The Old Republic Roleplay

The Darker Side of Life: Does Level Matter?

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 12:00:00 -0500

Admit it: when you meet someone new, chances are you peek at their level, and maybe even open up the inspection window to look at their stats. In this week's edition of The Darker Side of Life, we're going to be diving into this issue. Does your character's level and gear matter in roleplay? On one hand we have a group that I like to call the Earners. They say that characters are what they earn. If you want to RP a Darth, get to 50 and get the Darth title. If you want to RP a powerful duelist, get some PvP gear. Characters that have had that effort put into them are more deserving of respect, right?

Not so counters the other group which I like to call the Storytellers. Respect is something a character should earn through solid roleplay, and good storytelling. If a level 10 character can play the part well, why not let them RP a Darth? Any monkey can make level 50 and get PvP gear given enough time, so why not respect things that matter more to roleplay? These are the two sides in this battle, one we're going to comb through in detail and try to work out some answers.

Join me as we take a look at your responses and attempt to dig through the issue. Does your character's level matter in roleplay? Should a player have to get their character to level 50 to be taken seriously in roleplay, or is it just a form of metagaming? Once again we're back on the same tangent of game mechanics in roleplay. Hold on tight and keep your arms and legs inside the car until we come to a complete stop, because it's going to be a wild ride.

Pictured: A level 1 Roleplayer

FreelanceWizard: Yes, because I feel level is a reasonable representation of the combat efficacy of the character. In this game, you fight increasingly dangerous opponents as you go up in level and your abilities in one form of conflict resolution -- the /duel -- are determined by your level. So, I feel it's perfectly acceptable to use it as a measure of skill in battle. It's not the only measure of skill, nor even the only measure of combat skill, but it's an acceptable yardstick.

WingedThing: Whether or not I look at someone's level honestly depends on the circumstances. I certainly notice level right off the bat when it's someone of the opposite faction and that person is much higher level than I am, as the bright red numbers are kind of hard to ignore. Otherwise, it very much depends on what the character is doing. Is s/he running around and picking fights with everyone or claiming to be the best duelist or quickest draw in the galaxy? If so, I'm probably going to look at the level and see if they'd be able to back up that claim. On the other hand, if s/he is just standing around, drinking something at the bar or hitting on persons of their preferred gender, I don't tend to look or notice right away.

For most people the answer is yes, even if it's just seeing it out of the corner of your eye when you target someone so your character looks at them. Many people try to deny it though. Why should level matter? One of the most compelling reasons outside of PvP duels is the effort required to get a character to 50. Even if you did nothing else but play The Old Republic, it would take days to get a character to level 50. By having a high level character, you're showing off the effort it took to get there. Very few people in an RP community just rush to 50 on a character; they take their time, roleplay, and savor the game. By showing that you made it to 50, you're showing a commitment to the community and server in time spent, and time you're going to spend. That's at least worth acknowledging over the level 10 next to you in the bar. But does it matter in roleplay?

A high level character also has access to gear that lets them crush their lower level competition. As far as game mechanics go, it makes perfect sense. If they're higher level than you, it's likely they could crush you in a duel. If that's your style of RP, then it's case closed. That only applies to a medium sized portion of RPers though. For everyone else—the Storytellers—it doesn't matter as much. It's possible to have a character, even a powerful one at a low level, and still interact freely in roleplay. People with low level characters shouldn't be discouraged from RPing or feel that they need to RP apprentices, or weaker characters. They just need to be aware they may have to do more to prove their roleplay aptitude to others.

So if levels affect RP, then what about Legacy levels?

Jerax Teral: It depends on the circumstances. If it's general RP in a cantina or a similar location, it doesn't matter if they are level 5 or level 50. Level merely shows progress in the game and combative strength. Now if the other person is wanting to fight my character, then I would take a level 50 more seriously. A level 50 walks up and says he can beat me in a fight, I'll believe him or at least know he could be capable of doing so. A level 5 walks up to my level 50 and puts up the same tough act, I'd probably laugh him off ICly and ask him OOCly if he knows that I could take him down if I looked at him wrong.

MacButt: In a word, yes. In more words, though, I stick by that writing ability is the most important factor of all in RP. I will be willing to suspend all kinds of disbelief in favor of a good story. But to use my example above, a Darth concealing his power and mulling about as the IC equivalent of level 10 for mysterious personal reasons is an interesting story. Someone that walks in proclaiming himself a powerful Darth with a mass power structure is not a good or interesting story, it's annoying. It would be annoying even if they were level 50, but I could at least respect that some effort had been put into the character and would be willing to allow him to prove his claims.

We've talked before about powerful characters, and how to get one to be taken seriously. The answer here is simple: no. You do not need to be level 50 and have the Darth title to RP a Darth. However, that doesn't mean it won't help you get acknowledged in the RP community. The average RP scene is filled with Darths and Masters, Majors and Master Conspirators. To stand out from the crowd, you need something, or people are just going to pay attention to someone else. I can walk up to the bar on the Imperial Fleet at any time and find five Darths to interact with; what makes one more appealing to RP with then another? Reputation first and foremost.

A level 10 character RPing a Darth that's built up a reputation in the RP community over time is always going to be more interesting and attract more RP with less people questioning them. If you're just starting out though, then being a level 50 with the title certainly does help. People are jaded after seeing a parade of high ranking characters everywhere they go; you need to be at least as good as the others in the pack if you want to be acknowledged. Think of the title like a college degree. Most, if not all of what you did to get it is useless or unrelated, but having it gets your foot in the door for a job. Businesses will take work experience over a recent grad, but the person without either experience or a degree is really in trouble.

This is my PvP gear? I guess I have to wear it if I want respect...

Balkito: I, personally, think that PvP should not affect RP, or anything else beyond PvP. The game mechanic of dueling is probably the most biased form of IC combat, in my opinion. Beyond that, the use of PvP gear is for appearance, which I do sometimes consider when I'm RP'ing (I'm going to take a Mandalorian more seriously if he looks like he has more armor than my Consular). So, while appearance could be important, PvE combat and PvP shouldn't influence RP. I've met several low level players that had enough RP skill to put many higher level players to shame.

Mai Cash: The greatest boon to roleplayers is time. What roleplayers need to introduce themselves appropriately as characters in a roleplaying community is time, effort, and quality interactions. All of which comes down to minutes and hours spent not actually levelling and not interacting with the game on a PvP and PvE level. Should this mean that someone who wishes to be "taken seriously" as a player quickly levels their character to level 50 and then spends one month in PvP land in order to acquire the gear they wish in order to play the character they wish to play, so be it. I believe that the same character can be played convincingly enough at level 35 without the gear in question, given the amount of time spent amongst the role playing community. One does not have to be at level cap to be taken seriously, unless one wishes to be The Great & Powerful Oz. Should one wish to play The Great & Powerful Anything, one best have the chops to back it up—most likely yes. However, to me, this is a rather boring and typical way to play. Try growing up in the community as a character first, and then roleplay the Ass Kicker.

Speaking about discussions we've had before, this really comes back to the RP vs RP-PvP debate we've gone over a million times as well. If you're on a RP-PvP server, and you want to RP a powerful character, then absolutely, you better have some PvP gear, or at least be competent in duels. For the rest of us though, how does it affect RP? Conflict is a part of life, and roleplay. Since /roll won't be in-game for a while more, that leaves emotes and duels. That means if your character makes an enemy, there's a 50% chance they're going to want to fight a duel. So you might want to have decent gear to back it up, or Mandalorian bodyguards. After all, does it really matter if you can back up those threats personally if you have an army at your back?

As with getting recognized, having the gear to "back up" a character's IC strength helps, but is not really a requirement. If you want to RP Darth Badass, having PvP gear for duels can help you back up their strength, and will earn you some respect from the people that like using duels. PvP gear won't win you recognition though, it's just a way to help. You're still going to have to tell a good story to gain the recognition of your peers. We've all seen some PvPer walk into a canitna and demand respect as a Darth because they're decked out in the latest gear and can slaughter almost anyone in a duel. They quickly become shunned because their characters are Mary Sues. Just like having level 50, it's just one of many things players will consciously or subconsciously evaluate about your character.

As opposed to other RP types, Mandalorians generally do require certain gear.

Sendra: I don't see how it's a problem. A new player has the levelling up time to RP his rise in position or power. And by that I mean in RP, not just in doing the class quests. And if he's a new player on the RP scene, and not simply a new character of an established player, it gives him time to learn the who's who and what's what of the server.Occasionally a player may create a new character who is to be someone of established power. I would expect to see that normally within a guild or closed RP circle, and it's for that group to accept and establish among themselves the new character's power. Once that is done, that backing can help to establish the character's position and power among the rest of the RP community. But it would still be wise for the low level but IC powerful character to use discretion in throwing his weight around publicly.

Bielduwyn: One method could be making a system that ensures that people are absolutely equal in a duel, like buffing the stats and gear stats of the lower level character, and allowing for a handicap system if you do want to represent a clear difference in skill. But really, level shouldn't matter at all, if your character looks and acts the part, level shouldn't matter.

Can a new player start out RPing a Darth or Jedi Master? They're low level, and haven't invested anything into the community yet. Chances are they could be some 12 year old looking for a power trip. That's the fear, but they could also be a mature RPer who is just new to TOR. The survival of a RP community depends on it being able to constantly integrate new people with fresh ideas and roleplay. If we're too quick to shun them, chances are they will leave. That's why I'm always in favor of giving someone a chance, level and gear aside. If they're a child looking for a power trip, chances are that will become readily apparent within one or two lines of dialogue, then you can just walk away, having lost nothing.

Levels and gear do matter in roleplay because a part of our RP community believe they're a representation of effort and preparation. In this we really can't disagree; it's their opinion after all, so some accommodation must be made. However, in most circumstances you won't need to be high level or well geared for roleplay. Still, because it does matter to a sizeable part of the community, it's worth working towards. The Old Republic is far easier and faster to level and gear than most of its predecessors. Most players will have enough time to slowly work towards a goal of 50 or epic gear. It's not required but it definitely will help, so why not at least put in a little work?

Our train is pulling into the station for this week, so crack your knuckles and start typing out a comment. Keep the debate going and don't be afraid to speak up. When you're done, head over to The Darker Side of Life thread. Chances are by the time you read this, I'll have next week's topic and questions ready and posted. Write out your responses to the questions for a chance to get into next week's article. Until next week, keep an open mind, and may the Force be with you.

RHN Report: Advozse Hegemony On the Warpath

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 10:00:00 -0500

Crisis in the Outer Rim! The Advozse Hegemony is on the warpath, attacking and devastating several worlds in the far regions. Reports from the region are still coming in, but it seems that the Advozse were using a Republic super-weapon as the spearhead of their attacks. The Advozse are a humanoid race, known for their pale skin, and large central horn, as well as xenophobic tendencies. Republic envoys in the past have failed to engage them in any meaningful negotiations.

Now they've managed to steal a weapon from our military and take it on a planet crushing rampage before they were finally stopped. The Senate is demanding answers from the military, but it's not yet clear how this came to pass. How did they manage to get a hold of a battlestation that wasn't even supposed to exist? The people are demanding answers. It's also unclear just how the station was eventually destroyed. Both governments have claimed responsibility for the Advozse's demise.

For now, the crisis is over. The Advozse's Supreme Warleader has offered his life, and their forces are withdrawing from the worlds that they tried to conquer. While the damage caused in this short time was terrible, the Senate has already dispatched aid ships to the affected worlds to help them rebuild. Only time will tell just how bad the damage truly is; body counts from this massive asteroid hurling weapon are still being tallied.

My fellow citizens, it's time we demand accountability from our military and our leaders. Someone must be held responsible for this mistake. We made this mistake before, trusting our safety to the Jedi, now we put too much faith in technological marvels. The strength and safety of the Republic come from our men and women at arms; not the Force, and not giant battlestations. Remember that as you head to the polls later this year for the elections, because if the Empire gets its way, you won't be able to soon.

Mai Sazen

Reporter

Republic HoloNet Network

[Hammer Station]

Force Reflection: Are you a lore bender?

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 08:00:00 -0500

Immersion is an important part of any role-playing experience. How far you sink into the world and the hooks it puts on you and your character are an important part of keeping a story going and keeping interest in it up. Star Wars is unique in that it has a lot of lore to build off of and expand on. From the Jedi to the Sith, from outlaws to soldiers, the world we've taken to running around in is a rich one.

There's certainly no shortage of lore and story floating around. In the end, how much of what happens in the game and what has happened in the Expanded Universe can be a very personal situation with a lot of head canon involved. This can affect the way scenes in public places play out on RP servers. We're all bound to, eventually, run across someone whose idea of lore contradicts our own. It's the handling of these encounters that can really make or break immersion on an RP server.

As role-players and writers, how far are we willing to bend lore to fit our personal stories? At what point do you, as a player, feel stepping in is necessary either because your character would step or you feel it's gone to far? I think we can all agree that some bending of the lore, at the very least, is understandable to tell a story and sometimes even necessary. Is it ever right to intervene in character or out of character when someone crosses that line in a public RP area?

The Imperial Independent: Darth Jadus Assassinated!

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:40:00 -0500

In a scene of fire and death earlier today, The Dominator, flagship of Dark Council member Darth Jadus, was destroyed by a terror network run by a man calling himself "The Eagle." This man and his network managed to not only destroy an Imperial Destroyer, but also co-opt the Empire's broadcast system to send his message across the galaxy. Authorities on Dromund Kaas are responding. However, at the moment, they can do little more then clean up the wreckage and mourn the dead. Along with Darth Jadus, several thousand civilians and diplomats were on board as part of a tour that Darth Jadus was taking of the Empire.

Who are these people? How did they manage to kill a member of the Dark Council? We have lived our lives being told that the Empire was unstoppable, that the Sith could destroy any threat, but one of their greatest was felled by a few men and some detonite. Just how safe are we if they can kill a Dark Council member? I don't know about you, my fellow citizens, but I'll be sleeping a lot lighter in the coming days. How are we supposed to fight the Republic in the coming war if we cannot remain united? What exactly is the Empire going to do, and how did Imperial Intelligence miss something like this? Read on, and see a copy of what this Eagle has to say to us all.

Citizens of the Empire, this is the Eagle. I am here to tell you that our government is corrupt. When the Emperor signed his treaty with the Galactic Republic, we were promised a new epoch -- glory unrivaled since the first Sith dynasty. Instead, our Empire has suffered. Apathetic Moffs and wicked Lords of the Dark Council vie for power while our soldiers die over worthless planets in nameless star systems. Anyone who speaks out in favor of reform is kidnapped and tortured by Imperial Intelligence. This must not continue.

A short while ago, a group of defiant revolutionaries destroyed an Imperial dreadnaught. Three thousand people were aboard -- including Darth Jadus, a Lord of the Dark Council. We chose to strike at Darth Jadus publicly so that every Imperial citizen would know the truth: The Dark Council is not invulnerable. We can affect change. We regret the sacrifice of so many civilians, but it was necessary. The Empire cannot cover up this momentous event. Imperial Intelligence cannot silence our call to arms.

This is only the first step toward a better future. We have agents throughout the Empire preparing to strike again... and again. We will not relent until our government chooses strength over weakness -- unity over discord. We will continue to show the anger of the people.

This is the Eagle. End Transmission.

A terrifying message, indeed. I don't know whether he is a messiah or a mad man, but only time will tell. Can this Eagle defeat the Sith? He's already struck a large blow. I advise you to look around your homes, and think about what really matters to you. Is the Empire going to protect you and your family? Can they? These are dark times, and we here at the Imperial Independent will do our best to keep you informed of the real news, with no propaganda.

Gern Sekara

Reporter

The Imperial Independent

A Long Time Ago: Every Saga Has a Beginning

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 12:00:00 -0500

Twentieth Century-Fox fanfare.

A black backdrop, bejeweled with distant stars. And ten words:

"A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away..... "

I saw Episode IV: A New Hope when I was all of six years old, and my stomach still tightens with eager anticipation at the sight of that simple proem. It always promises that what we are about to see isn’t just an ordinary shoot-’em-up between plastic models chroma keyed against a matte painting. Instead, the words betoken something vaster, something more potent: we are witnessing a capital-S Story set in a mythic world where the stakes go as high as they possibly can, and where Good and Evil clash on a grand, primal scale.

Star Wars is a franchise that requires a whole lot of capital letters to explain, and that’s not because George Lucas can’t use proper grammar. Lucas and company are always swinging for the mythic fence, trying to transform what on the surface seems like escapist fare into a more fundamental exploration of the human condition. Like the Grimms’ fairy tales or the Greek myths with which so many of us grew up, Star Wars is at once a rousing tale and a deep well of metaphorical significance. The purpose of this ongoing column is to explore the ways that a mythic approach to Star Wars can enrich your own roleplaying in that galaxy far, far away.

I’m Here to Rescue You

Introductions are in order. I’m Tenebras, your humble host, and I’ve been fascinated by the mythological underpinnings of the Star Wars canon ever since I was a wee lad. Perhaps unsurprisingly—and George shoulders a fair bit of the blame here—I went on to pursue advanced degrees in cultural anthropology and folklore, with a special interest in the relationship between folk narrative and psychological development. I even wrote my Master’s Thesis on roleplaying-as-myth; yes, I’m that kind of geek.

Throughout A Long Time Ago, we’ll be looking at a dizzying range of topics germane to both Star Wars and world mythology, and always with an eye toward how insight into mythic characters, plots, and tropes can both add depth and power to your character’s adventures in Star Wars: The Old Republic. From using the Hero’s Journey to help you structure RP events to drawing on the archetype of the trickster when creating your smuggler’s personality, we’ll explore the ways that Star Wars’s more epic resonances can enhance your character’s personal story.

Some weeks we’ll survey aspects of myth on a wider, more universal scale, while in others we’ll delve into particular pantheons’ or cultures’ mythologies to see what Rubat crystals of wisdom they might contain. I promise to keep the academia-speak to a bare minimum, and to do my best to provide you with ideas, insights, and inspirations that you can port directly into your online roleplay.

Over the next three weeks, we’ll be discussing the most basic and powerful mythic idea there is: the Hero’s Journey. Also called the Monomyth (I warned you about the capital letters), the idea of the Hero’s Journey grows out of the work of comparative mythologist Joseph Campbell. George Lucas read Campbell’s seminal The Hero with a Thousand Faces as a young man, and its explication of the Monomyth had a direct influence on the original Star Wars trilogy’s plot, characters, and themes. And if it’s good enough for George, why not your character as well?

What we won’t be doing here is rehashing the connections between Campbell’s conception of the Hero’s Journey and the Star Wars films themselves. For anyone interested in this fascinating subject, there are a host of great resources on the Web; in particular, "Star Wars Origins" does a terrific job of exploring the various mythological, pop-cultural, and literary sources that Lucas drew on. We also won’t be exploring the Hero’s Journey as it relates to the eight class storylines BioWare presents players with; while a great many (or, more arguably, all) of these stories do draw on the Monomyth, I don’t want to spoil anyone’s surprises. Besides, the truly exciting thing about the Hero’s Journey isn’t how BioWare used it in designing The Old Republic, but how you can use it yourself.

Hokey Religions and Ancient Weapons

So let’s take a look at what the Hero’s Journey actually is, briefly. (For those of you whose appetites are whetted by this very brief summation, Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces and The Power of Myth will give you lots more to chew on.) According to Campbell, who spent many years poring through the various hero tales and mythologies of various world cultures, there is, essentially, one narrative structure or progression that undergirds every quest story or hero’s tale ever told, which he lays out as follows: "A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man."

While a certain amount of variation in the presence or sequence of events in this ur-narrative is to be expected, the similarities from hero to hero and from tale to tale will far outstrip any differences. Campbell believed, like the Swiss psychologist Carl Gustav Jung before him, that this fundamental story arc was shared unconsciously by every human culture, and that when any storyteller from any of those cultures spun a heroic saga, he or she was expressing deep and primal truths about human nature and the universe as a whole.

I’ll leave the questions as to whether or not Campbell and Jung were right to wiser heads than mine. The point is, whether the Hero’s Journey is part of humanity’s shared psychic heritage or not, it is a fantastic resource for roleplayers. If you’ve ever fumbled around with your character’s personality development or stumbled through the planning of a long RP storyline that just didn’t seem to be headed anywhere, the Monomyth can serve as a road map helping you get to somewhere powerful and interesting.

The itinerary marked out on that map, according to Campbell, passes through three distinct territories: Departure, Initiation, and Return. In Departure, the hero sets out on his quest, leaving behind the safe, ordinary world, for a more dangerous and exciting one. As he passes through Initiation, the hero is tested and tried by various inner and outer forces. Finally, in the stage of Return, the hero achieves his goal, bringing the fruits of his success back with him to benefit the greater good.

Each of those three bigger "regions" a hero passes through is broken down into a series of smaller waypoints; every hero-traveler will visit at least some of these checkpoints, and maybe even all of them, as he passes through the territory of which they are a part. So, for example, in the stage of the Hero’s Journey Campbell calls Initiation, a hero may hit some or all of the following waypoints: "The Road of Trials"; "The Meeting with the Goddess"; "Temptation away from the True Path," and so on. The entire sequence of waypoints a hero—or player character—visits in order make up the story of that hero’s progress from untested innocent to worldly-wise savior.

(What’s that, you say? My character isn’t heroic; in fact, she’s downright malevolent? Or perhaps you’re thinking, what if my hero doesn’t ultimately succeed at reaching her goals? Not to worry: as any good writer will tell you, one of the best things about a relatively fixed structure like the Monomyth is that once you understand it, you can break it in interesting ways, a topic we’ll explore in a future column.)

Because the Hero’s Journey is so widespread across world mythology, and because we’re all so familiar with it, it can be a powerful tool for structuring your character’s internal and external development. Computer roleplaying games themselves, in fact, draw substantially on the Hero’s Journey as they chart your character’s progress from a Level One hayseed to a Level Fifty destroyer of worlds. But that’s BioWare’s show; what about yours? Over the next few columns, we’ll sketch out the major stages of the Hero’s Journey and look at how a roleplayer might use them to tell her own story through character choices, plot developments, and even planned roleplay events. This week, logically enough, we’ll start by discussing Part One: The Departure.

You’ve Just Taken Your First Step into a Larger World

According to Joseph Campbell, Departure consists of five substages: The Call to Adventure, The Refusal of the Call, Supernatural Aid, Crossing the First Threshold, and Belly of the Whale. This week and next we’ll define each of these substages briefly, and then give a few examples of how each substage might inspire your own Star Wars: The Old Republic roleplaying. Our examples in this column and the three that follow will focus on two model Old Republic characters: the young Jedi Consular Heran Sol and the battle-hardened Sith Warrior Torr Kleshic. Heran’s player Alex is interested in exploring a forbidden romance subplot with another player’s character, and Torr’s player Joanne and a good friend of hers want to play out a rivalry between their two Sith Warriors in which one ultimately destroys the other.

We’re almost out of space for this week’s column, but let’s at least dig in and discuss the very first substage of Departure, just to whet our appetites for more next week.

The Call to Adventure: The first stage is pretty straightforward; in it, the protagonist of a story first spots, hears of, or meets the event, need, or person who will compel him into adventure—think Luke Skywalker inadvertently discovering Princess Leia’s hidden holotransmission when he futzes with R2D2. The main value of this stage for roleplayers is that it encourages us to consider how to open the storylines we wish to pursue.

For example, Heran’s "adventure" consists of falling in love with someone he shouldn’t, a fellow Jedi who has sworn her entire life to the Order. But will Heran see his soon-to-be-beloved meditating quietly in a Jedi temple garden, or will he rescue her from a battle in which she is sorely outnumbered? Will they be thrown together by a superior who assigns them a common mission? Or will Heran start dreaming of her lovely face against his will? Any of these could function as a Call to Adventure, but each will kick off a story differently.

Torr, on the other hand, has a much darker adventure in mind, one full of blood, betrayal, and thunder. His Call might begin when he is defeated by a fellow Sith Warrior during a "friendly" duel, or when that warrior mockingly saves his life in combat in order to prove Torr’s inferiority. On the other hand, Torr might start to hear rumors of a mighty Sith whom no one can match with a lightsaber, and might decide to eliminate this potential competitor. Again, each of these different Calls will begin a roleplay story differently, but each is functionally an invitation to RP adventure.

Thinking about how your story starts may in fact be the most important decision you can make as a roleplayer. As we'll see, the later stages of the Hero's Journey largely depend on the Call to Adventure, so it's well worth sitting down with your fellow roleplayers and discussing exactly what sort of bang you want to start off with.

Well, that's all the time we have for this week—introductions always take longer than you think they will, don't they? But join us again next week for the next four stages of the Departure as we follow Heran and Torr through the start of their adventures. In the meantime, your thoughts, comments, and topic suggestions are most welcome; if there's something you'd like to see covered here, please don't be shy about naming it. Until next time, happy roleplaying, and remember that if you want your character's story to truly be Star Wars, it's got to be mythic!

Force Reflection: Where Does Your Character Get Their Credits?

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 08:00:00 -0500

Rich or poor, credits have to come from somewhere. When we're roleplaying in most cases, we don't usually think about where credits come from. Most people generally have an idea of how many credits their character has. Smugglers tend to be poor while an Alderaanian Nobleman might have a great deal. We could debate for hours how rich characters should be, or if you have to back that up with OOC credits. But I thought this morning it might be more fun to take a different spin on it. Regardless of how many credits your character has on average, how do they earn them in The Old Republic?

My character Sebaya is fairly rich, but most of her money is tied up in business. She often has to look to other sources to fund some of her more expensive and sadistic hobbies. Currently, she's thinking about using her shipping assets to sell cheap spice through contacts on Nar Shaddaa. Since all corners have been cut to save on costs, there is the unfortunate possibility that any player's characters will suffer horrible side effects from use of the spice. Well, hopefully no one traces it back to her, but that's the risk of doing business!

Tell us about how your character earns their pay. Does your Bounty Hunter RP out jobs to keep their crew paid? Or do you keep moneymaking activities in the background? While we're at it, I've always wondered where exactly Jedi and Sith get their money from. Is it like a salary? Jedi can't exactly go burn and loot a planet for credits like a Sith could. See if you can answer that one as well. Also that picture is one of credits from Wookieepedia. I always wondered what exactly a credit chit would look like...

Force Reflection: Do you RP the little things?

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 08:00:00 -0500

Excitement, adventure, a Jedi craves not these things. Most of us RPer's, however, definitely crave adventure and excitement. Now, excitement can mean battling a Sith Lord on a strange and dangerous planet, or simply trying to shuffle out an unruly patron as you try and tend a bar. Whether the scope of the adventure is large or small, we want to put our characters in fun, interesting scenarios. But while we are so busy doing this, do we find the time to brush our character's teeth? Or maybe even get some grocery shopping done?

Now at first glance those two examples don't sound like much fun to do, since the game doesn't demand it of us. We can suspend disbelief and assume all of these activities are done "behind the scenes," right? But just because we can do that, does it mean we should always ignore some of the more simple things that our character need to do to survive? Can't it be fun to go grocery shopping with some friends on Nar Shaddaa? Or maybe taking someone with you to deal with a jury duty holo-mail you received from your home planet? Can't the more hum-drum activities we deal with on a day to day basis become fun to RP out in the Star Wars universe?

Do you take the time to perform some of the less glamorous chores needed for a person or alien, to survive? If so, what kind of things do you do? Answer in the comments section below!

Larrick Haldo Presents: Panic Attack at Port Nesh

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 08:00:00 -0500

Hello my galactic dregs, you scum of the universe. Larrick Haldo here, as always, except when I'm not. After an incident involving a less than legal Rodian girl and a small chemical fire in my hotel room, I left Nar Shaddaa to find myself a new story. Since my Lesai guy in Coronet had just gotten a fresh shipment from Zebitrope IV, I decided to make like a bantha and illegally board a space shuttle headed for Corellia. (For you kids at home, this example only works with a really small Bantha and a very inebriated crew.)

When I landed, Mr. Lesai was waiting for me just outside the departures area. For those of you who aren't galactic narcotic aficionados, Lesai grants humanoids the ability to go without sleep as long as you've got some. And as a reporter who deems sleep for the weak, and also do to a completely rational fear that Ugnaughts will steal my hair if I ever do sleep, Lesai is an important tool in my journalistic toolkit. Anywho, lesson over. Back to the fun stuff.

So after being duped into Mr. Lesai's buy three get one free deal, he informed me of a diner opening right there in the spaceport. Turns out some fella managed to open a diner on the rather war torn world of Corellia. It was also at this moment I realized I may not have eaten in the past four days. With both of these facts now known to me, I quickly threw my per diem at Mr. Lesai and made my way to the Port Nesh Grand Opening.

I wasn't sure what exactly to expect; I've been to my fair share of diner dives where the menu consists mainly of chubba on a stick and grease fried grease. Needless to say, my hopes weren't that high. The great thing about never having high hopes though is you'll always find yourself pleasantly surprised. While the place isn't huge, it was comfortable. It felt like a place you could walk in to say hi to the owner and snort giggledust to your heart's content. The crowd seemed laid back, or as laid back as you can be on a planet in the midst of tearing itself in half, and everything was surprisingly clean and well kept.

I planted myself at the end of the diners bar area, and was helped by a tall yellowish Twi'lek who turned out to be the owner; a tall drink of water by the name of Sonfax. Guy was polite, took my order and talked to me for a bit before helping the other people packing in around the bar. I'd say for a grand opening of a small diner in the middle of a war zone, this guy knows how to pull in the customers. After a few of my best one-liners, Sonfax brought me the diner's signature sandwich and an ice cold Corellian Ale. I swear that Twi'lek is after my heart. Now, I'm no food critic, and I also hadn't eaten in close to a hundred hours, but I'm gonna go out on a limb and say this may have been the best food to have ever entered my mouth, ( I cannot speak for any food that may have entered any other orifice I am unaware of) and I ate it like a mynock on a power cable.

This, however, proved to be my downfall. While the food and booze were very reasonably priced, I had forgotten that I had quite literally thrown all my credits at my Lesai guy. I needed to try all of the delicious food making its way around the cantina. So I developed a plan; I would pose as a reporter covering the local event, and while interviewing patrons, I would eat any food I found unattended. This proved to be quite easy as I am a reporter, and had decided to cover this event an hour or so earlier.

I talked to two movers of legal and illegal products (and who were conviently located near a table with a very lonely basket of Chips and Coruscanti Salsa); Castan and Zudeth were their names, and they were nice enough. From what I had gathered, they were visiting the for the opening as well, decided to stop in, enjoy some wine and very tasty food. I also managed to talk to a Republic Officer, a Major Bingham Drennan. He was a local apparently on leave, and decided to stop in. He had not tried any of the food at that point, which I believed was a ruse to prevent me from eating whatever he had. He did comment that his friend seemed to enjoy her meal as well as the others around him, and that the owner should be proud. I still do not trust him and his apparent lack of interest in Bantha Soup.

Overall, the event seemed to go off without a hitch. Many ate, many drank, and I managed to sample a good portion of the menu with few credits. If you are in the area, enjoy eating, and have money, this is the place for you. Larrick Haldo here, saying get to the Port Nesh Diner and eat! And also buy me some food.

Below are some shameless plugs for the Port Nesh Diner. Larrick out.

"The place to go when you're tired of Nar Shaddaa."

"A nice little oasis with good food -- been a long time since I've had a Shaak & Cheese that good -- and I'll definitely head back here when I'm in the area."

"Voted high. Affordable."

IHN Scienitific Report with Dr. Jimas Vale: Tauntauns

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 08:00:00 -0500

The rancid and the enchanting tauntaun is one of the signature pieces in the Hoth ecosystem. A hardy reptomammal, the tauntaun is perfectly adapted for its glacial and harsh climate. Thick fur and oil secreting skin help shield the creature from the biting winds of Hoth. Equipped with four sets of nostrils – two for when awake and two for when it's asleep – and webbed feet for walking upon ice; it is the epitome of evolutionary success and resilience. This beast is worth examination, which is exactly why the Empire has sent me to do so.

Tauntauns are more than just specimens to be studied, though. Despite their stubbornness and difficulty to domesticate, they are indispensable as transport and pack animals across the ice of Hoth. Where repulsorcrafts are at best questionable and at worst totally impractical, the sure feet of a giant tauntaun is the perfect remedy. They pose no threat other than nipping teeth and spitting, compared to the indigenous Wampa, they are a kind and reasonable beast.

Different species of tauntaun exist on Hoth – most notably are the scaly tauntaun, climbing tauntaun, and the giant tauntaun (also referred to as the common tauntaun). Common tauntaun are most apt to be mounts due to their size and stronger legs, whereas the other varieties are much smaller and usually are too weak to support the average Imperial.

Once you get past their scent and general ill-temper, the tauntaun is an invaluable asset to be used by our Empire.

Doctor Jimas Vale
Imperial HoloComm News Special Analyst

[Tauntaun]

Community Q&A - Chat Bubbles and More!

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 18:01:10 -0500

A new Community Q&A is up! So I know we talk a lot about chat bubbles, and our founder, Tziena, even has a recording of BioWare developers promising they would be in by launch. Obviously that didn't happen. What it seems like is that UI customization took priority, and that will be done in time for Game Update 1.2 in March. Once the UI team is free, they'll start working on chat bubbles; hopefully they can fix the issues that caused them to be pulled quickly. Depending on the issues and how serious they are, we could see chat bubbles added within weeks, or maybe a few months at most I'm sure. Either way they're coming to The Old Republic. Rejoice!

Also of importance is the mention of a hood toggle coming after Game Update 1.2. The next major update would be Game Update 1.3 which might be 2-3 months later. Either way, it's coming. They seem to be talking about headgear a lot. Companion headgear toggles are currently in the works. No ETA for them, but just good to know it's in the works, right?

Mordecia and all our other gambling entrepreneurs are going to be exciting that /roll has already been added to internal testing builds. BioWare internal testing is said to be 2-3 patches ahead of live, so that means it's likely still a few weeks off at least, but I think it's safe to say /roll will be available soon for RP events. Hopefully this will help spur people to play Sabaac more! Read on and I'll talk about the rest of what was said.

I know a lot of people are upset that the GTN is rather rudimentary. They've promised changes to it, though no specifics on function or ETA were given. Armor modification is still on track for what they said for 1.2. You'll be able to remove armoring from endgame items, but they will be bound by slot, so a chestpiece armoring must go in another chestpiece.

Warzones will also see newly announced changes in 1.2 which will help deal with people AFKing. The developers also commented on healing, stating that for endgame content they feel that the various healing classes are balanced. Also if you're wondering why 16-man Operations are so much more difficult, that's not by design. They're actually supposed to be easier, and it will be fixed soon. So are you as excited as I am? Let us know!

Datapad Notes: Arguing The Point

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 12:00:00 -0500

When I was a kid – not that, by any stretch of the imagination, I consider myself to be a grown-up now – the majority of my time was spent out of the house. Me and the local kids wasted our time playing around the neighborhood; my mother described our behavior as being remarkably similar to a pack of mangy dogs. Our days were spent brawling, building forts, or hitting tennis balls with whatever we could find, or whatever else occupied us. I'm not telling you this, might I say, to reminisce about those golden times before video games, but to discuss one of the frequent disputes that occurred when we pretended to shoot each other with our fingers.

"I shot you!"
"Nah, I had my shield up!"
"But she shot ya!"
"Doesn't matter, I have a laser shield!"

Even today, I remember this argument: mostly because Alex was an idiot, since laser shields should not exist in a game set in the wild west. It did, however, teach me a few things about resolving problems when you're playing a game, though not all of them are particularly relevant now that I'm mature. I do miss my childhood methods of punching each other up, or whinging to Dad about someone cheating, though. In this Datapad Notes, we're going to look at how players resolve disputes between each other, and between characters. Take a look after the break.

The people in the background are farming Valor, I bet.

The first issue I'd like to discuss is the notion of resolving an IC dispute – and, this being Star Wars, that almost certainly means two characters attacking each other with ray guns, glow sticks, or slave dancers. If you roleplay a character that seeks out combat, there's typically only two ways it's solved. The first involves a simple duel, while the other involves out-and-out combat. I've seen people who prefer one or the other.

Dueling's always going to be the standby. "[I'm okay with...] letting game mechanics solve our dispute. It's why I work to get all my characters to 50 and to get them well-geared, at least for PvE," offered Mordecia. I've seen multiple people, and found myself thrust against them, and, quite often, I'll find myself dueling them, regardless of my preference towards emote-based combat. The fact is, however, that I still do. Game mechanics provide an incredible framework to indicate a character's strength, while keeping things moderately realistic as well. They can always be abused – you can't make someone duel you – but when it comes to conflict, there's a reason PvP is always a standby.

The other solution, of course, is for emote-based combat, or roleplaying out the entire brawl. Often, this can be fun, enjoyable, and interesting to take part in, but the problems that come with it should be obvious. Despite everyone's claims to the contrary, a large number of people want their characters to win. "Some people I trust eneugh to emote fight out without god modding. Others I do not," Raath offered.

Allow me to add, as a final caveat, that completely destroying an opponent through wits is immensely satisfying. Be it suddenly having an army ready to ambush, taking someone hostage, or destroying their powerbase, it's a far more interesting and drawn-out way to resolve a dispute or disagreement.

This article's about ignoring problems caused by other idiots. Get it? You get it, right?

Of late, I've noticed that while I have my fair share of IC conflict, I've copped a far larger amount of flak in out of character disputes. I'm also willing to wager that I'm far from innocent in this regard, either. While my acidic attitude makes for occasionally interesting writing – in the right circumstances – it's far more likely to get me involved with an argument and on the wrong end of the ignore, or, as is frequently the case on SWTOR-RP, the wrong end of a warning. Thankfully, others are far more level-headed than me, pointing out my flaws or the times I step over the line, and I've taken something from that. Rule one of resolving an OOC argument? You're probably wrong. Be willing to admit and compromise. "Be tactful, and know when to give in or take a loss, just like in a duel," offers Balkito.

Secondly, at times, you need to be willing to stand your ground. "I am not one to set gasoline to a flame war, nor am I one either to lay quiet when my opinion dissents from others," Nai Cash argues. Remember that roleplay's meant to be fun for everyone, yourself included, and that person running around slinging muck around might not be affected too adversely if you don't follow his advice. There's a difference, however, between abusing the ignore function to avoid anybody disdaining you, and the simple statement, "Thanks for your opinion, but I'm not sure I'll agree." A disagreement isn't an insult, and respecting someone's correction or opinion means listening to them for a reasonable time, not ignoring them at the first sign of dissent.

I'll also add a third suggestion: be friendly. Anyone who is willing to disagree with you likely wants to correct you. There's a decent intention to their actions that you shouldn't ignore. "Key to remember is that no matter what, there is another human being on the other side, so respect and compromise are paramount," Irenica said on the forums.

Finally, and most importantly, you need to be willing to fight back. Typically, this is saved for those few cases, and I'm sure we know the ones; the people who'll grief roleplay zones, constantly flame you, or insist you make Futa-Snu-Snu with their Twi'lek, regardless of how often you tell them otherwise. I'm also vaguely disappointed that nobody offered their solutions for dealing with trolls or significant annoyances, but I'm sure everyone knows that the best solution is to simply use /ignore, and continue doing what you're doing. Another personal trick is to take a few screenshots and save them in a safe place. You never, ever know when pointing out a player's hypocrisy may be useful.

With that, this brief Datapad Notes finishes up for the evening, and, hopefully, I'm not the only one who's become a bit more level-headed as a result. It's a topic, and subject, that I hope to revisit in the future, but until such a time, I invite you to fight it out – politely – in the comments, and see what you can learn, neh? Come back next week for the next Datapad Notes, as we learn another way IC and OOC can intersect – the fun of making new friends, companions, and family!

Force Reflection: When will you take a fall?

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 08:00:00 -0500

Like us, our characters are creatures shaped and defined by our failures as much, if not more than, as by our successes. A dramatic setback can resonate through a character's whole existence, filling him with the resolve to meet new challenges... or with speculation about what might have been, and lingering doubts that haunt him for years.

Unfortunately in an MMO, these sorts of dramatic setbacks aren't always easy to come by. PvE play operates at a "work at it for long enough and success is pretty much inevitable" level of difficulty, while PvP setbacks tend to be very abrupt (your team loses the warzone) and ephemeral (after which you requeue). Even in roleplay, a setback arising out of PvP mechanics (a duel) or simple dice rolls may not feel particularly powerful. Sometimes you, the player, simply have to take matters into your own hands.

Have you ever conspired against your character, forcing him or her to fail at something for the sake of a good story? If so, what were the circumstances? Did you have any second thoughts at the time? What was the long-term outcome? If you haven't had this experience, what would it take for you to decide that your character just needed to come up short? Let us know in the comments!

Escaping The Cantina: Episode I - The Value Of A Plan

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 12:00:00 -0500

I had what I thought was a really good lead-in to this week's column, but then Ryger, damn him, stole my thunder by making a great comment to last week's installment:

"You know how when you watch television and you have all those channels to choose from?

Sometimes, you're so tired, the only think you can stare at is a cartoon on Adult Swim? Other times, you want to learn something, so you dial up that PBS documentary on the Taliban? Other times, a Woody Allen movie seems perfect and other times, you can't really handle anything more intellectually challenging than Batman Beyond? Other times of course, you shrug and dial up that crappy soft porn on Cinemax?

RP is the same way."

I think there's a lot to this. The cantina (and remember, in this column that's an admittedly-imperfect metaphor for the mundane, not a concrete location) is easy. It doesn't necessarily require a lot of work or thought. I frequently find myself slipping into it by default when I'm not in the mood for anything heavier, or when I don't have anything else in mind. Spending a few moments to plan my roleplay helps me avoid that latter condition, when I want to.

Let's first be clear about what a plan isn't. Having a plan doesn't imply roleplay becoming excessively scripted or choreographed. The purpose of the plan isn't to eliminate spontaneity; it doesn't require you to have a hyper-specific objective, and so it isn't a substitute for actually roleplaying the scene. The aim is merely to establish a little structure for yourself, so that you don't drift into the cantina on auto-pilot.

So what makes a successful plan? I have always found it helpful to build from a few questions:

Where do I want to roleplay?
Who, if anyone, does my character want or expect to meet in that venue? How will he react if he does or doesn't find them there?
What is my character's mood, entering the scene? What off-screen events shaped that mood?
What, generally, do I hope to achieve in the scene?

The first three questions lend some context to my roleplay: they explain why my character is there and, broadly, how he'll behave once engaged. The last question is the one that provides the structure, though, and as such stands as the most important. Even so, it doesn't need to be answered with a high degree of precision. Something as basic as showcasing my Bounty Hunter's short temper or meeting someone my Agent might be able to use as a professional contact is sufficient scaffolding to support something more than aimless drink-sipping. We're not out to create a detailed outline for a Great American Novel, here; we're just trying to establish somewhat more focused parameters for our on-line time.

Two other points. First, answering these questions does not require Herculean effort such as would significantly impinge on one's on-line-time. Given a decently-developed character concept, one should be able to answer them very nearly on the fly; certainly it shouldn't take much longer than the game takes to load.

Second, the plan is just a plan, and as the saying goes, no plan survives contact with the enemy. For instance, I may walk into a scene intending to showcase my Bounty Hunter's short temper, only to have the roleplay develop in a way that provides no sensible opportunity for him to blow his stack. And that's perfectly okay. Again, the objective isn't to write a script, to which I cling with the tenacity of a pitbull jaw-locked on red meat. It's simply to provide a more structured default than the cantina. If I find that I don't need a default, that's all to the good, and I can file it away for future use instead.

Next time, we'll talk about some of the downsides of planning -- in particular, some of the pitfalls that result when a player is a little too focused on executing his plan. Until then, and as always, I welcome your feedback, questions, and criticisms.

Force Reflection: Putting yourself in their shoes?

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 08:00:00 -0500

Have you ever looked at the character of a friend and thought: "You know what? He is just like his character." Self-Insert Avatar or Author Avatar are terms used to describe a 'character' that is essentially the author putting themselves into the story, usually sharing their personal views, likes, dislikes, and sometimes even flaws. Many roleplayers have done this in the past – I myself am guilty – but it's sometimes seen as negative (Did you know J. R. R. Tolkien said his own author avatar was Faramir?). Some people like to do this for all of their characters, others prefer to try and create finely tweaked unique characters that fit the setting.

At the end of the day, though, at least a little of us is going to be put into our characters when we ourselves are crafting and playing them (Humans in MMOs are a popular race for this reason), even if we don't intentionally do it. And so, in this Force Reflection, we ask how much of yourself do you put into your characters? Do you seek to distance yourself from the character as much as possible? Do you just write away without a thought in the world? Just to let you know that if you imagined yourself as Bella, I will be forced to hunt you down and kill you in your sleep.

The Darker Side of Life: When are we?

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 12:00:00 -0500

Look at your watch, and now back to me. Now take out a piece of paper and write the date. It's the middle of February now so most people have stopped writing 2011 by accident and switched to 2012. This is real life and we know when we are. In fact, it's crucial to our very way of life. Log in to The Old Republic now and strike up some roleplay with another player. Chances are neither of you even know exactly what year it is. In a galaxy that is quickly spiraling towards all out war, don't you think it would be good to know if the war has started yet?

My regular readers know I come from Star Wars Galaxies; an entirely different beast of the MMO genre where players spent eight years in 1 ABY. That's one year after the first Death Star was destroyed in A New Hope, and before the Battle of Hoth in The Empire Strikes Back. Sony Online Entertainment kept the game world static, despite releasing a Battle of Hoth instance near the end. BioWare is taking a completely different approach. You may not have realized it but the timeline has already moved since launch with the release of Game Update 1.1. With the release of Game Update 1.2 in March, it will move ahead again, and continue to every major update. How do we work with that in roleplay?

There are a lot of people that want to RP in the cold war a while before jumping into the war. Other people think that since BioWare is moving the timeline, we should jump right to the end. How can we rectify that? After all, if a group is RPing years apart from you in character, how do you interact with them? Clearly we need a way to find out just when we all are. So read on and we'll discuss your thoughts about the issue in this week's The Darker Side of Life.

Well that would certainly explain some of the inconsistencies...

Amaranth: Hmmm... I think it was ten years after the Sacking of Coruscant? I'm not 100% sure on it, so, yes, that is what I roleplay. The dating systems in the Star Wars mythos can be very confusing... not to mention having a smorgasbord of technical terms and happenstances.

Mai Cash: Honestly, I have been steering clear of mentioning year or date in character, as I have been rather fuzzy on exact SW:TOR dates and times. Should it be required of me to mention specific dates and or times (such as in Lord Adraas Market Exchange advertisements)? I usually skirt the issue by stating that the particulars will be downloaded to datapads and then post the date OOC'ly. I do participate in all of the quests (ie: not spacebar through them), but I suppose the actual year has blown past me. The only date I have noticed was Corso mentioning 24 BTC in a companion quest; however, I believe we are ATC now.

Let's start with what we know for sure. Time in The Old Republic is measured in ATC, or After the Treaty of Coruscant. That treaty ended the last war between Republic and Empire and is set appoximately 300 years after the Knights of the Old Republic games. Our characters are supposed to be the next generation, coming into their own to lead the forces in the next war. Both 10 ATC and 12 ATC have been used as the starting point of TOR. Either one can fit for that description. While you can make older looking characters, the story seems to treat our characters at the start as being in their twenties or early thirties.

For roleplay to work in a large community, we need to be able to foster random roleplay out in the game world. I've discussed the importance of it in several previous articles. To make random roleplay work, people need to be able to interact without debates on when the RP is taking place. While you can get into RP generally in a cantina and just ignore the galaxy around you, where is the fun in that? I believe that we can come to an agreement and move the story forward while making everyone happy.

If you've played through the stories to 50, you know that it seems like a decent amount of time passes, especially between the different acts. The stories all start in the cold war, and generally open warfare begins around the start of Act II. Since the Cold War doesn't have a definitive end date, and our stories don't have a definitive start date, I think it's fair to say that our class stories begin about 10 ATC and carry on through 12 ATC. Perhaps it's just simply easier to measure time as between different events. After all, both the GCW-era and TOR-era Star Wars universes measure time from large events, so perhaps instead of worrying so much about dates we should look into the game's events and try to figure out where we are.

Ok, so we're set on the date, combat method, and ERP preference for this duel, right?

Tieran: In general, I RP that the war is on. The Treaty has been broken several times by the time you're level 50 (really, by the time I'd say you're around 25-30), so it seems obvious that the intent was for the Cold War to just be something that's going on early in the timeline of the game but quickly changes. It should also be noted though that location matters. You can't go to Corellia on the Republic side or Ilum on either side and still think we're not at war. Nar Shaddaa on the other hand is very "time neutral," so we should be prepared to be more flexible when we are RP'ing there.

MacButt: Like the timeline, it was mostly something I kept quiet about because so many people seemed to have their own interpretation/ideas. The general server consensus (though less so with the RP/PvPers, heh) seems to be that we're in the Cold War for a bit longer. I'm glad for that, because I know at least one character's place in our guild pretty heavily relies on the fact that it's not yet outright war. I'm not sure what we'll do once that changes!

The Cold War is good for roleplay, especially now with communities still in their infancy. Having Republic and Empire groups that can RP with each other and not coming to blows every time does allow for more interaction. That's why a lot of people want to RP before the war for now. Can we do that though? If BioWare keeps moving the timeline, are we ever going to catch up? How can we as roleplayers get the word around to RP in anything else but the story at the end and get the word around to others? If you're going to RP in any time, there needs to be an easy way to spread the word and eliminate confusion.

At the Lord Adraas Guild Leader's meeting we managed to agree on a compromise of having it be before the war until March. If we keep jumping up the timeline we'll eventually catch up with BioWare, that way everyone gets what they want. It's not a perfect solution, but with enough guilds signing on it makes getting the word out a lot easier. I'm not saying it's the best decision for every community, but it's at least something to think about. As someone who played eight years without a timeline change, I can say I'm really looking forward to change as we move forward, and BioWare has a lot of things like live events coming that we simply couldn't participate in if we didn't catch up with the endgame ICly.

Even on other servers though I've noticed many people are still playing in the Cold War era. I think it's good people are looking to get the full TOR experience without just rushing to the end. I would encourage people from different communities to get together with each other and try to plan something out. Obviously if people stay in the Cold War too long, other people are going to push to move on. As long as you put in the effort, people will benefit. Discussing timelines can be a rather dramatic issue, but it's well worth it. Just a little bit of work can make things better for a lot of people.

I don't care when it is, I just want to shoot things with my giant gun!

Hyperewok1: I've done all of my JK's questing solo, so no. However, I do want to rewrite part of the Voss storyline because I know what happened in BioWare's story would have had a huge effect on my character, so someday I want to explore that. Otherwise, I just figure she's ICly performing assorted missions on the various planets we happen to be able to play on, but I don't go into details. I don't discuss major events in detail either. For example, Nyomi's heard that Imperials are said to be raiding Republic transports on the hyperspace lines. Obviously that's a reference to the Esseles, but I'm not going to mention anything about Kilran or Ambassadors.

Azhandra Rycar: I have modified BioWare's story for the Trooper storyline to resemble my own, but for the sake of others, I pretend that the events that occur to the new leader of Havoc Squad is someone else's story – a lore figure. I recall Jaden Korr from the game Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, where the player picks a customized version of Jaden but, according to LucasArts, the canonical version of Jaden is the default male human with the Light Side ending. Perhaps BioWare has the same idea in mind, much like the male Light Side version of Revan was canonical, that there is an idealized, personified version of each class that may eventually exist in the canon.

We've talked about using the BioWare story with your character before, but this has a bit of a different twist on it. In past articles we've talked about if and how you should RP different elements like class and planet stories, as well as Flashpoints. Now we need to look at when they fit in. Obviously if you're going to use them, do it in order. Some of them make a lot less sense when taken out of context. It's worth noting as well that Balmorra and Taris flip flop. The Empire claims Balmorra in Act I, and the Republic takes it back in Act II for instance.

One good example I've found so far of using the planet stories is the Seventh Infantry on Lord Adraas. As a Trooper guild, they started out stationed on Ord Mantell fighting the civil war there and have been slowly advancing since. They're sticking to the Lord Adraas timeline plan I talked about before generally, and moving along the Act I planets at their own pace. The beauty of this is that other players get a chance to see them out and patrolling and interact with them. They're creating roleplay for themselves and others. It's also important to remember that the game won't end with Ilum either. The first new planet comes in March, and when it launches, everyone will swarm there. Together we could turn it into a RP hotspot, then move on in a few months when the next planet comes. As long as BioWare keeps the content coming, we can keep moving forward once we catch up.

Right now a lot of our RP is caught up on Nar Shaddaa and in cantinas. There's nothing wrong with cantina RP, but it can't be all a community does or things eventually go stale and we'll lose people. Using the story vaguely to help spark some more adventurous RP is a good way to get things moving. For instance, you could designate Alderaan as a roleplay hub and have people go there to run around RPing as part of the shadow war between Republic and Empire. It's not a shooting war yet so there's a lot of room for tense situations, and as it crosses into full scale war you could go all out as it's the last Act I planet. Get creative.

Hold on...I think we made a wrong turn at Albuquerque.

Mishka Kalrook: Honestly, I think as more and more people reach the higher levels, more and more people will be on the same page. I know when I start any new characters, I won't be thinking, "Well, they're in a different timeline from Mishka." To be honest though, I haven't figured out how I will treat people who are early in there class story and playing through the game for the first time. Though, anyone who doesn't think the Sith and Republic are going to go to war at some point during the class story must be incredibly naive, as at least much of the Consular story was rather predictable.

Raath: Until the community eventually settles in and the events of the storyline become semi-common knowledge, I'm going to be vague eneugh when dealing with others so that it works no matter what. If I mention my character was engaged in some skirmishing with the Republic, someone who is playing the cold war can take that to mean I've been engaged in the unoffical border clashes; someone whose finished and is roleplaying in the war can assume that I was fighting on Corellia.

Timeline discussions for some reason get people upset easily. Everyone wants others to go by their view I guess. For us to be able to function as a community, we need the most poeple possible to agree on one time at any given point. Obviously you'll never get everyone to agree to anything, timelines included. Each server will likely have its own quirks and opinions as well. The key is to be open to discussing it when something comes up, and be flexible.

New players especially are going to need help. They're going to run out into the world and just start RPing whenever they want. Instead of disregarding them or yelling at them, take a moment and try to bring them onboard with whatever your guild or server is doing. Spread the word. If you're not sure what you're server is doing, get some people together and have a discussion, try to include as many people as possible and have a debate. At worst, it's a chance to meet with some of the other players OOCly and get to know them.

That's all I have to say on the timelines. What do you think about the timeline debate? Be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments and keep the debate going. When you're done, head over to the Darker Side of Life thread and give your feedback on next week's topic. What is it? You'll have to just head over and find out. If you have a topic you want to suggest, shoot me a PM. I can't think of them all myself!

The Old Republic Asia Pacific Launch

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 10:00:00 -0500

For most of you, the wait was over about three months ago. The Old Republic officially launched in December, and all of BioWare's and SWTOR's true followers kicked off their journey into LucasArts' latest Star Wars virtual reality. However, the launch was not official for every region across the globe. Fans from certain countries had to import their SWTOR product in order to play. And the fans we're referring to are those from the Asia-Pacific countries, including Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

"The wait is over," we were told. But now, it officially and truly is over. BioWare recently announced the launch of SWTOR in the Asia Pacific. The Aussies and Kiwis can now enjoy BioWare's epic story (or should I say stories?) on their own localised servers from March 1st, 2012. Pre-orders are now available for the Asia-Pacific region from a number of retailers. Additionally, players from Downunder and surrounding countries will be given the opportunity for a free character transfer to an Oceanic server. So, will you be making the move Downunder?

Full details of the launch announcement can be found the official press release and news article.

Force Reflection: Who do you look up to?

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 08:00:00 -0500

The relationship between a student and their mentor is one we see multiple times in the Star Wars films; Obi-Wan and Luke, Anakin and Palpatine, or all the shades in between. Learning from others isn't exclusive to the Jedi, or the Sith, though -- an older pilot could have a younger sidekick he's taken under his wing, or a Bounty Hunter might keep an eye out for a less experienced newcomer. We've already seen the a wide variety of teachers and students in The Old Republic, acting out that familiar relationship, whether it be in or out of character. Almost universally, it tends to be a great source of jokes, fun, and fantastic roleplay adventures.

That leads to the discussion for this Force Reflection: who are your mentors, and what do they mean, to you? Are they your Padawan's Master, or is your relationship one of a slave being forced to serve a Dark Lord? Did it start through a coincidence of roleplay; a chance encounter that struck the interest of one of you, and continued from there? Or did you seek out and arrange something with a friend, or, perhaps, a complete stranger? Does your Agent have a sidekick; does your Trooper have someone they look out for? How's it worked out? Make your voice heard, as always, in the comments.

Just be sure to ask your master for permission first, slave.

DKT Report: Crisis on Dromund Kaas

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 10:00:00 -0500

It is a time of crisis on the Imperial capitol. While the streets of Kaas City gleam and high society abounds, deep in the jungles of Dromund Kaas lurk threats to our great Empire. Slave rebellions and plots from our own subjects have put the capitol at risk. However, we can report that these crises are all now under control. The Imperial Military and Imperial Intelligence are mopping up the remaining cowards fleeing into the brush.

Loyal citizens, while we can look forward to a glorious future with the galaxy united under the Empire, I caution you not to blind yourselves to the continuing threats all around us. Dilligence is your duty to the Emperor. The spies of the enemy may be everywhere, looking to incite chaos in our midst. Do your part and report any unpatriotic behavior to Imperial Intelligence. For now, however, continue on past the break to read our detailed coverage of the crises our homeworld has faced.

Slaves working on a statue of the Sith Lord Darth Skotia began an open revolt earlier this month, destroying much of their mining machinery. While the Imperial Military was quick to contain the rebellion, it was only quelled with the assistance of the Sith and Mandalorian mercenaries who ensured that the slaves suffered greatly for their crimes. Darth Skotia himself was found dead in his office in the Citadel. No suspects have been named as of yet.

Rogue elements of the Sith, such as Lords Grathan and Tytonus have attempted to take advantage of this chaos by funding terrorist groups made up of other slaves across the planet. Despite their attempts to land covert mercenary forces on the doorstep of Kaas City, they quickly found their armies and possessions burned before losing their lives to forces under the command of true Sith carrying out the Emperor's will.

Debate is raging on in the capitol as to a solution for the repeated slave issues that we have faced recently. In other news, Dark Council Member Darth Jadus has announced his new tour of the Empire aboard his flagship, The Dominator. He promises to bring the gifts of fear and hate to the heart of every Imperial citizen. Be sure to check with your local Information Ministry to see when he will arrive on your planet. For the Dromund Kaas Tribune, this has been Charles Xent, signing off.

Charles Xent

Dromund Kaas Tribune

Crisis on Dromund Kaas

Force Reflection: What is your character's ship named?

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 08:00:00 -0500

The Millennium Falcon, The Uwana Buyer, The Slave I, The Executor. The best, most well known and well loved ships in the Star Wars galaxy have names. Not that naming a ship is an easy thing to do. There can be a lot of thought going into even the most simple names. The Empire tends to give their ships, and by extension their weapons, really imposing names. There's not much to mistake that when The Executor flies into a system, heads are about to roll. The Republic's names for ships tend to be softer by comparison, either being simple like the Tantive IV or the telling, like The New Hope.

Star Wars: The Old Republic, continues this trend. From The Black Talon to The Brentaal Star, just looking at a ship's name can give someone a clue to its origins or to the person and the crew who pilot her. A ship is more than just a way to get around, to hop from point A to point B. To our characters, their ships are their homes (and for others it's their livelihood as well). With ships having such a deep connection to our characters, naming them seems the next step. Names of ships aren't to be considered lightly, as they reflect the personality of the character as a whole.

The names of the ships for my own characters vary greatly. From my smuggler's Nothing to See Here to my Sith warrior's The Death's Hand, they reflect something I try to make apparent with even how the characters are played. So my question to you is simple; what does your character name their ship and what made them choose it?

RHS Exclusive: Coruscant Strikes Back!

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 12:00:00 -0500

In a monumental and normally unseen rate of change, the formerly rundown "heart" of the galaxy is suddenly becoming the respectable planet it was before the Great Galactic War. Plagued by corruption, crime, hunger, and the rampant fires that still burn from the Sacking of Coruscant, it almost seemed like an impossible task to turn the world that was sliding into a pit of Rancor filth back into the prosperous center of trade it once was.

While planets like Ord Mantell and Alderaan still suffer from internal problems, the changes taking place on Coruscant will pave the way to a galaxy strong in democracy and purity of government. These changes will also put fear back into the Empire, their border skirmishes and strong-arming will not last long against the combined focus of the Galactic Republic.

Several cases of corrupt Senators have come to light, many admitting to working with criminal elements for voting purposes or being exposed by good-willed citizens who love democracy! Never before have so many government officials resigned than those in the past and coming months due to the fear of being forced out of office or arrested due to their own twisted hunger for power.

Only so much as a year ago, Coruscant seemed unbearably close to its breaking point – the point where billions of refugees and other civilian lives would be cut down in an ever-growing tension that tore the lower levels apart at the seams. Criminal gangs controlled several districts, as well as violent paramilitary groups, Cthon, hunger, and more led to an inflow of complaints, and deaths, which the Senate couldn't ignore any longer.

With the new orders to control districts they were losing or pull back entirely, the patriots of the Coruscant Security Force stood strong and snarled back into the face of crime and injustice. Unfortunately, it seemed their fresh-faced recruits were not enough, and several Jedi, Republic Special Forces operators, and several military contractor elements were brought in to help pacify gangs like the Black Sun and the Justicars from their slavery and extortion rings which killed almost as many people as the Butcher of Coruscant.

Rumors spread, as well, of an Imperial strike team attempting to occupy the former Jedi Temple. While there was no confirmation of this, several RSF clean-up teams and Jedi ventured into the previously unnavigable ruins and came out without so much as a scratch. When questioned, CSF Captain Javis Fhrun had this to say:

"Right now the CSF's priority is to eliminate the technical problems which flood the Works. Our teams in the Old Galactic Market and other districts are pulling triple shifts to keep it clean-... we just wouldn't have the forces to commit to an Imperial strike team in our borders. Everything is fine, and that rumor is completely false."

While initially skeptical, his words have rung true and the Jedi Temple was reportedly under control of Jedi and Republic personnel as the elusive and isolationist Gree engineers and ambassadorial contractors helped commit repairs to the long-neglected Works. While always a problem for refugees, the culling of the Cthon population and the clearing of the Old Galactic Market has stemmed the majority of the issues for the Senate, and even as this article hits the HoloNet, more progress is being made with eliminating the threat of hunger, corruption, and crime. With any luck, the trifecta of evil will be snuffed out before the Empire decides to invade Republic space with violence again.

Norri Dekk
RHN Reporter
Republic HoloNet Story Exclusive