Hello, and welcome back to A Long Time Ago, the ongoing column that explores ways for you to use the rich trove of world mythology to make your roleplaying characters, stories, and events come more powerfully to life. Last week, you may recall, we began exploring the Hero's Journey, a.k.a. the Monomyth, in order to show some ways that this potent, universal story framework can inspire vibrant  roleplaying in Star Wars: The Old Republic. Remember, Lucas leaned hard on the Hero's Journey in scripting the original Star Wars trilogy, so there's a lot to be gained by putting it to work in your own personal Old Republic saga.

Last week we had just barely dipped our toe into the Hero's Journey by looking at the Call to Adventure, the first sub-stage of Departure. (Departure itself is the first of the three main chapters that together make up the Monomyth. The other two, you may remember, are Initiation and Return, both of which will get their own columns in the coming weeks.) In order to demonstrate some concrete applications of the Hero's Journey, we focused on two example Old Republic characters: the young Jedi Consular Heran Sol, whose player wants to roleplay an ongoing subplot in which Heran falls in love with exactly the wrong person; and Torr Kleshic, a murderous Sith Warrior whose player is exploring a dangerous rivalry between Torr and another player's Sith. Let's follow these two through the next few stages of their Departures and see how their players might use the Monomyth for storytelling and roleplaying inspiration.

Personally I'm somewhat disappointed by the Sith Inquisitor's choices. We've lost a lot of our best looking outfits to the Sith Warrior since beta. A few were even colored brown and given to the Jedi Consular, including our only outfit with a cape that dropped from the Hammer Station Flashpoint. A lot of outfits have also had their hoodless variations go missing. Hopefully this will all balance out, and maybe when hood/mask combos get fixed, we'll have that to help out with looking good as well.

For now though let us know what you think about your own RP outfit! Upload your own pictures or tell us about your outfit and why you like it. Have you been using social clothing or your class's armor for RP outfits? If you're not satisfied, tell us what you think you would like to see added as far as RP outfits!

Senior Writer Alexander Freed and Designer Ken Dilks argue in favor of the Imperial Agent. As we've seen before, Imperial Agents are masters of stealth and technology. Will this be a premonition of Imperial Intelligence RPers stalking Jedi prey? It's certainly possible; an Agent's tech and cunning puts them on par with the mystical powers of the Jedi Consular. The common man of the Empire has what it takes to stand up and fight for the Emperor!

On the other hand, Writer Jo Berry and Designer Jason Attard suggest that the Consular's mastery of the force can overcome the Agent's tricks. The Jedi Consular will be sent across the galaxy to search for relics of the force and root out the Dark Side wherever it is hiding. Will Jedi players be fighting Imperial Agents to free an oppressed people or keep them from capturing a powerful relic? Only time will tell if these heroes of the galaxy are up to the task. Read on to tell us what you think and see the video!

Jedi Consular is the lightside equivalent of the Sith Inquisitor. While the Knight is destined for close quarter brawls, the Consular allows players to create a character with a bit more guile. For players who want a character with strong knowledge of the force, the Consular is your go-to class. For its advanced classes, the Consular can level into the Shadow or Sage at level 10, just after leaving Tython, the Jedi starting world.

The Jedi Shadow is a knight-errant, scouring the galaxy for knowledge and uncovering evidence of the dark side wherever it may linger. Shadows are the eyes of the Jedi, working covertly and often without support to do their jobs. To this end they carry the double-bladed lightsaber which allows them to defend as well as attack, and combat groups single handed. The Shadow relies on their invisibility to strike quickly and deadly before the enemy can react. Continue reading to learn about the Sage and see the video.

The path of a Jedi during their years as an Initiate and Padawan learner is difficult and demanding to say the least. In Parts I, II, and III of The Jedi Path: Teachings of the Jedi Order, we've taken you through some of the activities that an Initiate and Padawan may have to partake in to progress through the ranks. After years of endless training and tutoring by senior peers, a Jedi Padawan must pass the Jedi Trials in order to obtain the rank of Jedi Knight. However, the learning does not end there. In The Jedi Path, a Jedi lore guide written by Daniel Wallace, we learn from the perspective of Grand Master Fae Coven that there are more Knights than any other rank in the Jedi Order, and for good reason. Demands for the services of the Jedi are high, as the Order serves to protect all living beings, especially those aligned with the Galactic Republic. The galaxy is a large place, and crime fills every corner of known space. 

Do you ever wonder how it is that the Jedi are so ruthless and precise with their strikes, parries, and blows whilst using the unforgiving lightsaber? Not only do the Jedi have access to the almighty Force to anticipate the attack and defence strategies of their foes, but they also have access to the knowledge contained within the forms of lightsaber combat which have been studies for centuries. In Part III of this article miniseries based on the book, The Jedi Path, we take you through the lightsaber forms used by both the Jedi and the Sith, as well as touching on sense abilities. We will then conclude the Padawan chapter of the book written for students of the Jedi by taking you through the Jedi Trials – the tests that determine whether a Padawan can be deemed ready for Knighthood within the Jedi Order.

For those of you still getting familiar with Jedi lore, there are six forms of lightsaber combat, each with their own style. Form I, also known as the Determination Form or Way of the Sarlacc, is the first style of lightsaber combat taught to the Jedi Initiates and Padawan learners of the Jedi Order. As previously stated in Part I of The Jedi Path: Teachings of the Jedi Order, Form I aims at the major strike zones of the body, consisting of the right and left sides of the body, as well as the head and legs. Disarming or temporarily incapacitating an enemy is the main aim of Form I. It is when we move onto Form II, also known as Makashi, and the Contention Form or Way of the Ysalamiri, that we begin to move onto the more stylised forms of lightsaber combat. Makashi was predominantly used for lightsaber-on-lightsaber combat. It is the most elegant of the six forms, using light and precise strikes at its opponents. The stance of Makashi consists of having one foot in front of the other in a line, moving forward and back upon this line. Disarming strikes with spins and twirls of the lightsaber are the more natural movements of this form.