Sticky: The Darker Side of Life: A SWTOR-RP Weekly Column

For 8/5/11:

Title: Companions and Roleplay

Questions:

1) Do you plan to use your interactions with your companions as a part of your character's RP story?

2) Will you use them at all in your Roleplay, or strictly OOC?

3) How has the recent announcement that companions will be customizable changed your opinion, or not?

1) Do you plan to use your interactions with your companions as a part of your character's RP story?

No, not at all. I will enjoy them as part of my character's story as crafted by BioWare but from my characters' RP perspective I may refer to them generically as my ship's crew and that's about it.

My struggle with adding the companions to my character's RP is that they're so static. Every Jedi Knight gets an astromech and a Consular and so on. Every Smuggler gets a Wookiee. Even though we can customize them a bit at this point, the notion that every single smuggler gets a Wookie companion (and nobody else does) shreds my immersion.

2) Will you use them at all in your Roleplay, or strictly OOC?

I'll dismiss them faster than Han shot Greedo when the RP starts up.

3) How has the recent announcement that companions will be customizable changed your opinion, or not?

My opinion of using them for RP? Not at all. But I do appreciate the ability to customize them so we don't see the exact same Kira or T7 or whomever running around behind every member of the same class.

Thats exactly the sort of thing Im looking for, thanks for being first THC

1) Do you plan to use your interactions with your companions as a part of your character's RP story?

Probably not. ICly I plan for Auro to be a solo act aside from his assorted friendships and alliances with other player characters. I don't want to end up with a clone sidekick identical to someone else's. But you never know. Some NPC might tickle me enough to adopt him or her.

2) Will you use them at all in your Roleplay, or strictly OOC?

Probably OOC. Too much potential for dopplegangerage for my tastes. But, as above, you never know.

3) How has the recent announcement that companions will be customizable changed your opinion, or not?

The alteration options seem too minor but I need to actually see what I can do. If I can make truly distinct looks for a companion, so much so that it's not going to be confused with someone else's NPCs, then I'd be more inclined to employ them in RP. But still, not likely.

1) Do you plan to use your interactions with your companions as a part of your character's RP story?

In some cases, yes. Droids and characters that have a certain "nameless minion" appeal in particular. The reason is that these characters fill that similar memorable roll that pets and droids had in SWG. I want Aria in particular to have an unappreciated deformed slave to treat like a pet, since it opens up chances to show the ordinary demented nature of Imperial society. But having that nameless astromech running around behind my character also opens up options.

2) Will you use them at all in your Roleplay, or strictly OOC?

I'll use them carefully, according to how readily accepted it becomes in the community. If they get some acceptance, I'll use them as stated above. If not, the astromech that holds that hidden bottle of wine and food, will get left at the ship. Not going to try to force the issue.

Even if they're accepted, I don't plan to make companions out to be major players in RP. I want them to exist to provide additional depth or RP options rather than to become pseudo-RPers that I can toss around.They'll be foils and enhancers, but nothing more. Think about the way people used greeters and vendors in structures.

3) How has the recent announcement that companions will be customizable changed your opinion, or not?

Makes me more interested in them. I'm most interested in this aspect since I want to know if you're able to go stealth, but keep your companion visible. If so, a companion could serve as a disguised character, or even an NPC to a story. I'm especially curious about what they can wear. Hate to admit it, but dressing them up in different things could offer a good way to kill boredom, while creating a unique looking minion to serve as RP scenery.

Title: Companions and Roleplay

Questions:

1) Do you plan to use your interactions with your companions as a part of your character's RP story?:
I do intend to use my Companion interactions as part of my RP Story. No one is able to do everything by themselves, no matter how impressive they are. Companions enhance our ability to do the things that our Characters would have no clue how to accomplish.

2) Will you use them at all in your Roleplay, or strictly OOC?:
This will depend on the prevailing circumstances. If my Guild knows that I have left on a mission alone then I will write off any interactions with my Companion(s) that come along to help as purely OOC so I can retell a story of Dhauru's command of the Dark Side of the Force and make him look more impressive. If on the other hand there are members of the Guild coming along and our Companions are with us then I will gladly write them into the story.

3) How has the recent announcement that companions will be customizable changed your opinion, or not?:
This has made me happy as it further enhances the ability to involve our Companions into the stories. It is much more believable when the Companions look different.

1) Do you plan to use your interactions with your companions as a part of your character's RP story?

Maybe - depends on the interactions. I'll definitly react to them as Solon, because I'll be reacting to the gams as I feel my character would, but how much of that I use in RP story, I don't know

2) Will you use them at all in your Roleplay, or strictly OOC?

Depends & varies. My romance, for example, I might keep around. I'm not adverse to the idea, if I can make it fit.

3) How has the recent announcement that companions will be customizable changed your opinion, or not?

It made my dance with joy. I am much happier to have, say, Mako follow me around and be there for RP now that I know every BH won't have an identical one.

1) Do you plan to use your interactions with your companions as a part of your character's RP story?

I have no plan to. Companions and the game's story line (however good it may be) will be strictly an OOC affair for me.

2) Will you use them at all in your Roleplay, or strictly OOC?

Strictly OOC.

3) How has the recent announcement that companions will be customizable changed your opinion, or not?

Nope. But it is an interesting feature. I appreciate greater levels of customization -- for either my own character or companion characters. It adds a certain diversity.