Sidious lärde Vader att Vader skulle förväntas försöka döda honom enligt Sith Rule of Two:
Soon after destroying the Jedi, the Emperor had told Vader that he would one day be tempted to kill him. He’d said that the relationship between Sith apprentice and Master was symbiotic but in a delicate balance. An apprentice owed his Master loyalty. A Master owed his apprentice knowledge and must show only strength. But the obligations were reciprocal and contingent. Should either fail in his obligation, it was the duty of the other to destroy him. The Force required it. Since before the Clone Wars, Vader’s Master had never shown anything but strength, and so Vader intended to show nothing but loyalty. In that way, their mutual rule was secure. Perhaps Vader would attempt to kill his Master one day. Sith apprentices ordinarily did. They must, if they were trained well. An apprentice was unquestioningly loyal until the moment he wasn’t. Both Master and apprentice knew this.
Lords of the Sith, p. 27
Sidious utövade emellertid inte vad han predikade; han hade för avsikt att få odödlighet och omforma själva verkligheten bokstavligen:
...he would not allow himself to be sidetracked from his goal of unlocking the secrets many of the Sith Masters before him had sought: the means to harness the powers of the dark side to reshape reality itself; in effect, to fashion a universe of his own creation. Not mere immortality of the sort Plagueis had lusted after, but influence of the ultimate sort. As his Empire swelled, bringing more and more of the outer systems into its fold, so too would his power unfurl, until every being in the galaxy was held captive in his dark embrace.
Tarkin, p. 242
Sidious gjorde planer i händelse av hans död, men han hade helt för avsikt att inte behöva dem.
Sidious tänkte också i slutändan att ersätta Vader med Luke:
Good! Your hate has made you powerful. Now, fulfill your destiny and take your father's place at my side!
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Det var uppenbart om Sidious skulle ersätta Vader, men han planerade inte att låta Vader döda honom. Det faktum att Anakin ansågs vara den utvalda av Jedi, spelade ingen roll för Sidious; profeten av den utvalda var en Jedi-profetia , men Sidious var uppenbarligen inte en Jedi och delar inte sin tro .