Powerful Dark Side Groups that aren't Sith

[Battlehymn Republic]

Are there any powerful Dark Side groups that aren't Sith? Why are Sith naturally the ones that are most powerful at using the Dark Side of the Force? Are there any potential groups in history that could have spearheaded their own attempt to become the true masters of the Dark Side?

[TC Pilot]

Inquisitor Jerec.

[Havok]

Inquisitor Jerec.

Yeah, but he got rolled by Palpatine didn't he?

There are other groups like the witches of dathiomer (sp?), but POWERFUL? None that seem able to match the Sith.

[TC Pilot]

Yeah, but he got rolled by Palpatine didn't he?

Though I don't know what you're talking about, I'm going to say no.

[Havok]

Yeah, but he got rolled by Palpatine didn't he?

Though I don't know what you're talking about, I'm going to say no.

Oh you're right. Got some names confused.

However, the OP asked for groups, not individuals. Also I would hardly lump someone who gets defeated by Kyle Katarn as having "potential" to "spearheaded their own attempt to become the true masters of the Dark Side".

[Ritterin Sophia]

The Disciples of Ragnos- Sith Cult dedicated to Marka Ragnos
The Dark Jedi- Fallen Jedi, eventually an academy is created by Brakiss
The Dark Side Adepts- This includes any Imperial-Darksiders that are not of Bane's Order of the Sith. Thus it's members include the various Prophets of the Dark Side, Emperor's Hands, Dark Side Elite, Force Adepts, Sovereign Protectors, and higher-ranked Dark Jedi.
The Inquisitorious- Jedi Hunters under the command of Darth Vader and Palpatine.
The Krath- A Darkside Secret Society from the Empress Teta System, eventually absorbed into Exar Kun's Sith Order.
The Mecrosa Order- Protectors of the Tapani Sector's Noble-House Mecetti. Corrupted into Dark Side Assassins when Viscountess Mireya of Vjun married into the House and brought Sith Teachings, eventually absorbed into Kun's Order.
The Prophets of the Darkside- A Darkside Cult founded by the Rogue Sith Darth Millenial, arguably a Sith splinter group and thus technically Sith.
The Bladeborn- Sith splinter group which preffered the visceral feel of their Sith-Swords over that of the lightsaber.
The Bando Gora- A Criminal Organization that doubled as a Dark Side Cult, lead by Master Jedi Dooku's former apprentice, Komari Vosa. Destroyed by Jango Fett.
The Nightsisters- A Darkside Dathomiri Witch Clan, descended from the Singing Mountain Clan, whom descend from and who's teachings were founded by Fallen Jedi (Remembering that Fallen doesn't mean Dark) named Allya.
The Reborn- Darkside Warrior's artificially imbued with the Force, destroyed by Kyle Katarn. Eventually Ressurected as the New Reborn under Tavion Axmis and destroyed by Katarn's Apprentice Jaden Korr.
The Believers- A Darkside Cult from Cularin during the Clone Wars, went into hiding after their headquarters, the Almas Sith Fortress built by Darth Rivan, was discovered.
The Blackguard- Dark Jedi Marauder's based on Mustafar, destroyed by a an unknown group of adventurers during the Galactic Civil Wars.

[Tiriol]

The Disciples of Ragnos- Sith Cult dedicated to Marka Ragnos

Off-shoot of the Sith tradition at best, amateurish dabblers in the Force only kept as any kind of cohesive terrorist group by the power of the Scepter of Ragnos at worst. I wouldn't count them as powerful dark side group.

The Dark Jedi- Fallen Jedi, eventually an academy is created by Brakiss(

Indeed, given time, Brakiss could have trained a Dark Jedi Order to serve the needs of the Second Imperium movement - an Order powerful enough to truly challenge Luke Skywalker's New Jedi Order.

The Dark Side Adepts- This includes any Imperial-Darksiders that are not of Bane's Order of the Sith. Thus it's members include the various Prophets of the Dark Side, Emperor's Hands, Dark Side Elite, Force Adepts, Sovereign Protectors, and higher-ranked Dark Jedi.

They did serve the Sith, so is it too much of a stretch to speak of them as a totally separate group? However, several of them were truly strong in the Force (Jerec, Kadann etc.), but they weren't cohesive group at all unless managed by Palpatine.

The Inquisitorious- Jedi Hunters under the command of Darth Vader and Palpatine.

Wouldn't the Inquisitors belong with the Dark Side adepts?

The Krath- A Darkside Secret Society from the Empress Teta System, eventually absorbed into Exar Kun's Sith Order.

I don't know how powerful in the dark side the Krath members managed to become, but at least they had enormous influence in the First Sith War, especially after their leader Ulic Qel-Droma defeated Lord Mandalore in single combat and recruited the Mandalorians to their cause. And the Knights of the Old Republic games hint at the possibility that the Krath might have managed to survive as a separate group from the Sith, since there were Krath temples and Krath temple guardians mentioned in some of the games' item descriptions.

The Prophets of the Darkside- A Darkside Cult founded by the Rogue Sith Darth Millenial, arguably a Sith splinter group and thus technically Sith.

True, but did they identify themselves as the Sith? It seems that they had mostly abandoned their roots by the time of Palpatine.

The Nightsisters- A Darkside Dathomiri Witch Clan, descended from the Singing Mountain Clan, whom descend from and who's teachings were founded by Fallen Jedi (Remembering that Fallen doesn't mean Dark) named Allya.

The Nightsisters, at least, were terrifyingly adept at using and harnessing the dark side. They (or at least their erstwhile leader, Gethzerion) were so strong in the Force that Palpatine himself made sure that no one of them could get off Dathomir.

The Reborn- Darkside Warrior's artificially imbued with the Force, destroyed by Kyle Katarn. Eventually Ressurected as the New Reborn under Tavion Axmis and destroyed by Katarn's Apprentice Jaden Korr.

I wouldn't call them powerful in the Force and they only existed as an extension of the Imperial Remnant and Lord Hrethir's Empire Reborn movement. However, Empire Reborn movement along with the Reborn might have become formidable indeed, but given the small timeframe and over-reliance and the creature Waru on Hrethir's part spelled their doom.

[Ritterin Sophia]

Off-shoot of the Sith tradition at best, amateurish dabblers in the Force only kept as any kind of cohesive terrorist group by the power of the Scepter of Ragnos at worst. I wouldn't count them as powerful dark side group.

I would consider reviving a dangerously powerful Darkside Spirit powerful a definite threat, considering some DSS just need a darksider to be within vicinity to possess.

They did serve the Sith, so is it too much of a stretch to speak of them as a totally separate group? However, several of them were truly strong in the Force (Jerec, Kadann etc.), but they weren't cohesive group at all unless managed by Palpatine.

Most Darkside groups aren't without a powerful leader, look at what happened to the Sith without Ragnos and the later Sith on Korriban without Revan.

Wouldn't the Inquisitors belong with the Dark Side adepts?

Yes, however, they were much more specialized.

True, but did they identify themselves as the Sith? It seems that they had mostly abandoned their roots by the time of Palpatine.

More likely they recognized taking that title for themselves would've endangered them.

I wouldn't call them powerful in the Force and they only existed as an extension of the Imperial Remnant and Lord Hrethir's Empire Reborn movement. However, Empire Reborn movement along with the Reborn might have become formidable indeed, but given the small timeframe and over-reliance and the creature Waru on Hrethir's part spelled their doom.

Again, we'll have to disagree, with the power they wielded it would've been trivial to create an army of Darkside Warriors in a short time.

[TC Pilot]

However, the OP asked for groups, not individuals. Also I would hardly lump someone who gets defeated by Kyle Katarn as having "potential" to "spearheaded their own attempt to become the true masters of the Dark Side".

Jerec had six Dark Jedi underlings, along with a significant Imperial military splinter group. I believe that constitutes a group.

Of course Jerec had the potential. If his plans had not been disrupted by Katarn, he would have had the Force power to blow up stars or obliterate life from planets at a thought.

In fact, if Katarn falls to the Dark Side in the game, he becomes the Emperor of a revitalized Galactic Empire.

[Battlehymn Republic]

Idle scenario building on my part-

Dathomir vs. the Sith in some capacity?

Were the Dark Side Academy guys non-Sith?

I'm just kind of curious why the pseudo-religious, fanatic Sith are at the forefront of the Dark Side. Couldn't there be a different, rival tradition?

However, inter-Sith fighting, such as Jerec's followers against post-Palpatine Sith/Dark Jedi, is interesting to me as well.

[Ritterin Sophia]

The Darkside Academy was non-Sith, all darksiders to some degree or another follow Sith teachings but they are not Sith, for example only the most ardent Darkside Adepts even know about Sith Alchemy and only a handful can use it with any degree of success, the Sith have mastered it.

[Lord Revan]

Isn't the difference between the Sith Order(and to some degree it's splinter groups) and other darkside users that the Sith are like the Dark Side equilavent of the Jedi Order while the other groups are like the cults and such that use the force but don't truly know what it is?

[Publius]

The native Sith, a primitive, caste-bound civilization that developed far from the center of galactic civilization, developed the distinctive Sithian magic and alchemy seen in later cults (although similar to use of the Force, "Taken by Force" specifically states that "the dark side of the Force and Sith magic are not interchangeable"). They were of course conquered by dark Jedi survivors of the Hundred Year Darkness around 6,965BrS, leading to the Sith Empire and its particular syncretization of Jedi and Sithian culture ("Evil Never Dies: The Sith Dynasties," Tales of the Jedi: Golden Age of the Sith). The Empire was soundly defeated by the Republic in the Great Hyperspace War of 4,965BrS, leading to its collapse within a few decades (Tales of the Jedi: Fall of the Sith Empire).

The Imperial Sith cast a long shadow as far as dark side cults are concerned. By way of ghosts and scraps of their arcana, the Imperial Sith created both Satal Keto and Aleema's Krath Society and Exar Kun's Sith Brotherhood (Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith, Tales of the Jedi: The Sith War). The dead civilization's influence also extended to the Sorcerers of Tund (the Sorcerers of Tund (Lando Calrissian and the Mindharp of Sharu, The Dark Side Sourcebook) and the Mecrosa Order (Lords of the Expanse, "Evil Never Dies: The Sith Dynasties"), and the Disciples of Ragnos were directly controlled by a Jen'ari's ghost (Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy). A small group of dark Jedi led by Nikkos Tyris, influenced by Imperial Sith culture, created the Jensaarai shortly before the Clone War (I, Jedi).

Kun's Sith Brotherhood served as the immediate inspiration for Darth Revan's Sith Empire, Darth Ruin's New Sith Empire (The New Essential Chronology, Path of Destruction), Kaan's Brotherhood of Darkness (Dark Forces: Jedi Knight, The Essential Chronology), and Darth Bane's Order of the Sith Lords (The Phantom Menace, "Bane of the Sith"); the latter produced a schismatic sect, the Prophets of the Dark Side (The Dark Side Sourcebook, "The Dark Forces Saga"). These four cults, together with Kun's Sith Brotherhood, the dark Jedi's Sith Empire, and the ethnic Sith, form what may very well be regarded as "mainstream Sith"; they are very closely related, and they all regarded themselves as being part of a continuous line. Exar Kun made extensive use of the Sith Empire's artifacts and their magic, and Jen'ari of Bane's Order continued to use temples left over from the first Sith Empire; the various Sith Lords even communed with one another, and the ghosts of the ancient Sith Lords clearly regarded men like Kun and Darth Sidious to be their successors and heirs.

Notably, however, these latter-day cults were far more Jedi-centric than their predecessors; Kun's Fraternal Sith are the last to make extensive use of Sithian magic and alchemy as a major part of their arsenal and practices. Later Sith Lords, although familiar with Sithian magic, were far more Jedi-centric; over time, the mainstream Sith evolved (or devolved, in some sense) from a Sithian-Jedi syncretization to a particularly distinctive Jedi heresy (Sith Lords like Darth Sidious and Darth Vader being very close to dark Jedi like Xanatos and Jerec). One of the most prominent examples of this change is that the large majority of dark side cults and movements to derive from Bane's Order have little to no distinctively Sithian heritage; the Inquisitorius, Jerec's Dark Jedi, Lord Hethrir's Empire Reborn, and Brakiss's Shadow Academy are little more than schismatic Jedi denominations.

There are a handful of dark side cults that are not known specifically to have any cultural ties to the mainstream Sith or their various splinter denominations. The earliest known dark side cult, Xendor's Legions of Lettow, was composed nearly entirely of fallen Jedi Knights and Followers of Palawa (Masters of Teräs Käsi, The New Essential Chronology). Nothing at all is known of the Heresiarchs or the Jarvashqiine shamans, except that Darth Sidious studied them exhaustively (Dark Empire Sourcebook); similarly, virtually nothing is known of the Order of the Terrible Glare, except that they possessed the ability to imprison souls in crystals and that they were annihilated by the Jedi in a violent war ("Blind Fury!"). The Nightsisters of Dathomir were, like the Imperial Sith, a syncretization of the Jedi culture with an indigenous cult (a small sect, the New Nightsisters, was later connected to the post-Inquisitorius Shadow Society).

[(name here)]

I seem to recall hearing that sith lighting, at the very least, is unique to the sith themselves. Sith alchemy was part of the other secret sith techniques that distinguished them from random dark jedi.

[Ritterin Sophia]

No, Mighella the Nightsister could use Force Lightning, as could a number of other Jedi and Darksiders.

[Darth Massacrus]

uh, has anyone heard of the Rakata and their Infinite Empire?


Thousands of years before the birth of the Old Republic, when most races and species were still evolving into societies, The Rakatan species was the dominant galactic power. Originally from a world called Lehon/Rakata Prime/Unknown World located in the Unknown Regions; The Rakata were (like the Sith species) naturally strong in the Force. However, as the Rakata were by nature a cruel species, their entire society became dominated by the Dark Side of the Force. When the Rakata learned how to fuse technology with the power of the Force, new heights were reached for the Rakata. They invented the hyperdrive, which took the Rakata to planets with high Force concentrations, which meant planets with a high population density. Among these planets were Coruscant, Kashyyk, Manaan, Tatooine, Dantooine, Duro,Honoghr, and others. Instead of helping these planets develop, the Rakata enslaved the various planets and species, creating an intergalactic Infinite Empire of hundreds of worlds and trillions of subjects. At the height of the Infinite Empire, the Rakata constructed the Star Forge above the sun of their homeworld. The Star Forge was a massive space station that, using the Dark Side of the Force and advanced Rakatan technology, drew in power from the sun and turned the raw solar energy into endless amounts of warships, droids, weapons, and other war materials to fuel the Rakatan war machine. In 27000 BBY, the Rakata arrived on the planet of Korriban, home to the Sith species. At first, the Rakata taught the Sith much Dark Side knowledge (including how to make Sith Holocrons), but eventually attempted to enslave them. The Rakata were driven off Korriban, but the Sith were also forced to leave Korriban for nearby Ziost. As the Rakatan Infinite Empire grew, the Rakata began to lose their connection to the Force, and thus lost control of their technology and subjects, who rose up against them. Simultaneously, a plague that only killed Rakata spread to all parts of the Galaxy, and what few Rakata were left retreated to Lehon, where they essentially fell into civil war and barbarism. The Star Forge lay dormant above Lehon. With the Galaxy no longer under Rakatan domination, the next few centuries saw the birth of the Old Republic and modern galactic civilization arose. 40 years after the Great Sith War, a former Jedi Knight named Revan fell to the Dark Side and rediscovered the Star Forge, using it to attempt to conquer the Galaxy. However, Revan was betrayed by his apprentice, and later went on to lead the Republic against his former apprentice and destroy the Star Forge. By this time the Rakata were almost extinct, with only a few descendants of the former Infinite Empire's priest caste even knowing of the Infinite Empire's history. By the time of Darth Bane, the Rakatan species was fully extinct, and the first Dark Side group and the original rulers of the Galaxy were no more. Of course, if anyone here has been paing attention to the EU since 2003, all this would be known already.

[Darth Massacrus]

similarly, virtually nothing is known of the Order of the Terrible Glare, except that they possessed the ability to imprison souls in crystals and that they were annihilated by the Jedi in a violent war ("Blind Fury!").

perhaps they were related to the Ancient Sith, as the tomb that Exar Kun explore with Freedon Nadd on Korriban (Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith) shows a great crystal filled with imprisoned souls of 'Jedi Masters who opposed the Ancient Sith and lost'.


Also, the Wizards of the Coast story 'Korriban: Planet of Lost Souls' describes an ancient Dark Lord of the Sith from about 7000 BBY named Dathka Graush who replaced his heart with a Force-crystal containing numerous imprisoned Dark Side spirits. Furthermore, the article says that the crystal was made by unknown persons, and contained souls collected over thousands of years. Perhaps it was made by the Order of the Terrible Glare?