me, he saw visions."

In addition, Vitiate took interest in prophetic abilities of Voss species (noted for high accuracy) and acquired a Voss host to learn about this species' capabilities.

These revelations actually indicate Vitiate's attempt to understand the light side of the Force and prophetic abilities of a gifted species to further hone his personal talents.

Keep in mind that the Force is always in motion, that visions represent possibilities of events in the future as apparent from these revelations from wise and powerful Jedi.

From Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan

Revan shook his head. "We can never be certain about anything. The future is always in motion, and a vision shows you only one of many possible outcomes."

"Then what purpose do visions serve?"

"They guide us," Revan explained. "They give us focus. They show us a goal to strive for, or something we can work to prevent."

"So the visions are not absolute?"

"As I said, the future is always in motion."

&

"Always in motion is the future." (Grand Master Yoda)

Vitiate decided to further hone his prophetic abilities and this is why he experimented with Voss and Revan.

Alter:

"Alter is the third and most difficult area to master, for it involves the student's ability to modify the Force and redistribute its energies." (Jedi Master Bodo Baas)

"As a youngling you learned Control; as a Padawan you studied Sense; and as a Knight your education in the Force will continue in the discipline of Alter. These abilities, which use the Force to physically impact the surrounding environment, are the most difficult to master. But without Alter you are like a mud limpet - perceiving your world but incapable of touching it. With Alter, you will grow arms and legs. Learn these skills, practice them daily and you will deepen your aptitude for Alter throughout your career."[/I] (Jedi Seer Sabla-Madibu)

1. Telekinesis

Vitiate demonstrated remarkable command of telekinetic applications without any formal training. He could perform telekinetic feats without even gestures:

From Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan

The father flew into a rage, attacking the boy's mother. Tenebrae stopped him, feeding on his father’s anger and hate to call upon the dark side. He snapped his father's neck with a mere thought, killing him instantly.

From Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan

The Sith Lord raised his lightsaber to deliver the coup de grâce. He brought his arm down, but it suddenly stopped as if an invisible and impossibly strong hand had seized his wrist. He glanced back at the Emperor in surprise.

"Put away your blade. You have passed the test," the Emperor said.

Vitiate could even "all but atomize" some opponents with his telekinetic abilities:

From Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan

A tremor rippled through the air as the Emperor unleashed the full power of the Force against the defenseless droid. T3 never stood a chance. The little droid exploded into a million pieces, internal circuits and external casing obliterated in a single instant.

NOTE: Vitiate's feat of disintegrating T3-M4 represents an advanced Force technique known as Combustion:

From The Jedi Path: A Manual for students of the Force

Combustion or flamesfracta, is a severe culmination of the art of telekinesis by which a Jedi causes an object to explode. The intensity of the blast can injure and entire room of enemies, particularly if the object is made of flammable material.

Vitiate could overwhelm other masters of telekinetic abilities with his telekinetic prowess with barely an effort:

From Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan

AS MEETRA AND SCOURGE BATTLED the Guard, Revan charged toward the Emperor. His opponent stood perfectly still, focusing and channeling his power. At the last possible instant, the Emperor unleashed a wave of energy that swept Revan off his feet and sent him flying backward

Vitiate possessed enormous raw power, enough to collapse gigantic buildings (if he wanted to); some of his followers (Dark Council members) were able to collapse buildings, but Vitiate was more powerful then any of them.

2. Alter environment capabilities & currently known powers

Vitiate was a master of unleashing the Force in the form of potent energies in offensive ways such as crackling bolts with hatred, drain a target of its life force, unleash concentrated blasts of energies to break a target, sever the connection of a target with the Force itself and even go as far as to alter the environments of planets with storms of energies.

Force lightning:

Vitiate could unleash exceptionally lethal crackling bolts of energy with his hatred, enough to utterly destroy powerful Force-users in a span of some seconds:

From Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan

A dozen bolts of purple lightning arced from the Emperor toward him. Revan tried to draw them in and contain them, but the Emperor was infinitely more powerful than Darth Nyriss had ever been.

Revan's body was engulfed in agony as the electricity coursed through his body. His skin began to boil and blister, the flesh of his face melting and sticking to the superheated metal of his mask as the Emperor poured more and more power into him.

Through the haze of indescribable pain, he saw T3-M4 rushing in to help him. The droid let loose with his flamethrower, bathing the Emperor in fire. At the last instant the Emperor cocooned himself in the Force to save himself from being incinerated, breaking his focus on Revan.

The Jedi collapsed to the ground, burned but still alive, the hilt of his extinguished lightsaber lying on the floor less than a meter beyond his grasp.

Revan survived this attack because T3-M4 saved him with quick action by interrupting Vitiate. As noted earlier in the Control section, Revan got severely wounded in an extremely short period of time by the storm of lightning unleashed by Vitiate. If T3-M4 had not interfered, Revan would have died or worse.

Now keep in mind that Revan was an absolute master of Tutaminis (defensive aspects of the Force) and he still stood no chance against the might of Vitiate. Earlier, Revan had comfortably handled another Sith Lord with amazing grasp of Sith lightning but Vitiate is seemingly on a whole new level in these matters in comparison to any Force-user in the mythos.

While Vitiate could be extremely lethal with his crackling bolts, he could also be very much in control of this powers: he unleashed a storm of crackling bolts on a Jedi Strike Team led by Tol Braga with which he disarmed the entire team but did not burn the Jedi to ash or utterly destroy them (Star Wars: The Old Republic: Game). Vitiate instead decided to use these Jedi as his pawns.

Vitiate possessed such a command of crackling bolts that he could summon storms of lighting on planetary scale like he did on Dromund Kaas; he is rumored to have (single-handedly) performed rituals to permanently alter the environmental conditions of Dromund Kaas, transforming it in to place strong in the dark side on the whole.

From Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan

It was rumored that the perpetual storms of Dromund Kaas were the result of the Emperor performing one of these rituals.

Force Drain:

Vitiate was a master of Force Drain and associated talents, capable of draining enormous number of individuals simultaneously.

Vitiate created a "gigantic reservoir of energy" for himself from the ritual he orchestrated on Medriaas, leaving this planet a void in the universe. Vitiate consumed this reservoir of energy with his dark sorcery (Force Drain involved), making himself more powerful then he ever had been, prolong his life for centuries, prevent decay of his original body and even share his immense power with other Force-users (minions) on galactic scale to increase his reach accordingly.

Reminder:

From Star Wars: The Old Republic: Encyclopedia

The pain, energy, and suffering of every living entity on the planet fueled his power and would prolong his life for centuries.

After this power progression, Vitiate was capable of pulling off Nathema like dark sorcery "without external aid" because his capacity as a practitioner of the Force had vastly increased in the aftermath:

From Star Wars: The Old Republic: Encyclopedia

Lord Vitiate takes command of the Sith Empire, now in shambles following the Great Hyperspace War. He executes the Sith Council and consumes the life force of thousands of Sith Lords in a terrifying ritual that extends his life and vastly increases his capacity as a practitioner of the Force.

Revan figured out this fact as well:

From Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan

"Nathema was just the beginning," Scourge agreed. "He will destroy world after world, his power and madness growing in concert until he alone is left, Emperor over an empty and lifeless galaxy."

Meetra stared at the two in horror.

"You've been to Nathema," Scourge said. "You felt the Void. You know what the Emperor is capable of."

"She understands," Revan said, reading her expression more accurately than Scourge. "That's not it."

"He's quarantined Dromund Kaas," Meetra said, trying to lead them to the same conclusion. "What if he’s preparing to do the same thing here that he did on Nathema?”

Scourge hadn't considered that possibility, and it chilled him to his core.

"Is that possible?" he asked. "Nyriss told me the ritual on Nathema took days, if not weeks. And the Emperor had to trick hundreds of other powerful Sith into working with him so he could draw on their power."

"He's stronger now," Revan said. "But even if it's possible, I don't think he'll go that far. At least not yet. He is too patient, too careful. Dromund Kaas is the heart of his Empire and the seat of his power. He has too many valuable resources here to throw it all away. But once he is ready, there will be nothing left to stop him from launching his invasion of the Republic."

NOTE: For additional information, please recheck the Sense section.

Force blasts:

Vitiate could reshape his crackling bolts or offensive telepathic applications in to concentrated blasts of energies which he could unleash on his opponents to overwhelm them. Vitiate unleashed this power on a Jedi Strike Team of some of the most powerful Jedi of the Order to break it, twisting them all to the dark side.

Telepathic abilities:

Vitiate possessed unprecedented command of telepathic abilities, utilizing such powers for offensive purposes as well. In other words, Vitiate's telepathic abilities encompassed all aspects of the Force: Control, Sense and Alter.

Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi Companion confirms that powers such as Control Mind require combination of Contol, Sense and Alter abilities to work.

Vitiate could affect and control minds of his targets to persuade them to do his bidding against their will (reducing them to puppets), inflict pain on them, disorient them by dampening their senses, probe them and even destroy their minds. Vitiate demonstrated the power to break even powerful Force-users, an impossible task for most Force-users.

Vitiate have gone as far as to break multiple powerful Force-users simultaneously. To give you an idea of how difficult is this task: it took combined might of Mace Windu, Obi-Wan and Anakin Skywalker to compel a normal but strong-willed individual (Cad Bane) to reveal the truth to them during an interrogation process. In contrast, Vitiate's telepathic abilities are on a level which is difficult to comprehend; he would single-handedly broken the aforementioned Jedi instead and not just Cad Bane.

From Star Wars: The Old Republic: Encyclopedia

Over 300 years ago, the great Jedi heroes Revan and Malak stumbled upon long-hidden Sith Empire's capital of Dromund Kaas, and its ruler - a mysterious, almost godlike avatar of the dark side. They argued briefly over whether to alert the Republic and Jedi Council, but Revan was already too consumed by arrogance and anger to consider the possibility of defeat. By the time Revan and Malak approached the Emperor in his throne room, they were already at the precipice of the dark side. It took only a fraction of the Emperor's loathsome power to complete their fall. The Jedi succumbed utterly to the Sith leader's domination and returned to the Republic to spark a new conflict: the Jedi Civil War.

From Star Wars: The Old Republic: Encylopedia

The Jedi dispatched scouts and spies to learn as much as they could about this new enemy and its enigmatic leader. However, the Sith Emperor was a master of subterfuge and misdirection, continually thwarting all efforts to uncover his dark secrets.

Most Jedi who ventured into Imperial space vanished without a trace, but a few managed to send back disturbing messages to their Masters. These fragmented communiques showed the Emperor's Jedi pursuers descending into fear, madness, and evil when faced with his power. It quickly became clear the Sith Emperor was more then a brilliant military strategist and cunning political leader. He was a living embodiment of the dark side of the Force who delighted in destroying the minds and spirits of those Jedi who came too close to him.

From Star Wars: The Old Republic: Game Codex Entry (The Emperor's Fallen Jedi)

The Sith Emperor has mastered the dark side’s power to become the most dominating Force-user the galaxy has ever seen. His corrupting influence is so complete that none can stand in his presence without succumbing to fear, anger and hatred. The Emperor can wither and ruin even the strongest Jedi’s connection to the light side. Jedi Master Tol Braga’s strike team was not the first group to succumb to the Sith leader’s oppressive influence. Hundreds of years ago, the Jedi Revan and Malak discovered Dromund Kaas and confronted the Emperor. They fell to the dark side and returned to Republic space as Sith Lords. Since then, dozens more Jedi have followed the same path into evil.

Sever Force:

Vitiate possessed the capability to sever the connection of Force-users from the Force itself to make then vulnerable like he did to Lord Dramath:

From Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan

Lord Dramath intended to judge the child's power to determine if he was worthy of serving the Sith Lord, or if he should simply be executed. But Tenebrae had no intention of serving—or of dying. When they met face-to-face, Tenebrae proved the stronger. Only ten years old, he stripped his father of his power and his mind. Lord Dramath spent his last moments weeping in terror, gazing up into the black eyes of his son.

Vitiate performed the aforementioned feat when he was just 10 years old. Once can only imagine how proficient he would have become with this talent at the height of his power.

Mysterious powers:

Vitiate, being an absolute master of dark arts, was capable of summoning powers of extremely lethal proportions to destroy overwhelming odds.

Here is an example of Vitiate utilizing his dark sorcery in combat situations to overcome overwhelming odds:

From Star Wars: The Old Republic: Encyclopedia

During a violent tempest, Darth Lokess called a secret meeting of her eleven fellow Dark Council members. Under the cover of night, the Dark Council met and heard Darth Lokess describe a brilliant and daring plan to overthrow the Sith Emperor, end his relentless exile, and lead the Empire back to war against the Republic. An army of Sith under the command of Darth Lokess were stationed outside the meeting, ready to slay any Dark Council member who refused. But they all agreed to depose the Emperor.

It remains a mystery how the Emperor learned of his council's treachery. He allowed their plan to play out, but when they gathered to confront the Emperor, his punishment was swift and devastating. Eleven members of the Dark Council died in a sudden flash on the steps of the Citadel. The last member Darth Lokess, disappeared forever, though for some centuries some claimed her screams could be heard from the bowels of the Citadel.

A new council was immediately appointed to replace the traitors. The Emperor had made his point: his will was absolute, and none would oppose him. And though this was not the last time the council would defy the Emperor, his lesson would humble the Empire and its Sith leaders for centuries to come.

Vitiate may have known lot of powers but content featuring him is limited at the moment so full extent of his capabilities are unknown accordingly as well.

Aptly put here:

From Star Wars: The Old Republic: Encyclopedia

In his relentless pursuit of immortality, the Emperor explored the most sinister, uncharted depths of the dark side.

Conclusive remarks:

Vitiate possessed power of such magnitude that he overshadowed millions of Force-users during his span of existence (including remarkably powerful ones) and was able to spread his influence on galactic scale without use of technological means. In single combat, Vitiate could disarm and eliminate multiple powerful Force-users simultaneously. On one occasion, Vitiate killed 9 Dark Council members after summoning them in to his throne room (Scourge found this out and informed Revan and Meetra about this development; for more information, consult Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan). A lone Dark Council member is considered to be a dark side prodigy (Star Wars: The Old Republic Revan; Star Wars: The Old Republic: Game: Game; Star Wars: The Old Republic Encyclopedia). Vitiate possessed such command of dark sorcery that he could influence whole planets, transforming them in to nexuses of dark side. Vitiate had acquired such capabilities which Plagueis wished to have and only Sidious came close to unlock among all of the known Sith Lords. In-fact, Vitiate was making arrangements to transform himself in to an omnipotent being of unbelievable power by consuming the entire galaxy after centuries worth of studying the dark side (Star Wars: The Old Republic: Encyclopedia). This grand plan was fortunately or unfortunately compromised by actions of HoT and his allies (including Scourge) who stopped Vitiate before it was too late.

Addressing misconceptions:

It is often asserted that the trio of Revan, Meetra and Scourge could undermine Vitiate in single combat. This was a possibility but a remote one; the trio could undermine Vitiate but only in circumstantial way like the events unfolded in Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan. However, the same source confirms that even this formidable trio did not match the power of Vitiate and stood a chance against him in a non-circumstantial scenario:

From Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan

Scourge had eagerly accepted, knowing his new position would give him both time and opportunity to find another way to stop the Emperor before his madness and hunger consumed the galaxy.

"Open yourself to the dark side," the Emperor said, and Scourge felt the air around him begin to swirl with power.

Betraying his allies had not altered the inevitable outcome; the Emperor would have won regardless. At least this way Scourge was still alive to carry on their cause.

As you can note, Vitiate would have eventually slaughtered the trio of Revan, Meetra and Scourge in single combat. While it is true that their is strength in numbers and shit can happen during combat situations, unprecedentedly powerful individuals are still not easy to defeat.

But HoT undermined Vitiate?

While HoT was an incredibly powerful Force-user himself, it was not possible for him to undermine Vitiate either without assistance from Scourge and other allies.

Check this important revelation:

From Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan

It would be several decades, maybe longer, before the Emperor revisited the idea of invading the Republic. In that time, much could happen.

Revan had spoken of another champion who would rise; Scourge had seen that champion in his final vision. Blessed with eternal life, Scourge would serve faithfully at the Emperor's side, biding his time as he waited for that champion to emerge from the mists of time. While serving, he would study the Emperor. He would learn everything about him. He would come to understand his strengths and weaknesses so that when the time came, he could help Revan's prophesied champion destroy the Emperor once and for all.

Scourge learned a great deal about Vitiate while serving him as Emperor's Wrath for about 3 centuries. He eventually found out that Vitiate would orchestrate his next phase of power progression (grand plan hinted above) after starting a war with the Republic and the Jedi Order; while Vitiate's Sith Empire would be preoccupied with the war, Vitiate would use this situation to his advantage by commencing a ritual of such a scope that it would consume entire galaxy at its conclusion and make him unbelievably powerful. It was during this time that Scourge would find the necessary opening to undermine Vitiate because the latter would have invested much of his powers in this ritual to ensure its success and he would be vulnerable in combat situation at this moment. And indeed this happened.

When Vitiate orchestrated his grand plan during the Great Galactic War after witnessing the actions of HoT and his allies against him. Scourge betrayed Vitiate at this moment and joined HoT's cause to undermine him (Vitiate). Scourge lured HoT and his allies to (another) confrontation with Vitiate in which the latter suffered a major setback and his grand plan failed.

Here;

You've learned that the Emperor is on Dromund Kaas, temporarily weakened by your efforts thwarting his plan for galactic annihilation. Striking at him now is your best chance to defeat him once and for all. (Star Wars: The Old Republic: Game)

Under fair circumstances, HoT stood no chance against Vitiate as apparent from this confrontation:

From Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan

With Grand Master Satele Shan's support, Master Braga assembles a strike team of the strongest and most resolute Jedi in the order. Their goal is to pinpoint the Emperor's hidden fortress, capture the Sith leader alive, and turn him to the light side. The Jedi do not realize that they have underestimated the true extent of the Emperor's power. It is an error that will cost them dearly.

From Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan

The plan to invade the Emperor's fortress succeeds beyond Master Braga's greatest ambitions. However, the Jedi find more than they bargained for when they finally confront the Sith leader in his lair. The Emperor is more than a man - he is the living embodiment of the dark side. Armed with incalculable powers of corruption, the Emperor easily defeats the Knight, Master Braga, and their fellow Jedi, twisting them all to the dark side.

Four of the galaxy's most powerful Jedi (as a team) miserably failed against Vitiate when he wasn't vulnerable. Now what could one Jedi do?

Yes, some of the Vitiate's powers are not infallible such as his telepathic abilities but it is not easy to develop a countermeasure against his telepathic powers. The select few who managed to do so (e.g. Revan and HoT) had ended up broken from exposure to Vitiate's oppressive telepathic domination and were NOT ABLE TO break free without external aid (Revan from Jedi High Council's mindwipe and HoT from aid of Orgus Din's spirit). HoT had certainly improved by the time of his second confrontation with Vitiate (developed the capability to cope with and/or counter the effect of powerful dark side influences including vulnerability to Vitiate's telepathic abilities like Revan before him with great power) but this would still not have been enough to undermine Vitiate in a "fair scenario" as apparent from his extraordinary powers on the whole (details above) and lesson learned from Revan's second confrontation with him which also ended in a failure. Vitiate was indeed in the phase of recovering his strength at the time of his second confrontation with HoT (and his allies) but was still far from his original condition like he was at the height of power. Another hint is that Vitiate decided to create illusions to confuse HoT (and his allies) during this second confrontation which is indicative enough of his "temporary vulnerability" during this time, since he had never resorted to using illusions in combat situations before.

So Vitiate's fall is a plot-device related development. He had reached too far with his ambitions and the Force (having its own will) orchestrated his downfall. His fall was necessary otherwise their would have been no galaxy in which much of the Star Wars based events have taken place. Think.

Wise Jedi have often stated this:

"The Force works in mysterious ways, it seems."

Still, respect this:

From Star Wars: The Old Republic: Encyclopedia

The Sith Emperor is the most powerful Force-user who has ever existed. Unless this implacable enemy can be defeated, the Jedi Order is doomed."

@Oneness

Seriously? Have some patience before you decide to comment on a freshly started thread which is going to feature some analysis.

And no! This thread isn't about Sidious vs Vitiate. Thank you.

This is a tremendous amount of work. But I might recommend prefacing what is or isn't d20 mechanics from those sourcebooks. Descriptions are C-canon but what powers require what else may be on shakier ground.

Originally posted by Stealth Moose
This is a tremendous amount of work. But I might recommend prefacing what is or isn't d20 mechanics from those sourcebooks. Descriptions are C-canon but what powers require what else may be on shakier ground.

This is called being consistent. You should try it. I demonstrated why the novelizations aren't valid arguing material because of LFL guidelines I had nothing to do with, but that hurt your bias so you ignored it.

Originally posted by Stealth Moose
I demonstrated why the novelizations aren't valid arguing material

No, as they portray a more complete picture of the story Lucas was trying to tell.

I'm not bias toward any particular character or era.

Really? A few weeks ago you changed your name from Dolos to Oneness and had a War and Peace length homage to Anakin Skywalker in your profile. Your signatures and avatars have been referencing him in some way. I'm expecting next you have Shmi Skywalker tattoo'd on your heart.

Your asserion that the novels are a more complete picture is utter BS. LFL states that in canon conflicts, the most recent versions are deemed superior and more consistent with GL's vision, and furthermore that stuff originating from authors in novelizations is C-canon. Checkmate, bro.

I challenge you to address that with something else besides your skewed opinion.

Originally posted by Oneness

I'm not bias toward any particular character or era. [/B]

Originally posted by S_W_LeGenD

From Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan

With Grand Master Satele Shan's support, Master Braga assembles a strike team of the strongest and most resolute Jedi in the order. Their goal is to pinpoint the Emperor's hidden fortress, capture the Sith leader alive, and turn him to the light side. The Jedi do not realize that they have underestimated the true extent of the Emperor's power. It is an error that will cost them dearly.

[QUOTE]From Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan

The plan to invade the Emperor's fortress succeeds beyond Master Braga's greatest ambitions. However, the Jedi find more than they bargained for when they finally confront the Sith leader in his lair. The Emperor is more than a man - he is the living embodiment of the dark side. Armed with incalculable powers of corruption, the Emperor easily defeats the Knight, Master Braga, and their fellow Jedi, twisting them all to the dark side.

Originally posted by Stealth Moose
This is a tremendous amount of work. But I might recommend prefacing what is or isn't d20 mechanics from those sourcebooks. Descriptions are C-canon but what powers require what else may be on shakier ground.

Actually multiple canon sources confirm that several (Force) powers require combination of talents that qualify in spectrum of Control, Sense and Alter.

Here is revelation from Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi Companion:

Every Force-user who is formally trained in the way of the Force, receives training in all aspects of the Force such as Control, Sense and Alter.

- Jedi initiates (younglings) hone their talents in Control.
- Jedi padawans hone their talents in Sense.
- Jedi Knights hone their talents in Alter.

Force-users are taught all of these aspects of the Force because they cannot do much in Alter aspect otherwise.

So D20 rules have nothing to do with these ground realities. They are based on these ground realities actually.

This is the situation:

To learn an advanced power, it is vital to learn some other powers first.

^^^

Even if that unofficial quote is to be taken seriously, Vitiate can create that time during combat situations. It is not rocket science for someone as powerful and talented as Vitiate. He is not a padawan or something.

How much time required? Some seconds? Big deal.

B/W Mr. Drew is out of this business.

Sith Emperor has been defined by several authors. The recent source Star Wars: The Old Republic: Encyclopedia is a product of several authors but Mr. Drew not involved in it.