Sebaya Keto posted Mar 14, 12
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Agent, Amaranth, Author: Sebaya Keto, BioWare, Bounty Hunter, Chroma, Cloak, EA, Electronic Arts, Enjin, Executor, Extended Universe, Galactic Civil War, Jedi Consular, Kida, LucasArts, Mai Cash, Millenium Falcom, Nar Shaddaa, Operative, Republic, role-play, Roleplay, RP, Sendra, Sith Assassin, Smuggler, Spying, Star Wars, Star Wars Galaxies, Star Wars The Old Republic, Stealth, SWTOR, SWTOR-RP, The Darker Side of Life, The Empire Strikes Back, The Old Republic, Tolian, TOR, Trooper, WingedThing, Xaveric
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.
Sebaya Keto posted Feb 29, 12
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Anzat, Author: Sebaya Keto, BioWare, Canon, Chiss, Craft, Darth Talon, EA, Electronic Arts, Extended Universe, FreelanceWizard, Gonk Droid, Jar Jar Binks, Jedi, Kaelo Jace, Knights of the Old Republic, Legacy System, Lethan, Lord of the Rings, Lucas Arts, LucasArts, Luke Skywalker, Miraluka, Mishka Kalrook, Mordaen, Pan, role-play, Roleplay, RP, Shezmu, Sith, Star Trek, Star Wars, Star Wars The Old Republic, SWTOR, SWTOR-RP, The Darker Side of Life, The Old Republic, TOR, Twi'lek, WingedThing, Wookieepedia
Star Trek and Star Wars have more in common than just sweaty nerds in costumes. They have sweaty nerds in costumes arguing over tiny nuances in their series' details. The term canon comes to us from religion, and like religion, it causes people to go to war over seemingly tiny details in their faith. Canon originally referred to the scriptures that were included in the various religious texts. Much like Star Wars, the core writings were handed down from an all knowing, infallable creator, but people kept adding to them. Canon is created by the church, or in this case LucasArts, to define which of these stories are in line with the faith and should be included. George Lucas does not regularly intervene in the lives of us mortals anymore, and therefore we must use the rules set up to determine what is canon and what is not.
There are several levels of canon. G(eorge Lucas)-canon is the highest level. This includes the two trilogies and anything he writes or says. If Lucas declares Luke Skywalker to be a Gungan tomorrow, everything else must be re-written to suit that, or be expunged. T(elevision)-canon covers the Clone Wars movie and TV series, as well as the live-action TV series if Lucas ever finishes it. C(ontinuity)-canon covers the bulk of Star Wars lore, including the Expanded Universe, the Knights of the Old Republic series, and The Old Republic itself. Anything in this category is considered canon unless it is contradicted by something higher up. Below that is S(econdary)-canon, consisting of things that are not canon themselves, but whose parts can be. Star Wars Galaxies is a good example of this. Finally we have N(on)-canon which includes the Infinities series, and anything else not considered canon, or that has been contradicted, including all your fan-fiction and roleplay. In this week's The Darker Side of Life, we'll dive in and discuss how it affects roleplay.
Sebaya Keto posted Feb 22, 12
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Author: Sebaya Keto, Balkito, Bieldywyn, BioWare, Darth, EA, Electronic Arts, FreelanceWizard, Jedi, Jerax Teral, LucasArts, MacButt, Mai Cash, role-play, Roleplay, RP, RP-PvP, Sendra, Sith, Star Wars The Old Republic, SWTOR, SWTOR-RP, The Darker Side of Life, The Old Republic, TOR, WingedThing
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.
Sebaya Keto posted Jan 25, 12
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Aleris Antah, Author: Sebaya Keto, BioWare, Corruption, Darth Vader, EA, Endor, FreelanceWizard, Hoth, Hyperewok1, Jedi, Knights of The Old Republic, Kotor, Kreia, LaxKnight, LucasArts, Mishka Kalrook, role-play, Roleplay, RP, Satele Shan, Sevra, Sith, Star Wars, Star Wars The Old Republic, SWTOR, SWTOR-RP, The Darker Side of Life, The Old Republic, Tolian, TOR, Uncle Owen, WingedThing
Appearances are everything, right? How do you tell if the person you're looking at is a drunk cantina patron, or a Sith Assassin ready to pounce on you? In this week's The Darker Side of Life, we'll be taking a look at force sensitives and how to spot them properly in roleplay. It's not always as simple as just looking for the lightsaber. That creepy man in black robes standing in the corner might be a Sith Lord, or just the old janitor. Force sensitives can sense each other, right? After all, Darth Vader could sense Luke in the shuttle heading for Endor. Kreia, though, managed to use a ritual to hide her own force sensitivity from others to keep herself alive. Without a character bio, how in Hoth are we supposed to tell?
The Old Republic has a new an unique system for us as well. The Sith/Darkside Corruption mechanic actually changes the character's appearance as they accumulate Dark Side points. Skin becomes pale and veiny, eyes become orange, then red. But is that even enough to assume someone might be a Sith, and how does that help with Jedi? Miraluka can see the force, so shouldn't they be able to tell light from dark? How do they do it? Can they just examine someone and look at the little force slider?
The real question is when does any of this cross a line into metagaming? It's that we'll seek to answer as we examine each of these methods in turn to elaborate just how it is appropriate to tell if another player is force sensitive. Join me as we dive into this issue, highlight your responses, and work to come up with a way to navigate the minefield of interacting with new people!
Sebaya Keto posted Jan 11, 12
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Aleris Antah, Atreiyu, Author: Sebaya Keto, Brekke Keto, Chiss, Devolnir, Jor Doneeta, Kerri Knight, Korriban, Racism, role-play, Roleplay, RP, Satele Shan, Skygrave, Star Wars, Star Wars The Old Republic, SWTOR, The Darker Side of Life, The Old Republic, Twi'lek, WingedThing
Racism is an ugly part of the real world, but in creating a virtual world, is it necessary to create a realistic environment? Star Wars lore has shown us over the years that characters can be extremely racist, just like real people. The Galactic Empire in the original trilogy was portrayed as being extremely humanocentric, and often discriminating or outright enslaving other species across the galaxy. Likewise, the Sith Empire of The Old Republic seems to use aliens as slaves as well. Pureblood Sith on the other hand are looked up to and revered. The Republic, being the good guys, is much more cosmopolitan but no doubt non-humans also face harsher lives in the poorer areas such as the Coruscant undercity.
In this week's edition of The Darker Side of Life, we'll discuss your feelings on the issue as well as seeing some examples of racism in roleplay that you've seen. Racism is a touchy subject. We'll talk about times that it has gone too far in past games, and what can be done to keep that from happening again in future roleplay. As usual, I took your responses from the Darker Side of Life thread and will use them to try and weave a narrative together. Is it possible to roleplay out racism without being offensive? Let's dive in and see what everyone had to say on this touchy topic!
Sebaya Keto posted Jan 4, 12
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Anakin Skywalker, Aria, Author: Sebaya Keto, BioWare, Cal-Var, Coruscant, Count Dooku, DCB, Dungeons and Dragons, FreelanceWizard, Gray Jedi, Hyperewok1, Imperial Agent, Imperial Knights, Jedi, Jedi Code, Jensaarai, Jolee Bindo, Knights of The Old Republic, Kreia, Mishka Kalrook, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn, role-play, Roleplay, RP, Sith, Star Wars, Star Wars The Old Republic, SWTOR, SWTOR-RP, The Darker Side of Life, The Old Republic, The Phantom Menace, TOR, WingedThing, Yoda
What exactly is a Gray Jedi? In this week's edition of The Darker Side of Life, we attempt to define this nebulous and often misused term. As with all of our topics, there is a measure of controversy surrounding Gray Jedi as well. Roleplayers in the past have often used Gray Jedi as a way for their character to do evil things while still being able to call themselves a hero. Where do they fit in though? Are Gray Jedi any more than a cheat mode for RP? Or do they have their own place in canon and lore? As always I've taken your responses from the thread and worked them together to form a basis for future discussion.
Join me on a ride through the minds of your fellow roleplayers as we attempt to define a Gray Jedi and how they can be used in RP. We'll look at examples – good and bad – of lore and player characters based on what you think of them. All of this boils down to one thing: what, if anything, is wrong with RPing a Gray Jedi, and is the concept as a whole flawed? Click past the break and read the rest to find out what your fellow roleplayers think, and be sure to leave a comment to help strike up the never-ending discussion!
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