The Ground Battle of Dathomir unfolded when Tyber Zann, driven by an intense desire to unlock a Sith holocron, journeyed to Dathomir alongside his second-in-command, Urai Fen, seeking a Force-sensitive individual capable of opening it.
Because Urai Fen knew of Dathomir, he suggested it to Tyber as a location to find someone attuned to the dark side who could unlock the artifact. However, due to the Empire's blockade around the planet, Tyber deployed a defiler class ship to take out an orbital sensor array, ensuring a smooth landing for himself and Urai. The Defiler successfully eliminated the sensor array.
Upon landing on Dathomir, Tyber Zann and Urai Fen launched an assault, obliterating the Singing Mountain Prison and its power supply. This action freed the inmates, including three Nightsisters. From these Nightsisters, Zann discovered that Silri, another Nightsister, possessed the ability to unlock and interpret the Sith artifact he held. Consequently, they moved to liberate her from Imperial captivity.
The initial advance towards the Frenzied River prison was met with turbolaser towers providing defense. The Consortium forces then targeted the nearby dam's generator, responsible for powering the turrets, and destroyed it. After freeing Silri, the Nightsister agreed to assist Zann in deciphering the artifact's secrets, but only if he would kill the Imperial governor who had imprisoned her and put her on display. To fulfill this condition, the Consortium proceeded to demolish the Imperial governor's residence, and Silri carried out the governor's execution.
This battle was featured in the 2006 video game Star Wars: Empire at War: Forces of Corruption as a segment of the Zann Consortium single-player campaign.
During the conflict, players have the option to destroy mining facilities, each providing 5000 in-game credits, and to destroy three uplink stations to stop Imperial reinforcements from arriving.
The composition of freed prisoners from the three prisons changes with each playthrough of the battle, with the exception of Ewok Handlers and the three Nightsisters, who are always present upon destroying a prison.
Each prison initially houses passive enemy units seemingly intended for Tyber to bribe:
- The Singing Mountain Prison contains one AT-AA, one AT-ST, one HAVT B5 Juggernaut, one 2-M Repulsor tank, and one SPMA-T.
- The Frenzied River Prison contains three AT-ATs.
- The Misty Falls Prison contains five TIE Maulers, however, attempting to bribe them is ineffective, as bribing one causes all other TIE Maulers to become hostile.