Why did the Empire fall after ROTJ?

[Metahive]

It's right there in ANH when we get the memo that Palpatine dissolved the senate and turned control of the sectors fully over to the local governors, moffs and grand-moffs only responsible to him. As human history shows, such quasi-feudal structures tend to get dangerously brittle and unstable every time there's a succession crisis and as Palpy made himself utterly indespensable and never intended to even need a successor it was a foregone conclusion for the Empire to splinter apart with various factions struggling for power when he died (first). It's like removing the keystone from a stone arch really, it all comes tumbling down.

[angrySCORCH62]

Slightly off-topic, what if the Emperor had died, but Vader remained (whether or not Luke was turned) ? Would he have been able to step forward as a successor? I always wondered if Palpy intended it to be solely his Empire, or whether he just wanted it to stay in Sith hands.

the DESB

what's the DEBS?

[Captain Seafort]

DESB, not DEBS: The Dark Empire Sourcebook.

Speaking of which, The Test of Wills is back up.