What did we get ourselves into?
—Josh commenting on all the work done on the series
The Death Watch Revival Series (also known as DWR) is the name given to the series created by SoulReaper079 and Josh Bender. It actively breaks off from Star Wars canon, allowing the two to create what they want to happen, but still keeping as close to canon as they can. Effectively created as a Star Wars Roleplaying Game campaign, the two have gone past the campaign to create a universe to go along with it.
History[]
Decent into Nerddom: Pre-DWR[]
SoulReaper079: “Trust me, we can get a lot nerdier than this.”
―Josh and SoulReaper079 discussing weather or not they wanted to play the game
In 2005 AD, a group of friends decided to try to play the Star Wars Roleplaying Game at their high school. Having no idea how to play, the three of them created a bunch of characters set in the times of the Old Republic. SoulReaper079 made an exotic alien type character at first, but later lost the sheets, making another exotic character, this time a Hoojib. Helljumper051, made a Mandalorian character, for his love of the organization. Josh made an ancestor of Obi-Wan Kenobi, because he thought it would be cool. Overtime however, they realized that the era just didn't work out, the source book didn't go that far back. They settled with the New Republic era and after some changes to the characters, (Echon to be exact) they prepared themselves for an adventure that would change their lives.
A break from continuity: The Creation of DWR[]
I am so glad we are not fighting the Yuuzhan Vong.
—Helljumper051 commenting on the decision to fight the Death Watch
Overtime, the three found the post-RotJ era to be boring. They either had to deal with lame villains or even worse, the Yuuzhan Vong. They decided on creating their own adversary. Reading up on Star Wars villains, they came across the Death Watch, a band of Manalorians. They decided to create a campaign set around the revival of the group, and it was up to the three heroes to stop them.
A gift from God: The Star Wars Fanon Wiki[]
In 2006, Josh stumbled across the Star Wars Fanon Wiki. It was a wiki that allowed someone to create their own characters, storylines, spaceships, etc. He quickly joined and began to make his first article, based off his SWRPG character. Around that time however, school work got in the way of the campaign and the game was ignored. Josh began to write other articles for Fanon. Early on, Helljumper joined as well, but was unable to maintain an internet connection to be active. A year later, Bluethunder213 had joined the game and the Wiki as well, contributing when he could. SoulReaper079 was the last to join, but when he joined, Josh and him began to fully create the universe.
Sue us LucasArts!: Creating a new universe[]
Once SoulReaper079 and Josh were able to stay in touch, the two began to expand more on what the group of four had created. They began to think outside of the game and create back stories for their characters. They worked day and night throughout the summer of 2007 until they had created a whole new universe of Star Wars. Their universe still took place in established canon, but they took lots of liberties, the Yuuzhan Vong were nowhere to be found. With a whole slew of characters and freedom to do whatever they wanted, the game went back into overdrive, ready for them to play.
Lights, Camera, Action!: DWR becomes a movie!?[]
In early 2008, Josh and SoulReaper079's Video Production Teacher gave them a program to write screenplays. SoulReaper079 began to write the completed story line into script form, with all the familiar cuts and angles. The budget would put them in debt for some time, so the script was put away.
Working on his profession: Josh Bender pens the novel[]
Once the script had been written, Josh began to write the script into novel form. He attempted to maintain a schedule for writing it, but like all of his projects, it was lost to writer's block. To compensate, Josh wrote a short story chronicling an adventure his hero had encountered before the events of DWR. He planned to make more, but school work got the best of him once more.
To Infinity and Beyond: The Future of DWR[]
SoulReaper079: “Dude, that sounds awesome!”
―Josh Bender and SoulReaper079 discussing the future of DWR
As of September 2008, SoulReaper079 and Josh have prepared a whole slew of ideas for what lies ahead for their heroes. An interesting idea has prepared them for something no one would see coming. The future is soon to be full of adventure.