While the canon storyline in The Old Republic may take away a bit of creating your own backstory by providing you with at least pieces of one (such as being a former slave as a Sith Inquisitor, et cetera), you always have the option when role-playing your character to disregard the 'canon' story of your character's class to make your own up entirely. Typically, that is even encouraged. However, both the original gameplay storyline as well as any you create on your own do leave one big question that you can answer: where does your character call home?

So, what planet does your character come from? Is it one that can be visited in the game, giving you a chance to even role-play on your home world a bit, or is it one from the further extended universe, giving you the freedom to make it basically whatever you want? Was your character a minority or a majority in their world? Was it mostly an urban or a rural environment? Was it Imperial, Republic, or just a neutral site?

And of course, the most important question for any role-player: how does this background affect your character today? Has he or she rejected his or her past entirely and gone in a different direction, or did his or her planet shape your character into who he or she is now? Would your character ever return home, or has he or she left their home behind for good?

The tired old quote may say that 'home is where to heart is,' but that doesn't necessarily apply to everyone. Where is your character from, and how do they feel about it?

This is an Imperial News Network travel ban update.

This is an Imperial News Network travel ban update.

So I think we can all agree that Darth Malgus is one of the more impressive Darths we've seen since Darth Vader. Anyone who has watched the trailers, read the book Deceived by Paul S. Kemp, and generally been able to play any of the Flashpoints on the Empire side could probably agree he's very imposing, if not downright scary.

Well, now you (yes YOU!) can have a Darth Malgus of your very own! Sideshow Collectibles is holding a contest between now and May 11, 2012 for a life-sized figure of Darth Malgus (valued at nearly $6,000 USD). All you have to do is go to their contest site and fill out a form with your name, address, phone number and email. (NOTE: Make sure the e-mail you use is the same one that is registered to your Star Wars The Old Republic account!) At the end of the contest, a winner will be drawn randomly and notified by e-mail no later than May 14th, 2012.

Now for the bad news. This contest is only open to United States residents (includes District of Columbia) who are at least 18 years of age and registered users of www.swtor.com.

So here is the contest link again. Good luck and may the Force be with you!

Sobrik has been liberated. Balmorra and their formerly exiled government has finally moved in to attempt to re-gain control and return the quality of life to their people. Formerly naive, the Balmorran hierarchy has been bloodied enough to finally become a mature, strong force which will only accept safety to the world which has seen a rough occupation, resistance, and final liberation since Republic military forces pulled out after the signing of the Treaty of Coruscant.

Always a strategic asset because of the manufacturing plants and the proximity to the Core Worlds. Galactic Republic support dropped over the years and then the Empire found themselves squelching a staunch resistance which never quite seemed to die, even with the deaths of leaders and brilliant tacticians. While the politics of each Balmorran citizen differed, the majority of them wished to simply get on with their lives. The resistance—and, later, the Galactic Republic's outright liberation of the planet—made many tired. It made many of them resent the Republic more for what they percieved as abandonment.

The Empire, however, proved a bad thing for Balmorran industry. Production was stifled under strict Imperial trade laws, companies began to pull out due to them and the general attitude which the Empire holds to worlds which disobey the local Governors who have free reign to administrate how they wish.

So it began to hurt. And it began to bleed. Citizens feel the most of the pain from both the resistance, oppression, and the economy's nosedive. Let's see what the people of the galaxy have to say about the state of things on Balmorra during the Imperial occupation.

The children are our future. It is in them that the Empire shall see its future citizens develop and grow. Life is to be celebrated and nurtured.

With this objective in mind, Director Berdrin Asteilard of the Ministry of Intelligence's Ubiqtorate division, helped to organize this year's charity gala in honor of the I.W.O.O. The foundation, known as the Imperial War Orphan Organization, provides aid for the children left behind by the Empire's heroic men and women that serve in both times of peace and strife. No child shall be left behind as the I.W.O.O continues its efforts.

Recently, the Order of Dark Sovereignty underwent a Ritual of Zejkama (the Ritual of Self-Promotion) on the dusty world of Korriban. Held in the sight of the tombs of the ancient Sith Lords, this Ritual determined the change in leadership from the ailing Sovereign Dark Lord Akaerah to the strong and charismatic Lord Kagoth.

Lord Kagoth was generous enough to grant a follow-up interview to INN.

Several weeks prior to the Ritual, the Lord Akaerah disappeared. In his absence, Lord Kagoth assumed a temporary mantle of leadership to maintain the Order. As the length of the former Sovereign Dark Lord's absence increased, Lord Kagoth saw that Lord Akaerah was no longer fit to rule the Order of Dark Sovereignty.

What makes our Empire the greatest power in the Galaxy is the patriots within it. The men and women that strive to only better their great Empire and please their Emperor. Some go above and beyond the call of their Empire, sacrificing their own time, credits and equipment. Recently, a group of the Empire's finest sort gathered on Dromund Kaas to dispense weaponry and equipment to any in need. These great citizens are known by their code-names to us, but their organization is only called The Faceless Ones. Clad in masks and armor, they strike imposing and intimidating figures, but their goal is the most noble that could be.

Their leader, a strong and tall warrior known only as Romulus, stood and helped his band of patriots pass out aid and gear to any who wish it. Everything from blaster rifles, to armor and spaceship parts. With this movement, man stepped forward and donated equipment—some, if not most, trading gear for the items given by The Faceless.