Originally posted by DarthAnt66
"The most powerful Sith Lords possess a talent for the dark alchemy of the Sith. The Emperor, like Naga Sadow and Exar Kun long before him, became a master of manipulating the genetic building blocks of living creatures through the dark side. Over the millennia, many creatures have been broken, twisted, and rebuilt by this evil power."This quote is inherently different from the Wizards of the Coast quote:
"The Star Wars universe has created some truly vile dark side villains. Have you ever wondered what would happen if the most powerful Sith Lords duked it out for supremacy of the galaxy?"
For one, the first quote doesn't specify what Sith "the most powerful Sith Lords" is referring to.
lmfao, no. Both quotes only mention "the most powerful Sith Lords"; both quotes are equally ambiguous. What you're failing to comprehend is that the notion that it's referring specifically to Sidious, Caedus and Revan is your interpretation. The argument is that alternate interpretations are available.
Thus, a broader and looser interpretation is possible. The latter quote, by virtue of the content of the source, specifically refers to Darth Sidious, Darth Caedus, and Darth Revan exclusively. The quote would have to be fundamentally changed to mean "some" if referring to the latter by virtue of a select number of Sith already listed, whereas with the former, nothing is solidified and thus alternative views can be established.
There's still no proof that conclusively ends the discussion on whether those three are specifically the three most powerful or are merely being selected to represent the cohort of "the most powerful Sith Lords", which involves the likes of Malak and Tyranus.
The quote would specifically have to read..."The Star Wars universe has created some truly vile dark side villains. Have you ever wondered what would happen if some of the most powerful Sith Lords duked it out for supremacy of the galaxy?"
... in order to convey what is being suggested. The first quote doesn't, again, since the generic statement doesn't attribute a specific number of Sith to its name.
The Wizards of the Coast quote is essentially saying:
"The Star Wars universe has created some truly vile dark side villains. Have you ever wondered what would happen if the most powerful Sith Lords: Darth Sidious, Darth Caedus, and Darth Revan, duked it out for supremacy of the galaxy?"
The whole premise of the source is specifically pitting the most powerful Sith Lords against each-other. Thus, it is only logical that the Sith listed would therefore be the most powerful Sith Lords. It wouldn't make sense if the source was listing the #1, #7, and #12 most powerful Sith Lord, yet emphasize that the battle that is about to play out will feature "the most powerful Sith Lords."
And my point is that you can substitute the alternate wording of "some of the most powerful Sith Lords here" and it would still make perfect sense. That's a pretty good way of determining the potential meanings of the quote.
Wizards of the Coast has miniatures for Darth Krayt, Darth Vader, Darth Nihilus, Exar Kun, Ulic Qel-Droma, etc. They could have used these characters for this confrontation if they so wished, but they instead opted specifically for these three, obviously because these three are, in fact, the best.
Maybe because these are the ones being published in this line?
By arguing otherwise, it's the same as saying you're about to gather together "the most powerful Jedi" and you get Luke Skywalker, the Hero of Tython, and Obi-Wan Kenobi. In contrast, my interpretation, following the logic and intent of the source, is gathering together Luke Skywalker, Yoda, and the next best Jedi in order to provide "the most powerful Jedi," not just "some of the most powerful Jedi."
The only problem here is that WotC's quote is very much like getting Luke, HoT and Obi-Wan and calling them the most powerful. Spot on, Ant. 👆
Again, you keep repeating yourself but fail to establish a means of objectively proving the meaning of the quote.
Not that singular quotes are even close to being end-all, be-all. Palpatine's position is the product of numerous quotes spread over several decades, sources and source types, etc. You also can't substitute alternate definitions into that quote; it's very clear what they're saying. So Palpatine's position can't be challenged. But if a source comes out and publishes something stupid, like JATM claiming that Palpatine doesn't believe in the light and dark sides of the Force, that doesn't make it irreversibly binding.
C-canon is primarily composed of elements from the Expanded Universe including books, comics, and games bearing the label of Star Wars. Games and RPG sourcebooks are a special case; the stories and general background information are themselves fully C-canon.
Gestalt can you link your source on this? Unfortunately I can only find it on wiki pages and fansites. None of which cite Chee as the source. mmm