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Welcome back to another issue of The Darker Side of Life, the roleplay column for The Old Republic where we take a look at the issues concerning roleplayers, and try to find solutions for them. In this week's issue, we're tackling stealth and how it affects roleplay, specifically spying and information gathering. Spying can be a core part of an RP community, with different groups trying to figure out what each other is doing. There are all sorts of ways to gather information, from bribery, to torture, even just being a fly on the wall and listening in. The real question is, what happens if that fly on the wall has stealth abilities and can't be seen by the other players, is it still legitimate?

As always, I've collected your responses from the thread and worked them into this article where we're going to try and come up with some ways to make stealth RP work, and make it fun for everyone. Sitting cloaked in a meeting watching your enemies plot may be exciting from an adrenaline rush for the first minute or two, but without any interaction it gets boring. After all, if they can't see you, there's a zero percent chance of being discovered, and that's also why many players consider it unfair. Join me as we dive into the issue head first and try to settle the debate over whether stealth powers are acceptable to use in roleplay.
Phantom i've been playing a stealth character for over a decade, all the way back to PnP D&D. i've gone out and done a ton ...
Mai Cash In reading through the article, as well as all the comments, it seems to come down to comfort level in role play as well ...
Oriane "The stealther's player needs to be knowledgeable about what the detection range is at different level disparities ...

Outside BioWare HQ, the official food truck of the Sith Empire makes an appearance...

One of the best parts of the Guild Summit, and the part I'm going to start with is the newly expanded Legacy System in The Old Republic. First off, we've all seen and heard over the past month or so about the new race/class combos, but now we finally have details about how they are obtained. To unlock a race for all classes you must level a character of that race to 50 in any of its native classes. So for instance, to get that Pureblood Jedi, you're going to have to level a Pureblood Warrior or Inquisitor first. Since Cyborgs are already shared by many classes, you'll simply unlock all the class specific implants for everyone. Humans will not unlock anything including the red skins useful for RPing Zeltrons, but instead at 50 give a global stat boost to Presence. Additionally, Twi'leks and Zabraks will unlock the colors and cosmetics available to both factions.

For those of you that aren't alt-a-holics, there is good news; you will also be able to buy most legacy features with credits from your main, but it's going to be expensive—no word on just how expensive yet though. To help people who do want to level new alts to participate in the system, they've also moved Sprint to level one, meaning you can turn it on right away and clear the origin worlds a bit faster. You'll also be able to buy a jetpack or rocket boots through Legacy that will work as an enhanced sprint. And don't worry about people just sinking money into Legacy instead of working, as I'll explain later in my economics report that means lower repair costs for everyone. Keep reading; it gets better!
Akaerah Still no seatable cantina sofas? Damn the /sit emote!
Bielduwyn The nutshell of the Legacy update: Lore be damned! Bioware already stopped caring about lore! And it only took two month ...
Telden I have to say, I got a laugh out of that hotdog truck "There's also talk of allowing families to share companion ...


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.
Amaranth Xanathe looks up to only two people. The first and foremost, somewhat obviously, is the Emperor. He is a humble servant ...
Henerkin Before age 6 Henerkin ws looking up to his parents, Tatooine droid builders. Then he was kidnapped and sold as a a slave ...
Balkito Well, I haven't gotten any other characters as mentors, yet, but most of my characters have somebody that could be consi ...

 
How often do we see someone cause misery for the sole sake of making others miserable? Rarely, I'd say. With the exception of people like Tom Brady (go Giants), the vast majority of people are human beings, and I, personally, believe that we're all good people. That said, people don't get on with each other all the time, and some more than others. We have people we don't like, people who aggravate us. We have our villains, and they're a sad, if unchanging, part of life. In roleplay, it's the same – can you imagine an Old Republic without the crackling, forboding voice of Darth Malgus? The problem with creating a villain, however, is that quite often they can antagonize players just as much as a character, and when this happens, roleplay falters. In this Datapad Notes, we'll be exploring the ways that players can create memorable villains without antagonizing others.

Do you play a character that irritates, attacks, or doesn't always do what their faction expects? They can be a Jedi Knight, irritatingly superior with harsh morals that often aggravate the people they work with. Perhaps they're an Imperial Agent, willing to side with the enemy to ensure that the greater good survives. Or, alternately, they could be a Sith Inquisitor, determined to make the Republic fall to its knees, so the galaxy can, once again, know true order. If you do, good work. Hopefully, you haven't run into the problems that come with creating an antagonist, counterpart, anti-hero, villain. If you have, perhaps this will help you work on keeping people interested out-of-character, or improve your character. We'll be discussing how a villain can contribute to roleplay, the importance of backstory in making a character, and we'll also touch on how to handle the delicate inticracies between players and characters, and how to keep them happy.

Buckle up, folks, and get ready to fall to the Dark Side.
WingedThing First off: I vastly appreciated this article, particularly the distinction between "villain" and "evil.&q ...
Sien Zoth Very, very well said. You did an amazing job on this article Kovani, but that's to be expected with your previous awesom ...
Vira'rose back in my IRC days there was this demon who every time someone killed him he showed back up a week later. (sometimes ...


Hello everyone and welcome to another edition of The Darker Side of Life; the SWTOR-RP weekly column where we discuss the prevailing RP issues of the day and take your opinions on them. For the past several months, I've taken your suggestions on topics from a wide variety of categories. Some of them are fairly static, others like our discussion on companions in roleplay were predictions, done before the launch of The Old Republic, based on what we knew about the game at that time. In this week's article, we're going to revisit several old topics with fresh opinions, both from old members who may have read the originals when they were first published, and fresh faces who have joined us recently, all to answer one question: how has the launch of The Old Republic changed your opinion on roleplay? 

Companions aren't the only thing we'll be discussing though. Server communities was another hot topic we touched on. Many players voiced their opinions on separate servers for timezones, or RP-PvP, or even keeping everyone together. Now we'll look into how things have turned out in the first month of the game. Combat solutions, the classic dice, duel, and the emote debate can never truly be settled, but it varies by game depending on how the players feel about the options a developer provides. Lastly, we'll touch on a more recent topic, being our discussion of RP hotspots and how players are using or abusing them. Join me in this very special edition of The Darker Side of Life as we take a trip back and look at how getting to play The Old Republic has changed your thoughts on roleplay topics, if at all.
Balkito 'Lardass server' Had me laughing for half a minute. Back on topic: I think that companions being used in RP is okay, t ...
Coorin_Slaith Wait, wait...There isn't a /roll system? I don't understand how such a big budget game can be lacking so many basic, tr ...
Ganden
Thanks for mentioning the Aussies Sebaya. I definitely won't be leaving Lardass for the Aussie servers. Though an Aussie ...


Star Wars is a saga with as many languages as weird alien races, but most of them are able to speak Galactic Basic, which makes movies and voiceovers in The Old Republic much less reliant on subtitles. While Basic may be the most common language in the galaxy, it stands to reason that our characters, especially non-human ones, might know others too, including the nearly as common Huttese.

Anyone who has ever learned a foreign language with a friend or watched a corny movie about twins knows that sometimes a secret language can be used for all sorts of fun and mischief. In roleplay though, it can have uses as well. Imagine the possibilities of being able to secretly communicate with allies during intense negotiations, or tip off your friends to an ambush quietly. Smugglers in Star Wars even invented their own language of sorts called Deal-slang. In Star Wars Galaxies, Twi'leks could use lekku language conveyed through slight bodily movements to converse with each other.

Our question for you today is what use would your character have for such systems? Are Imperial Agents developing their own language to thwart Republic counter-intelligence? Will Smugglers in TOR be using Deal-slang? Let us know what you think and even what other languages you have used or come up with to add some spice and secrecy to your roleplay!
Skreacher http://www.dafont.com/aurebesh.font Aurebesh Font for your PC, if you were so inclined to memorize it You could ideally ...
KallaBeccani In Star Wars Galaxies I had a trandoshan who spoke nothing but Dosh. She was able to understand the basic language and w ...
Tharion As a smuggler, I can definitely see Tharrik using Deal-slang along with the using Galactic Common (as I call it). As fo ...


In this week's Friday Update, BioWare has a special treat for everyone wanting to RP a loyal soldier in the Sith Empire. In the video, we're treated to the armor and ability progression of the Agent and it's two advanced classes: Operative and Sniper. The Imperial Agent is one of the two non-Sith Imperial classes in The Old Republic, and the only one without Mandalorian fanboys. It's good to see some love for them. Did I mention sexy Imperial uniforms?

Operative seems like a varied support class. In the video, besides the cover and shooting, you would expect we also see a medical droid reviving a fallen companion, some other grenades, and dirty tricks like knives, knives, and more knives! Backstabbing people has never been more stylish. If you're looking for a James Bond crossed with MacGyver and Jack the Ripper, this is the one for you. Keep reading to find out more and see the video!
Kaemrys I'd really like to see an agent in one of the beautifully done cinematics. They were like the only class that hasn't got ...
Lyxi All I could think at the end was. BOOM HEADSHOT!! YEAH!!
Geek Operative or Sniper..That is the question.


Hello again everyone. In this week's edition of The Darker Side of Life we'll be discussing force sensitive and normal characters, and how they match up. In the movies, Jedi and Sith are always the heroes and villains, but does it have to be that way? Can a normal character be just as heroic or villainous in The Old Republic? We'll be diving into this issue using your responses from the Darker Side of Life thread, as well as discussing how the characters can interact with one another.

As the title image suggests, who would win in a fight; Darth Vader or Boba Fett? A few years ago everyone but the Mandalorian fanboys would have said Vader. The Old Republic however puts all of the classes on an equal footing. But can the force really be offset by kickass gear? We'll attempt to answer this as we dig through your responses.

The question really is how they match up in practice out in the roleplay world. Can a Sith Lord boss around a Bounty Hunter? How about a Jedi with Troopers? These sorts of questions have been all over the forum recently, and we'll be diving into them as well. The Old Republic's class stories are supposed to make all the classes heroic, but is this a good thing, or could it inflate egos too much, only to have them burst when dealing with players instead of NPCs? Read on and let us know what you think!
Securo Malleus Oh and another thing: The Boba Fett versus Vader fight was done in canon, it was a close fight but Vader came on top, be ...
Emerald I honestly can't play Force users because they have too much power. Its just no fun for me in an RP setting. I like to ...
JaminH Awesome article. I think i can really look up to Jango OOC for inspiration when it comes to the ways you can combat a Je ...

Disclaimer: Everything posted here is either observation, loose fact or opinion. I do not claim to have any official knowledge of any of the below and am not a writer nor authority on Lore for BioWare's Star Wars: The Old Republic.

(1) Preface:

The Sith Empire is not The Galactic Republic. The first mistake most individuals integrating into the society of the Sith make is believing that the same ideals held dear by the Republic apply within Imperial law. They do not. In the Empire, freedom of belief and freedom of speech are non-existent.  Democracy is a scorned, ignorant fantasy. In the Empire, there is only the desire for elevation and through it, the elevation of the whole.

For the Sith, power is the only currency worth maintaining, while strength and cunning are the only assets worth possessing. To integrate oneself into Sith society, one must first understand the core of the culture that is the Sith Empire. In this article, I will systematically outline the nature of the Sith and how one should expect to act if one wishes to survive in the Empire.
Sa'Chi Nicely done. I particularly liked the line, "These are the basics of Imperial Society: Strength, Power, Cunning. N ...
Amaranth Very impressive, Eidolon. I do hope that you will make more articles such as this. It brings glory to the Empire!
Kaemrys This is actually quite well done. Are there plans to expand upon it? Like life in the military (Why and how the soldiers ...


If you enjoyed The Esseles walkthrough, but thought it was missing something evil, then BioWare has just what you wanted! Today they have released a walkthrough of the first few minutes of The Eternity Vault, a level 50 operation centered on the icy world of Belsavis. On this frozen tundra, the ongoing war has lead both sides to stumble upon an ancient Rakata prison housing unknown technologies and a mysterious prisoner known only as The Infernal One. Republic players don't worry however, because The Eternity Vault is playable by groups from both sides in The Old Republic, though this video only showcases the Sith.
Bystran / Davrek Looks like a pretty solid raid and am looking forward to it! very smooth gameplay and the graphics seem to get better an ...
Gratulor I look forward to running that. Looks like fun. =) @Slixi: It's a promo. There is a hard mode and a choice betwe ...
Lyxi I really hope it's going to be more challenging than this. The kill seemed so fake and staged. They tried to clu ...
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