The Emperor's Hand is an assassin recruited, trained, and employed by Emperor Palpatine himself. To rule the galaxy effectively, Emperor Palpatine sometimes needs certain persons removed from it. These might be ambitious planetary governors, greedy crime lords, highly placed Rebel sympathizers, or disloyal Imperial officers. But too often for the Emperor's taste, these individuals (rather wisely) refuse to come to him, instead making themselves inaccessible. They frequently occupy heavily fortified structures, employ numerous guards, and fill every chamber, corridor, and entrance with security devices. They are determined to survive the Emperor's will. The Emperor is then forced to charge one of his Hands with reaching out and crushing these defiant fools.

The Emperor's Hands operate out of devotion to the Emperor. Though they rightly fear his wrath, they also feel gratitude or even affection for him, for he rewards their service lavishly. They enjoy a freedom shared by precious few in the Empire. The fact that they are murdering people to please the Emperor hardly enters into their thinking; after all, these people are often tyrants and killers themselves. Because their targets are usually a threat to the general public -- even if that means the Imperial public -- the Hands, in a way, protect the public, and thus are doing good. (Of course, the Emperor is not above embellishing the misdeeds of a target to foment a sense of duty in his minions.)

Each Emperor's Hand operates alone, often with the false idea that he or she is the Emperor's only assassin. They are given a great deal of support and authority, with special clearances designed to allow them access to whatever resources they need. They rarely identify themselves as Hands, however. The Emperor prefers that they exist as rumors -- mythic figures whose powers grow with each whispered story. The words "the Emperor has set his personal assassin on your trail" are often far more effective in controlling the unruly than actually dispatching one of the Hands.

Because they operate alone, each Hand has a distinctly different method of achieving the Emperor's goals. Some prefer a surgical strike, leaving a corpse in the midst of a crowd; others would just as soon destroy a fortress full of innocents to reach their target. Some even refuse to use lethal force except against their actual target. As long as they achieve their goals and leave no witnesses who can properly identify them, the Emperor allows them to work in their own ways. The violence and killing eventually turns every Hand to the dark side. For the Emperor, this is simply an added bonus.