Shyracks are not the magnificent creatures they are seen to be by the scientific community because of their minor territorial issues and their penchant for gnawing on an overeager Sith. Instead, the Shyrack is known for the mysterious and fascinating event which they participate in once in every sixty-three years: The Purpling of Korriban.

The Purpling of Korriban was a widely recognized event where Shyracks would come forth from all their caves, tunnels, and tombs and blot out the entirety of the sky for every day of each sixty-third GBS year. In their swarming mass of bodies going about their relations and their odd ritual which is genetically ingrained, their blueish droppings literally rain from the sky every day, creating the facade of complete darkness for the entire summer as well as constant, blue rain.

Since the last Purpling of Korriban was before the Great Galactic War, the next one was widely looked forward to by all forms of xenobiologists. Hopefully by the next Purpling of Korriban Sith officials will allow footage of the grandiose spectacle.

Norredi Anlon Dekk
RHN Columnist
Republic HoloNet News Biolife Report
[Shyrack]

Republic RP is suffering a disadvantage of numbers recently. Every server has seen shrinking populations as the newness of The Old Republic has worn off, and other big MMO titles are launching. The Republic has always been the victim of a faction imbalance, so we've been trying to highlight them recently to help turn that around. If you are interested in a Guild Spotlight of your own, you can contact myself of Ganden to officially request one. For now though, read on to see what Ringo has to say about the Hydian Expedition Outfit!

Ringo: Thanks for taking the time to talk to me about the HEO. The Hydian Expeditionary Outfit is essentially a heavy roleplaying guild here on the Lord Adraas server with mixed elements of PvP and End Game content. The emphasis, however, is always on roleplaying and good story writing. Let me explain a little bit about the backstory of our guild.

The HEO is a semi-independent organization with backing from the Republic's SIS as well as anonymous patrons—or benefactors. It began as a response to the Treaty of Coruscant in that all of its founding members were dissatisfied with what they believed to be a surrender to the Empire. The HEO runs along a dual structure. What I mean by that is that we try to include every class into our guild's over-arching story without drowning out our more unique members. To accomplish this task, we've been using the Gav Daragon to represent our organization's capital ship, The Feldspar II. You can consider our guild to be broken up into three cores, with room between each core for unique character concepts. For example, we house our own Grey Order (usually exiles), a company of Marines (played by our troopers), and last but not least we employ Operatives (Smugglers) to work for us.

We do our best not to limit people's abilities to expand their character because of their class, and so we allow people to play technicians, medics, doctors, naval officers, and all sorts of other unique roles that can be filled on the Feldspar or planet side wherever the ship happens to be orbiting. In general, we have anywhere from 1-3 roleplay events a week, we have one night dedicated to hardmodes, and we try to squeeze in time for PvP and other activities. Currently, the guild is running along a larger story arc which encompasses all of our members, but it includes secondary arcs made by the members themselves. At HEO we try to emphasize that while Officers and myself can work as GM's, the members can also craft and guide the story as well.

We felt early on that we wanted to provide a guild to the TOR RP community that offered a unified approach to the class divisions in the game. The guild's independent nature allows us the freedom to mold the classes to our particular needs. Having a guild that dedicates itself to one class, we felt, would be bland and simply another clone of multiple guilds already established. We wanted to offer something different. The diversity of classes has actually helped us; we can tackle multiple roleplay events from different angles. Our events don't necessarily follow the same structure which keeps the RP scene fresh and interesting for all involved.

Certainly. As I said before we've done at least one to three events on a weekly basis, and over the next month and a half we'll be planning a Corellian Campaign which will encompass multiple events across a three or four week period. During these events there will be a mix of text-based RP and in-game objective hunting. We've been known to march into an area and clear it of NPC's as part of whatever operation the HEO is undertaking. Fairly soon we'll be concluding the first leg of our guild's main story arc which stretches all the way back to January. It's very exciting and I can't wait to see it get underway.

In the past, we've done Jedi training events (for Grey characters, of course), drills, reconnaissance, spy missions, and a whole bunch of other fun and exciting activities. We even did a Star Wars-themed April Fools/ Easter Egg hunt. From time to time we also do datacron runs and world boss runs as well.

I haven't much thought to the next stage of our guild's journey. However, a conceptual framework is in the making. I plan to continue the guild such as it has been running since the game's launch, with recruitment drives and more overtures to the larger RP community on the server. For the moment, we're still very interested in developing alliances, as well as rivalries with other guilds on LA. Interested parties can contact me here on the boards. My goal and the goal of the officers of HEO is to provide an engaging format for expansive character roleplaying, and I'm confident that we have a bright future ahead of us.

Actually at the moment we've closed down our doors except for exceptional applications. We're doing this because we've grown exponentially in the past few months and we need some time to absorb the members that we do have. We do plan to open up the application process in the near future, perhaps in a couple of weeks, so please don't hesitate to throw your application up on our website. I just want folks to understand that it might be a little while.

What we look for in recruits are people that have some semblance about what they're doing and who are easy going out of character. We don't like drama in our guild. Other than that, our credentials are listed in our application form!

Without running the risk of bragging, I'd like to think that HEO is one of the large guilds in the SWTOR RP Community and that we have a lot to offer the larger community. In all candor, this is an area I would like to see my guild (and the rest of the guilds for that matter) improve upon. Unless we have strong channels of communication we will never be an effective and close-knit community. For right now we're doing the only things we can do: run events, roleplay in public places, and help those who need it with end-game and PvP content. In short, I would like to see more of an effort from everyone in this community. Lord Adraas needs to remain a strong hub of Star Wars RP.

I imagine it wouldn't differ from any other person playing TOR. They sign on, they're immediately greeted by over a dozen fellow guildies, and then they commence with the act of playing the game. There might be an event going on, or people might be asking for help with heroics or class quests. Usual stuff, mostly.

We do. However, those aspects of the game are not our main focus. I consider them to be supplemental activities to our main focus: roleplaying. We sometimes organize pre-mades, and we dedicate one night a week to hard modes and other end-game content.

I think I'm good. Ah...I just want to say that we're a friendly guild and we're always eager to work with folks even if they're not affiliated with us. Thank you for your time and for the opportunity.

Congratulations! You've received your ship either through hard-won efforts in the Dark Temple, stealing it from someone, reclaiming it from a thief or earning it from your superiors on Coruscant. Now your roleplay can actually begin, right?

Right?

How many of us wait to RP until we get a ship? I'll admit, the ship is pretty convenient (and sometimes necessary) for RP with friends or within your guild. But is it really essential for RP? Certainly we can RP without it, right? For example, a cadre of apprentices on Korriban break tradition and work together to fulfill their masters' designs. Perhaps a couple of Smugglers realize a split profit is better than none at all and work to clear out Ord Mantell of problems.

The point is, the ship may be necessary for RP in certain ways, but one can always find way to do without it. Do you RP without your ship? If so, what sorts of things do you normally do? Post below and tell us all!

Dear Rakgirl,
 
Quite the situation you have gotten yourself into, hmm?  First, let’s discuss the vague way you speak of how you love your "dualist.” You say that you love him but differently than your first boyfriend. Yet you say nothing more on this. Why? Do you love the Dualist less than the first boyfriend? Is it a relationship of convenience? A mutual understanding so neither of you are alone? If this is the case, the relationship will not last in the long run as you will both eventually look for something more emotional and strengthening.

As with everything in the galaxy, there is balance. Life and death, light and dark; the Force itself maintains its own balance. I may get a lot of backlash for what I am about to say, but for the purpose of this submission I am going to say it anyway. The studies that have been done thus far on the Force, it is said that there is no distinguishing properties to separate the Light side from the Dark side. The moral compass of the sensitive beings is the only reason there is a difference. While the Light side embraces peace, justice, benevolence and the like, the Dark side embraces passion, fear, anger and hatred.

The Light side of the Force takes time and patience to master. I have been told that it is always a tedious and trying process to maintain. If patience is a key to the use of the Light side, the use of the Dark side would represent the opposite. Passion, fear, hatred, anger are all instant emotions. These emotions form quickly and can be used instantly. Doing my best to step back and look at both in a neutral way, the Dark side of the Force seems to be the more gratifying of the two. I could see how someone trained in the uses of the Light side would find the Dark side entrancing, addicting to a point.  

There have been very few in history which have been able to conquer both the Light side and the Dark side of the Force. In the very least, be able to use both sides in a manner fit for daily living. The Dualist's goals of trying to take down the Sith from the inside may be a bit…grand. More or less, I believe he has fallen into a need for instant gratification and would become fully enveloped in the powerful emotions of the Dark side if given the chance.

Your choices here are minimal. If you tell him you would rather he not become any more involved with this Darth, you risk the chance of losing this "different” love. If you tell him to go, you still run the heavy risk of losing him anyway. Dark side training is ruthless, and he may die in the process. My advice is to take the route of the lesser of the two evils, whichever one it may be. You need to figure out which way would hurt you less, and move in that direction.

Best Wishes,
Elza

In movies, comics, books, and plays, it is usually very easy to tell who the "bad guy" is from the get go. Some are plain old evil, while others or more ambiguously evil. No matter the particular flavor of evil though, we can usually identify said evil very quickly. But does your character know or think he or she is evil? How do you roleplay a character who is truly "evil" versus a character whose evilness could be debated?

When a Star Wars fan needs to adequately describe a quintessentially evil character, Darth Maul is a perfect fit for the bill. He looks evil, he talks evil, and he acts evil. He's one dimensional in that sense. The moment he appears on screen, you think, "That is one evil Zabrak" (or horn guy if the word Zabrak escaped you). Even so, did he think he was a bad guy? Or did he think he was doing what needed to be done for the "good" of the galaxy? Palpatine wanted to control the galaxy, but he acted as if it was the best thing for it. He must have felt as the most powerful being, he was doing right by the galaxy, right? Has any evil being, real or fake, ever actually thought of themselves as evil?

Right and wrong and good and evil are not always as easy to identify as we would like. But there are beings that do evil things and could be defined by those actions as being evil. But as a group of (hopefully) non-evil people, how do we roleplay evil characters? Are they classically evil, or do they live in a perpetually grey sector of morals? Do they know what they do is wrong and simply not care, or do they think they are doing good in a unconventional manner? Well, let us know in the comments below!

"The name's Boomer. I usually run spice, but I decided this week to take on something a little less...deadly." Hank responds to Boomer with his own name, and in turn, Jack and Bow introduce themselves to Boomer. Not every introduction will go this easily or in this manner. But, it is an example of walk-up RP.

2. Story-line Based RP

Boomer's "handler's" name is Joe. Joe is friends with Nikki in real life, and she has just decided to get involved with RP. So, Joe and Nikki set down a basic storyline for their two characters to play out. Nikki tells Joe out of character (OOC) that she would like to start a relationship with Joe's character Boomer. Joe agrees and they set about discussing how Nikki's character—named Sela—and Boomer will meet and where they want to take the storyline. When everything is set to basics, the RP begins. Sela and Boomer meet on a vacation to Alderaan, and they spend a few days together.

This is a simple example of storyline based RP. Now, I'm going to get more in depth.

Boomer's clan, "The Dogs," discuss OOC over their chat server that they want to get together and do some large RP that includes all thirty members of their clan being involved. So, after an hour of discussion, they decide to set up an event on their calendar to take down the world boss on Voss, but they will do it in character. The details of the event, times, etc are all set on the clan's website and they wait for the designated time and day. When it comes, all thirty members join up in a group/party/ops and head to Voss, conversing in character about what they want to do, how, etc. Boomer's clan leader lays down the rules to the fight and things go on from there.

These types of events are a lot of fun to be involved in and I highly recommend getting involved with them when you see them happen. SWTOR-RP has a great listing of server events. It is a good way to see what is going on and to get involved. Large scale RP events are also a great way to learn how to multi task conversations as well as a great way to meet new people to RP with!

3. Private RP

This speaks for itself on most levels. It usually happens between two characters that are close friends or partners. These RP conversations generally take place in /whisper chat or /party chat. There isn't much explaining to do here. If the two parties are friendly, they are less likely to be drastically strict on their RP etiquette. The designated speaking zones are usually established thereafter. Party chat may be designated as in-character discussion, while whisper may be set as OOC discussion. This leaves less confusion and allows for two conversations to be going on at once.

I'm going to state now, I do not plan on discussing ERP as that is a personal thing some choose to do and others choose to not do. But always remember to make the first kiss memorable!

Seemingly pessimistic at first, Captain Aureav's words are nonetheless true. While our government is doing all that it can, there will always be spies and corrupt officials which slither their way through the system to tap into the tree of bureaucratic credit flow, but this comes with all governments including the Sith Empire and, especially, the Hutt Cartel.


The power of voting is the most powerful element in the Galactic Republic. While many take it for granted and even more neglect the ability to do it, any corrupt official or entity can be taken down with the proper application of voting prowess. The events on Coruscant in the Old Galactic Market recently proved this as almost the entirety of the immigrant population registered to vote and dethroned over 5 sector representatives, voting in replacements which have proven to be both more fair and efficient with their credits. New housing for recent citizens has proven this, as once the Old Galactic Market was secured by Coruscant Security Force personnel construction began. The power to control our government lies in our hands and no one else's.


Standing as an admittance that the Sith and the Republic are equally as corruptible, it is amazing to see that even in spite of summary execution that those within the Sith Empire still attempt to gain the advantage either financially or through their hierarchy. While many would think that their harsh methods and brutal operations would dissuade many, apparently it does not. Even many Imperial defectors are drawn to the Hutts and Republic through offers of credits and a better, less lethal life. While many cannot deny the efficiency of the Imperial Moffs, anyone who has been under their rule can attest to their flippant attitude towards any planetary issue other then themselves making money.

At the end of the day it doesn't matter what part of space you're from, there will be corruption and a bad taste in someone's mouth no matter whose in charge. We can only hope that over time we as a galactic community will be more at ease being honest than we are at having secret or greedy ambitions.


Be sure to discuss this week's topic on the RHN Voices of the Republic HoloNet forum or submit a brief topic in response to this article. Conversations are encouraged, yet are not moderated!

For every voice, let there be an ear to listen.

Republic Holonet News
Voices of the Republic Edition

Once upon a time, there was a Stormtrooper who could not make clearance on a blast door. Years later, his predecessor Jango Fett seems to have had the same problem. Simple decisions can create storyline alterations.

Members of SWTOR-RP come in many shapes and sizes, and no, I'm not making reference to physicality. Our members comprise of casual users who log in from time to time; forum-dwellers whose main activity is lurking about and posting on the forums; creative-critters who create wiki articles and journal and story entries; and finally we have the lurker. The latter group can be compared to a night owl: they browse the forums and articles on the front page, though they hardly ever make themselves known. 

One such individual who falls into the "lurker" category is Sorrik. As a Bounty Hunter on the roleplaying server Lord Ieldis and a member of SWTOR-RP, Sorrik is looking to learn the ways of RP by finding like-minded players and possibly a guild to join. However, if your vocabulary consists only of words such as GTFO, LMFAO, and n00b, look no further. Your kind is not wanted here. You're either too young to understand the concepts of RP and probably don't know what I mean when I say, "You are what you eat," or you just never hit puberty and still think that the Easter Bunny actually lays its eggs. For the rest of you (and I hope by that I mean all of you), continue reading as we get to know Sorrik in this Member Spotlight. 

In the harsh stormy jungles of Dromund Kaas, there is only one being that can truly claim to pull the ears off a Gundark: the Jurgoran. A favorite of Sith who seek to have a vicious pet for themselves, the unruly Jurgoran is the only animal on Dromund Kaas which vies for the top of the food chain with the ever popular and ever violent Gundark.

Known for their razor sharp claws and their leathery, rough hides, the Jurgoran is primarily a water-based creature which builds its nest underneath accumulations of floating leaves or branches of trees which were knocked down during one of Dromund Kaas' constant storms. Their hunting habits, however, correlate directly with that of the Gundark.

Almost equal in every quality, a fully grown adult Jurgoran and Gundark have been known to battle with one another for hours—sometimes even days—over hunting grounds or the corpse of one animal. Their vicious, unrelenting strength will often overpower a Gundark in the long run, but due to the excessive breeding nature of the Gundark, the Jurgoran often has to assert its dominance by slaughtering entire nests of the only other predator it finds itself in contest with.

Over the millenia of settlement on Dromund Kaas, the Jurgoran has gained a cult following. Their frighteningly tall stature and appearance led many to think of them as Kaas' form of a scary mythological creature. Many servant families often tell tales of children who disobey the Sith and find themselves pulled off to caves where Jurgoran cook and consume the naughty children.

This image had made them even more frightening than they are in appearance and there remain many rumors with little substantial evidence behind them. Tales of Jurgoran climbing the walls of ancient Dromund Kaas or ripping open covered speeders to eat the passengers remain silly little tales told to scare children. However, it hasn't stopped a new Lord of the Sith or Darth from taking the name of Lord Jurgoran to give him or herself the image of being a big, scary mean Sith.

Norredi Anlon Dekk
RHN Columnist
Republic HoloNet News Biolife Report
[Jurgoran]

2. Proper RP Grammar

a.) Proper RP grammar in-character is very much like writing a book. Quotations are used around what is being said, where an asterisk ( * ) is used at the beginning or ending of an action contained in the conversation. Direct example as follows:

There are terms to using these applications though. If you are using the /emote or /e command, the asterisks ( * ) aren't necessary, as the /emote command defines an action in itself.

/clap would show up on the screen in a different text color, showing that it's an action. The example of this would be:

/clap (Boomer claps excitedly for the Twi'lek dancer.)

/dance (Boomer shows off his moves to the Twi'lek dancer.)

This is where a few may get confused. The /emote command can also be used for long streams of text. Example as follows:

Notice that I did not type (Boomer) at the beginning, because when you use the /emote command, it automatically inserts the character's name at the head of the sentence. Also notice that the statement is in the third person tense. This is always the case. As I said before, RPing is like writing a book. Since you are speaking of yourself in third person, be sure to remember the rest of your tenses in the statement should reflect that. Notice as well, the asterisks ( * ) aren't necessary when using the /emote command, but using quotations for speech is.

b.) Most games have a 250 character maximum for a chat text. If you have reached your 250 character limit and wish to continue what you are saying, you can use several different characters to show that you plan on continuing what you're saying. Some common characters are as follows:

You may see others when you're RPing on your own of which you'll be able to easily pick out. When you see these notations, it means you are to hold off on what you have to say in return until you read what is next. Moving on from that, things get more complex, which I will discuss in a later section of this compendium.

3. Playing Another's Character

I'm putting this as a specific section because it is so deeply frowned upon in the RP community. Do not do this. Do not play someone else's character. I will give an example using Boomer and his Twi'lek dancer.

Now, newer folks to RP would most likely say, "That doesn't sound so bad. Why can't I do that?" The reason is very simple. There are actions that the Twi'lek dancer can do to stop that action from happening. She could easily step aside, or duck, or even raise her own arm to block his backhand. You may be asking yourself if the Twi'lek dancer blocking Boomer would be seen as Godmoding. The answer is no. If you would react that way in real life if someone took a swing at you, it's probably not going to be considered Godmoding. Now, if the Twi'lek dancer does something crazy, such as:

This is an example of both godmoding and playing someone else's character. I would personally put this person on ignore and forget they exist if they were to type out something this way during a conversation.

4. Out of Character Conversations during In Character Conversations

If it comes to it and you need to say something to another person in your conversation, there is an easy way to go about it. Parenthesis are this easy way! You may see this done several ways, so I will show them here for easier references later.

Oddly enough there is even the lazy way of doing this!

I don't know what to do, really.

Do I ditch the wife? Or do I ditch the dame and try to make things work? I just feel sometimes that she ain't into me that way anymore. Throw me a bone here, or something. What should I do? The whole 'do what feel's right' has gotten me into a frisky speed-demon's pants thus far, if you know what I mean. So clearly I have the whole 'right and wrong' thing broken in my head.

Thanks for hearing this old smoker out,

Cigaro9001"


Dear Cigaro9001,

Throughout the ages, males have proven themselves territorial, conquering the weaker beings of their regions, looting and capturing women and children. Base primal nature in most male beings is to take, with little thought to the consequences of their actions.

I’m going to assume that over the long years of marriage, things haven’t exactly been perfect, as no relationship ever is. I feel the need in return, to ask you questions, if merely for you to think on them.

You mention most often, your wife. She doesn’t touch you, she doesn’t show you wife-like attentions any longer, separate beds, etc. If I understand correctly, the duties of some wives after long years of marriage: maintaining the household, perhaps child rearing, bills, cleaning, organization, etc. I am sure she is firmly set in her ways, with little to no deviations from those tasks.

Have you asked yourself why you believe that it’s "her” responsibility to come to you for affection or attention? When was the last time you took her out for an evening? When was the last time you did something simple and sweet to make her day or week easier? Most female sentient beings look for appreciation of some sort while they are in relationships. She holds the keypad to the castle gate, but do not think she will let you in if you don’t have the correct pass code. Instead of seeking out pleasure for yourself, perhaps you should try seeking out pleasure for your wife. Crawl into her bed one night, wrap your arm around her and hold her close. Bring her a bottle of sweet wine when you return home for the day; take her to work with you and give her credits to go shopping. Simple things may turn your marriage around if that is the route you choose to take.

I would also like to add, do not think your wife does not know about your dame. She can smell your guilt, see it in the way you carry yourself, and just because it happened off-planet does not mean she is going to be none-the-wiser.

The fact that you feel guilt at all is a good sign that you still care for your wife. My advice to you, Old Smoker, is to stop with the dame and try to renew the relationship with your wife. This dame isn’t going to stay around long simply because there is no emotion attached to the relations you two share. She most likely wants a discount on her new speeder, or knows you have a pretty solid monetary holding. I’m very surprised that you wouldn’t see that you’re getting used ahead of time. If you try with the wife and it doesn’t work, then perhaps you should start out on your own. I suggest that you don’t take that route though, without first making the attempt.

Best wishes,
Elza

Tonight was supposed to be a display of Imperial wealth and power. A gala event hosted by the Ambassador Kruven Medlem and his staff was to give the locals a taste of life under our glorious Emperor. 

Instead it has turned into a night of tragedy! Agents of the Republic Strategic Information Service snuck up to the Ambassador under the guise of merchants and stabbed him. Lord Medlem was rushed to the med center in the Imperial Quarter of Voss-Ka, but no official statement has yet been given on his status. 

The agents who carried out this brutish attack were gunned down, and the streets are clear of revelers for the night, but only time will tell where this leads. The Minister of War is expected to give a speech soon on this brazen Republic attack.