Help explain a civil war

[Mishihari Lord]

A leader's death would probably be the most sudden cause of the war. So Julius Despot has had this world under his oppressive rule for the last 50 years. Over the last five years or so his health has been obviously failing and his top three lieutenants have been positioning themselves to take over. So Despot dies shortly after the party lands, and all three lieutenants launch full-scale assaults on each other, trying for a quick, overwhelming victory.

 

[hopeless]

hmm...

You overlooked the possibility there's an Imperial base there with undercover operatives looking to set up a situation where civil unrest turns into armed conflict so they can waltz in take over replace the current regime and before anyone realises it its now under Imperial jurisdiction with maybe a puppet ruler to make things appear normal but to those living there, they know better...

Perhaps there's separatists on the world and the arrival of the PCs and the Empire make them think they've come for them so stage the unrest to either evacuate or try and remove any evidence linking them to their former allegiances?

 

[flyingcircus]

Well it all started in 1861 with the act of Northern Aggression against the Southern States, oh wait, your talking about MARVEL, sorry...

 

[FireLance]

A think-tank proposes some changes to the rules of a popular local game which they believe will enhance the play experience. Half the population supports the changes, while the other half do not. Rising tensions and a continuous cycle of escalating retaliation between the two groups lead first to fist-fights, then riots, then murders and assassinations, the breakdown of society and, eventually, civil war.

 

[Random Axe]

You overlooked the possibility there's an Imperial base there with undercover operatives looking to set up a situation where civil unrest turns into armed conflict so they can waltz in take over replace the current regime and before anyone realises it its now under Imperial jurisdiction with maybe a puppet ruler to make things appear normal but to those living there, they know better...

This was actually the main thrust of an earlier SW campaign I used to run years back, quite effectively. So, (thanks but) I will likely be shying away from the same kinds of story setups that I used to do. It actually feels like what Mishihari Lord has provided will be the likely route I will take, I can do a lot with that one.

Thanks all.

 

[malcolypse]

Maybe word of the Empire's formation just got to the planet, and several different groups have very different feelings about a change of government?