This is an Imperial News Network travel ban update.

No other wild animal is as vital to status in Imperial society than the Sleen. Imperial families both Sith and military have used the web-footed Sleen as their hunting animals and domesticated "Imps' Best Friend" for centuries.

"Without one," one anonymous Imperial Navy Colonel mentioned, "you are worthless slag. Might as well be a slave amongst the elite of Kaas if you do not own one of the fine pedigree of Sleen which breeders have provided for over one hundred years."

Originally, they were the guard animals for the Sith lords of Dromund Kaas, but as the population of Kaas City and the Lord's estates became more dense, the Sleen was phased out for the ever more adaptable Akk dog due to their inability to operate in closed quarters.

Biologically, the Sleen is the fastest animal on the Sith home world, and much like its residents it is slippery and adept at evading predators through the combined effort of their slick bodies and dumb luck. Hunting mostly for insects, the Sleen heads to the most moist areas of Dromund Kaas to fill its belly, often laying in mud for hours at a time until a group of Gorcik flies move close to the water to procreate on the water's surface. It's other source of sustenance are the eggs of other lizards on Dromund Kaas; even the eggs of other Sleen.

In the days of this Cold War, sport hunting has become the favored past time of trillions of civilians across the galaxy. It is a game that one rarely is able to dabble in, the rewards being both high risk and high investment. Life and death are a natural part of the sport hunter's life, and they always start somewhere.

In recent years, Imperial hunters, thrill seekers, and young Sith have come into testing their mettle on the bug-like mammals known as Yozusk. Originally called "rock wardens" by the first Sith settlers on Dromund Kaas after their rock-like hide and appearance, the Yozusk have gained a cult following as the go-to animal for beginner sport hunters who want to make sure they're ready for the big game such as Wraids or Gundarks.

Hardly pushovers, the Yozusk have two sets of very long arms, the elbows and fingers tipped with thin, razor sharp digging tools which lend to how the strangely docile rock wardens of Dromund Kaas use their shovel-like hands to claw deep underground for small reptilian prey and deposits of bugs.

Even a cursory perusal of the guild recruitment threads in any of the SWTOR-RP server forums reveals that there are a few guild concepts that crop up again and again: the (Republic or Imperial) military or intelligence unit; the crime syndicate; the shadowy Sith cabal; the noble Jedi circle.

This is a special week for The Darker Side of Life. Since the NDA was removed, I've asked you to give your impressions of just how good The Old Republic is for roleplay. It's a topic we've dreaded and feared for two years now and we finally have our answers. Over the last weekend, BioWare opened the floodgates and allowed everyone that had registered for testing into one final beta weekend. I hope that you all got plenty of game time in this holiday weekend, as you'll need it because we're diving right into the discussion.

Now you might be asking yourself why it is that where you roleplay would be a hot enough topic for The Darker Side of Life. Every Wednesday we dig in to the most controversial topics in the RP community, and this one fits the bill even if it may not seem like it. To clarify, when I say public RP, I mean in an open place that other players can access normally as part of the open game world. By private, I mean closed instances where the owner can control access.