Holonet History Presents: Knights of the Old Republic (Let's Play)

[Tam_OConnor]

NOTICE 28.2.2014: Holonet History is remastering and re-releasing Knights of the Old Republic on Tumblr (http://holonethistory.tumblr.com/post/78053686484/episode-list). Check it out!

NOTICE 5/5/2012: Due to Imageshack limiting free accounts to 500 pictures, this LP is going to become imageless shortly. I am going to preserve a copy for my own records, and eventually hope to make that copy available to the internet at large. Thanks for reading, and sorry for the inconvenience.

Here at Holonet History, we're committed to bringing you, our viewers, the highest quality entertainment and education possible. That's why, in the face of our current galactic conflict, we're beginning a new series about a very similar time in our history.

The galaxy had just emerged from the chaos of the Mandalorian Wars, when the Republic had united under the generalship of two young Jedi Knights. But those Knights, unwilling to give up power in the wake of their crushing victory at Malachor V, began a military coup against the Republic.

It was the beginning of the Jedi Civil War. Several years into the conflict, Jedi Loyalists attempted a surgical strike at the leaders of the opposition, now calling themselves Darth Revan and Darth Malak. The operation was a partial success. Revan was eliminated, but Malak remained in power. Raging at the treachery of the Loyalists, backed by seemingly limitedless numbers of battle droids and warships, Malak began to force the Republic back along the hyperspace corridors. It is here, as the Republic begins to crumble, that we begin.

Holonet History means to bring you an intensely personal view of the Jedi Civil War, as seen through the records surrounding http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/01.jpg?t=1286211957

Out-Of-Character: Important information concerning update schedule and spoilers.
Welcome to the Let's Play of Knights of the Old Republic! Oddly enough, neither the SomethingAwful or OotS boards have had a KotOR Let's Play yet. The Old Republic MMORPG is due out fairly soon, so I figured that I'd provide a re-cap for those of us who don't want to slog through Taris again.

As the rest of the post indicates, I'll be writing these from the point of view of a Clone Wars-era Holonet program, scavanging what they can from nearly 4000 year old records (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SciFiWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale) (TVTropes warning). Anything out of character will be in these ending spoiler blocks: they could be rants on the gameplay, comments on the philosophy or just items of general interest that don't fit into the narrative.

Since this is the internet, I'll be scattering copious amounts of hyperlinks about, most of which will direct you to the relevant Wookiepedia entry. There may be occasional Youtube videos, either of cutscenes or of particularly hilarious moments. For the most part, though, this Let's Play will be text and picture.

I'll update Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays until we finish this game. Unlike most Let's Plays, this one will be less 'what do we do next?' and more 'storytime!' And let me emphasize something: Don't post spoilers, or I will be very cross with you. I know the spoiler limitation has run out, but try to be courteous to those who haven't played the game.

One question for you guys and gals: would you like the updates in spoiler blocks or out in the open like above?

Episode List:
Episode One (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9494867&postcount=10): In which we meet our heroes, amidst explosions.
Episode Two (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9509367&postcount=15): In which gaming takes place, and hostilities flare.
Episode Three (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9530004&postcount=23): In which our heroes fall in with base criminals, and grapple with trust.
Episode Four (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9548076&postcount=27): In which our heroes deal with aliens.
Episode Five (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9560044&postcount=40): In which criminals reveal their base nature, and a heroine reveals her undergarments.
Episode Six (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9581612&postcount=44): Which concerns Mandalorians.
Episode Seven (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9596844&postcount=49): In which truths, lies and blaster bolts are exchanged.
Episode Eight (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9610754&postcount=53): In which the Jedi Council is consulted.
Episode Nine (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9628187&postcount=63): In which our heroes learn many new things.
Episode Ten (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9647627&postcount=66): Which concerns justice and war.
Episode Eleven (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9659328&postcount=71): Which concerns the Dark Side and the importance of names.
Episode Twelve (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9676323&postcount=77): In which our heroes discover a mysterious Star Map.
Episode Thirteen (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9690886&postcount=82): Which concerns a family feud.
Episode Fourteen (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9704718&postcount=86): Which contains threats and flirting.
Episode Fifteen (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9725505&postcount=94): In which our heroes receive their mission, and dangers are spoken of.
Episode Sixteen (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9740471&postcount=98): In which old men talk about war, slavery and trade. And play Pazaak.
Episode Seventeen (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9752058&postcount=104): In which feet are placed in mouths, shipments go awry, and sand gets everywhere.
Episode Eighteen (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9771740&postcount=106): In which problems are found, Crusaders are slain, and a droid is acquired.
Episode Nineteen (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9785654&postcount=110): A translation of the Epic of Janni, part one.
Episode Twenty (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9798312&postcount=111): A translation of the Epic of Janni, part two.
Episode Twenty-One (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9817286&postcount=116): In which our heroes quarrel, and an opportunity appears.
Episode Twenty-Two (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9830595&postcount=124): In which the history of the Sand People is related.
Episode Twenty-Three (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9843479&postcount=127): Which concerns tactics, amphibians and quality time with hydrospanners.
Episode Twenty-Four (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9862813&postcount=141): Which concerns missions on Manaan, candid discussions of emotions, and political dialogues with strangers.
Episode Twenty-Five (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9875867&postcount=152): In which a secret organization is revealed.
Episode Twenty-Six (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9889790&postcount=157): In which a great deal of discussion leads to the violent solution.
Episode Twenty-Seven (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9910685&postcount=164): Which contains an appalling amount of violence in an embassy.
Episode Twenty-Eight (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9924324&postcount=166): In which the local courts are ineffectual, and treaties are revealed to have been broken.
Episode Twenty-Nine (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9939844&postcount=170): Which deals with madness in the depths.
Episode Thirty (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9961241&postcount=185) Which deals with decisions on the ocean floor.
Episode Thirty-One (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9975064&postcount=195): Which concerns mental trickery, police custody and senators.
Episode Thirty-Two (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9987998&postcount=198): In which our heroes decide to go on vacation.
Episode Thirty-Three (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10008290&postcount=202): In which a secret history is revealed.
Episode Thirty-Four (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10023088&postcount=205): Which concerns Jedi Generals, Hutts and the importance of family.
Episode Thirty-Five (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10035246&postcount=208): In which our heroes arrive on Kashyyyk and confront slavers.
Episode Thirty-Six (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10048044&postcount=210): Which contains violence against animals, sentient or otherwise.
Episode Thirty-Seven (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10061408&postcount=214): A translation of the Epic of Hanni.
Episode Thirty-Eight (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10073182&postcount=221): Which concerns old men lost in the woods.
Episode Thirty-Nine (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10090797&postcount=232): In which rogue Mandalorians are dealt with, and ethics is debated.
Episode Forty (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10104161&postcount=237): Which concerns rituals and rage.
Episode Forty-One (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10112555&postcount=243): In which another family dispute is resolved.
Episode Forty-Two (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10135109&postcount=248): Which concerns betrayal, relationships and droid repair.
Episode Forty-Three (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10149271&postcount=252): Which contains romance and difficult decisions.
Episode Forty-Four (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10163840&postcount=265): In which our heroes are tortured, and a riveting slicing sequence takes place.
Episode Forty-Five (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10181936&postcount=266): Which concerns vengeance, violence and unfortunate meetings.
Episode Forty-Six (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10196036&postcount=271): In which revelations are made.
Episode Forty-Seven (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10210029&postcount=278): Which concerns trust.
Episode Forty-Eight (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10228814&postcount=282): In which the term 'swirling force' is discussed, and new information comes to light.
Episode Forty-Nine (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10244165&postcount=285): Which contains chance meetings, planned meetings, meetings with idiots, meetings with smugglers and meetings with Crusaders.
Episode Fifty (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10256659&postcount=287): Which contains tests and torture.
Episode Fifty-One (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10278969&postcount=289): In which fatherhood is discussed and minor betrayals occur.
Episode Fifty-Two (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10292206&postcount=300): Which contains scheming and betrayal.
Episode Fifty-Three (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10306528&postcount=313): Which contains monsters and betrayal by idiots.
Episode Fifty-Four (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10328804&postcount=314): Which contains philosophical discussions under the threat of torture, and very little betrayal.
Episode Fifty-Five (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10342150&postcount=318): Which contains traps, spirits, and absolutely no betrayal.
Episode Fifty-Six (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10356317&postcount=330): In which tests are successfully concluded, and there is much scheming, but no betrayal.
Episode Fifty-Seven (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10377184&postcount=335): In which, making up for the previous two episodes, there is a great deal of betrayal.
Episode Fifty-Eight (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10389461&postcount=337): In which wits are matched.
Episode Fifty-Nine (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10402895&postcount=340): In which our heroine speaks with old men about their personal lives.
Episode Sixty (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10421615&postcount=343): Which contains rodians and betrayal.
Episode Sixty-One (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10435202&postcount=347): Which contains love advice from old men and unfortunate patrols.
Episode Sixty-Two (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10449039&postcount=356): In which angry natives and marooned survivors appear.
Episode Sixty-Three (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10468549&postcount=358): Which contains glories past and future.
Episode Sixty-Four (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10481928&postcount=362): Which contains regrets about the past and planning for the future.
Episode Sixty-Five (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10495085&postcount=379): Which contains Temple invasion.
Episode Sixty-Six (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10514197&postcount=392): In which the Imperial Censorship Bureau (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10512898&postcount=390) runs rampant, and a confrontation occurs.
Episode Sixty-Seven (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10526660&postcount=403): In which the Star Forge is invaded, and ablative armor is put to use.
Episode Sixty-Eight (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10535217&postcount=414): In which all outstanding details are resolved.

Appendices:
Appendix A: Sources and Appendix B: Gameplay. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10555929&postcount=418)
Appendix C: Mission and Appendix D: Juhani (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10570873&postcount=426)
Appendix E: The Darker Path and Appendix E: Orthodoxy (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10583307&postcount=428)

[Ignition]

I prefer spoilers, honestly; it's just easier to compartmentalize for my limited mortal brain :smallwink:

Good luck with it, though! If you can get past Taris, you'll be farther in the game than I ever cared to be. :smallbiggrin:

[Squark]

Sounds interesting.

[The_Werebear]

Ah, another tab for my copious list.

I'll be reading avidly.

[king.com]

I am the only one who read Holonet History and thought "TALES. OF. INTEREST!"?

Anyway a great game and look forward to the lets play.

[dgnslyr]

This looks fun. KotOR is an awesome game, and it gave me my first taste of d20. Who's going to be in your party? All Jedi, (like me, sadly)? It's strong in battle but not particularly fun or skillful. I'd like to see how this pans out.

[SITB]

SA does have a KOTOR LP (http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3265386) it's just slow going. And evil.

Rwgarding the actual LP, did you decide the name of the MC or do you want the readers to propose one?

[Tam_OConnor]

I've got a name for the main character. Thematic naming! Unless I hear folks speaking against it, looks like the updates will be spoilered.

Thanks for the link; I don't browse the SA forums, just the LP archive, so that explains why I missed it. It's pretty much diametrically opposed: a video LP with a male main character run by the goons. They should turn out to be very different.

[Mando Knight]

I just recently got a hankering for some KotOR action myself. Turns out my old disk version didn't work on Win7, and the online-granted solution didn't either, and I don't know how to register a physical copy of the game on STEAM (is the requested number the CD key, or what? Can't find my KotOR manual anyway...), so I had to shell out $10 for a fresh, direct-to-drive copy... :smallsigh:

[Tam_OConnor]

Welcome...
(Cue Music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kks3Hk3EHSE&feature=fvw))
http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/C1.jpg?t=1286390659
http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/C2.jpg?t=1286391603
http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/C3.jpg?t=1286391602...to Knights of the Old Republic.

Episode 1
Our story begins on the Endar Spire, a Hammerhead-class cruiser (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Hammerhead-class_cruiser) in orbit over the planet-city of Taris.
http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/Hammerhead.jpg?t=1286391620
The Hammerhead was the workhorse of the Republic Navy, sharing a similar role to the modern Venator-class (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Venator-class_Star_Destroyer). Right now, the Endar Spire is outmatched, ambushed by multiple Crusader fighters and capital ships. And, in a starboard dorsal cabin...
http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/101.jpg?t=1286391612
The comm systems chatter open:
http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/102.jpg?t=1286390714
http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/103.jpg?t=1286390713
The hull rings as magnetic docking clamps engage, and Crusader marines pour onto the Endar Spire.
http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/104b.jpg?t=1286390715
http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/104.jpg?t=1286390715
The ambushing forces stay their fire, though snubfighters continue to dogfight around the craft. The cruiser is wracked with explosions as the systems begin a cascade failure. The first of the escape pods blaze away, falling into Taris' atmosphere.
http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/105.jpg?t=1286390684
Throughout the Endar Spire, Crusader and Loyalist Jedi clash. The Crusaders were distinguished by their uniformly red-bladed lightsabers. Loyalists bore a wide variety of saber colors, but defaulted to blue, green or yellow.
http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/106.jpg?t=1286390683
Meanwhile, Specialist Jan Ni had equipped herself and made for the bridge. Republic military records list knowledge of a wide variety of languages, including Dosh (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Dosh), Durese (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Durese), Huttese (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Huttese), Mando'a (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Mando'a), Rodese (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Rodese)and Shyriiwook (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Shyriiwook). However, if she had been on board solely as a linguist, she would have been ranked as a 'linguistic aide.' The paucity of her records indicate advanced commando training. There are two grades of commandos: vanguard or elite commandos, like our modern ARC Troopers (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/ARC_trooper), and hidden commandos, whose missions are kept strictly confidential.
http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/107.jpg?t=1286390677
Specialist Jan Ni was the second kind. She made her way to the bridge, leaving a trail of corpses behind her. The bridge had fallen, and she avoiding Crusader Jedi and troopers to make it to the nearest bay of escape pods.
http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/108.jpg?t=1286390677
Waiting for her was Commander Carth Onasi. He had been decorated for valor in the Mandolorian Wars on multiple occasions, most notably for his actions of Serroco (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Serroco)that saved thousands of lives.
http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/109.jpg?t=1286390661
The two boarded an escape pod, and evacuated the Endar Spire just after the Crusaders resumed firing on the vessel. Debris from the exploding cruiser battered the pod, damaging the gyroscopic stabilizers and sending it into an uncontrolled spin. Both soldiers blacked out due to the gravitational forces, and the pod screamed downwards at the planet-city of Taris...
Commentary
The Endar Spire serves as a tutorial for the game, so I cut out large swathes of it to stay in character. That, and what exactly happened on the ship wouldn't make it into the historical record.

A terminology clarification: the game refers to 'Jedi' and 'Sith.' However, from an outsider's perspective, there are only two Jedi factions: the Loyalists (who didn't assist the Republic in the Mandolorian Wars) and the Crusaders, Revanchists or Malachians (either in opposition to the Mandolorian Neo-Crusaders or in reference to their leaders, Revan and Malak). Properly, Malachians and Revanchists referred to sub-factions within the Crusaders during the Mandolorian Wars, and to the leader during the Jedi Civil War. Crusader and Malachian are synonymous during the events of Knights of the Old Republic.

http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/JanNilevel1.jpg?t=1286391621
This is the character screen. Because this is an RPG, we start at 1st level, in defiance of common sense. Thankfully, we leveled up on the Endar Spire. Here's Jan when we got into the escape pod:
http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/JanNilevel2.jpg?t=1286390657
For contrast, here's Carth's right now:
http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/Onasilevel5.jpg?t=1286390737
The big contrast (besides most of his numbers being bigger) is the background behind each character. Knights of the Old Republic tracks Force Alignment, with blue and white indicating Light Side actions, and red and black indicating Dark Side actions. We can see that Carth is pretty strongly Light Sided. In D&D alignments, Carth is Lawful Good. He's fiercely loyal to the Republic, but he recognizes social injustices and fights against them. Later on, we'll see precisely how he integrates his goodness with a willingness to kill.

By contrast, Jan Ni starts at Neutral. Rather than picking an alignment and living up to it (or not) as in earlier Bioware games (Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights), we decide our character's alignment in play.

Once we actually get Jedi in the party (not a spoiler; it's a Star Wars game about the Jedi Civil War, for crying out loud), their Force Alignment will affect the force point costs for various powers. If one is Dark Sided, one gets a discount on Force Lighting. The more strongly Dark Sided one is, the cheaper Force Lightning is. For non-Jedi, Force Alignment is just a handy 'likes kitty-smushing' or 'loves puppies' guide.
Next time, on Knights of the Old Republic:
http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/E1.jpg?t=1286391602

[Irbis]

Ah, the arena. I wonder who will shake in their boots? :smallamused:

[Terry576]

Ah, the arena. I wonder who will shake in their boots? :smallamused:

VICTOR FROM THE BLUE TEAM, LEAVE THE ARENA NOW AND REST.

[Fayd]

VICTOR FROM THE BLUE TEAM, LEAVE THE ARENA NOW AND REST.

You've earned it?

[Irbis]

THE MYSTEHIOUS STHANGERRR! :smallyuk:

[Tam_OConnor]

Welcome...
(Cue Music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5s6BUdzIpg))
http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/I1.jpg?t=1286566468
http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/I2.jpg?t=1286566469
http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/I3.jpg?t=1286566493...to Knights of the Old Republic.

Episode Two
http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/2_000.jpg?t=1286567932
Taris is a planet-wide city, much like Coruscant, though less affluent. The shifting importance of hyperspace routes have removed Taris from its former profitable position, leaving it a faded world. Recently Taris, under Senator Kin Robb, joined the Council of Neutral Systems (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Council_of_Neutral_Systems). At this point in time, though, Taris was still a factor in galactic politics, one of the multiple points of contact between the Republic and Crusader-controlled space.
http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/2_00.jpg?t=1286567933
The escape pod pinwheeled through the atmosphere, ablative re-entry armor being shed in its wake. Commander Onasi, hovering at the point of unconsciousness, manages to engage the emergency stabilizers, and lapses into blackness. The escape pod skips across a mercifully empty plaza, and comes to a stop on the very edge, just shy of falling.
http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/2_0.jpg?t=1286567934
Onasi regains consciousness first, and rouses Specialist Ni, and the two of them flee the crash site ahead of the Crusader investigation team. The pair take refuge in an abandoned apartment. For a few days, they laid low, patching wounds received during their escape. Onasi begins a journal, one of our most valuable sources from this period. He writes:
http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/2_01.jpg?t=1286566281
Presumably, he refers to the incident aboard the Arkanian Legacy (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Arkanian_Legacy) during the Mandolorian Wars, which, among other things, involved elite Mandolorian, Arkanian and Republic forces, including the future Darth Malak, in a close-combat encounter that resulted in massive casualties on all sides. Also note that he uses the derogative 'Sith' to refer to the Crusader Jedi; the term is present in the original text, and is indicative of Onasi's time and place. Holonet History is committed to bringing you an unvarnished view of history; this sort of casual racism was an unfortunate symptom of the close-minded nature of the early days of the Republic.

Onasi continues:
http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/2_02.jpg?t=1286566281
This sort of determination under unconceivable odds is why Onasi was so often decorated for bravery. Fortunately for historians, Onasi wasn't writing this journal for his own consumption, but as a log of his time behind enemy lines. Because of this, he explains for the ignorant reader who Bastila is. He notes her as Force Commander, a rank inferior to the more common Jedi General, implying a shared command with a career officer. Additionally, he specifies that, despite her youth, she has mastered the rare talent of Battle Meditation.
http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/2_03.jpg?t=1286566281
He lists their available resources, which were extraordinary sparse. Between Onasi and Ni, they had less than a hundred credits to their name, and only what armaments they had managed to retain during their flight from the crashed escape pod. However, there is one spot of hope:
http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/2_04.jpg?t=1286566282
They make their way to a local cantina, where Ni starts to remedy their credit deficiency:
http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/2_05.jpg?t=1286566297
Compared to surviving the destruction of the Endar Spire, cheating at Pazaak (an archaic form of Sabaac (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Sabaac)) was a simple matter. Ni cleaned out the local cardsharks while Onasi learned that several escape pods had crashed in the lower levels of Taris. On the prowl for more credits, Ni had an offer from a local Hutt.
http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/2_06.jpg?t=1286566297
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http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/2_08.jpg?t=1286566297
Without stopping to consult with Onasi, Ni accepted. The following tapes were in syndication for decades afterwards. (Cue Music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hyrjh0EDlss&feature=related))
http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/2_09.jpg?t=1286566306
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A spectator described the last duel:

"It was like one of those duels from Corellian holovids. They locked eyes across the arena. I could hear everyone in the arena holding their breath. I know I was. They showed the replays for days: Twitch drew first, but the Mysterious Stranger shot first. And just like that, it was over. No grenades, no vibroblades. But it was the most exhilarating duel I'd ever seen."
http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/2_27.jpg?t=1286566398
http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/2_28.jpg?t=1286566401
Onasi, understandably, was less than pleased with Ni having her face plastered over viewscreens three meters high.
http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/2_29.jpg?t=1286566401
Onasi doesn't record exactly how that particular situation was defused, though it's possible that the prize money convinced him. He does, however, express further suspicions about Ni. Onasi notes that she was added to the crew roster at the last minute by Bastila and the Loyalist Jedi.
http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/2_30.jpg?t=1286568655
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Commentary
http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/JanNilevel3.jpg?t=1286567939
http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/JanNilevel4.jpg?t=1286566493
Ripping through the Taris Duel Ring like a neutrino through plasma (http://art.penny-arcade.com/photos/500986191_Munki-XL-2.jpg) bumped Jan up two levels. Carth's still at 5th, on account of him not doing anything. They're fairly financially solvent at this point, though.

One thing you may have noticed during the fight with Gerlon Two-Fingers: that yellow arrow over Jan's character portrait indicates that Jan's leveled up. While it's usually in your favor to level up immediately, there's another benefit. Leveling up completely refills your hit points. At this point in the game, Jan's fairly delicate, which means that a free heal can save her space-bacon, as it did during the fight with Ice. That woman hits hard, and she's just as good hand-to-hand or at range. Marl you can just run away from and shoot as he tries to catch up to you, and Twitch can be out-shot (with the help of an energy shield or three), but Ice...

In terms of equipment: I've gone for weight of fire over accuracy, and kitted both Carth and Jan out with dual blasters. Jan also found an upgradeable vibroblade in the Endar Spire, and will be using it whenever she needs a melee weapon.

I should mention that I'm using several mods. None of them are particularly large, but if you see a weapon you don't recognize, feel free to ask. I did try a mod to reduce vibroblade to the size they're supposed to be (knives, not swords). However, while the mod worked fine, it did so by treating vibroblades as stun batons for the weapon animations, which meant they couldn't be dual wielded. So much for my dreams of parrying daggers.

Carth's trust issues are starting to break through. This is the point where he starts to lose control of the whole situation. He outranks Jan in a technical sense, but he knows now that she's going to take her own initiative. Which, in an independent operative, is an excellent trait. It's less helpful when working as a team, especially when your teammate has problems trusting anyone already.

You'll notice that I'm skipping over what seem to action sequences (the flight from the escape pod). Sadly, they're not. It's just a little inconceivable that Carth manages to lug Jan and the entire inventory away from the crash site before being noticed. I also cut out some brawling in the streets with Exchange thugs (interplanetary criminal organization), mainly because it just provides a heavy handed opportunity to start to shift your Force Alignment.

Pazaak is essentially a blackjack variant. The version in KotOR is outrageously stacked in the computer's favor, but I've got the power of the savegame on my side. Anyone want to see a few matches played out?

I'm blowing through Taris at a fairly brisk clip; anyone want me to slow down? At this rate, I'll have finished the planet in four-ish more episodes. Anything in particular that the viewing audience wants to see? Spoiler and note those requests, if you have them.
Next time, on Knights of the Old Republic
http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/E1-1.jpg?t=1286568579

[The_Werebear]

I'd like it if you could throw in the Villain ball Vendor Igear in the Undercity. I'd like to see how he gets justified in history.

[Terry576]

You should mod it with either restored content or the mod that updates all the graphics, so it's prettier.

Also Vulcans?

A NEW CHALLENGER APPROACHES!!!

[Fri]

Just popping in to say I'm enjoying this in-universe-pov lp

[Starbuck_II]

Huh, I thought Something aweful had one. But this is interesting.
Scoundrel or Scout seem most popular Main characters.
You know I rarely see Soldier/Jedi.

[Terry576]

Huh, I thought Something aweful had one. But this is interesting.
Scoundrel or Scout seem most popular Main characters.
You know I rarely see Soldier/Jedi.

I always played Soldier, even before I consoled. I enjoyed being known as "Revan, Soldier of the Republic, Warrior of Justice."

I did name my character Revan. Even before I knew who Revan was. :smalltongue:

[Mando Knight]

*nitpick* "Sith" was a perfectly appropriate term, and probably more likely to be used by the Clone Wars-era Republic to refer to Revan's Sith Empire than "Crusader Jedi" even millennia after the Jedi Civil War. After all, that's what they called them during the war, that's what the Empire called itself during the war, and that's how all the official records were likely written.

Unless this is a publication by an anti-Jedi media outlet, of course. In which case the Dark Side ending would be a very possible outcome, showing the corruptibility and evils of the Jedi.
I always played Soldier, even before I consoled. I enjoyed being known as "Revan, Soldier of the Republic, Warrior of Justice."My first playthrough was as a Soldier, but since then I've come to prefer the Scout for the not-Jedi class: lower BAB, HP, and fewer feats, but gets Implants for free and also gets Flurry/Rapid Shot and hella lot of skills compared to the Soldier, which means that it comes out to roughly the same end feat-wise to me, ending up trading a couple points of BAB and HP (minor, since I usually grab Toughness anyway so I get the DR 2/- from Tough2, which is useful early on, and my attack bonuses are rather irrelevant quickly enough anyway) for enough extra skills that I don't have to run to T3 or Mission every time I need something other than Persuasion and healing.

Master Flurry, in my opinion, is a better feat than Master Power Attack if the implications from the text is correct (MPA only applying to the next weapon attack rather than all attacks in the round, and I haven't tested this thoroughly) since MF grants an additional attack for only a -1 penalty to your attacks... which is potentially much stronger than a single-attack MPA, since it grants what could be an additional 2d8+Helluvalot rather than +10, and at less of an attack penalty.
I did name my character Revan. Even before I knew who Revan was. :smalltongue:
Malak: "They never told you, Revan? Even though they had you keep the same name?!"
Revan: "Oh, I'm that Revan! No wonder I've got the same name as him (/her)! It all makes sense now!"

[Terry576]

Revan: Suddenly the awkwardness Bastila felt around me makes so much more sense!
Malak: ...Revan, did they give you a few concussions before they let you out?
Revan: Probably.

[Tam_OConnor]

A Public Service Announcement from Holonet History
We understand that this is a beloved subject of many of you, but please, for the sake of the ignorant among our audience, hide your spoilers. And remember that senatorial elections are this week, so get out to your planet's polls and vote. Just because we're in a war doesn't mean that democracy can fall by the wayside.

Welcome...(Cue Music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eh00EENPfSU&feature=related))
http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/I3_1.jpg?t=1286836342
http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/I3_2.jpg?t=1286835984
http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/I3_3.jpg?t=1286836347...to Knights of the Old Republic.

Episode 3
Commander Onasi and Specialist Ni have left the gleaming upper levels of Taris, descending to the neglected lower levels, trying to reach the escape pods that crashed into the Undercity. Onasi records that they visited a few of the local cantinas, chasing eyewitnesses and sampling the local Tarisian ales. He notes with disgust that a bounty hunter, one Calo Nord, showed no hesitation whatsoever in detonating a flash grenade in the middle of the cantina in order to secure his bounties.

http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/3_01.jpg?t=1286835271
http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/3_02.jpg?t=1286835271

(Sounds of blaster fire, and bodies hitting the ferroconcrete (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Ferroconcrete)floor)

During their investigations, they learned of the two leading gangs of the Lower City: the Hidden Beks and the Black Vulkars. While the Beks were somewhat reasonable, and only demanded small fees for passage through their territory, the Black Vulkars would outright attack tresspassers into their domains.

http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/3_03.jpg?t=1286835274

After a few days of chasing rumors, Onasi records that they sought out the Hidden Bek base, hoping the gang leader would be willing to sell them the precise location of the pod crash. After paying a hefty fee, the gang leader, Gadon Thek, gave them the location of the crash, and more:

http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/3_04.jpg?t=1286835276

Onasi is filled with a sudden burst of optimism, sharing perhaps more than he intended:

http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/3_05.jpg?t=1286835354

Thek seemed to ignore Onasi's implication that Bastila was a Jedi, though later events do not bear this out. His next statement seems calculated to crush Onasi's hopes:

http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/3_06.jpg?t=1286835354

Thek: "Brejik's probably got your Republic friend hidden away someplace safe until then. You'll never find her."

http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/3_07.jpg?t=1286835358

Thek: "The race is for Lower City gangs only. I could sponsor you as a rider for the Hidden Beks this year. If you win the race, you'll win your friend's freedom."

http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/3_08.jpg?t=1286835355

Thek: "But the Vulkars stole the prototype from us. They plan to use it to guarantee a victory in this year's swoop race. I need you to break into their base and steal it back."

Onasi and Ni beg off for a few minutes to confer. Onasi asks, "How do we know we can trust you?"

http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/3_09.jpg?t=1286835534

With no real option, Onasi and Ni agree. And then Thek makes his hand obvious, by suggesting that they find one Mission Vao and enlist her services.

http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/3_10.jpg?t=1286835535

Thek: "She and her Wookie friend Zaalbar are always looking to stir up a little excitement. They like to go exploring in the Undercity, despite the dangers."

Onasi includes a rare comment from Ni, made after they leave Thek's presense. "The Undercity. It's not like it's an entire layer of the planet-wide city or anything. Of course we can find them." He doesn't mention any eyerolling or rude hand gestures.

As they make their way to the indicated elevator down to the Undercity, Onasi mentions witnessing some Black Vulkar thugs being shaken down by an enforcer for the Exchange. The Exchange was an intergalactic criminal organization, existing on a scale comparable to the Republic. The local Exchange boss was a human named Davik Kang. He employed two other notables: the bounty hunter Calo Nord and a Mandolorian enforcer named Canderous Ordo.

http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/3_11.jpg?t=1286835538

Onasi digressed from his narrative at length to rail against the Mandolorians, and other such tired racist rhetoric.

He does, however, record a lengthy conversation between himself and Ni:

http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/3_12.jpg?t=1286835538
http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/3_13.jpg?t=1286836338

Onasi: "But that doesn't mean I'm going to stop watching you or being wary. I'm just not built that way. Period."

Ni: "And what, exactly, are you watching me for?"

http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/3_14.jpg?t=1286836338
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http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/3_20.jpg?t=1286835775

(The Bomarr Order (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/B'omarr_Order))

http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/3_21.jpg?t=1286835781
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Commentary
http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/JanNilevel5.jpg?t=1286835986
Jan leveled, bring her up to Carth's level (probably where she should have started). I could go off on a rant here about levels, but I'll just direct you to this essay (http://www.thealexandrian.net/creations/misc/d&d-calibrating.html)and this D&D variant (http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=352719) if you're interested.

I do feel that this was a wasted opportunity for the game. One of the frequent complaints about the game is that it takes entirely too long to get off of Taris. This is primarily, I believe, because there's really only one path to get off Taris. You have to a) obtain the Crusader soldier uniform to get into the Lower City, b) trade that uniform to Gadon to get a passcard so that the guard will allow you into the Under City, etc. Essentially, it's a long series of hoops, and there isn't an alternate route (though the Dark Side route allows you to double back and break some of the hoops).

Let's talk about Carth some more. Since you play the protagonist, Carth is obviously intended to be your Lancer (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheLancer)(TVTropes warning). However, divorcing the story from the game from the moment, Jan could be seen as Carth's Lancer. The problem is that neither of them is really assuming a leadership position. Once we actually get a few more party members, then all the archetypes will start falling into place. And, fortunately enough, we pick up our third party member next episode.

Right now it'd be fairly easy to see a typical buddy-cop movie, albeit during wartime. Two soldiers, one a hero, the other a glorified assassin, on a mission to rescue a POW. Very much a Del Rey Han Solo (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/The_Han_Solo_Adventures) or Lando Calrissian (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/The_Lando_Calrissian_Adventures) Adventures feel. No hokey religions, just good blasters. Ironic that it happens during the Jedi Civil War, no?

Again, I'm leaping over the boring 'open door, kill every gang member inside' sequences. Partially because the Vulkar's aggression doesn't make all that much sense, partially because Jan and Carth were entirely too busy trying to track down fallen escape pods. Trying this back into the missed opportunity, this could have been a great spot to emphasize the dialogue, instead of murdermurdermurder. Keep the bounties, but allow you to reason with the roaming gangs, Vulkar and Bek.
Next time, on Knights of the Old Republic:
http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/E3.jpg?t=1286836338

[Irbis]

One thing you may have noticed during the fight with Gerlon Two-Fingers: that yellow arrow over Jan's character portrait indicates that Jan's leveled up. While it's usually in your favor to level up immediately, there's another benefit. Leveling up completely refills your hit points.

Um... levelling so quickly might be a bad idea. You see, when you get to [censored] your class changes. And some levels of the starting classes are just bad, meaning they're a good cut-off point.

I know I beat the game three times with level-holding everything but the first two (compulsory), making Scoundrel 2/[censored] 18. Yup, even Starkiller is beatable if you know what you're doing as weakest class - on hard! :smallbiggrin:


I'm blowing through Taris at a fairly brisk clip; anyone want me to slow down? At this rate, I'll have finished the planet in four-ish more episodes. Anything in particular that the viewing audience wants to see?

Why slow-down? Later planets are larger, you have a lot of ground to cover. And KotOR II if that comes to that. Don't slow, just insert more from yourself and make a few cliff-hangers where readers could decide! :smalltongue:


Two soldiers, one a hero, the other a glorified assassin, on a mission to rescue a POW. Very much a Del Rey Han Solo (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/The_Han_Solo_Adventures) or Lando Calrissian (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/The_Lando_Calrissian_Adventures) Adventures feel. No hokey religions, just good blasters. Ironic that it happens during the Jedi Civil War, no?

Han Solo was excellent. Triply excellent. Serial based on that would be the best thing Lucas made since TESB :smallfrown:

Lando? Completely different. It was full of hokey religions and nonsense, and no blasters, too :smallfrown:

[Fri]

No, this isn't going too fast. And anyway it's better to finish an lp fast rather than dawdling in my opinion.

[Tam_OConnor]

With regard to holding levels:
I've beaten Starkiller with a second level character before (kite, kite, kite the Mandolorian). But it's annoying, and you've got that level-up icon over your character portrait, which makes the screenshots less pretty. Plus, I'm a firm believer in retraining, and I've got a utility that lets me do it. Actually, if you count it out, I'm not exactly running a 25 point buy character either. :smallbiggrin:

With regard to the Lando Calrissian Adventures:
You know, it's been years since I read them, so thanks for catching that error. It's a wonder I remembered them at all. Should probably re-read the Han Solo Adventures when I have a few spare hours.

With regard to terminology:
Yeah, Sith would be the technically accurate term. However, one of the things I liked about KotOR 2 is that it introduced the term "Jedi Civil War." The average citizen was likely to have been confused on why the heroes Revan and Malak were now at war with the Republic. Hence "Loyalist" and "Crusader." From a purely historical perspective, take Carth's advice and don't trust anyone. What's the motivation behind this history?

With regard to graphics:
Unfortunately, I'm playing this on my netbook. This computer whines when I try to get it to run Valve's Source engine (Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines). So better graphics are sadly not happening.

Four more episodes should see us off of Taris.

[Tam_OConnor]

Holonet History would like to apologize for the delayed nature of this presentation, but our station's Holonet transponder was damaged by debris from the Battle of Coruscant (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Battle_of_Coruscant_(Clone_Wars)). With Count Dooku neutralized by General Skywalker, we can only hope that this horrible conflict in near its end.

Welcome...
(Cue music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GRWSHfyYlc))
http://img804.imageshack.us/img804/1413/i41.png
http://img651.imageshack.us/img651/7982/i42.png
http://img203.imageshack.us/img203/6414/i43.png...to Knights of the Old Republic

Episode 4
http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/1323/400.png

Around the elevator leading to the Lower City huddled a small village of outcasts, living off of scraps from the world above.

http://img818.imageshack.us/img818/2663/401x.png

But when Onasi asked about any downed escape pods:

http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/1613/402b.png

While Onasi went to talk with Gendar, Ni stayed behind, asking Igear why he was in conflict with the headman:

http://img821.imageshack.us/img821/1060/403.png

Have received vague directions to the crash site, the two left the convines of the village. They heard the sound of crying, and followed the noise to its source, a young Twi'lek girl.

Ni: "You're Mission Vao, right? Gadon Thek said you could help me."

http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/8735/404v.png

Vao: "Me... me and Zaalbar were just wandering around here in the Undercity. You know, looking for stuff we could find, just kind of exploring. We do it all the time. Only this time, they were waiting for us. Gamorrean slave hunters. We didn't even have a chance to run. Big Z threw himself at them, and he roared for me to run!"

Ni: "If we help you get Zaalbar back, you have to get us inside the Vulkar base. Gadon said you knew a secret way in."

http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/8929/405.png

The trio set out, gunning down mutants as they made their way to the fallen escape pod, still smoking from the crash.

http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/3273/406g.png
http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/7743/406b.png

Poking through the wreckage, they found a Republic soldier, greviously injured by the crash and the claws of mutants. As Onasi and Vao tried to patch his wounds, Ni injected him with a stimulant and asked about Bastila.

http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/6559/407ue.png

Though Onasi was skilled in battlefield medicine, the soldier was too far gone, and succumbed to his wounds soon thereafter. Sceams and blaster discharges drew their attention, and the trio raced to the source of the sounds, finding the Mandolorian Canderous Ordo, surrounded by corpses of mutants and men.

http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/3619/408m.png

Ni learned from Ordo that the Exchange boss Davik Kang had sent Ordo and his time to loot the Republic escape pods, but had arrived too late. The Mandolorian advised Ni and company not to waste their time, and led the remains of his command back to the Lower City.

Vao led her new companions to the nearest sewer entrance, and then directly to the Gamorrean compound.

http://img63.imageshack.us/img63/4323/409p.png
http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/2941/410v.png
http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/4272/411.png

Ni freed the wookie from a tiny cage, and he made a surprising pronouncement:

http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/7383/412h.png

Zaalbar: "When the Gamorreans captured me, I thought I was doomed to a life of servitude. I have been saved from such a fate, and the only way I can repay that is through a lifedebt."

http://img834.imageshack.us/img834/8355/413n.png

Ni: "I am honored to accept your vow."

http://img811.imageshack.us/img811/5936/414r.png

Vao: "So... I guess I still owe you one secret path into the Vulkar base. That was the deal, wasn't it? Don't worry, I know a backdoor into that scum den!"

Onasi, noting that he lacked the requisite commando skills to effect an entrance into the base unnoticed, left via the sewers. He encountered a Crusader force, and managed to mislead them into thinking that he was assigned to guide them to downed escape pods. Onasi led the Crusaders to the escape pod that they had previously visited, right into a pack of roaming mutants. Only he survived the ensuing firefight.

In the village of outcasts, though, he was seized by an old man, calling himself Rukil.

Rukil: "By finding my apprentice, you have proved yourself worthy, up-worlder! You will be the beacon on our path to salvation! You will guide us to the Promised Land!"

Onasi makes not mention of finding any sort of apprentice. Despite this, the old man refused to let Onasi onto the elevator until he had recounted the entire history of the outcasts, originally rebels from Tarisian food riots.

http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/6938/415n.png

Onasi, after listening to the old man's ranting for at least a quarter hour, managed to pry himself away from the outcast. But before he could board the elevator, he was approached by the shopkeeper Igear.

http://img203.imageshack.us/img203/3927/416m.png

Igear: "He's gone senile, but Gendar still insists that we waste food on him. I don't suppose that you'd be willing to-"

Onasi didn't let Igear complete his thought. He reports relishing the punch immensely, perhaps too much. With Igear coughing out teeth behind him, Onasi boarded the elevator and ascended to the Lower City.

Because Ni, Vao and Zaalbar kept no surviving records, we only have two holo-stills of the infiltration.

http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/5066/417z.png
http://img837.imageshack.us/img837/2286/418l.png

Having secured the rear entrance by means of extensive mining, Ni, Vao and Zaalbar fought their way to the front of the Vulkar base. There, Vao took up a guard at the main entrance, while Ni, Onasi and Zaalbar pressed further into the base.

http://img810.imageshack.us/img810/3756/419.png
http://img534.imageshack.us/img534/1200/420n.png
http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/4823/421j.png
http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/5251/422.png

Ni managed to slice open the Vulkar's strongbox, adding thousands of credits to their liquid funds. Eventually, they came face to face with the base commander, who very notably was not Brejik. The twi'lek, Kandon Ark, had a proposal for Onasi and Ni:

http://img543.imageshack.us/img543/7394/423.png

Ark: "Brejik has grown tired of this petty war with Gadon and his pathetic followers. He needs someone to get rid of Gadon... permanently. If you do this task for him Brejik is willing to offer a very substantial reward. How does 500 credits sound? Oh, and we'll throw in that young Republic soldier we captured, too."

Onasi: "I thought she was being offered up as the prize in the swoop race."

http://img704.imageshack.us/img704/4121/424n.png

Ark: "Whoever wins the swoop race gets the girl. Kill Gadon and we'll give you 500 credits, sponsor you as a Vulkar rider and equip your swoop with the accelerator. You can't lose!"

(The holos stretch and flicker with interference, finally resolving into a clear picture. Which holo does the screen show?

Option one: betraying a criminal:

http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/6518/4251.png

Option two: loyalty to a criminal:

http://img64.imageshack.us/img64/1803/4252.png

Votes will been taken until Friday, October 15th, 12pm central time)
Commentary
Let's meet Mission Vao

http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/774/missionlevel4.png
http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/4239/missionlevel5.png

and Zaalbar:

http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/7227/zaalbarlevel5.png
http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/2000/zaalbarlevel6.png

They're another pair, brains and brawn, protector and ward. Zaalbar won't distinguish himself story-wise for quite some time, but Mission adopts a ready dynamic with Carth and Jan. It's not one that we'll actually get to view in-game, because of a) story reasons that will soon become apparent and b) because she's more or less identical to Jan, but worse. Carth and Mission adopt an annoyed father/teenage daughter dynamic that is interesting the first time and just starts to grate after that.

Fortunately or not, we just went past Mission's only mandatory relation to the plot. The main problem with Mission is that she's easily replacable. She's a decent ranged attacker, but most of her damage comes from sneak attack, which is much easier to get as a melee attacker. Because we already have a scoundrel in the party (Jan), her skills are redundant (and will become even more redundant shortly).

I can't help but compare Mission to Imoen, from the Baldur's Gate series, another early-game thief-type. Imoen, though, had backstory connections to the main character (as your adopted sister) and could dual-class from thief to mage, making her much more versatile. Thief skills in Baldur's Gate were also exclusive, unlike KotOR, where any character can potentially learn Security (lockpicking) and Stealth. Imoen also had the advantage of not being fourteen-year old alien gutter trash. (My prejudices are showing!)

Zaalbar will get his spotlight section later on in the story, so I'll be sparse with the details until then. I will say that he's very much a stereotypical wookie, with less initial characterization than Chewbacca. And you can actually understand his lines, unlike Chewbacca, so the blandness is even harder to accomplish. He is, however, a complete monster in melee combat. His ability to wear armor, even mitigated by his high Constitution, means that he's squishy, even compared to Carth or Jan.

Speaking of our original pair, they leveled up. Twice.
http://img819.imageshack.us/img819/8131/carthlevel6.png
http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/9776/carthlevel7.png

Carth is starting to move down all of the ranged talent trees (Power Blast, Rapid Shot and Sniper Shot), more for variety of cinematics than power. He's already got Improved Two Weapon Fighting and Weapon Sepcialization (Blasters), and so hits often and hard, even without using feats.

http://img826.imageshack.us/img826/2382/janlevel6.png
http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/7803/janlevel7.png

Jan is likewise on Improved Two Weapon Fighting, but is picking up ancillatory feats like Implant (not that kind; think cyborg-esque enhancements) and the Toughness feats (because the Scoundrel only gets 1d6 hit points per level, and that just won't be enough. Also, Improved Toughness gives damage reduction 2/-).

I do have to rant briefly. Going by KotOR, technology hasn't advanced in the three thousand years between Jan Ni and Jan Ors (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Jan_Ors). The Tales of the Jedi series (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Tales_of_the_Jedi) kept the iconic appearance of the Jedi similar intact making the technology distinct from the Clone Wars/Rebellion era. And KotOR is close enough to that in timeline that Bastila was originally Vima Sunrider (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Vima_Sunrider), though the character was changed because of some legal nonsense (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Sunrider_naming_controversy). I'm just a little disappointed that no effort was made to make the technology distinct from the movies. At all. Did I mention that I hate the concept of Medieval Stasis (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MedievalStasis) (TV Tropes warning) in fantasy as well? (No wiggling out with the 'Star Wars is just fantasy with bolts painted on' argument!)

On Igear: Werebear, I tried. I really did, but there's no way to spin it so that Rukil doesn't come off crazy and Igear doesn't twirl his (invisible) mustache before tying puppies to the swoop tracks. For those that haven't played the game, the quest goes like this:
1) Rukil asks you to find the journal of his apprentice.
2) You do, and he rants how you're going to lead them to the Promised Land, and would you kindly find the journals of his father and grandfather.
3) Igear stops you, and asks you to bring the journals to him instead, because he's important here, and in the Promised Land he would be irrelevant. Not 'I don't believe in the Promised Land,' which would be a theoretically defendable position. But 'I don't want these people to be happy because it would make me less important.'
4) You find the journals. You can
a) give them to Rukil, who gives you nothing, and convinces Gendar to abandon their village and go off into the mutant-infested wilds to get there, probably killing them all.
OR
b) sell them to Igear, for 100 credits (or 200, if you can drive a hard bargain), who destroys them.

The whole quest is mind-numbingly stupid, from either perspective. It's just also cartoonishly evil if you take Igear's side (and slightly more profitable).
Next time, on Knights of the Old Republic:
http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/9489/67113677.png

[Mando Knight]

...You do realize you can down the Rancor with just a single frag grenade and a vial of the scent-chems found on the severed arm? Mines are good money.

[Fayd]

My vote: Stick with Gadon. I disliked the Vulkar far more during my playthrough, as they actually attacked me.

[Tam_OConnor]

Mando_Knight: Yes, yes I do. It's just more fun to be glaring stupid sometimes. Also, the opportunities for mine use are limited, so I relish planting a whole bunch at once. Also, it takes fewer screens to illustrate.

[Cogwheel]

So for your first real mission, you... went into a sewer to kill some orcs and zombies. Depending on your weapon choice, you could have done this with a sword.

It's a good thing you're not playing a fantasy game, really.

[Kish]

Actually, I would venture that sending the Undercity people on a mission below the planet's surface has an excellent chance of meaning they number among the planet's very few survivors in the near future.

When I first played and Malak started bombing the planet, I wondered if the actual meaning of the "Promised Land" prophecy actually translated to something like, "Go underground right now, and you'll be able to rebuild the planet when you emerge."

[ScottishDragon]

There's actually no point getting improved two weapon fighting feats,because when the game came out they forgot to turn on the negatives to using two weapons.I vote staying with gadon,want to get off taris fast and hope you go good,i've only ever beat the game evil.

[Klose_the_Sith]

There's actually no point getting improved two weapon fighting feats,because when the game came out they forgot to turn on the negatives to using two weapons.I vote staying with gadon,want to get off taris fast and hope you go good,i've only ever beat the game evil.

Bzuh? :smallconfused:

I've used TWF without the feats before, it was horribly inaccurate. Maybe I just got a better version cause I'm cool :smallwink:

[Aux-Ash]

Oh, this is interesting. I'm really interested to see how you spin this story.

As for what to do next, I'd suggest supporting Gadon. While he is a criminal gangleader (allthough presented in a unambigously trustworthy and fatherly role) it's simply the more reliable of the two choices. It's not Brejik that's offering you the deal but one of his underlings (probably looking to gain a position by getting Gadon killed, with a disposable nobody no less!), so Brejik has not even a personal obligation to follow you.
Secondly, the Black Vulkars are described by just about everybody as untrustworthy. Even if you don't want to make a clear stand on the dark/light side scale, sticking with Gadon is the sounder tactical choice.

[Mando Knight]

Third, those Vulkars have enough junk on them to make up the 500 creds. Never tried killing Gadon, so I'm not sure if the Beks carry a decent amount of loot, though.

[ScottishDragon]

Bzuh? :smallconfused:

I've used TWF without the feats before, it was horribly inaccurate. Maybe I just got a better version cause I'm cool :smallwink:

Well I dunno,read about it on a couple different sites with cheats and stuff,and never had a problem with it when I beat the game withought using them.(Then again it's been awhile since I beat it.)

[The_Werebear]

Stick with Thek - Those Twi'lek's have some good headgear and cash. Besides, how are the Vulkar's going to help at this point? You've cleaned out their base so thoroughly that the handful in the room are probably the only ones left.

[Klose_the_Sith]

Well I dunno,read about it on a couple different sites with cheats and stuff,and never had a problem with it when I beat the game withought using them.(Then again it's been awhile since I beat it.)

Huh.

Maybe I got a later release where it was patched or similar?

[Tam_OConnor]

Welcome...
(Cue music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GZMMFg1-Sw&feature=related))
http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/9039/i51.png
http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/2968/i52.png
http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/4003/i53.png... to Knights of the Old Republic.

Episode 5
http://img834.imageshack.us/img834/4664/501u.png
http://img830.imageshack.us/img830/1794/502m.png
http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/5544/503r.png

Between Ni firing before hostilities had formally begun and Zaalbar's tremendous strength, Onasi records that the battle was finished quickly. He does make an interesting note here, that throughout the destruction of the Black Vulkars, Zaalbar had not once entered into one of the legendary wookie rages. Onasi digresses in the text about the weaknesses of losing one's cool in battle, approving of the icy calm of Ni. But from the wookie, he could feel a desire for more violence, barely contained. Zaalbar was methodical in his killing of the Vulkars, but he always put more force into his blows than was strictly required, to the point of throwing himself off balance. Onasi supposes that Vao serves as a moderating influence on the wookie, and makes a note to recommend to Ni that the two not be separated for extended periods.

The prototype swoop accelerator was retrieved and, with great difficulty, hauled back to the hideout of the Hidden Beks.

http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/4084/504.png

Thek: "I'm a man of my word, though. I promised you could ride in the swoop race under the Hidden Bek banner, and I'm still going to let you do that. And I'm even going to go one better - I'm going to let you ride the swoop bike with the prototype accelerator installed on it."

Ni: "Why the generosity, Thek? One of your own racers could do much better; I've never even ridden a swoop before."

http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/7373/505.png

Thek: "I can't ask one of my own riders to take the risk - they'll be running unmodified swoops in the race. You'll be the only one using the protype. If you can complete the track before the accelerator overheats then you'll win for the Beks. If you die, then one of my other riders could still come through for me."

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/8453/506h.png
http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/2705/507x.png

Onasi: "Question for you, Gadon. The Vulkars tried to hire us to kill you, even after we killed half of them. Why does Brejik want you dead so badly?"

http://img831.imageshack.us/img831/741/508a.png

Thek: "But with my ocular implants I can still see well enough to lead this gang, and I knew Brejik wasn't ready to take over yet. Unfortunately, Brejik didn't agree with me. In a rage he left to join the Vulkars, along with a lot of the younger gang members. Brejik is a proud man. My decision was a public humiliation for him. He won't rest until I am dead and the Beks are no more. It's hard to accept the truth of his betrayal."

Ni spent that night learning the controls of swoop bikes. Onasi sat up with her, the pair of them talking about actions in the Mandalorians Wars. Eventually, the conversation turned to Revan and Malak.

http://img801.imageshack.us/img801/1493/509n.png

Ni: "But that doesn't explain why you don't trust /anyone/. I mean, what do I have to do with Malak and Revan?

http://img541.imageshack.us/img541/9840/510e.png

Onasi: "Malak and Revan and the Sith deserve to die for what they've done... but the ones who fled the Republic and joined them are even worse. The dark side has nothing to do with why they joined the Sith! They deserve no mercy!"

Ni: "I haven't joined the Sith, Carth."

http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/8750/511r.png

Morning came too quickly, and Ni soon found herself among the swoop racers and mechanics next to the track. Meanwhile, Vao guided Onasi and Zaalbar to a position where they could quickly reach Ni if neccessary.

Fortunately for our history, Vao sliced into the local camera systems, and Onasi recorded the following scene in his journal. The mechanic working on Ni's swoop gave her some profoundly unsettling encouragement:

http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/8061/512rv.png

*Zoom (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfNS1YjGlOc), zoom (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvExkDHeotM)*

http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/6125/513q.png
http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/7840/514f.png

Brejik: "I'm afraid that the prize has changed. It seems the woman I offered up as a prize is more than just a Republic officier - she's actually a Jedi!"

http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/2257/515u.png
http://img840.imageshack.us/img840/1858/516b.png
http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/2981/517f.png
http://img545.imageshack.us/img545/766/518k.png
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http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/4797/523.png
http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/2073/524x.png

Bastila Shan: "Wait.. I don't believe this! You're... you're one of the soldiers with the Republic Fleet, aren't you? How did you end up racing for these swoop gangs?"

http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/2664/525d.png
http://img801.imageshack.us/img801/5328/526b.png

Shan: "In case you hadn't noticed, I managed to free myself from that neural restraint collar without your help. In fact, it's more accurate to say that I saved you! Brejik and his Vulkars would have left you for dead if I hadn't stepped into that fight. You're lucky I was here to get you out of this mess!"

Ni: "I think you've got things confused. You were a helpless prisoner until I came along."

http://img844.imageshack.us/img844/2392/527.png

Shan: "But I suppose I shouldn't be too hard on you. You did try to save me after all, even if it didn't quite go as planned. If I'm going to figure out a way for us to get off this planet I need to know what kind of resources we can draw on."

Ni: "Hey, who said you were in charge here?"

Shan: "The Republic, for one. I was fleet commander, remember? What are our asset?"

Ni: "Your force powers, Carth's paranoia and my blasters."

http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/4897/528o.png

Shan: "Maybe I misjudged you. Carth wouldn't have sent you if he wasn't confident in your... abilities. Forgive me - despite my Jedi training, I still tend to act a bit rashly sometimes."

While Ni muttered something about 'attacking six men in your underwear,' the two left the scene. Vao, apparently feeling miscevious, recorded the entirety of the three-way conversation back at the hideout.

http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/2176/529.png
http://img835.imageshack.us/img835/2158/530l.png

Ni: "We were trying to find you, remember?"

Shan: "I see. Now that I'm back in charge of this mission, perhaps we can start doing things properly. Hopefully our escape from Taris will go more smoothly than when you "rescued" me from Brejik."

Onasi: "I know you're new at this, Bastila, but a leader doesn't berate her troops just because things aren't going as planned. Don't let your ego get in the way of the real issues here."

http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/1516/531.png

Shan: "My Battle Meditation has helped the Republic many times in this war, and it will serve us well here I am sure."

http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/381/532.png

Ni: "Both of you settle down! This isn't helping."

Shan: "Yes... You're right, of course. I apologize, Carth. This has been a difficult time for me. Of course I'm happy to listen to your advice. What do you suggest we do?"

Onasi: "First off we can't get hung up on who's in charge: we all need to work together if we want to get off this rock. The answer's out there, we just have to find it."

http://img819.imageshack.us/img819/7937/533.png

Ni: "Let's find a way off this planet."
Commentary
First off, let me say that I'm very aware of how much I suck at the swoop-racing mini-game. Which is why you won't be seeing any more of it.

Meet Bastila Shan:
http://img580.imageshack.us/img580/2263/bastilalevel7.png

Since Bastila is a Jedi, she isn't a Soldier/Scout/Scoundrel, but a Jedi Sentinel. The Sentinel is the most versatile of the Jedi classes, with the most skill points and a balance between number of feats and force powers gained. They also pick up immunities to fear, stun and paralysis as they level up, which can be a lifesaver (and can lead to some Gameplay/Story Segregation (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GameplayAndStorySegregation) (TV Tropes warning) later on, but we'll collapse that wormhole when we come to it).

Bastila has been the off-screen damsel in distress so far, but you'll notice that she objects to that label as soon as Jan calls her out on it. That just about sums up most of Bastila's interactions: she's the objector/moral compass of the group. But, as we just saw, she's hardly the most diplomatic individual. In a way, she's what we can only theorize Anakin Skywalker was like when he was younger: emotionally crippled by the stagnent monasticism of the Jedi Order. Bastila is a warrior-monk, but she's also very sheltered, even in comparison to Mission. Actually, Bastila's not much older than Mission, between 20 and 25 (drawing from KotOR 2, where we learn that she was a bit young to be a Crusader, but opposed them nonetheless.) Jan's probably supposed to be in her late twenties, leaving Carth as the old and responsible one (maybe in his forties?).

Jan, Bastila and Carth make up a Power Trio (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PowerTrio) (TV Tropes warning). In this case, we've got Carth as the id, Bastila as the superego, and Jan as the ego. I'm not sure if they collectively make up a balanced individual: Carth's got his obvious (and still not completely explained) paranoia, Bastila is, shall we say, blunt in her social interactions and Jan has had a lot of her conscience beaten out of her by commando training. Bastila's the most concerned with right and wrong, but it's difficult to say if she really understands morality or if she's just parroting Jedi teachings. Carth and Jan just want to serve the Republic, though Carth does display a tendancy to help the hopeless.

"Onasi Investigations, we hope you're helpless!"
It does look like Jan has mellowed Carth somewhat: he didn't even tell Bastila not to trust anyone once! He's also adopted the idea of decentalized leadership; Jan'll make a commando out of him yet.

On the other hand, Onasi may have a point about the betrayals. Did you catch the one in this update? Go back and re-read. I'll wait.

...

...

...

Yeah, that's right. Brejik found out that Bastila wasn't just a Republic officer. But Jan didn't tell anyone... which leaves Carth and his big mouth. Remember this?

http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc427/Tam_OConnor/Knights%20of%20the%20Old%20Republic/3_05.jpg?t=1287181007

That's right: the only person we told about Bastila being a Jedi was Brejik's old mentor.

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...damn, he's good. But if he'll share that information with Brejik, who's to say he won't inform the Crusaders?

Jan, that's who.
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Next time, on Knights of the Old Republic:
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[Mando Knight]

Query: how do you storm the Beks after you help them? Does it net you DSP? Do they drop any loot? (I've literally never thought of this before!)

[Tam_OConnor]

Mando_Knight:
This falls under the category of 'ways to make Taris less linear that I wish they implemented, but didn't.' I did run through and try it; Gadon disappears into his back room after the swoop race, grieving for Brejik's death, but the security doors that you would otherwise enter through are locked and can't be sliced. Gadon telling Brejik that Bastila is a Jedi requires at least two play-throughs to piece together, so there's no logical reason to take out the Beks. And if you were playing a psychopathic dark sider, you would have already killed Gadon, so...

I do believe this might be one of the places in KotOR where they cut content: Gadon's bodyguard tells you to be wary of Vulkar ambushes in the Lower City. There are no Vulkar ambushes in the lower city. Add that to the fact that they cut content from the Vulkar base, and that the second time you meet your contact is inexplicably in the Lower City cantina instead of the upper one...

[Irbis]

Hmmm, new body and armor skins, I see? :smalltongue:

[Tam_OConnor]

Welcome...
(Cue music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzVWcUKi3p4))
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http://img839.imageshack.us/img839/7334/i63.png...to Knights of the Old Republic

Episode 6
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Shan: *mumbling* "I couldn't find my lightsaber."

Onasi: "Wait a minute, let me get this straight: You *lost* your lightsaber? Ha-ha! I mean, isn't that a violation of the Jedi code or something?"

Ni: "Maybe losing lightsabers is a side-effect of her Battle Meditation."

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Onasi then recorded the conversation for posterity.

While Vao and Zaalbar scoured the Lower City for leads off of Taris, Onasi, Shan and Ni investigated the Upper City. And in a catina, they secured more than just a lead:

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Ordo: "But lately Davik hasn't been paying me what he promised. I don't like getting cheated, so I figure it's time for me to break the Sith quarentine and get off this backwater planet. I've got a plan to escape Taris, but I can't do it alone. I need someone I know can get the job done to help me. That's where you come in."

Here, Ordo illustrates a problem throughout history concerning mercenary troops. As long as you pay them on time, they'll be your strongest fighters, because they only get paid if you're around to pay them. But if you fall behind on your payments, they'll desert you in droves, stealing anything they can on their way out. Onasi, as a professional soldier, was hardly circumspect in his disapproval.

Onasi: "Careful. Mercs like this haven't a lick of conscience... they'll betray you in a heartbeat. This could be a trap."

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Ordo: "I saw you win that swoop race, and I started thinking. Anyone crazy enough to race like that is probably crazy enough to break into the Sith military base."

At this point, we at Holonet History would like to assure you that Ordo's language is strictly period, including the unfortunate racial linking of the Korribani peoples and the Jedi Crusaders. We in no way endorse this association, but only with to present an authentic view of history.

Ordo: "I need someone to steal the Sith launch codes from the base. Without those codes any ship leaving the atmosphere will be disintegrated by the Sith fleet's automated defense guns."

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Shan: "How do you propose to do that?"

Ordo: "Uh-uh. Not yet, sister. First, you bring me the launch codes. Then I'll tell you the rest of my plan."

Ni: "How do you expect us to get inside the base? Their security system is top-notch, from the front door to the service entrances. It'd take a military-grade astromech droid to get the doors open, much less disable the alarm systems."

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Ordo: "Just tell her Canderous sent you and she'll sell you the droid. Then you can use it to get the launch codes from the Sith base."

Shan: *whispering to Onasi* "I don't sense any deception from him, which is surprising. This may be exactly what we need."

Ni: "Okay, Canderous - you've got a deal."

Ni purchased the droid, designated T3-M4, and managed to sneak it into the emergency access point for the base. Carth explains that the base had been built for a Republic garrison, and as such included what was then called the 'Senatorial Override Point.' It was a location outside of the base that was connected to the base's security systems, but required a complex set of algorithms to take control of the system. T3-M4 was able to replicate those passcodes, but the process took several hours.

In the meantime, Onasi and Shan took to discussing the Mandolorian War, while Ni was absent.

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Shan: "There was something lurking out there, something that devoured Revan and Malak - and many other Jedi. Had the Council sent us all into the unknown, how many more would have fallen?"

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Ni returned just then: "Hah! T3's cracked the codes. We can just walk in..." *eyeing Onasi and Shan* "Did I miss something?" When neither Onasi or Shan responded, the three made their way to base in silence.

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Base commander: "Who would have thought that Force Adepts could be found on this insignificant planet? This meeting is a stroke of luck for me -"

Ni cut the conversation short with blaster fire. They retrieved the launch codes, and Onasi and Shan made their way back to the hideout while Ni returned to T3-M4 and tried to cover their tracks.

Onasi records that during the middle of the night, the astromech returned, without Ni. With Onasi rubbing his eyes, the droid began to project a hologram:

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Announcer: "They're illegal, they're banned, they've been outlawed for nearly ten years - but we've got one for you tonight! A good, old fashioned death match!"

Onasi: "Oh, she didn't... she wouldn't!"

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Announcer: "And who would be crazy enough to step into the ring with such a lethal legend? Who would be mad enough to face almost certain death merely for your enjoyment?"

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Announcer: "And now, the moment we've all been waiting for... LET THE DEATH MATCH BEGIN!"

Shan: "What's going on?"

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Announcer: "All hail the Mysterious Stranger, the greatest duelist to ever grace the rings of Taris!"

Onasi: "At least they didn't broadcast this one on every holoscreen on the planet..."
Commentary
Meet T3-M4:
http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/9708/t3m4level7.png
Unfortunately for KotOR, T3-M4 doesn't have much of a personality. That is one of the things that KotOR 2 did much better. It is almost justifiable from a story perspective, though. Droids only start to develop personalities after they've gone too long without a memory wipe, and Jan bought T3-M4 new. Like all astromech droids, T3 doesn't have a vocabulizer, and 'speaks' in chirps, whistles and buzzes. He will never have more of a role in the story than he did in this episode. At this point, he's furniture.

The problem from a gaming perspective is that there's very little reason to take Mission over T3. Sure, Mission has the potential for more damage with sneak attack, but since the most reliable way to get sneak attacks is to stun opponents and if you stun opponents, you don't really need sneak attack... Anyway, T3 is our resident skill monkey. Further complicating things on this playthrough, though, is that Jan fulfills the same roll as Mission and T3, and we can't get her out of the party, so there's no real reason to take either one.

Speaking of Jan:

http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/3599/janlevel8.png

Plus, we got a shiny upgradable blaster off of Bendak Starkiller's corpse, plus our cut of the purse on the death match.

It should be fairly obvious to everyone now that our principles (Jan, Carth and Bastila) have a fairly mutually antagonistic relationship. Jan and Carth get along only as long as they can gang up against Bastila, and Bastila isn't particularly civil to Carth. We haven't seen much of how Jan and Bastila interact, but if the original rescue/'rescue' conversation is anything to go on...

Zaalbar and T3 don't talk to anyone; if KotOR was a tabletop game, they'd be the compulsive min-maxers with no concept of role-play. They're the very best at what they do (kill things and skill monkey), but there's nothing to back them up from a story perspective. They don't have any sort of character arc that's independently motivated. Zaalbar will get some forcible characterization later, but we'll discuss that when it comes up.

Irbis: Relish the new Bastila skins; that'll be the practically the only time you get to see them.
Next time, on Knights of the Old Republic:
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[ScottishDragon]

Hmmm for some reason my computer only lets me see about 1/3 of all the images you post. :( I am missing like half of this,but enjoying what I can read and see :).

[dgnslyr]

Hmmm for some reason my computer only lets me see about 1/3 of all the images you post. :( I am missing like half of this,but enjoying what I can read and see :).

I think it's just because the pictures take an eternity and a half to load, because they're so big. Same thing happened here, and slowed internet on other tabs to a crawl.

[Klose_the_Sith]

Hmmm for some reason my computer only lets me see about 1/3 of all the images you post. :( I am missing like half of this,but enjoying what I can read and see :).

I just load the individual post separately and then refresh it a couple of times til I've got everything loaded ...

... but yeah, it happens to me too.

[Fayd]

Odd. I've not had any trouble loading them. Could just be a quirk of my computer though... goodness knows it has enough of them.

[Tam_OConnor]

Welcome...Cue music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QXjFSdcOF4)
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http://img815.imageshack.us/img815/9899/i73.jpg...to Knights of the Old Republic

Episode 7 After Ni returned, and a monumental argument had ensued, with Shan frantically trying to understand the situation, Ni managed to steer the argument into being about Onasi's trust issues. Onasi finally buckled and explained himself.

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Onasi: "Look, I suppose I... could use someone to talk to. I'm just not used to it. And I don't know why you're so interested. But here goes. When I think of all the people who have betrayed us, the one that stands out above them all is the one I respected the most. Saul."

Shan: "Admiral Saul Karath? The commander of the entire Sith fleet?"

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Onasi: "Saul approached me before I left. He talked to me about how the Republic was on the losing side... and about how I should start thinking of my survival. I know now that he was trying to recruit me into the Sith, but I couldn't have conceived of it back then. I argued with him, he got angry and left. I haven't seen him since."

Ni: "What made his betrayal so inconceivable?"

Onasi: "Saul was my mentor... he led us to so many victories against the Mandalorians, even when things looked to be at their worse."

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Onasi: "I remember waking up as the first of the Sith bombers snuck past our defenses and began destroyed our docked ships. I knew right away what had happened."

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Onasi: "I was... I was stupid and I ignored the danger. He nearly destroyed us all. I've fought Saul for years, now, and if I ever catch up to him... he will reggret what he's done. He will regret it."

Shan: "Such thoughts can lead to the dark side."

Onasi: "That's not the half of it. But we've got a Mandolorian to meet."

The trio set out for the scheduled meeting place, with Onasi laconic after his lengthy diatrabe.

Here, we begin to use another of our sources in earnest, namely, Shan's impressively comprehensive reports to the Jedi Council. Shan recorded much more in the way of nuance than Onasi, including information that is only comprehensive to the non-Force wielding citizen through the efforts of the Chief Librarian of the Jedi Archives, Jocasta Nu (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Jocasta_Nu). Shan's comments, as translated by Nu, will be in italics following the applicable lines.

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Ni: "Before we rescued you, you mean." On contemplation, Masters, I realize that she meant this as a friendly barb, making the heat of my response inexcusable. Three days, 'there is no passion...'.

We at Holonet History have, for the sake of brevity, omitted all further notes of Shan's penances, as they are numerous and add little to the history as a whole.

Shan: "I managed to free myself, as I recall. In fact, if I hadn't been there Brejik and his thugs might have killed you in that fight. It's probably more accurate to say that I rescued you."

Ni: "Can't you just admit that you were rescued?" More heat, responding to my anger.

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Shan: "Actually, your presence at the swoop track is what I'm curious about. It couldn't have been an easy task to find me there. Yet somehow you managed. You also avoided detection by the Sith, discovered I was a Vulkar prisoner, gained sponsorship for the race and became the Taris swoop champion. That's quite a resume."

Ni: "And rescued the damsel in disdress. Don't forget that." In hindsight, she must have picked up on my anger and took steps to diminish it by making this instance more openly jocular.

Shan: "Yes... well. I hardly consider myself a damsel in distress. I'm a member of the Jedi Order, after all. But I won't deny you've impressed me with what you've done."

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Ni: "Special Operations, commander." Said with a mocking half salute.

Shan: "It is obvious to me that the Force has been working through you. There's too much coincidence in your successes for it all to have been training. I confess that I am not sure what to make of this discovery."

Ni: "Wait, are you saying I could have been a Jedi?"

Shan: "Perhaps if you weren't - well, if you were younger the Jedi might take you for training. But as it is..."

Ni: "Wait, did you just call me old? I'm only twenty-seven!" I am still unsure whether this was meant to be humorous or not.

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After this conversation, the trio arrived in the cantina where they had previously arranged to meet Ordo.

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Ordo: "So, what do you say? We join forces and I can get you inside Davik's base - and the best blockade runner on this rock, the Ebon Hawk. We can go right now."

Onasi: "Wait, what's our cover story?"

Ordo: "Potential new hires. I'll tell him about that help you gave me in the Undercity, and that nasty business with the Vulkars and Beks. Nice wetwork."

Ni: "Thanks."

Ordo: "While he's running the background check on you -"

Shan: "Criminals run background checks? Why?"

Ordo: "So they don't hire undercover agents, sweetcheeks." I am not your 'sweetcheeks,' Mandolorian! ...two weeks, 'there is no passion...

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Shan insists on accompanying Ni and Ordo, against Onasi's arguments that her presence makes the background check more likely to turn up Crusader bounty notices. Onasi suddenly relents on the subject, something he has no explanation for in his journal.

Ordo, Shan and Ni made their way to Davik Kang's estate, where they encountered another of Kang's retainers, the bounty hunter Calo Nord.

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Ordo: "This is a special case, Davik. I ran into someone the Exchange might want to recruit. You may have heard something of her exploits already."

Kang: "Ah, yes - the duelist who won the big swoop race. You've won me an impressive amount of money. The odds were long on your killing Starkiller. I also understand that you've decapitated the leadership of both the Black Vulkars and the Hidden Beks. Very impressive."

It's here that Shan realizes that Ni has been covering their tracks with a trail of bodies. Between trying to keep quiet over this realization, and the desire not to be recognized, Shan goes unnoticed in the following introductions.

Ni: "Good to meet you, Davik. My name's Jan Ni."

Kang: "A much better name than 'the Mysterious Stranger.' I must compliment whoever built your swoop, Miss Ni. The acceleration is kilometers beyond the Tarisian standard."

Ni: "I'll convey your compliments, Davik." Do they teach flirting in special operations training?

Kang: "Come with me - I will give you a tour of my operations. I'm certain you'll be most impressed."

While the tour contains multiple insights into the operations of galactic criminal organizations during this period, such details are irrelevant to the narrative at hand. Except for one:

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Kang: "The Ebon Hawk can outrun any vessel in the galaxy, but even she isn't fast enough to avoid the auto-targeting laser cannons of the orbiting Sith fleet. I am, of course, working on acquiring the Sith departure codes so that I may come and go as I please. However, progress has been slow... but we should continue our tour."

The tour ended in an opulent chamber, decorated with works of early Republic art, mostly focusing on the Hyperspace War (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Great_Hyperspace_War). There was also a massive rancor head dominating one wall.

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Kang: "I must warn you that if you are found anywhere outside the guest wing during your stay - or if you bother my other guests - my security forces will deal with you most harshly. I will return after the investigation into your background is complete. Until then, make yourself comfortable. Come, Calo, let us leave our guests in peace. Canderous, I trust you can find your way to your own quarters?" Even at the time, Masters, I sensed the lust in him, but I managed to divert my anger through repition of the Jedi Code.

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During this time, the Jedi Crusaders began a surface bombardment of Taris. Between the destruction and the suddenness of the trio's assault, the full force of Kang's security was not brought to bear against them. However, when they reached the hanger...

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Kang: "So, you figured you'd just steal my ship for your get-away and leave me high and dry while the Sith turn the planet into dust? Sorry, but that ain't going to happen."

Nord: "I'll take care of them, Davik. I've been looking forward to this for a long time, Canderous."

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A stray blast from the orbital bombardment brought the hanger ceiling down on Nord's head soon after Kang was downed by combined fire.

Ordo: "Let's get this ship fired up. We'll pick up the rest of the your friends and then we have to get off this planet!"

Amidst lances of incandescent plasma, Ordo managed to pilot the Ebon Hawk to the hideout, where Onasi, Vao, Zaalbar and T3-M4 boarded. Onasi assumed the piloting position, with Shan monitoring the scanners and Ni and Ordo in the gun turrets. The use of the Crusader launch codes managed to get the ship out of range of the capital ships, but several interceptors managed to briefly engage the ship.

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Shan: "Set a course for Dantooine, T3. There's a Jedi enclave there where we can find refuge."

Vao: "Wait! Jump us to Alderaan first. We don't want them tracking us right to our bolthole."

Onasi: "Good idea, kid!"

Vao: "Don't call me a kid, old man!"

Once they were underway to Dantooine, Ni, Shan and Onasi gathered for a meeting in the cockpit.

Shan: "We should be safe from Malak there... for now, at least."

Onasi: "Safe? You saw what his fleet did to Taris: there wasn't a building over two stories left standing! They... they turned another planet into one big pile of rubble."

Ni: "We have to rest, Carth. The two of us have been running non-stop since the attack on the Endar Spire. Neither of us can keep this up. And we're trained soldiers. How do you think Bastila or Mission are doing? Or even Zaalbar?"

Shan: "I've been keeping up just fine!"

Ni: "You also had over a week to recover from the crash. I had eight hours. Carth, don't try to muscular and deny it. You're still limping from that Vulkar droid's carbonite projector. We all need some quality time with kolto."

*From the air duct* Vao: "I'm fine!"

Onasi: "Mission, get out of here. This isn't kid stuff."

Vao: "Stuff it, old man."
Commentary Meet Canderous Ordo:

http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/4810/canderouslevel7.jpg

Canderous, like Carth, is a soldier-class character, meaning he's got lots of hit points and feats, and not much else. He does have one perk that Carth doesn't: Canderous has a cybernetic enhancement that slowly heals his wounds. It's minimally useful, but it can prevent a total party wipe: have Canderous run away, heal back to full (expending no resources) and come back with a vengeance. The only problem is that the game throws healing packs at you in absurd numbers, regardless of difficulty. In any event, Canderous is our Proud Warrior Race Guy (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ProudWarriorRaceGuy) or just our generic Big Guy (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheBigGuy) (TV Tropes warnings). He'll has some mutually bitter exchanges with Carth, but otherwise he's fairly laid back, unlike some of the other Mandolorians we'll meet. As you might be able to guess from his gray hair, he's our oldest party member so far, in his mid-fifties/early sixties at the earliest (Do keep in mind that human lifespans in the Star Wars universe can be anywhere from twenty to sixty years longer than ours).

Canderous is our first party member that can't be easily correlated with any original trilogy character, aside from Jan Ni (who by her status as the player-created character is filling a blank slate). Carth's an upstanding Han Solo, Zaalbar's Chewbacca with less personality, Mission inherited Luke's early idiocy and Leia's perkiness, T3's R2 with less personality, and Bastila is some strange mixture of Obi-Wan and Leia (I can hear the slashers at work already). But Canderous? He's got some of Chewbacca's traits, if you delve into the prequel trilogy or extended universe (ex-soldier with lots of war stories), but otherwise...

Canderous, I would say, is the one who grounds the story in the time period. This is just after the height of Mandolorian power, and Canderous (and Carth) were witnesses to those heights (Mission was too, if you want to take the KotOR comic, though she never brings it up; presumably Jan saw some action there too). Without the the backing of the Madolorian Wars, though, the story could be set any time before the Clone Wars with minimal effort. Thus, with Bastila as our moral compass, Canderous provides the narrative compass. Not in the sense of being integral to the main plot (hardly), but by orienting the player in time.

On a related note: we've finally got enough characters to fill out the Five Man Band (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FiveManBand) (TV Tropes warning), with some redundancy.
The Hero: Jan Ni/Carth Onasi/Bastila Shan (depending on who's writing the list); for the sake of argument, let's put Bastila as the Hero.
The Lancer: Carth; he certainly disagrees with Bastila enough, and was the central character until she came on screen.
The Smart Guy: T3-M4 <- the droid with the skill points.
The Big Guy: Zaalbar and Canderous. Zaalbar's the nice one, Canderous is the mean one.
The Chick: Mission. Again, moreso on this play-through, because Jan has all of her skills plus more.
The Sixth Ranger: Curiously enough, if Bastila's the hero, then Jan winds up here. While Carth stops to argue with Bastila about decisions, Jan just does her own thing entirely.

And we're finally off of bloody Taris. The overlong introduction seems to be a problem in both KotOR games. KotOR II just compounds the error by making the introduction last for four scenes (Peragus/Telos Station/Telos Surface/Academy) instead of three (Endar Spire/Taris/Dantooine).

TANGENT: I really want to like KotOR II more; it experiments with the medium of Star Wars (with mixed success, admittedly), and has some utterly gorgeous moments, but when it drags, it really really drags. Overall, I provides a more stable and enjoyable play-through in contrast to II's awesome/wretched/awesome dynamic. Is it too ambitious of me to want to go straight from a play-through of I to II (with the oversight/corrections mod)?

I'll try to give you guys at least one decision per planet, that may or may not determine how high our kill counter spikes. You've also now seen the turret and swoop racing mini-games. I'll grab some screenshots of the third minigame, pazaak, if only to give y'all the complete experience.

To those of you who had trouble with the pictures loading slowly/not at all, was this update better?
Next time, on Knights of the Old Republic...
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[Mando Knight]

KotOR II has a good bit of modding support to bring it back up to par. For example, The Sith Lords Restored Content Mod (http://www.deadlystream.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=4&) includes the HK Factory and a whole bunch of conversation lines cut out from the initial dialogues (but the data remains), as well as (more impressively) restoring a scripted but previously unvoiced cutscene with a one-shot character on Dantooine. The VA who dubbed the missing lines (in that one scene) did pretty well, in my opinion. Finally, instead of the game having a rather abrupt end on the final planet, there actually is some closure for almost every character. A fairly complete list of the restoration can be found here (http://www.deadlystream.com/forum/showthread.php?t=135), though the current version also adds in a good number of bug fixes passed up by Obsidian.

Of course, installing it also means that you cut out some of the infinite-loop glitches, so no abusing those...

[The_Werebear]

hehe, Good old Calo Nord. Gotta say, despite the fact that he doesn't get a lot of lines, he's my favorite antagonist in the game. The wordless, overcompensatory persistence just rings with me.

[Mando Knight]

Oh, yes, something odd in regards to this vs. Canon:
Revan's canonically a guy who romanced Bastila and saved her from the Dark Side on the Star Forge. It's also canonical that Bastila had a child at some point after the Jedi Civil War, since a later Grand Master (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Grand_Master), Satele Shan (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Satele_Shan), was her descendant. Furthermore, it is speculated in- and out- of universe that Revan fathered Bastila's child during their time together between the last phase of the Jedi Civil War and the point where Revan departed to the Unknown Regions.

[Tam_OConnor]

Welcome...
(Cue music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqOBU34aVrc))
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http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/2627/i83.jpg...to Knights of the Old Republic.

Episode 8
Shan: "I have spoken briefly with the Council; they request an audience with you. We should go at once."

Ni: "Huh. Figured they'd want to talk to you, Carth. You're the one that's been taking notes."

Shan writes that she proceeded at once to the council chamber, followed by Ni, where Masters Vandar Tokare,
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Dorak,
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Vrook Lamar
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and Zhar Lestin
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waited. But when she arrived, Shan realized that Ni was no longer with her.

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Shan waited for a few minutes, supposing that Ni had been delayed.

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Lamar: "Perhaps, young Padawan, you should go find Ni and bring her here."

Shan: "Of course, Master Vrook."

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Shan retraced her steps through the Loyalist Enclave, passing several Jedi. At the Ebon Hawk, she confirmed that Ni was not onboard, and systematically began to search the Enclave.

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Finally, in one of the rear wings, she found Ni and a Twi'lek in congress over a Pazaak board.

Shan: "The Jedi Council is waiting for you!"

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Ni: "Sithspit! As soon as you turn up, I start losing!"

Shan: "You're not even supposed to be here!"

Ni: "They're Jedi, right? Jedi are patient."

Shan: "You want to come to Jedi Council." I admit, Masters, that this was ill-conceived. However, she did not seem to notice.

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Ni: "I'll get to them. Are you using Battle Meditation on him?"

Shan: "This isn't a time for jokes. The Council was generous to grant you an audience at all."

Ni: "One last hand."

Shan: "No, now. ...are you listening?"

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Ni: "Hah! Should've played your hand cards faster, buddy. Thanks for the credits."

Shan locked arms with Ni, and half-dragged her towards the Council chambers.

Shan: "This reflects badly on both of us. Why didn't you just follow me?"

Ni: "That Twi'lek was itching to lose his credits, I could feel it. It was kind of a time sensitive thing."

Shan: "How? Was he going off planet in the hour it would've taken to speak with the Council?"

Ni: "...you know, I have no idea. Call it a hunch?" This is how Force sensitivity manifests itself in this woman? I'm amazed they made it out of the cantinas at all!

Shan: "Just be civil to the Council. Is that too much to ask?"

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She gave me this absolutely infuriating look at the word 'rescued.'

Lestin: "We are sure that you have many questions, and I assure you that we will have answers for you."

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Ni: "Wasn't I too old, or something like that?"

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Shan: "Proof? Sure the entire Council can feel the strength of the Force within this woman... and I have already related to you the events that took place on Taris - even a Sith apprentice thought that she was already a Force-user!"

Lamar: "Perhaps your Battle Meditation was working through her, beyond your conscious control. Or even a mistake, luck; there are a thousand explanations!"

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Under Lamar and Lestin's argument, Archivist Dorak said to Ni: "Traditionally the Jedi do not accept Jedi for training, though there are rare exceptions in the history of our Order. Your induction would be such a case."

Tokare raised a hand for silence.

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Lamar: "We should not fill the ranks with poorly trained novices, to offer up easy prey to the Dark Side!"

Tokare: "We should discuss this matter more fully in private. Bastila, you and your companion must go. This is a matter for the Council alone.

Shan: "As you wish, Master Vandar. We shall return to the Ebon Hawk and leave you to your deliberations."

That night, Shan records having a dream: Revan and Malak, heroes of the Mandolorian wars, wearing armor scarred by blaster fire and vibroblades. Revan was still masked, in honor of those fallen in war, and Malak had not yet lost his jaw to a Loyalist lightsaber. Malak warned that entering the door before them would draw the Council's wrath. Revan opened the door, and stepped inside the cairn, which billowed with Dark Side energy. Shan awoke suddenly, with a splitting headache, and hastened to inform the Council.

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Ni: "She say anything?"

Onasi: "Bastila did mention that you should go the Council chambers. She said it was urgent, so you shouldn't keep them waiting. She didn't seem well, as I recall - and for that matter neither do you. Are you alright?"

Ni: "I had a rough night. And caf (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Caf)would just make the headache worse. Canderous!"

Ordo: "Yeah? What do you want?"

Ni: "Got any war stories?"

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Ordo: "My name's Canderous of the Mandolorian clan Ordo. I've been fighting across the galaxy for forty of your years. For my people it's the honor and glory of battle that rules us."

Here, Onasi stops recording the conversation to insert another diatrabe about what's wrong with the Mandolorians and their philosophy. Mission turned on the exterior coms near the tail end of the conversation, preserving the conversation for the historical record.

Ordo: "...everything we are and throw it into battle. It's the true test of yourself - the battle against death... against oblivion."

Onasi: "Then why were you working as a mercenary, Mando?"

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Ordo: "We will never speak of this again."

Ni: "...I asked for a war story, not philosophy."

Ordo: "You have to understand why we fight before anything else would make sense."

Ni: "So next time when I ask for a diverting war story, I'll get one?"

Ordo: "Yes."

Ni: "Great! Could the two of you help Zaalbar and Mission fix the ship? I noticed the turrets were sluggish; Canderous, check the calibration, and make sure those servos are still good. Carth, make sure Mission isn't programing T3 with jump routes that take us through Nar Shadda (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Nar_shadda) or Zeltros (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Zeltros). I don't know where we're headed next, but I've got that sinking feeling that we're headed out on assignment soon."

Onasi: "That sinking feeling just before high command announces a suicide mission and 'asks' for volunteers?"

Ordo: "Good times."

Ni: "Exactly. Make sure our supplies are topped off. And get someone to do something about that swoop in the starboard hold; the thing's so turbo-charged I'm afraid it's going explode and take all of us with it. I want it off my ship."

Onasi: "Your ship? Who pilots it again?"

Ordo: "You call that piloting? Haven't you heard of evasive manuevering?"

Onasi: "I was going for speed. Remember the Sith armada behind us? And I didn't hear any complaints when I gave you nice level shots at those interceptors."

Ni: "The coms in the turrets don't work. Have fun, boys."

Shan records that, just as the Council was at the point of sending her to fetch Ni, she arrived.

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Dorak: "These ruins have long been known to us, but we believed them to be merely burial mounds. Perhaps they are more than we first suspected, if Revan and Malak found something there."

Lamar: "Though it appears part of my theory has been borne out. The two of you share a Force Bond. Though whether it was formed by your reaction to Bastila's Battle Meditation, or by your untrained graspings, I cannot say."

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Tokare: "Together, you two may be able to stop Darth Malak and the Sith."

Dorak: "Perhaps in the ruins you will find some clue, some explanation of how Revan and Malak were corrupted. And perhaps there you shall find a way to stop them."

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Lamar: "You must learn patience and discipline. The ruins are a place of corruption. The Dark Side is strong there. We cannot risk sending you there unprepared."

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Commentary
So, that's pazaak. You choose a sideboard of ten cards, get four of them. You and your opponent take turns drawing cards with values from one to ten, with the goal to get close as possible to twenty without going over. You can play one sidebaord card per draw. Sideboard cards have either a positive or negative value, or can be switched between at the desire of the player. Usually, there are a lot of ties that runs both players out of cards, but this strangely didn't happen here. I'm not exactly sure what he was saving his cards for.

And it looks like Jan's getting Jedi training, chronic lateness or not. Next episode, we'll actually justify the "Knights" part of the title, with Bastila and Jan. Though in actually, they're both only Padawans. But "Padawans of the Old Republic" just doesn't have the same snap to it. Plus, one could pun off of "Knights," seeing as how these are pretty dark days for the Republic, and it's all the fault of the Jedi.

A bit about Mandolorian philosophy, what little bit Carth let through: it's not that I'm opposed to it, per se, it's just that it's so stereotypical. Fight for honor and glory, the only time you really live is while fighting, etc. They do have that interesting quirk where anyone can be a Mandolorian (not that the graphics really reflect that; most of them are near-humans or humans). Not to put too many words in their mouths, but the Mandolorians are self-justifiying, quasi-nihilistic/Nietzchean warrior-types. If there are any Mando-lovers out there, feel free supply addendums/corections, but that's the impression they give off in the games. The big difference for me is that KotOR shows the Mandolorians after their peak, after their culture has been torn to pieces by Malachor V and Revan stealing Mandalore's helmet so they can't appoint a new Mandalore (seriously). Whether they want to admit it or not, the Mandolorians in KotOR are desperately trying to find a new cultural paradigm/suicidally clinging to their old one.

Which brings us to Canderous. He's the first character to have an open-ended goal. Carth and Jan want to save the Republic, Bastila wants to save the Jedi Order (and there is a distinction), Mission and Zaalbar are just floating goal-less at this point, T3... has no personality. But Canderous, Canderous is trying to figure out who or what he's supposed to be.

On Force Bonds: KotOR II is the one that named it, but KotOR I introduces it in the link between Jan and Bastila. How it was formed is vague, but Vrook's suggestions are as good as any. Essentially, it's an emotional bond through the Force. Jan and Bastila's is strong enough for them to share these postcognitive dreams and for some empathic bleed-off. It's not strong enough to mirror physical injuries, but the other is still empathically aware of the other's pain. For a non-Star Wars example: figure-skating or dance partners that practice together a great deal, or even folks who spar together often: you learn to anticipate the other. Now take that feeling, and magnify it. That's a Force Bond. But whether it's a chain or something to strengthen both members...

As Mando_Knight points out, the canon main character is male, and romances Bastila, to the point where one of the principles of the Old Republic is their descendant. I'll get into this more late, but LucasArts' 'Canon is male and Light-sided' kinda bugs me (their one exception is KotOR II, where canon is a Light-sided female). First of all, the assumption of male: I'm not a hardline feminist or anything, but did you notice that all the masters at the Academy are male? We'll learn later about a female Master (and I'll bring this up then), but suffice to say that women in Jedi Order don't really get a good showing. I mean, look at Bastila. I'm not saying that the male Jedi are less messed up, but they're also not party members. And really: how many female Jedi can you name in the movies? What did they do? On the Light-sided bit: yes, it messes up continuity less, since 'Light-sided' and 'stagnation' seem to be synonymous. But then you have games like KotOR II, where it doesn't change anything, and Jedi Academy, when the Dark Side choice creates a villain to launch a new game against.

Besides, I've got the game modded so both romances trigger. :smallbiggrin:
Next time, on Knights of the Old Repubic:
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[Mando Knight]

Besides, I've got the game modded so both romances trigger. :smallbiggrin:
That's the way to do it. :smalltongue:

Also, fact: it is perfectly possible to both appease Mandalore's sense of honor and go Light-Side in KotOR II. Doing so will (via that game's changes to the Influence system) cause him to go from being the only naturally Dark Side organic (aside from Hanharr) to eventually shifting to the Light Side. Redeeming Hanharr is almost a lost cause, though, since you have to be at least a little Dark in order to get him rather than Mira.

Another canonicity note, this one more trivial than the previous one:
Malak's jaw isn't some random Jedi's fault...
...it's Revan's. The price of disobeying Darth Revan is your face.

[Kish]

the only naturally Dark Side organic (aside from Hanharr)
Ahem. Visas Marr?

(Yes, she's naturally Dark Side, the fact that you start out with so much influence with her that if you're Light Side when you recruit her you'll never actually see the Dark Side version of her aside.)

[Klose_the_Sith]

On Mandalorians ~

Yeah, you're right. I'm even a Mando fan, but you're still right.

They're stereotyped space vikings in the most badass armour and they're the coolest ever and I love them so huggy muggy much :smallbiggrin:

[Fri]

Ugh, I can't find the fancomic that shows how malak lost his jaw (his talking annoys revan)

I think it was aimo's comic, but I can't find anything like that in her site (I think it's new) and it's not in either of her KOTOR fancomic anthologies (which are quite nice, that you can find here (http://aimo.deviantart.com/journal/8935175/)

[Mando Knight]

Ahem. Visas Marr?

(Yes, she's naturally Dark Side, the fact that you start out with so much influence with her that if you're Light Side when you recruit her you'll never actually see the Dark Side version of her aside.)

Really? I kinda assumed that she was just that horrible at being a Sith. At any rate, Mandalore's a little harder to positively influence, but still quite possible.

[The_Werebear]

I think it may just be a bug in KoTOR II (And who'd be surprised) but I never was able to really influence Mandalore or any of the other perma-darksiders in any meaningful way. They always tended to hover in the deep end of the karma pool.

Now, what was hilarious (and the actual bug) was going Jedi Master and getting the aura of positive influence. It would shift Mandalore, HK, and GOTO upwards to a certain point, at which they'd reset back to their previous evil as soon as you talked to them. I always imagined I had the least persuasive Jedi Master ever.

[Mando Knight]

I think it may just be a bug in KoTOR II (And who'd be surprised) but I never was able to really influence Mandalore or any of the other perma-darksiders in any meaningful way. They always tended to hover in the deep end of the karma pool.

G0-T0 can be easily influenced if you do Nar Shaddaa first and take him along to Onderon's surface the first time through (the CSI: Onderon bit, not the Palace Assault). See here (http://www.starwarsknights.com/influence3.php) for details. It skips over Mandalore since he doesn't give you anything but telling you history (Mandalorian Wars up through KotOR 1, mostly about him being Revan's biggest fanboy... short of Carth if you picked Fem-van) and doesn't have that many influence opportunities. However, you can make him like you more if you convince the two other groups of Mandalorians (the guys in the Docks area of Nar Shaddaa, and the mercs on Dantooine) to follow him. Not sure if there are more Neutral/LS opportunities, so that only brings him to 66 Influence. (Each +/- Influence alters it by 8, and each character starts at 50. Most Influence rewards occur at around 10 or 90 Influence.)

[Maxymiuk]

I think it may just be a bug in KoTOR II (And who'd be surprised) but I never was able to really influence Mandalore or any of the other perma-darksiders in any meaningful way. They always tended to hover in the deep end of the karma pool.


You can't build Influence with Mandalore because most of the ways to do so have been cut from the game (yet his max-Influence conversations remain - you just don't get to see them without cheating).

Also, great stuff so far. Very nice insights into the story as well. Keep 'em coming.

[Irbis]

As Mando_Knight points out, the canon main character is male, and romances Bastila, to the point where one of the principles of the Old Republic is their descendant. I'll get into this more late, but LucasArts' 'Canon is male and Light-sided' kinda bugs me (their one exception is KotOR II, where canon is a Light-sided female).

Ironically, it was a colossal screw up as the writers of KI considered the canon protagonist female, while KII male, and put hints to such effect - it was yet another LA decision that pissed over the work of people more competent than they ever will.


First of all, the assumption of male: I'm not a hardline feminist or anything, but did you notice that all the masters at the Academy are male? We'll learn later about a female Master (and I'll bring this up then), but suffice to say that women in Jedi Order don't really get a good showing. I mean, look at Bastila. I'm not saying that the male Jedi are less messed up, but they're also not party members. And really: how many female Jedi can you name in the movies? What did they do?

About two dozen? :smallconfused:

But that's me, of course.

Fun fact - two female Jedi masters from the Council in EI were deleted in EII and EIII without mentioning them in a single word.


Ugh, I can't find the fancomic that shows how malak lost his jaw (his talking annoys revan).

The AS webpage isn't new, but it seems a lot of the stuff disappeared since Aimo landed that LA job. I'll see if I still have it.

Incidentally, there was one hilarious KotOR webcomic, but I don't remember what it was called or who made it.

[Tam_OConnor]

Welcome...(Cue music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DX2mOUMLROM&feature=related))
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http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/6400/i93w.jpg to Knights of the Old Republic.

Episode 9 Between Onasi's glimpses of Ni's training, and the Loyalist records of the same, a nearly complete picture of her apprenticeship can be assembled.

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Lestin: "You have learned much, yet there is much more for you to still understand. The way of the Jedi must be entered into with a clear and focused mind. Soon your apprenticeship will end and you will be granted the title of Padawan. Yet first you must prove yourself worthy. Recite for me the Jedi Code."

Onasi was present at this particular stage, and records that, underneath Ni's words, he could hear counterpoint phases (indicated here with italics). Onasi has no explanation for what he heard, and the Loyalist records are silent on this matter.

Ni: "There is no emotion, there is peace."
Peace is a lie. There is only passion.
"There is no ignorance, there is knowledge."
Through passion, I gain strength.
"There is no passion, there is serenity."
Through strength, I gain power.
"There is no chaos, there is harmony."
Through power, I gain victory.
"There is no death, there is the Force."
Through victory, my chains are broken.
The Force shall free me.

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Lestin: "The next step is to construct your lightsaber. All the required pieces are on the workbench behind you. Choose a focusing crystal and remember what you have learned."

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Commentary The big news, of course, is that Jan leveled up.

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Because I've got a character editor, I'll be gradually 're-training' Scoundrel levels into Jedi Sentinel levels, so don't be surprised if the exactly proportions change as time goes on. I am, however, rather shocked that I'm still neutral with regard to Force Alignment; I haven't (and won't) muck about with that in the editor. It seems that the pragmatic path does indeed result in a good balance of light and dark side points.

Oh, and pretty much everyone else leveled up as well.

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I can only assume that Mission, T3 and Zaalbar have been gaining experience from maintaining the ship. I don't really have any complaints about our NPCs all leveling up at the same time, but just a little bit of in-game justification would be nice, even a just a few lines of dialogue about crew members training together.

But besides copious amounts of character level-ups, I'd like to delve into alignments. While I'm a fairly firm supporter of the D&D Good/Evil, Law/Chaos paradigm, KotOR just has the single continuum: Light Side or Dark Side. So my first step, before I introduce another paradigm, is to try to pin down the characters we have so far in the D&D paradigm (did I mention that I like saying the word paradigm?)

Jan Ni: Right now, Neutral (not True Neutral; just Neutral).
Good/Evil: She has a vested interest in defending the Republic, but she's willing to do some fairly horrible things to defend the Republic. Case in point: the Hidden Beks. Sure, Gadon betrayed us, but plasma-smearing the whole lot couldn't exactly be considered fair retribution. But how else are you going to ensure their silence when credits are tight and you don't have any favors to cash?
Law/Chaos: A case could be made for Chaotic-leaning in action, but when Jan's motivation is to defend the Lawful government, it all sorta balances out.
True Neutral note: I consider True Neutrals to be the conscious balance-seekers, and Neutrals to be everyone else.

Carth Onasi: Lawful Good.
Good/Evil: Like Jan, Carth wants to defend the Republic. But he's hesitant about doing anything to defend it. He's not defending the Republic because it's the best of all possible governments, but because it's better than the alternative.
Chaos/Law: He's got the odd chaotic action (see his relations with Zayne Carrick in Mandolorian Wars), but by the time KotOR is set, he's very tied up in the ideas of loyalty and betrayal. A concern with such actions is symptomatic of a lawful bent.

Mission Vao: Chaotic Neutral, with possible good leanings.
Good/Evil: Because Mission is so young, it's easy for her idealism/naivity to be conflated into a good alignment. But at least at this stage of the story, we don't have enough information to really make a determination of exact slant.
Chaos/Law: Career criminal, with no regard for law except for flaunting it.

Zaalbar: Neutral. Though with how little he talks, it's hard to get an accurate read on him.
Good/Evil: Zaalbar's animalistic enough that good and evil exist mainly as labels.
Chaos/Law: Here's a sticky point: He swears a lifedebt to Jan, but runs with a criminal. Again, lack of information leads me to place him at neutral.

Bastila Shan: Lawful Neutral, with good leanings.
Good/Evil: She fights for the Republic, but I get the impression that she's fighting because she's been told to, not because she has a vested interest in the fate of the Republic. She obeys the Loyalist tradition of self-determination. So if Jan were to steal from a beggar, Bastila wouldn't be angry because of the immorality of the action, but because Jan had hampered the beggar's ability to control his actions. However, beneath following the Loyalist traditions, she shows some signs of actually caring.
Law/Chaos: Strict follower of a code, concerned with not breaking it and applying that code to those around her.

T3-M4: Neutral.
No personality = no alignment.

Canderous Ordo: Neutral Evil.
Good/Evil: He clearly revels in war and combat. However, he doesn't seem to wallow in the slaughter itself enough for me to feel totally comfortable putting him at evil. What pushes him over the edge for me is acting as an enforcer for a crime lord without any apparent (moral) regrets.
Law/Chaos: At this point, we don't have enough information. We know he's looking for structure, but he also glories in the chaos of war. We'll put him at neutral and come back when we know more.

That took up a lot more space than I thought it would. Looks like I'll be getting into the Internal/External, Hard/Soft paradigm next episode. It'll still be relevant then, I promise.
Next time, on Knights of the Old Republic: http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/8208/e901.jpg

[dgnslyr]

Character editor? :smalleek:
I went through Taris with a level 2 character because I play fair. :smallmad:

Oh well. Not like Taris is that hard at level 2 anyway. I WILL be upset if you "retrain" every level into a Jedi level, though. :smalltongue:

[Irbis]

http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/6400/i93w.jpg

That you're a combinator? :smallamused:

[Tam_OConnor]

Welcome...(Cue music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnQCSGsGwr8&feature=related))
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http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/3541/i103.jpg...to Knights of the Old Republic.

Episode 10 http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/701/100wg.jpg
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Lestin: "Even here on Dantooine there are places where the dark side holds sway, twisting and tainting nature itself. The ancient grove once used for deep meditation by the Jedi is now tainted. The kath hounds in the area have become savage and ruthless. But the kath hounds are but a symptom of the true problem. You must journey into the grove and confront the true source of the darkness. That is your final task. May the Force be with you."

There is an entry to the Jedi Archives from a Twi'lek Jedi Knight named Bolook.

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Bolook: "I am Bolook, a Jedi from the Enclave. I was sent by the Jedi Council to investigate a killing that took place here a few hours ago. I was going to handle this case myself, but now that you are here this could be an excellent opportunity for you to demonstrate how well you have been learning your lessons at the Academy."

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Bolook: "Listen to the stories given by the two suspects. I have brought an information retrieval droid with access to the archives both at the Jedi Enclave and the planetary capital. I will use my wisdom and experience to offer you some guidance, but I will not solve the case for you. There is little benefit if you do not solve this problem yourself."

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What followed was a skillful and thorough investigation of the case, in much greater detail than we have time to present. Midway through the case, though, Onasi records that Ni turned to Ordo.

Ni: "What is your involvement in the case? How did you know Calder Nettic?"

Ordo: "I was waiting for you to finish 'investigating' so we can get back to to killing those idiots who call themselves Mandolorians, remember?"

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Ni: "Oh, right. All this deductive reasoning is making my head fog. Tell me a war story."

Onasi petulantly comments that Ni never asks him for war stories.

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Ordo: "My first war: I remember sitting there in my armor, linked directly with the Basilisk thrumming beneath me. My heart racing with fear at the coming battle. The doors opened in front of me and the air was sucked out of the drop bay, scattering crystals of frozen vapor across my path."

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Ordo: "When the magnetic locks disengaged on my droid I plunged out of the drop bay towards the battle that waited below."

Onasi: "What defenseless world were you Mandos assaulting that week?"

Ordo: "I don't remember. It doesn't matter anyway, that world's dead now."

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Ordo: "The exhilaration, the euphoria I felt as I streaked into the atmosphere, dodging self-guided projectile and beam weapons, was unmatched. And with barely thirty meters to spare, I twisted and skimmed the surface, firing at the giant beam generators that were in my path.

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Ni: "I want a Basilisk war droid!"

Ordo: "I'll never forget those times. But... things are different now. We can't go on fighting the way we had. There are too few of us left now. Head cleared up?"

Ni returned to the investigation.

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Ni: "No, they're both guilty."

Bolook: "A bold conclusion... one most people would not arrive at. But we are not like most people, we are Jedi. Still, I would like to know how you came to this conclusion."

Ni explained in exhaustive detail and presented recordings of her interrogations of both men.

Bolook: "You have done well here. It is obvious you have been studying your lessons carefully. I will be sure to inform the Jedi Council of your performance in this little test. Good day, and may the Force be with you."

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Onasi records that the three of them hunted down and destroyed several roaming bands of Mandolorians, before at last meeting a Mandolorian who called himself Sherruk.

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Once the band was destroyed, they set off for the corrupted grove.

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Onasi: "I try not to think about my past battles too much. The horrors of war are something I'd rather not relive."

Ordo: "The horrors of war? My people know only the glory of battle. I'm disappointed in you, Carth. I thought a warrior like you would understand."

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Onasi: "Justification through victory? So what happens when you lose? You know, like when you did against us."

Ordo: "You had us outnumbered five to one. You had more ships, more troops, more supplies, the Jedi on your side and Revan at your head. And we still made the Republic tremble before we fell!"

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Ni: "Not to interrupt, gentlemen, but those kath hounds over there are coming this way. Weapons up."

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At last, fighting through hordes of kath hounds, they made it to the grove.

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With a motion of her hand, the resident of the grove paralyzed Onasi and Ordo, leaving them helpless to to anything but watch.

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Commentary Last episode, I talked about character alignments using the D&D model. Two of the major complaints against the D&D model: first that it requires absolute morality and second that the definitions of law/chaos are very imprecise. So let's try to come up with something better suited to Star Wars than just a dark/light scale.

I don't think we can really look at Star Wars anymore without seeing the Eastern influences. In the fights (and corresponding wide-angles of fights) certainly, but also in the philosophy (mainly of the prequel trilogy). Let's face it: there's a conflict between the original trilogy (OT), where the Jedi are presented as an order of knights militant (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_order) and the prequel trilogy (PT), where they're more of a monastic order (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monastic_order). So let's build off of that. In both cases, the Jedi have an associated martial art (or arts (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Lightsaber_combat)if you believe in the Expanded Universe). The way modern martial arts are described is on two paradigms: internal or external and hard or soft.

Internal/External describes the intent of the style. Are you trying to achieve a oneness within yourself (Internal) or enforce a oneness over others (External)? This was the paradigm in Jade Empire (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/JadeEmpire) (TV tropes warning), though it slipped over to Good=Open Palm and Evil=Closed Fist. The problem was that helping others went counter to Internal philosophy of Closed Fist, whereby helping others makes them dependent on you, and weakens them in the long run. The oneness that Open Palm tried to enforce was for the betterment of all, but it was still trying to impose your will on others, making them 'good people.' You see the potential blurring? Getting back to Star Wars: OT Jedi were presented as External, while PT Jedi were Internal. The Clone Wars forced the Jedi to move from an Internal view to an External view, in order to save the Republic. To put it another way: Internal users adapt to their environment, while External users adapt their environment to them.

Hard/Soft describes the methods of the style. You're fighting them, but do they end up unconscious from blood loss or lack of air? Hard implies striking, Soft implies controlling your opponent's actions. Karate is a hard style, wrestling is a soft style. So how does this apply to Star Wars? If you're one of the grunts with a lightsaber hacking away at droids, you're probably Hard. Palpatine and his Xanatos Gambits (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/XanatosGambit) (TV Tropes warning) is Soft. To elaborate: taking direct action is Hard, taking indirect action is Soft. This generally leaves Soft uses as reactive, since your opponent has to react before you can redirect his attack. But, as Palpatine shows, Soft isn't always reactive. Again, the Clone Wars transitioned the Jedi order from Soft to Hard, with the need for battlefield commanders. Following the purge, the survivors reverted to Soft, if only to conceal their presence.

So where does this leave us? With a very flexible paradigm with Hard/Soft and Internal/External as the axises. Let's go back over the crew of the Ebon Hawk and see it in practice.

Jan Ni: Hard External.
Internal/External: Jan doesn't have the luxury of shaping others by example. She acts on her terms, forcing others to react to her.
Hard/Soft: As a commando type, Jan's whole function is to cut through all of the misdirection of war in order to strike directly at enemy assets. Sounds very hard to me.

Carth Onasi: Hard External, soft and internal leanings.
Internal/External: Carth is also a military man, but has the air of who who would otherwise be content to be left alone. It's the willingness to shape his environment that makes him External.
Hard/Soft: Carth expounded on his philosophy with the difference between warriors and soldiers. He's a reluctant hard.

Mission Vao: Soft Internal.
Internal/External: Mission adapted to her life in the Lower City, and her current crisis is trying to adapt to life elsewhere. Solidly internal.
Hard/Soft: One of the threads I didn't pick out was the possibility that Mission was sent by Gadon to spy on Jan and Carth. Regardless, she's quietly observing, and filing away information for later analysis. Consider that she's also the one who found the alternate entrance to the Vulkar base.

Zaalbar: Hard Internal.
Internal/External: He's inwardly focused, with his only real desire to protect Mission. Strongly internal.
Hard/Soft: In the characteristic Wookie 'rip your arms off' style, Zaalbar is solidly hard.

Bastila Shan: Soft Internal, strong External leanings. Hard leanings.
Internal/External: This is Bastila's central conflict: her training has been all inwardly focused, but the very nature of her powers (Battle Meditation, Force Persuasion) lead her to impose her will over others.
Soft/Hard: Bastila's secondary conflict is an outgrowth of the first, but is one shared by all Jedi in wartime. Use direct action, or try to resolve the war by more circular means? Most of Bastila's penances come from her snapping, and using the direct route.

T3-M4: Hard Internal.
Internal/External: Seeing as how he doesn't have a personality of his own, and is under direct orders at all times, he's internal as his personality gets built, but is used for external means (I just noticed that I default to droids as male. Unless this is one of the rare instances of 'he' being used in a gender-neutral sense? I must contemplate).
Hard/Soft: Again, his lack of will means that he takes direct action, but in the service of indirect means.

Canderous Ordo: Hard External, internal leanings.
Internal/External: Again, this is Canderous' conflict. He's lost the ability to impose his will on others except as an extension of others, so he's slowly turning to internal as a means to enable him to pursue external goals.
Hard/Soft: Like Zaalbar, Canderous is rather blunt in his actions. Strongly hard.

It's when you use this (very slippery) paradigm in conjunction with D&D alignments that you get a fairly good idea of the character as a whole: what they do (D&D Alignment), why they do it (Internal/External, Good/Evil) and how they do it (Hard/Soft, Law/Chaos).
Next time, on Knights of the Old Republic: http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/8686/e10p.jpg

[dgnslyr]

What did you do to Juhani?

[Fri]

Interesting essay. I do like Jade Empire's allignment, or should like if not for the closed fist being evil when it shouldn't be. In Mass Effect, the alignment system are Renegade/Paragon, which is more to Bad Cop/Good Cop way to act rather than moral alignment.

[Mando Knight]

What did you do to Juhani?

Put in one of the mods to alter her appearance, which is normally quite... off-putting. Juhani mods are rather common, since this (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/File:Juhanicamoegf.jpg) is the best official image of her in existence.

Personally, he used one of the mods I dislike more than her original appearance, since it replaces all of her Cathar-ness with Painfully-Generic-Human-Female-ness, without changing her dialogue at all.

I use an altered texture map (.tga image) without replacing her head model, which has different eyes and changes the striping on her face.

[Irbis]

Meh, I'm not a fan of this change.

As for Juhani, a pity there was no mod making her into Redemption-era Sylvar. She was my favourite Cathar Jedi in the entire EU :smallwink:

[Tam_OConnor]

Welcome... (Cue music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wufb39yKHKM&feature=related))
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http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/1529/i112.jpg
http://img808.imageshack.us/img808/5164/i113.jpg... to Knights of the Old Republic.

Episode 11 http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/1345/111waq.jpg
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Onasi records that just as Ni was about to deliver the killing stroke, the woman deactivated her lightsaber and dropped it, raising her hands in surrender.

Ni: "Let my allies go. Who are you?"

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Juhani: "When I embraced the dark side, this was where I sought my solace. It is MINE!"

Ni: "You've been corrupting the kath hounds?"

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Juhani: "They like the smell of power I exude. They know their master. I harnessed true power when I killed my Master, Quatra. Power enough to crush the life from someone like you."

Ni: "Easy on the delusions, there. I just want to talk."

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Ni: "Why bother? You're only a threat to yourself." Onasi makes a note here that Ni is lying through her teeth. Kath hound attacks on Dantooine settlers had risen enormously since Juhani's fall.

Juhani: "I am pathetic. I sit here and think myself to be great by embracing the dark side, but I am nothing! There is no way I could be turned back! I always thought they held me back, were jealous of my power. But it is only because I was not good enough to meet their standards... I never have been."

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Juhani: "If she were alive now, there would be so much I would say to her... So much I would apologize for. Oh, how can the Council ever take me back with what I have done? Striking my Master down in anger is unforgivable!"

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Ni: "Canderous. Hit her. Gently." The Mandolorian laid out the woman with a durasteel gauntlet. Ni knelt next her. "Listen, and listen good, because I'm not going to repeat myself. Your master isn't dead. Badly injured, but she let you hit her. Probably to teach you the same lesson they're trying to teach me: a brush with the dark side to turn you off of it forever. Manipulative, but they're trying to do what they think is best. Now," Ni rose and looked down at her, "what do you do to someone who's fallen down?"

Ordo: "Make sure they stay there."

Onasi: "Or help them back up."

Ni offered her hand to the prone woman. Juhani looked at it hesitantly, then took it, letting herself be pulled upright.

Juhani: "I... I thank you, master Jedi."

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The three returned to the Jedi Enclave, trailing Juhani as they went. Just outside the Enclave, though, Ni paused for a conversation with an older Jedi.

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Nemo: "I have served the Council for many years, and have seen many apprentices pass through this Enclave."

Ni: "What do you do here?"

Nemo: "I serve the good and hopefully through that, the people of the Republic."

Onasi: "Well said."

Ordo: "What kind of a name is Nemo anyway?"

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Ni: "What do you mean?"

Nemo: "You. I browsed through your file here. The irony of a commando have a name like yours." Onasi notes confused looks being exchanged between the three of them. "Janni. 'The Hidden', in a Serroco (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Serroco)dialect. Your parents were very insightful, it seems."

Ni and company retired for the night. The next morning, Ni visited the Council, as recorded in the Jedi Archives.

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Tokare: "Your training is now complete, young Padawan. And perhaps now it is time we dealt with matter of the dream you and Bastila shared." Here, Tokare drifted into one of his characteristic tangents. "Bastila will be a great Jedi someday. Even among the Masters and the Council it is rare to find one so skilled in the art of Battle Meditation."

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Ni: "Carth said something like that, yes."

Tokare: "Bastila herself does not like to talk about it. She was accompanying the strike team that confronted Revan when the Dark Lord was destroyed. Her role in the death of such a promising young Jedi as Revan upset her greatly. But Bastila knew she had to set her personal feelings aside for the sake of the galaxy and the Republic. The Force is strong in her now, and without her skill in Battle Meditation we would have lost this war long ago."

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Tokare: "We wish for you and Bastila to explore these ruins. We sent another Jedi, Master Nemo, to investigate, but he has not returned. Be careful. The dark side masks our senses, and this cairn is a nexus of dark side energy. Appearances will be deceiving. Stretch out with the Force, and find the truth of the matter.
Commentary And the beautiful thing is, I haven't even finished with the name analysis. Here's the run-down, so far as I know:
Jan Ni: j-n-n is the Arabic root meaning 'to hide' or thereabouts. Janni is an alternate spelling of Djinni (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jinn).

Carth Onasi: Haven't been able to really get much out of this one. However, it's worth noting that for a time, the first month in the Arabic calender was Nasi. That name has since become defunct. So, to look at it another way, Carth is on his way to being obsolete. I can see 'Carth' as a corruption of 'Garth,' but I'm not sure where to go from there.

Bastila Shan: 'Bastila' evokes 'bastille' (bastion) and 'basilica' (Roman adminstrative building/church). Again with the Church Militant imagery, the conjugation of the sacred and the martial. Wikipedia tells me that one of the possible meanings of 'Shan' is mountain (Chinese origin). If it's true, and I'm not saying it is, we've got a near repitition: Bastion of the Mountain (More fun in German: Burg Berg). As a stretch: what's the most famous for a mountain citadel in Arabic culture? Alamut, the site of a religious order of killers, the Assassins.

Mission Vao: The surname is pronounced the same as 'vow.' Another ironic one, because Mission doesn't have a mission, and she's certainly not taking any vows. The only reason she's on this mission at all is because of Zaalbar's vow, though.

Zaalbar, T3-M4: I got nothing.

Canderous Ordo: Another fun one. From 'Canderous' we can get 'candor': frankness or candidness. He's always rather blunt speaking. The archaic meaning tends towards 'purity.' Now combine that with his clan name, which means 'order,' as in an organizational group. Canderous as an individual, then, is the purest example of his clan. But the clan itself? It is an order with nothing attached; it has no reason to exist. Again, Canderous' central conflict is him searching for a new, post-war identity.

Other names:
Nemo: More than just a mutilated clown fish (http://2fm.rte.ie/blogs/colm_jim_jims_blogggggg/nemo.jpg) and a rocking song by Nightwish (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIBdpFJyFkc&ob=av3n). Nemo means 'nameless' in Latin. It's the name Ulysses (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odysseus)gives to Polyphemos (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyphemus)(who I'm sure you've heard of). Since we've moved away from having to view the Odyssey through the screen of Rome, it's more commonly rendered in English translation as 'Noman.'

Malak: Translated from Arabic as 'angel.' Also has a false cognate with the Latin word for 'jaw.' It's funny because he doesn't have one (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Ptitle0t9r68ih?from=Main.DontExplainTheJoke)(TV Tropes warning).

Admiral Saul Karath: More associations than his name itself. Of the two Biblical Sauls, one had a radical conversion experience (from Republic to Crusader) and the other betrayed his younger successor (and Carth is well on his way to Admiral).

But besides fun with names, I want to talk about the two kinds of Jedi. There are the ones who are indoctrinated, and then there are the reluctant ones. This applies whether we're talking about Loyalists or Crusaders, all the way down through the Fel Empire (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Fel_Empire).

For the indoctrinated, the Force is a purpose all on its own. Take Bastila or Juhani. They literally haven't known any other sort of life. They truly believe everything the Masters tell them. This is one of the reasons that Juhani made such a terrible dark Jedi: she couldn't escape her training, telling her the dark side was bad-wrong-no-pets-for-you-catgirl. Whereas if Qui-Gon had tried that 'Let's talk' bit to Darth Maul, he would have been dead before the first chorus of 'Corn on the Cob' went off. Maul believed and that made him dangerous. But the indoctrinated ones are also less flexible. They're the worst kind of fundamentalists: the Force flows through everything, and they refuse to see another viewpoint. Consider Obi-Wan's dismissal of blasters. For dark side users, this makes their Force-use more instinctual, and thus more closely tied to their emotions. They don't what to do with their emotions, because their worldview doesn't cover that.

The reluctant Jedi are ones who came to the Force later in life, after they developed an understanding of the universe on their own. They tend to be more flexible: they can see the Force as just another tool. In the case of the Jedi, this means that they can detach themselves more effectively from the Force, separate their emotions and their Force use. This is a bad thing for dark side users. But means that you get powerful Force users who are able to disperse emotions through routes other than dark side use. Sample cases: Nomi Sunrider (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Nomi_Sunrider), Luke Skywalker, Kyle Katarn (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Kyle_Katarn).

Oh, and folks leveled from beating up Juhani. I could do that all week. It looks like Bastila learned something from her time back at the Enclave.

http://img809.imageshack.us/img809/5454/janlevel9.jpg
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Speaking of Juhani: I've found I don't use her, regardless of what she looks like. I'll get into the why of it when she's actually formally in the party, though. Either way, love her new appearance or hate it (feeling more of the latter :smallbiggrin:), you won't have to deal with it all that much.
Next time, on Knights of the Old Republic: http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/2413/end11.jpg

[The_Werebear]

"Hit Her. Gently"

Stuff like that always makes me laugh.

[Fri]

actually, I also prefer old juhani. Not because I find the cat creature attractive, but we can't enforce our standard of beauty to other race :smalltongue:!

[Klose_the_Sith]

actually, I also prefer old juhani. Not because I find the cat creature attractive, but we can't enforce our standard of beauty to other race :smalltongue:!

I always liked Juhani, why does every female in a setting need to be conventionally pretty, anyway? :smallconfused:

[Mando Knight]

I always liked Juhani, why does every female in a setting need to be conventionally pretty, anyway? :smallconfused:

Because otherwise the general populace of media consumers (that is, humans) will tend to dislike her. We don't have to cater to the Qwizgnorfs of Ceti Alpha IV, so why design characters for them?

[Squark]

But a lot of people like their RPGs to be immersive, and it makes sense that many species would not conform to our style of beauty, so alien females we don't find attractive are good, In my opinion. Although, frankly, I would have preferred Juhani to be a bit more alien. She is kind of borderline uncanny valley. Too human to be properly alien, not human enough to be pretty. When was the last time we saw a gamerron female?

[Tam_OConnor]

Welcome... (Cue music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awgAzxysyu0))
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http://img832.imageshack.us/img832/4107/i122.jpg
http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/3512/i123.jpg... to Knights of the Old Republic.

Episode 12 http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/1897/121bw.jpg
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Ni, Shan and Ordo entered the cairn, and Shan reports that they found a droid of unknown manufacture in the second chamber. It spoke to them in a language that not even Ni understood. After a few minutes of cycling through various planetary languages, it used an archaic dialect of Selkath that Ni understood. Shan tells us that she could understand perhaps half of what the droid said, with Ni translating the rest into Basic (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Basic), for her and Ordo's benefit.

Ni: "Why do you speak Selkath?"

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Droid: "Communication was vital to ensure that the slaves constructed this temple according to the wishes of the Builders. But you are not of the slave species. Neither are you of the Builders. You are like the ones who came before."

Shan: "It must be referring to Revan and Malak. They likely encountered this droid when they explored these ruins."

Ni: "What is your function, droid?"

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Droid: "At project completion all slaves were executed. I was reprogrammed to serve should a Builder return in search of knowledge of the Star Forge."

Shan, via Ni: "How long have you been here?"

Droid: "My chronological circuits have marked over ten revolutions of this system's outermost planet around the sun since the Builders left."

Ni: "It gave a number as well, but it couldn't translate it into Selkath units."

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Ni: "Droid, verify that your chronological circuits are functioning properly."

Ancient Droid: "The Builders constructed my chronological circuits using the technology of the Star Forge itself. My calculations are infallible."

Ni: "It actually sounded offended. Twenty millenia is a long time without a memory wipe."

Shan: "Ask it who the Builders are."

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Shan: "In the years before the Republic the Hutts were a dominant force in the galaxy, but they never constructed an empire. In fact, I know of no species that would fit with those titles."

Ni: "You're the scholar." To the droid: "Tell us about this empire."

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Shan: "Ask it when it last saw a Builder."

Ancient Droid: "I have been here ever since the completion of this monument. In all this time no Builder has returned to seek information on the Star Forge."

Ni: "What is the Star Forge?"

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Ni: "You don't know what it is, do you?"

Ancient Droid: "The.. the Star Forge is the glory of the Builders, the apex of their infinite empire. It is a machine of invincible might, a tool of unstoppable conquest."

Ni: "Bastila, Canderous: what has everyone in the Republic been asking since Revan and Malak returned?"

Shan: "Why did they betray everything they swore to defend?"

Ordo: "Carth's the only one asking that."

Ni: "'Where are they getting all these fancy ships?' The droid said it was built with the Star Forge. If the Star Forge can build a droid that lasts over twenty-thousand years, churning out masses of ships that are better than the Republic's best isn't unreasonable."

Shan: "That might explain how the Sith were able to amass a fleet so quickly. But I suspect the Star Forge is more powerful than a mere factory. The droid seems to respond to you; perhaps you should ask it something else."

Ni: "Tell us about the ones who came before us, the ones who were not Builders or slaves."

Ancient Droid: "The ones who came before you sought knowledge of the Star Forge and its origins. They proved themselves worthy. But there was another who failed to unlock the secrets and paid the ultimate price."

Ordo: "I found Nemo. Most of him, anyway."

Ni: "Did you kill him?"

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Ancient Droid: "Enter the proving grounds to my right and left. Within them those who understand the will of the Builders can unlock their secrets and open the doors. But those who fail will be destroyed by the power of the temple itself. More than this, I am not programmed to say."

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Shan writes that at the end of each wing was a computer terminal, which was less than willing to translate into Basic. Ni apparently entered into a Force trance in order to intuit out the right responses. They returned to the central chamber, and having proved themselves, passed through the door to the room beyond.

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Shan: "But there are pieces missing, incomplete hyperspace coordinates, corrupted data... and there doesn't seem to be anything indicating where the Star Forge itself might be."

Ni: "Perhaps those worlds have more clues, or uncorrupted data."

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Shan: "We must inform the Council of what we have dicovered. They must decide our next course of action, though I suspect our task has only just begun."
Commentary I've said it once already, but it bears repeating: Sci Fi Writers Have No Sense of Scale (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ScifiWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale) (TV Tropes warning). Seriously, 20,000 years? 10,000 years takes us from the invention of animal husbandry and agriculture to the present day. And, remember that we're 4000 years before the battle of Yavin on top of that. For comparison: in Tolkien, from the creation of the elves to the departure of the elven rings from Arda is just over seven thousand years, but he's got immortals mucking things up. George R. R. Martin's ASoIAF has 'history' going back 12,000 years, though the first 10,000 years are probably made up. Lots of innocent zeroes and ones have already been butchered on Star Wars chronology, so I'll just let it slide. For now. But remember that we're playing a fantasy game with sci fi trappings, and don't fret.

Besides that, main quest ahoy. Or, more specifically, we know how we're going to bring down Malak and his endless fleets: cut them off at the source and destroy the Star Forge. It's easy to make comparisons to Neverwinter Nights, also by Bioware, which consisted of variations on a theme. You have a central hub, leading to 4-5 smaller hubs, from each of which you must retrieve a piece of the required item/information. That said, I believe KotOR does it much better. There is literally nowhere else we could get this information. As opposed to the first part of NWN, where a quick shopping trip down to Skullport could have solved the entire section (intellect devourer brain, dryad hair, cockatrice feather, yuan-ti heart; reads like a mundane Skullport shopping list to me). In NWN's defense, it does get better about this in the later parts, but the bad guys do sort of come out of nowhere. Four lore-heavy Infinity Engine games <- absolutely no mention of the creator races (http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Creator_race#cite_ref-FR5p3_1-0) (sarrukh, batrachi, aearee/dragons, fey and humans, for your edification).

So, fantasy aside, the Star Maps actually a fairly decent science fictiony device. The mundane equivilent would be pieces of a physical map, but the problem with that is that you always get the clever jerk who identifies a major feature and skips half of the map pieces. With hyperspace coordinates and the vastness of the galaxy, jumping to conclusions is an excellent way to fly through a star.

Squark: I think you've hit the proverbial nail. Juhani sits very nicely into most people's uncanny valleys; I prefer the blandness I have over the cringe-inducing regular portrait. Have to give credit to Bioware for making a space warrior monk lesbian catgirl unattractive, though. Her voice actor also did my crush from Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines (Damsel), so it's clearly not the voice making me cringe. Also: every gamorrean we've seen so far is female. They only look like pig-men; culturally, they're much more similar to our hive insects (Why yes, I am making this up, but it does make them potentially more interesting). It's why Luke can Force Choke them without remorse; they're only drones of the queen that Jabba has under his sway, not independent beings.
Next time, on Family Feud: http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/9786/end12.jpg

[Brother Oni]

With regard to Bastila's name, Shan is a (male) Indian name meaning Pride/Prestige.

Given Bastila's earlier behaviour back when you find her on Taris, it's rather apt.

[Squark]

To be fair, without any sort of knowledge of how science will look in 500 years, it's entirely possible development could plateau at some point, so stagnation of technology is possible- Although I see this more likely happening when we start to run out of space on Earth, and when we start to run out of terraformable (if we even can) space in Sol. It would take us at least 4 and a quarter years to reach Proxima Centauri, and that's assuming we could travel at well over .9 C, which is unlikely, to say the least. Also, since we really don't know if we will continue to evolve meaningfully (large parts of natural selection have sort of died out in our society), so much of this is speculation.


As a foot note, there are some notable developments between KOTOR and the Original Trilogy. Most notable, hyperdrive technology doubled in effectiveness- The top of the market drives in KOTOR are x2, whereas by A New Hope, x1 drives are standard for military ships. Similarly, The Ebon Hawk, the Millennium Falcon of it's day, sports a x1 hyperdrive- The actual falcon, x.5. Also, KOTOR is set around the time blasters first became standard issue- before then, Pulse-Wave technology was the norm.

[Klose_the_Sith]

Because otherwise the general populace of media consumers (that is, humans) will tend to dislike her. We don't have to cater to the Qwizgnorfs of Ceti Alpha IV, so why design characters for them?

That sort of attitude bothers me so much :smallsigh:

I am entirely capable of liking a character who is in no way attractive to me. If my space aliens aren't just stylised sex items all the time then that creates a better universe, at least to me.

See also: how much more I like miss bodysuit more than miss blue in Mass Effect.

[Lord Raziere]

Yea in a way the Hutts and those floaty tentacle things in Mass Effect flesh things out better than "space elf version 234.328523"
Sure ones a race of dirty crime lords and the others are weird religious people who think referring to themselves using first-person pronouns is prideful and think that the Reapers are these things called "The Enkindlers" but hey that is why they are cool in that alien way, they are supposed to think completely different from us, they are aliens.

[Tam_OConnor]

Welcome... (Cue music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycfA6hmYbes))
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http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/8383/i133.jpg... to Family Feud.

Episode 13 (Reader Participation) It is a little known fact that the Sandral/Matale feud, which is so present in our modern literature, was based on actual historical events. Our best accounts of the feud come out of the Jedi Archives, with supplemental information from the local Dantooine press. While a complete accounting of the feud would occupy several volumes (and, indeed, has), this program will only focus on the culmination, where our records are supplemented by Shan's report to the Jedi Council.

On their way back from the Star Map, Shan and Ni were contacted by the Jedi Council, who related the following exchange:

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A. Matale: "Mistake? My son Shen is missing! How can there be any doubt the Sandrals are to blame?"

Lamar: "There are other possible explanations for your son's disappearance."

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Tokare: "Investigate this matter, Padawans."

Shan: "As you wish, masters. Is there anything else we should know about the situation?"

Tokare: "These two families have been settled here for some years now-"

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Tokare: "I do not know how the original feud started, but they want nothing to do with each other. The Jedi are not a cloistered Order. Our influence and teachings must spread beyond the walls of our Academies."

Lamar: "It is in the real world that we truly prove ourselves worthy of the title Jedi. You would do well to remember this, young Padawans."

Just outside the ruins, they stopped to break up a pack of kath hounds, now greatly diminished in aggressiveness since Juhani's redemption. The kath hounds had been clustered around a half-eaten body, on which no identification could be found. Only a close investigation of the surrounding area turned up a partially damaged datapad, a journal belonging to Casus Sandral. After delivering the body into the custody of the Dantooine militia, they arrived at the Matale estate.

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A. Matale: "Though I think your time would be better spent interrogating the Sandrals as to the whereabouts of my son Shen!"

Ni: "Any further information you could give us would be helpful."

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A. Matale: "Many years ago I brought my family here to Dantooine to escape the crush of humanity on the Core Worlds. Soon after we settled here, the Sandrals arrived. And they have been a plague upon my house ever since! The injustices the Sandrals have committed against the Matales are far too numerous to name, but the Council is well aware of our many disputes."

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Ni: "What happened to the droids?"

A. Matale: "My own security droids destroyed the invaders - not a single one survived."

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A. Matale: "I have no idea what nefarious purpose lay behind their arrival - my own assassination, perhaps. Destruction of my property. Maybe a simple spy mission. I wasn't about to find out. It was shortly after this incident that Shen, my only son and heir to the Matale estate, vanished. Obviously Nurik, the unscupulous head of the Sandral clan, has abducted my son in retaliation for the destruction of his droids!"

Shan: "You're jumping to conclusions."

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A. Matale: "I am a man of the world, Jedi. I know how things are done. I will make a.. contribution... of 1,000 credits to the Council in exchange for rescuing Shen from the Sandrals. I will present the credits directly to you, of course. Whether the Council ever learns of this donation is completely up to you."

Ni: "Canderous-" Here Shan makes a note to speak with Ni about her recourse to physical violence when offended.

Shan: "That will not be necessary, Mr. Matale. We understand that you are upset, and will do our best to find Shen."

A. Matale: "Nevertheless, my offer still stands. A thousand credits for Shen's safe return. Know, however, that I will not sit idly by much longer. Eventually I will take whatever action is necessary to rescue my son... including razing the entire Sandral estate!"

Under the weight of this responsibility, they proceeded south to the Sandral estate, where they requested an audience with patriarch Nurik Sandral.

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Ni: "He was killed by kath hounds while exploring the ruins north of here. The milita should be contacting you shortly to identify the body. We found his journal nearby, and wanted to convey it directly to you. We're also requesting your cooperation into the investigation of Shen Matale's disappearance."

N. Sandral: "Kath hounds? I... I was so certain the Matale family was to blame... But this changes nothing. My own son is dead - why should I shed one tear about the disappearance of my bitter enemy's son?"

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N. Sandral: "We have nothing further to discuss. Please, leave me to my grief. T7-OO, please show them out."

Allowing themselves to be escorted out by the protocol droid, they were interrupted by a young woman.

R. Sandral: "You are here from the Council, areyou not? Looking for Shen Matale? My name is Rahasia - Nurik is my father. He has not been himself since Casus disappeared. He is mad with grief, and he is convinced the Matales are responsible. He is not thinking rationally."

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Shan: "Judge him? What has your father done?"

R. Sandral: "You must understand that Father has been under a terrible strain. I have no wish to disobey him, but there are matters where even my father's authority is not absolute."

Ordo: "Quit stalling and get to the point."

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Shan: "I see. Well, there is the answer we seek. The Jedi Council should be informed at once."

R. Sandral: "No! Since Casus went missing my father has become unstable, he might hurt him if you do that! He no longer even cares if the Matales are responsible for what happened to Casus. I am afraid my father will simply kill Shen out of a mad, misguided lust for vengeance!"

Ni: "Sithspit. Do you know where Shen is?

R. Sandral: "Here's a datapad with the house layout, and a key to the back door. There are many security droids guarding the halls."

Ni: "Why are you doing this?"

R. Sandral: "Shen and I.. we... Well, we have been taught by our families to hate each other. But I met Shen alone one day in the city, away from his father, and..."

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R. Sandral: "We talked and met again over weeks and fell in love. My brother Casus met him too and they were beginning to become friends, but then this whole mess had to happen..."

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They found Shen Matale in a bare jail, and tried to convince him to leave. Surprisingly, he refused.

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Ni: "Why do you care so much about her?"

S. Matale: "I was taught to hate the Sandrals. To think of them as evil and subhuman. But from the moment I saw Rahasia one day in the city, I knew my father was wrong."

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S. Matale: "I don't know what else I could have done but fall in love with her. For weeks I wooed her and tried to win her heart. I believe I have succeeded, but now this has happened..."

Ni left Shan and Ordo to protect Shen Matale, and sought out Rahasia Sandral herself. Between one thing and another, they managed to convince the two of them to leave separately and reunite outside the estate.

The escape went off flawlessly, and Shen and Rahasia engaged in a tearful and demonstrative greeting.

Ni: "We need to get out of here quickly, kids."

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(How do we resolve this? Is the play Shen and Rahasia a comedy or a tragedy? Votes accepted until Friday, November 5th, 11am Central Time [USA].)

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Commentary Say what you will about the sources, but this is probably the quest with the most possible outcomes in the entire game. You can get a bad ending while acting light-sided, and a pretty good ending while acting dark-sided. All in all, there are four outcomes, though there is varience within each outcome depending on whether or not you found Casus' body. You're being given the option between the two most extreme outcomes, because those are much more likely to be made into great literature. The middle two options involve compromise, and where's the dramatic tension in that?

My only real problem with this quest is that Casus' body isn't found near the ruins. It's found just east of the Matale estate, so it isn't an entirely unreasonable assumption within the context of the game that Ahlan found him trespassing, had him shot, and left him for the kath hounds.

Aside from that, I tried to look up some in-universe playwright of prestige to whom I could assign credit for codifying Shen and Rahasia. No dice. All of the listed texts (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Books) have deliciously pulpy titles or are technical manuals. The Star Wars universe is not one for 'great' literature, it seems. I'll resist the urge to go off on a rant about the distinction between 'proper literature' and 'popular literature,' mainly because I come here to get away from all that idiocy. I will say that it's interesting to look over lists of in-universe texts, regardless of the setting. The Eddings' series have extensive prophetic texts (the Mrin and Darine Codices). Tolkien uses the conceit of the book being a text in-universe, as do several other authors (Brust's Khaavren Romances, for one). Jordan probably takes it the furthest of the big names, with a fairly extensive semi-historical tradition (Brigit Silverbow of the stories as compared to the real woman). I don't read nearly as much science fiction as fantasy, but I'm hard-pressed to think of a single in-universe text of something that could be called literature and not technical reading. Can anyone else think of more in-universe texts, regardless of the 'verse? Like I said, I'm curious.
Next time, on Knights of the Old Republic: http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/6810/e13a.jpg

[Squark]

Well, if you do it just right, light siders can get the families to comprimise and everyone lives (relatively) happily ever after. It Takes a lot of persuade skill, though. And, usually, any way, save scumming up the wazoo.

I want to see how our protagonist would solve this diplomaticly. 1 vote for everyone lives happily ever after.

[ScottishDragon]

Well with my playthrough the game the only way I ever solved this was light side. I vote for evil.

[The_JJ]

Save the kids, screw the families. End the feud once and for all.

[Tam_OConnor]

Welcome... (Cue music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYBFR8ooHwA&feature=related))
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http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/4219/i143.jpg... to Knights of the Old Republic.

Episode 14 Generations of successive playwrights have garbled the facts of the Sandral-Matale feud. Holonet History is pleased to bring you the authentic version of events, stripped of all the artifical dramatic conceits. (Video introduction (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9tQTuAsgzw))

A. Matale: "I knew this was all your doing! I knew you had captured my son!"

N. Sandral: "You had taken my Casus from me long before that! You started it!"

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Ni: "You two just need to calm down. Power down the war droids."

S. Matale: "Please listen to her, father!"

A. Matale: "Why should I listen to the Jedi? All you want is to remain with that Sandral harlot."

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Ni: "Why don't you try listening to your children, then?"

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A. Matale: "You... You insolent boy! If you want to live alone then so be it! I disown you! Never set foot in my house again!"

N. Sandral: "Rahasia! You will not leave with this... this Matale boy!"

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N. Sandral: "You foolish girl!"

Shan: "Do not try to force them to return."

A. Matale: "You expect us to just let them leave?? Droids! Stop them!"

N. Sandral: "You will not turn your droids on my daughter! Droids! Don't let them take Rahasia!"

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A. Matale: "ME?! You were the one who rushed out here with war droids!"

Ni: "SHUT UP!"

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A. Matale: "Indeed they shall!"

The three of them apparently preceeded the threatened reports, because the Jedi Council made no mention of them.

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Ni: "We found an incomplete Star Map and mention of something called a Star Forge, which we believe to be the source of Malak's fleets."

Tokare: "This news is distrubing. Action is required, but we must not do so in haste. We must discuss recent events in light of this new information."

Dorak: "I will consult the Jedi achives to see if there is any mention of this 'Star Forge.' Return to your ship with Bastila and we will summon you when we are done."

Shan records a conversation that took place in the shadow of the Ebon Hawk while the two padawans waited for the Council to finish their research and deliberations.

Ni: "I still don't understand why we shared this 'vision.'"

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Shan: "To the first I can only repeat the answer the Council gave us. Our fates are linked, and for two as strong as we are in the Force that amounts to a near-physical bond. As to the second, I don't truly have an answer for you. The Force works as it will, and perhaps we should be grateful for what we have been given."

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Ni: "Well, thanks a lot."

Shan: "Please forgive me. I did not mean to imply that you were repulsive in any sense of the word. That we shared something so personal is just not something I'm used to."

Ni: "I'll forgive you just this once. But isn't it a bit convenient to dream about our enemies?"

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Shan: "We dreamed about Revan and Malak either because we were meant to or because we needed to. There is no other way to look at it."

Ni: "If you say so. I'm not sure I like you being in my dreams, though."

Shan: "And are you so certain that it is not you in my dreams?"

Ni: "Pretty certain, yes."

Shan: "You're insufferable."

Ni: "Aww, I didn't know you cared. Hey, Zaalbar!"

Zaalbar: "What is it?"

Ni: "There's a bit of a coolant leak over here, just starboard of the ventral cannon."

Zaalbar: "Sithspit! I thought I fixed that! Mission! Where did you hide my hydrospanners?"

Ni: "Canderous, do you know anywhere we can pick up heavier weapons?"

Ordo: "Did you want to visit Malachor V?"

Ni: "...I kind of assumed you'd know of a place that had already done the salvaging for us."

Ordo: "I was an enforcer, not a fence, sister."

Ni: "Forget I asked."

Shan: "The Council has finished. Come along."

Ni: "Actually, scratch that. Canderous, go ask Carth if he knows anywhere we can buy Republic military surplus."

Ordo: "I thought you wanted heavier weapons."

Shan: "Jan..."

Ni: "I'm coming, I'm coming."
Commentary The even split of the votes basically meant that I had to pick one of the three options myself. I was wrong, by the by. There are actually five endings, one of which you read above. The other four endings are the best ending, the lawful ending, the violent evil ending and the manipulative evil ending.

The Best Ending: Pretty much what we got above, only instead of running away to the Enclave, Shen and Rahasia manage to guilt their fathers into buying them a house. The happy couple promise to name their children after us. Doesn't cause a light-side shift. Requires Persuade, and the correct selection of choices before then ("You should try to work this out together" instead of "Why don't you try listening to your children?").
The Lawful Ending: We essentially say "Don't make me intervene" and "Don't do anything outside the law." It's possible to force the ending we got above out of this, essentially putting the couple under Jedi protection. Or we can undo all of our prior work by getting Shen to return to his father, claiming "We both know it wouldn't work. Let's not get all emotional and end up hating each other." This essentially returns things to status quo ante-kidnapping, only we get the reward from Ahlan. The feud continues.
The Violent Evil Ending: Basically, we lie to Ahlan that Nurik did kill Casus. Ahlan kills Shen, Nurik kills Rahasia, Ahlan kills Nurik, Nurik's droids kill Ahlan, both sets of droids go hostile, and we smash them. It's notable in that Ahlan has second thoughts before we lie to him. He wonders how the feud has gone on this long, and we have a last chance to pull out and scrap by with one of the other endings.
The Manipulative Evil Ending: It's the same ending point as the lawful ending, but we get to it by telling Shen "You want to trust yourself to a woman would betray her own father?" I consider this one worse than the violent evil ending, if only because it makes you work for it more.

Shen: "I... I see. I wonder how I could ever have thought differently about you, Rahasia. How I could have been so blind."

Rahasia: "Shen, no..."

Shen: "I was foolish, my father was right, we are not destined for one another. It would never have worked. There would have been too many problems. Sometimes it is just better to let things die."

Rahasia: "Shen, wait! I love you!"

Shen: "I'm sorry, Rahasia. It just won't work. In fact... I don't think I like you very much at all. You remind me too much of your father."
Between resolving the feud and discovering the first Star Map, our bold venturers have leveled.

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I believe I've mentioned that all the party members level at the same rate, which means that Mission is inexplicably level ten, despite doing nothing but repairing the ship and crying her eyes out about Taris. On a purely gameplay perspective, I understand the decision: otherwise you end up being unable to even use the characters you've been neglecting. I will note that almost all of the party member-based quests are level-independent, though. The advantage, I think, is that only leveling the characters you actually use means that it encourages multiple play-throughs with different parties.

One of the things I really enjoyed about KotOR II was the segment where you split the party. You're committing maximal force against multiple objectives (as limited by the game engine). But in most of the game, and almost all of KotOR I, you've got upwards of six people just sitting in the Ebon Hawk twiddling their thumbs. I really think that there are two ways to address this issue: 1) fewer party members in general or 2) more guest party members.

Re-imagining KotOR with each approach: (Party members are bold)
1) Escape the Endar Spire with the help of Ensign Trask Ulgo, who dies horribly throwing himself in front of Crusader lightsabers to let you escape. Crash land with Carth Onasi and manage to enlist the aid of the Hidden Beks. With the aid of the stolen Republic slicer droid T3-M4 and the original thief, the ex-Mandolorian Zaalbar, break into the Vulkar base and obtain the prototype swoop engine (one way or another). Riding for one of the gangs, win the race, kill Brejik for his betrayal and rescue Bastila Shan. A discussion between the party leads to the conclusion that you need a blockade-runner. Raid the Crusader base and steal one of their transponder codes (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/IFF). Parlay your winning the swoop race and the transponder code into an audience with Davik Kang. Escape Taris as the Crusader fleet glasses it. On Tatooine, HK-47 fulfills his original role, as does Jolee Bindo on Kashyyyk. Total Party Count: 6, with one temporary member.

tl; dr; cut Juhani entirely, give T3-M4 Mission's role and an opportunity to have developed a personality already, and give Zaalbar Canderous' personality and history (since Mandolorian aren't race-based).

From a gameplay perspective: Canderous and Zaalbar are fairly redundant. Zaalbar has few more skills, but they serve the same role of non-Jedi fighter. Zaalbar only has a personality on Kashyyyk, and making him a Mandolorian grounds the story in period. Juhani is already optional, but if Zaalbar is optimized for melee, then he can cover most of her combat role (because Jedi Guardians taking the time to use Force powers is fairly wasteful). If you really want a Jedi Guardian, though, you could do worse than Bastila. She's not exactly the first person that springs to mind for skill use (and she obviously doesn't have any ranks in Persuade, regardless of what her skill-sheet says).

Trask: tutorial only; twi'lek Soldier
Carth Onasi: human Soldier
T3-M4: astromech/slicer Expert Droid
Zaalbar: wookie Scoundrel
Bastila: human Jedi Guardian
HK-47: protocol Combat Droid
Jolee: human Jedi Consuler

Content-wise, the only thing you lose from this is Mission's personal quest, which is tied pretty firmly to her history (and Juhani's but that doesn't fire for me half the time anyway). You could give Juhani's to Zaalbar (how do you think he got off-planet in the first place? Slavers. Who freed him? Mandos.) and Mission's could be given to Bastila, but that would probably be a mistake.

2) You know, when I first had this idea, I thought this would be the better option. But looking back over option one, I find I prefer that. You can't make Mission a temporary companion, because she's attached to Zaalbar. And Zaalbar is moderately important on parts of Kashyyyk. I wouldn't shed tears over losing both of them, and confining T3-M4 to shipboard operations, but it's less elegant than the previous solution. Canderous could be temporary, but where is he going to go? Likewise Hk-47. Jolee could be temporary, but he explicitly wants to travel with you.
Next time, on Knights of the Old Republic: http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/648/end14.jpg

[Klose_the_Sith]

I ... can't say I agree with you on the fewer characters. Not in the least because it would mean giving up Canderous for Zaalbar. Learning that the Mandalorian badass was a wookie = instant sadness and being turned completely off the game.

I do like Mandalorians, but I hatehateHATE Wookies.

EDIT: And making Jolee + HK temporary? Do you actively *want* me to dislike this game? :smalleek:

[Squark]

A mando Zaalbar would have to be done really well. But it might work, and would be pretty cool if it did. And HK-47 couldn't really go. Everybody loves him.

[Mando Knight]

Juhani is already optional, but if Zaalbar is optimized for melee, then he can cover most of her combat role (because Jedi Guardians taking the time to use Force powers is fairly wasteful). If you really want a Jedi Guardian, though, you could do worse than Bastila. She's not exactly the first person that springs to mind for skill use (and she obviously doesn't have any ranks in Persuade, regardless of what her skill-sheet says).
I respectfully disagree. Guardians have access to enough powers to make them useful (focus on Force buffs... yeah, this is heavily Light Side oriented, despite the fact that being so heavily combat-focused is supposed to be Dark), and are essentially idiot-proof... by which I mean they're AI-proof: just set them to standard attack, and they won't waste their Force points by casting Force Valor every other round when they could have wiped out the enemy with a single Force Storm.

Most of the time when I've run the PC as a Guardian, s/he ends up nigh indestructible, able to handle most encounters almost endlessly even without going through the buffing routine (which I sometimes simplify down to just Master Speed in a pinch... I love that power), make long-range combat worthless (a Guardian's leap attack makes splitting up a bad idea, especially with the damage boost the charge grants... and Master Speed's +2 main-hand attacks per round), and even tear down Malak easily. After a few levels, if you remembered to have a couple points of Wis and decide to pack a +Wis item (Circlet of Saresh), the lower number of Force points really don't matter unless you pretend you're a Consular and try Storm-spamming as a Lightsider or something.

My typical Guardian powers end up something like this:
Force Wave: clears out a group of enemies, dealing a small amount of damage and potentially stunning them, allowing you to avoid taking ten attacks a round. The lower levels aren't nearly as useful.

Force Valor: even the basic level grants +1 to all skills, +3 to all saves (+2 direct, +1 attribute boost), and +1 to hit, damage, and defenses. Oh, and +2 to Wave's save DC, thanks to affecting both Wis and Cha.

Force Speed: cut down on travel time? HYES! Later versions buff Defense significantly, and even grant extra attacks, the bread-and-butter of a weapon-Jedi's damage output.

Force Armor: I actually save this one for later, since it's exclusively defensive, and Speed provides enough of an edge that Armor's really only useful against enemies like Malak, who have enough attack bonus to make your Defense otherwise meaningless or sufficient power with the Force to make their powers' saves difficult to meet.

Heal: any Light-sider (or gray) who doesn't have this is an idiot, IMO. Even with a Guardian's notoriously low Wis/Cha scores, Heal is the easiest way to keep the entire party healthy... and a lot easier on the budget than a light freighter full of Life Support Packs.

Energy Resistance: Like Force Armor, a primarily defensive power. Useful for warding off small armies of Sith troops or other blaster wielders, and even provides some protection against Jedi.


Usually with this setup against groups, I'll go Speed -> Leap -> Wave/Flurry/Power Attack -> Leap. Against single opponents, it's usually Speed -> Armor -> Flurry/Power Attack. Valor is usually handled by my idiot comrades, but because solo missions are inevitable and Valor boosts skills as well, I usually carry at least the basic version on the PC.

[dgnslyr]

Master speed is all you need. Maybe Force Wave spamming against a mob of mooks, but still not as often. Leave the buffing for the weak, 'cos with a Guardian, you're leaping into the fray! It's not difficult to splatter an enemy every turn by leaping in and flurrying everything that moves.

[Mando Knight]

Master speed is all you need. Maybe Force Wave spamming against a mob of mooks, but still not as often. Leave the buffing for the weak, 'cos with a Guardian, you're leaping into the fray! It's not difficult to splatter an enemy every turn by leaping in and flurrying everything that moves.
Usually, that's what I end up doing. However, a tough enemy is easier dealt with if I slap on some extra buffs, and knocking armies of mooks flat on their backs is just amusing. I usually use one Wave to stun them, then cut them to ribbons while they try to come to their senses.

[dgnslyr]

Heh, I don't even remember any "tough enemies," other than maybe the Tarentareks. Heck, even Rancors went down to one leap with Master Speed active. I think even Malack went down after a volley of slices. This was only on the normal difficulty, though, not sure how it would work on Hard.

[BladeofOblivion]

Heh, I don't even remember any "tough enemies," other than maybe the Tarentareks. Heck, even Rancors went down to one leap with Master Speed active. I think even Malack went down after a volley of slices. This was only on the normal difficulty, though, not sure how it would work on Hard.

Tarentateks...

On my Hard Playthrough, in that room where you have to fight two... :smallfurious:

I eventually just ran into the room with the two grenades and just stood there and threw my entire arsenal of Frag and Plasma and all those other grenades I'd been collecting throughout the game. :smallbiggrin:

[Tam_OConnor]

Welcome... (Cue music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UL4J9wQx6N8))
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http://img600.imageshack.us/img600/3962/i153.jpg... to Knights of the Old Republic.

Episode 15 http://img710.imageshack.us/img710/939/151rvm.jpg

Tokare: "We Jedi know victory over the Sith will not come through martial might. The Council has a mission for you, Padawans."

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Dorak: "From what you have told us, we surmise that you are correct in its function. It would be a potent tool indeed."

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Tokare: "There is a powerful connection between you two... a connection that might be the key to unraveling the mysteries uncovered by Revan and Malak."

Lestin: "Juhani has also asked to accompany you. After long deliberation we have granted her request."

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Tokare: "Remember that secrecy and discretion are paramount to your success. You will not be able to hide the fact that you are Jedi, nor should you. But the true nature of your mission must not reach Malak's ears. The fate of the galaxy is in your hands, young Padawans. May the Force be with you."

The pair proceeded back to the Ebon Hawk, but were stopped by Deesra Luur Jada, an apprentice to Master Dorak.

Lurr Jada: "I wanted to wish you well, Padawans, and to warn you to be careful. There are many evils out there, many dangers. The Sith are not the only minions of the dark side."

Shan: "More dangerous than the Sith?"

Lurr Jada: "In my studies with Master Dorak I have come across tales of creatures born of the dark side, monsters of pure evil."

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Lurr Jada: "The terentatek is a predator, and we Jedi are its prey. They are incredibly strong, with a primal cunning. And they have an in-born resistance to the Force."

Ni: "Doesn't the Force connect all life?"

Lurr Jada: "Perhaps that is why they are so dangerous. But fortunately, the terentatek is quite rare. They only dwell in the most dangerous and darkest of places. In fact, one has not been seen in nearly forty years."

Shan: "Then why are you worried about them now?"

Lurr Jada: "This is not the first time the terentateks have vanished for long periods of time. Many believe they can lay dormant for years, only to rise and hunt when the power of the dark side waxes full."

Shan: "Forty years ago - that was during the Great Sith War. The time of Exar Kun. You think Malak's rise is waking them."

Lurr Jada: "Did you read about the Great Hunt as well, Padawan Bastila? No?"

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Ni: "Wait, you mean the Jedi genocided them?

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Lurr Jada: "Duron Qel-Droma, Gunn Han Saresh and Shaela Nur shared a powerful bond, and each of them was devoted to the light. The Council felt that together they would be able to defeat any terentatek they found. And by supporting each other they could resist the temptaions of Korriban and the lure of the dark side."

Ni: "What happened to them? This sounds ominous."

Lurr Jada: "They never returned. Let their deaths serve as a warning to you, Padawans. Do not underestimate the terentatek. Do not underestimate the dark side. Both, I fear, are now awake in the galaxy."

As Ni and Shan made a final circumvention of the Ebon Hawk to check for problems, Shan records Ni asking her a question.

Ni: "Dark side this, dark side that. Did they harp on the perils of the dark side so much during your training?"

Shan: "Every Jedi needs to be wary of the dark side. Your... lack of training just means that you need to be more aware of its temptations."

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Shan: "The dark side is not simply giving in to anger or temptation to use the Force to desctructive ends. These things only lead to the dark side."

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Shan: "And once you stop resisting, it is too late. It twists you up inside and... and turns you into a mockery of everything you once stood for."

Ni: "You say that with such... intimacy. Did your master pull the same thing that Juhani's did to her? Made you fall?"

Shan: "We need only to look at the atrocities which have been committed by those under its sway to understand the terrible, corrupting evil of the dark side. Millions dead, and far more suffering. What sort of person would you have to become to perform such deeds gladly?"

Ni: "Someone like Canderous. Or Carth."

Shan: "Carth? Carth would not strike down an innocent because the Republic told him to do so."

Ni: "No, they've got other people for that."

Shan: "And that is a failing of the Republic. To think our judgment superior, that we would never fall prey to such a horror. That we have unlimited control, vigilance and foresight. If only that were true."

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Shan: "What greater weapon is there than to turn an enemy to your cause? To use their own knowledge against them?"

Ni: "Bastila, what are you suggesting? That we use the Star Forge against Malak?"

Shan: "No, no, nothing of the sort. But it is something to meditate on. We are weakened while they are strengthened. So our weakness must become our strength."

Ni: "Or we use their own strength against them... Stop looking at me like that, Bastila. I'm not suggesting we use the Star Forge either. But the principle: we let their strikes throw them off-balance, and then we strike."

Shan: "Indeed. We must harden our hearts and do whatever is required to fight against the dark side. Even when the battle becomes wearying."

Having finished their inspection, they turned to board the Ebon Hawk when a call from a Twi'lek interrupted them. While Shan answered, Ni signalled to Onasi, and the blockade runner's engines began to cycle on.

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Shan: "I am Bastila, yes. I take it that you know my mother?"

Malare: "Oh, yes. I worked for your father on an expedition years ago. Your mother showed me holos of you before you... well, before you left. Such a pretty little girl you were."

Shan: "Is there something I can do for you, miss? As you can see, we were about to leave."

Malare: "Oh, I didn't mean to take up your time. I just wanted to ask you if your mother's condition had improved any since I last saw her."

Shan: "My mother's condition?"

Ni paused halfway up the boarding ramp.

Ni: "Come on, Bastila, we've got stars to stretch!"

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Shan: "I have not seen my mother since I joined the order. Do you know what has happened? Did she... say anything about my father?"

Malare: "I'm sorry, dear, but your mother is very ill. So she told me. She didn't say anything about your father, however. I didn't see him."

Shan: "Where did you meet her, do you remember?"

Malare: "I saw here on Tatooine, dear. A little town called Anchorhead. She said she'd been there for awhile. Maybe she's still there?"

Shan: "Thank you for informing me. I really must be going, now."

Ni: "What kept you?"

Shan: "I don't suppose we could dock at Anchorhead on Tatooine? It seems my mother has been looking for me. Part of me would rather not see her at all. But if she is really sick... well, we shall see."

Ni: "Talk to Carth about it. But it's not like we had any idea where to start looking, anyway."

T3-M4 approached and chattered something in Binary (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Binary).

Ni: "The navicomputer had Davik's last jump on it? Where to? ... Bastila, have you ever heard of the Yavin system?"

Shan: "That was where Exar Kun had his fortress during the Great Sith War."

Ni: "It looks like there's a space station orbiting the fourth planet. We need to throw any spies off the scent anyway. T3, take us to Yavin. We'll jump to Tatooine from there."

Shan: "It would not be wise to visit the ruins of Exar Kun's fortress. The place is steeped in the dark side."

Ni: "No problem. I'm just curious. What could go wrong?"
Commentary Let's talk about the dark side, kids. It's tempting to just say that the dark side is evil. And the dark side is all about giving into temptation, so let's run with that assumption. If the dark side is evil, then it allows us to apply a whole mess of ethical philosophy.

So let's talk evil. What is the nature of evil? Is it the opposite of good, or the absence? If evil is the opposite of good, then you've got dualism (Zoroastrianism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoroastrianism), Manichaeism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manichaeism)). But at least in Star Wars, Lucas is on record saying that there is no 'light-side,' i.e. that the dark side is a corruption of the Force. Yeah, death of the author and all that, but at least in conception, that's the nature of the dark side.

The idea of corruption comes across fairly strongly, regardless. It's an idea that's fairly strangely expressed in other Bioware works. I'm thinking primarily of Neverwinter Nights (which does share the same quest structure as KotOR) and the paladin Aribeth. Naturally, she falls from grace and becomes a blackguard. The nature of the bad guys (suddenly, quasi-divine lizardfolk) means that Aribeth's fall from grace wasn't sponsored by any of the countless evil deities in the Forgotten Realms (a brief list: Bane, Shar, Beshaba, Talos, Umberlee, Velsharoon, Lolth, Lovitar, Gargos, Mask, etc). But having a dualistic structure of good and evil complicates this whole idea of corruption. A priest of Tyr who starts worshipping Bane has only fallen from the perspective of Tyrrans. From the Banite perspective, he just changed sides. And from the perspective of a random peasant, he just changed sides.

In a dualistic perspective, each side is given equal weight (otherwise there wouldn't be a dualistic relationship). In that setting, the idea of 'falling' or 'being corrupted' are perspective-based, not objective. Whereas in the 'there is only the Force; the dark side is a mistake' idea, corruption is much more real.

I've already blathered on at length about alignments, both D&D-style and hard/soft and internal/external. But how closely is alignment tied to one's particular order? Is it possible to have an evil Jedi who's still loyal to the Council? Is it possible to have a kind-hearted Nightsister (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Nightsisters)? How about a rebellious Jensaarai (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Jensaarai)? Is the order merely indicative of how you were trained, or is it an on-going membership?

And here are the questions to dwell on: how far are Jan and Bastila going to have to go? Are they going to have to sacrifice themselves for the sake of the Jedi Order? For the Republic? Or even to save themselves?

Also, thank the heavens above, we've finally off of Dantooine.
Next time, on Knights of the Old Republic: http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/8871/end15.jpg

[Mando Knight]

But at least in Star Wars, Lucas is on record saying that there is no 'light-side,' i.e. that the dark side is a corruption of the Force.

Got some sauce on this? Sure, the Dark Side is a corruption of the Force, but that doesn't mean that the not-corruption isn't the Light Side.

[Tam_OConnor]

Short answer: no, I can't. One of those internet 'I heard that.' Point to you.

Long answer: I suppose the point I should have made was that the movies only mention 'the Force' and 'the dark side.' 'The light side' was added in later, though heaven knows where exactly in the Expanded Universe. This implies that the dark side is an unnatural state of affairs, rather than outright saying it. The philosophy codified by the EU is, to put it politely, disorganized. Call 'dark side is a corruption' the Orthodox Jedi stance (TV Tropes actually manages a more intelligible summing up (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheForce) that Wookiepedia. Go figure).

The deal is, the Jedi Order cannot formally acknowledge the existence of the light side of the force, because that to some extent legitimizes dark side practitioners. The problem is that this leads to folks coming up with heresies like Potentium, where there aren't dark side powers, only force powers used for evil purposes. But at the same time, they have to keep harping on the dangers of the dark side, which keeps people thinking about it and dreaming up new heresies.

It's not that either philosophy is canonically valid (though one probably is, dratted canon-monkeys). It's that they're both potentially valid philosophic stances. The Jedi have to endorse one that emphasizes the abnormality of the dark side, and dark side users (if they care) are less likely to object to a philosophy that elevates their actions to legitimacy.

In short, even if the Jedi believe in the light side, calling it the light side is setting up the dualistic 'equal and opposite' paradigm that they want to avoid.

[Mando Knight]

In short, even if the Jedi believe in the light side, calling it the light side is setting up the dualistic 'equal and opposite' paradigm that they want to avoid.From a certain point of view. However, I do not see it that way. If there is no Light Side, then there must be no Dark Side, either: what is Dark if there is no Light? If there is no Dark Side, then no acts can be aligned with it, and no one can be condemned for acting by it. However, if the Dark Side is identified, it can be identified as wrong, something that needs to be changed. The existence of evil does not legitimize it. Identifying it does not legitimize it. Ignoring the dirt in your bathroom does not make it clean. It appears clean (as you are ignoring the dirt), but the state of the bathroom is that of being not clean.

The nature of the Force itself is elusive, whether the Light and Dark dichotomy is developed from the actions and intentions of the users, or whether the Force itself is an entity that bears the two sides, or somewhere in between the two. Does it have a will, as it is sometimes implied? Or is it like a great river, which has a shape and flow of its own (but not will!) and can be shaped and used constructively or destructively, as has also been implied? Is it both? We will never know: it is a fictional, metaphysical construct developed through the collaboration of multiple individuals, who have their own opinions and views. We look at a blurry painting through smoked glass, taking our own interpretations of a vague image given to us by its creator. In the end, I think what we see is as much what we want to see as what is actually there.

[Tam_OConnor]

Welcome... (Cue music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYFUc74hpPU))
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http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/6450/i163u.jpg... to Knights of the Old Republic.

Episode 16 To the benefit of the historian, it seems that Vao littered the interior of the Ebon Hawk with holorecorders. On the hyperspace jump to the Yavin system, one of them recorded the following exchange between Ordo and Ni.

Ni: "I thought I asked you to unload that speeder."

Ordo: "No one on Dantooine was crazy enough to want it. Pathetic farmers, one and all."

Ni: "As long as I'm here, you got any war stories?"

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Ordo: "Your stagnant Republic has never seen some of the strange creatures and races we fought on the Outer Rim in those years. Heh, and you never will now. We were going through the asteroid fields of the Crispin system at the very edge of the galaxy, playing with the pirates and smugglers we found there."

Ni: "Crispin belt... lots of small rocks covered in frozen methane. Don't tell me they were dumb enough to use them for cover."

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Ordo: "But... that was a mistake..."

Ni: "It was made of pure baradium (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Baradium)?"

Ordo: "The asteroid I had targeted was smaller than most, maybe a dozen meters on a side. On the outside it looked the same as any other: just a ball covered in frozen gas."

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Ordo: "After I had it, spots of light and heat appeared all over the thin shell still covering, evaporating the gases. What lay underneath looked like some sort of rocky growth... a deformed rock pitted by scores of micrometeorite scars. I think something even older might have been inside that."

Ni: "What happened next?"

Ordo: "It started rotating - faster and faster as we watched it. After a second it started spraying fire - thermal projectiles that melted our armor like wax. We were caught completely by surprise. Before we could counter-attack, it fled at an incredible speed. We couldn't catch it, but we could follow its hyperspace wake."

Ni: "Only a Mandolorian would be crazy enough to follow an obviously superior opponent."

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Ordo: "Anything that wants to commit suicide in that great void is not worth our trouble trying to catch."

Onasi: (over a comlink): "Jan? We're dropping out of hyperspace."

The conversation ends there. To this day, speculations rage about what exactly this craft was, as it matches no known descriptions. The Maktites (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Maktite)utilized thermal weaponry, but their ship designs were noted for heavy armor, vulnerable exhaust ports and intimidating appearance, not speed. Various other mercenary groups and alien races have been suggested, but no satisfactory consensus on the issue has been reached.

Onasi records that he docked the Ebon Hawk with a battered modular space station in orbit over the gas giant Yavin 4. Ni, citing a desire to appear unthreatening, left by herself to search for inhabitants, as no one was responding to their broadcasts.

She didn't return for several hours, and Onasi states that he was unable to raise her on the comlink. Just as Onasi, Ordo and Shan were about to set out after her, Ni returned.

Onasi: "What happened? We were about to mount a rescue mission."

Ni: "Only one guy on the station, a Rodian. Name of Suvum Tan. Interesting guy. We talked for a bit, played some Pazaak, bartered a few items-"

Shan: "Not Pazaak again!"

Ni: "It was only a few hands, mom... well, a few dozen hands. Actually, I sorta just played until I cleared him out."

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Ni: "I told him that we weren't Exchange, which he took fairly well. He said he'd been having some trouble with Trandoshans. On the plus side, he's an inventor."

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Ni: "So I wound up giving him a lot of his own credits back, in exchange for some impressive gear: some stabilizer gloves to make Carth even more twitchy, a new sensory implant and heavier armor for Canderous, and some Baragwin (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Baragwin)-made armor for Mission. It's got audio dampeners!"

Onasi: "You should really go easier on the kid. Her whole planet got killed, and you haven't even tried to talk to her about it."

Ni: "What, am I the ship's counseler? She's got Zaalbar, and it's not like we have some kind of special bond."

Ordo: "Why don't we just dump her on some planet? Better than taking her into a war zone."

Onasi: "I hate to admit this, but you've got a point. I'm not saying we leave her on Nar Shadda, but there's got to be somewhere out of the way where she'll be taken care of. I mean, she's just a kid."

Shan: "But one that helped us escape Taris. The Force has led us to her. She may have still have a part to play in this conflict."

Ni: "Besides, if she goes, Zaalbar goes. And I'd appreciate a native guide once we get to Kashyyyk."

Onasi: "You're pretty cold-hearted for a Jedi."

Ni: "And you're pretty paranoid for a war hero. And Canderous is pretty Mandolorian for someone helping to save the Republic. So what? We get the job done."

Ordo: "Where's that armor you mentioned?"

Ni: "Bottom of the loading ramp. And it was a pain to haul it all the way over to the ship, so you'd better wear it."

Shan: "Did he mention anything about Exar Kun?"

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Ni: "But nothing he was selling was imbued with the Force. I could sort of sense a general presence, but nothing definite."

Shan: "But if he's scavanging items from Exar Kun's temples, then he could be exposing himself to the Dark Side. We have to find those items and destroy them."

Ni: "I think he's already experienced the Dark Side. He said he'd been in system for fifty years."

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Ni: "I get the impression he was a slave to Exar Kun. I also get the impression that he's a very dangerous man we don't want to push."

Shan: "But the artifacts-"

Ni: "I'll try to coax them out of him next time we're here. But for now, let's head on to Tatooine."

Shan: "... Fine."

Ni: "If it makes you feel any better, he was probably the most upbeat person I've met in a long time. I told him about all the trouble was in from Darth Malak..."

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Commentary So a fairly quiet (and short, and nearly late) episode. Yavin Station is only present in the PC version (or in downloadable content on the Xbox; I think), and mainly serves as a place to play high-stakes Pazaak and buy lots of really absurdly expensive gear. The 'asteroid' is commonly theorized to have been a Yuuzhan Vong (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Yuuzhan_Vong)coralskipper (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Coralskippers), but of course, the Vong don't invade until after our narrative is set.

I'm not especially partial to the Vong (I liked them better when they were the Ssi-Ruuk (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Ssi-ruu)), but I can't say that they were totally without merit, as they sustained a nice long run of novels (the bulk of which I haven't read). Though the quality of the novels can be debated, they're not as bad as what came after (*cough* Jacen (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Jacen_Solo)[spoilers galore]*cough*). I did like the bit where the Vong came off as heavily alien compared to the rest of the galaxy, though I understand they got more and more heavily explained as the series wore on. I suppose that's inevitable, but the mystery was nice when it lasted.

I am really enjoying writing my own exchanges (since it's really the only way I can express Jan), and hopefully I'm managing to keep the characters close to their own voices. Let me know if I'm not, and I'll try to rein myself in some more. I have noticed that the in-universe commentary has gotten sparser, something I'll be trying to remedy in the next update (which should be more on time; I really like parentheticals, how about you?).
Next time, on Knights of the Old Republic: http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/8158/end16.jpg

[Fri]

I haven't read the novels, but what I hate about the Vong is more related to Sci Fi Writers Have No Sense of Scale (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ScifiWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale).

They killed how many people again? Frickin many. Like the writers just spout some random number that sounds a lot. 'a gajillion!' without checking how many exactly is a gajillion.

[Mando Knight]

The 'asteroid' is commonly theorized to have been a Yuuzhan Vong (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Yuuzhan_Vong)coralskipper (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Coralskippers), but of course, the Vong don't invade until after our narrative is set.

The asteroid is a coralskip. If it walks like a duck, flies like a duck, swims like a duck, looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then there's a rather high chance that it is, indeed, a duck.

Unusual, rocky exterior? Check (yorik coral body). Unusual shape? Check (few coralskippers, or yorik-et as the 'Vong call 'em, are identical). Primary weapon system that fires armor-melting magma? Check (yaret-kor plasma cannons). Hyperspace capability? Check (Dovin basals).

The only possible discrepancy is the timing: the ship's four thousand years early. However, Zonama Sekot was in the Galaxy by about 27 BBY, and the war which sent the Yuuzhan Vong from their home galaxy ended by roughly 15000 BBY. It's quite possible that there were advance scouts in the Galaxy long before the main advance fleet arrived, or that a coralskip went "feral" and randomly jumped beyond the reach of the fleet.

Of course, all this runs the problem of Sci-Fi writers, and their lack of a sense of scale. (BTW, the Death Star is 160 km in diameter, the second is over 900 km in diameter, and the Executor is 19 km long. They finally fixed the "official" numbers to match what's shown in the films only a few years ago at the earliest.)

[BladeofOblivion]

One minor error that I noticed: When Ni is talking about not wanting Zaalbar to leave, she mentions that she wants a native along when they get to Tatooine.

I may not be the ultimate aficionado, but I'm fairly sure wookiees are from Kashyyk.

(I KNOW I spelled that wrong.)

[Tam_OConnor]

Behold, the power of the edit button! (Thanks; I am an idiot...)

[Mando Knight]

(I KNOW I spelled that wrong.)

Yeah, not everyone remembers that Kashyyyk has three "y"s in it.

[Tam_OConnor]

Welcome... (Cue music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iISxAhvv3ts))
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http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/4530/i172.jpg
http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/8917/i173.jpg... to Knights of the Old Republic.

Episode 17 Before Ni, Shan and Ordo set out to discover the location of the Star Forge, Onasi records that she spoke to him.

Ni: "You've been very quiet lately, you know that?"

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Ni: "Oh, poor baby. You need filling in on some detail?"

Onasi: "Listen, sister. I don't remember reading anywhere that it's a requirement that you remain with us after we left Taris, yet here you are."

Ni: "Here I am? Who stole this ship again? Who got co-opted by the Jedi Council? What are you still doing with me?"

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Onasi: "For one thing, I want to know what the Jedi Council said to you. They pulled you in there and refused to tell me a thing about it. I'm rather curious to know what went on... and why they didn't keep you on Dantooine for training. Isn't that strange?"

Ni: "Why don't you ask Bastila? I don't exactly know their normal procedure."

Onasi: "I would be more than happy to, but she's as close-mouthed as the rest of the Council. I'm hoping you'll be the one to enlighten me. I may not know much about Jedi, but I do know they aren't famous for taking on old Padawans and sending them on dangerous assignments."

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Onasi: "I'm not trying to provoke you or imply that you're somehow responsible for the Jedi Council... but give me a hand, here! There has to be a reason!"

Ni: "Are you saying I'm not needed?"

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Onasi: "I'll tell you this much... I am not going to wait around until I'm betrayed again!"

Ni: "Sithspit! I am not going to betray you! I am not Saul!"

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Onasi: "...Look, I didn't mean it that way -"

Ni: "We're done here." The door whirred shut behind her.

Onasi: "- I want to get to Saul, not... no... no, forget it. It seems all I can do is insult you, isn't it?"

Because of this clash, Onasi stayed aboard the Ebon Hawk for the entirety of their stay on Tantooine. For the sake of our history, this greatly complicates matters, as we are now forced to rely exclusively on Bastila's reports to the Jedi Council.

Czerka Representative: "Your ship is not on our list of planned arrivals for today. There is a docking fee of 100 credits because of this."

Ni: "I don't need to pay the fee."

Czerka Representative: "You know... I don't think you need to pay the fee. We'll let it go, this time."

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Shan: "Could you give us some information on Tatooine?"

Czerka Representative: "There isn't much to tell. It's a very old planet, well past its prime. Czerka Corporation is the only company with any interest in it. I'm afraid I can't go into any details about our operations, though."

Czerka Corporation was one of the first mega-corporations, before acts of the Senate tried to limit the monopolistic controls engendered by the very nature of huge conglomerate corporations. It survives today as Czerka Arms, one of the primary weapon suppliers to the Confederacy of Independent Systems (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Sepratists).

Ni: "Tell me about your operations."

Czerka Representative: "Ah, it's common knowledge, so there's no harm in telling you. It's a tale of bad business."

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Czerka Representative: "Unfortunately, that information was incorrect, and possibly even an attempt at sabotage by a rival company."

Ni: "So Czerka Corporation set up shop on a barren planet."

Czerka Representative: "Not totally barren. There were a few years of good mining, and limited operations are still in place. But the ore is flawed. Czerka Corporation has really tried to hide this, but it just seems that Tatooine metal is unfit for effective manufaccturing."

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Czerka Representative: "And then there are the native species. They're barely more than animals. There are the Sand People. They're vicious, and attack outsiders on sight. And then you've got the Jawas: primitive scavangers. Hard to understand, smell horrible. Not good fighters, but they make up for it by being thieves."

Ni, Ordo and Shan were just leaving the docks when they were hailed by an Aqualish.

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Ni: "What shipment? What are you talking about?"

Aqualish: "Wait a second, is this right? It says docking bay 32 on the form, but you just arrived. Oh, well, the gizka are your problem now."

Ni: "Gizka (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Gizka)?"

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Aqualish: "Now all I need is your thumbprint for the... wait a second, where did the datapad go? *Sigh* Nothing is ever organized around here. At any rate, the gizka are yours. One of the loaders said the crate split open when he put it in your hold... some of the critters might have gotten loose. That happens, I'm afraid. We don't accept liability... and we certainly couldn't take the cargo back. Enjoy."

Ni: "... I've never even heard of gizka."

Shan: "I think they're an Onderon species."

Ordo: "All I know is that they eat electrical wiring."

Ni: "It'll keep everyone onboard busy. Spread out, we'll meet back here in two hours. Don't mention the Star Map, just look for work that could take us out into the desert. I've got a feeling that it's somewhere in the area."
Commentary Ugh, it seems I forgot how long it takes to set-up everything once I hit a new planet. This episode isn't what I was talking about with the emphasized framing device. Apparently we'll get to it when we get to it (which will be within an episode or two, I hope).

Tatooine. Probabaly one of most recurring planets in the entire Star Wars universe, with appearances in every movie but The Empire Strikes Back. And yet, it's almost never an ending point for the action. Things don't get resolved on Tatooine. They either get started or get escalated. About the only thing that does end on Tatooine is the life of the mighty Jabba. It's also one of the few single biome planets (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SingleBiomePlanet)that's almost reasonable (TV Tropes warning; though there's still the issue of where the oxygen is coming from).

Also, I didn't edit out any comment from Bastila about using Dominate Mind irresponsibly. She really just stood there as Jan bent this poor guy's synapses to her command. I wonder if Canderous' injection took priority over hers, or if they just forgot to put a trigger here. Because heaven knows she'll chime in anytime you so much as try to save some credits via the Force.

For all that he was an insensitive jerk about it, Carth has a point. This state of affairs is unusual. Though I should note that he never really answered Jan's questions. This mission is all about speed and stealth. Why are we dragging along a war hero who's forte is in ship-to-ship combat? Wouldn't he be more useful to the war effort doing what he was trained to, instead of running around trying to help us with what is effectively special operations? Bastila's technically in the same boat, but the Force says that Jan and Bastila have to do this, so there's no helping that part. But Carth's presence sort of bothers me. Not from a story perspective (mainly because I know what his role is later), but from the military perspective. I find myself thinking that Carth might have been better off as someone less well-known. Or at least show him contacting his immediate commander/local headquarters to inform them that he's not dead. We're picking up little hints of flirting (when he isn't just sticking his foot in his mouth), but I have to wonder if there isn't more of a reason. Stay tuned, and we'll try to figure it out.
Next time, on Knights of the Old Republic: http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/7624/end17.jpg

[Fayd]

Interesting chapter. Interesting chapter indeed.

I have to say, I'm enjoying the commentary and the links. I'm not sure I would have noticed some of the interconnections in the expanded 'verse without it. (Such as Canderous being responsible for the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, in part.)

[Tam_OConnor]

Welcome... (Cue music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4bh0_8rmDo))
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http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/4438/i182.jpg
http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/5674/i183.jpg... to Knights of the Old Republic.

Episode 18 We return to the subjects of our history after too long of an absence. Shan, Ordo and Ni have just reunited, after independently exploring the port of Anchorhead, on the desert planet of Tatooine.

Ni: "Bastila?"

Shan: "I spoke with my mother."

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Shan: "I confess, I didn't respond well."

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Shan: "I know that he was headed out into the Dune Sea to hunt krayt dragons, but we will have to rely on the Force to find out anything else."

Ni: "Goood enough for me. Canderous?"

Ordo: "They only let people with hunter's licences out into the desert. I got us a license."

Ni: "How many people did you have to kill for it?"

Ordo: "Why do you care?"

Ni: "Because I'd like to know how many angry families are going to come after us with blasters."

Ordo: "No one."

Ni: "I didn't think I gave you enough time to be that thorough."

Ordo: "You didn't. I hit up the Czerka headquarters and talked to the local administrator."

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Ordo: "She'll pay us a bounty for each gaffi stick we bring her, and a bonus for the chief's."

Shan: "The gaffi sticks?"

Ordo: "See how your lightsaber and Jan's are different? Same deal. I asked about scalps or ears -"

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Ordo: "- but she seemed like the neat type. Not willing to get her hands dirty."

Ni: "I tried to get a feel for the town. Asked around about Taris, Czerka's operations -"

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Ni: "- got hit on by a sleazy hunter -"

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Ni: "- played a little Pazaak - fine, Bastila, a lot of Pazaak"

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Ni: "And I found out that the Jawas are in some sort of trouble."

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Shan: "Before Canderous becomes too eager to collect gaffi sticks, may I suggest that we try diplomacy?"

Ni: "Even I don't speak something as obscure as the Sand People tongue. It's got too much barking and coughing for me."

Shan: "Then we should buy a protocol droid. I am sure that there is at least one here that's programmed to speak the language."

Ni: "If you insist. But it's this constant buying of droids that forces me to play Pazaak with everyone I meet, just to keep our finances above water."

Shan: "You're insufferable."

Ni: "Would it help if I told you that there are Crusaders after us as well?"

Shan: "On planet?"

Ni: "A pair of them ambushed me, in-between Pazaak venues."

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Ordo: "Two on one odds, and you barely mention it. You sure you aren't Mandolorian?"

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Ordo: "Whatever you say. All I know is that if we had more Jedi like Bastila fighting against us in the Mandolorian Wars, we might not have lost."

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Shan: "Enough, Mandolorian. I won't rise to your bait any more. The game is over."

Ni: "A little help here?!"

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Ordo: "Damn, they're quiet when they want to be."

Shan: "I wonder who trained them. Neither Revan or Malak had that talent."

Ni: "We need to get out of the open. There's a droid shop over there."

While Shan and Ordo watched the door and windows, Ni approached the shopkeeper.

Laka: "Greetings, sentients. I am Yuka Laka, proprietor of this fine establishment... may I ask why you're so heavily armed?"

Ni: "We were about to head out into the Dune Sea, and wanted to see if you had anything that spoke the Sand People language."

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Laka: "It's a fine protocol translator. I think it's been modified. It claims to understand the Sand People dialect, and also has some armor mounts. Combat ready, perhaps? Let me just say that every function I've tested has performed perfectly. Those that I could find, anyway."

Ni: "What functions have you tested?"

Laka: "It shows obvious protocol and translation skills. Surprisingly, it also handles weapons exceptionally well. I'd even say it's seen combat, but it won't tell."

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Laka: "It might be a little eccentric, but it's stable."

Ni: "Why haven't you wiped its memory?"

Laka: "I would have, but I can't seem to access any inner circuits. It's definitely built for security and built to last."

Ni: "I don't suppose it's made of a cortoisis alloy?"

Laka: "...how did you know?"

Ni: "It is? I was joking."

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Ni: "What does the 'HK' designation stand for?"

Laka: "Haven't got a clue. It doesn't match any protocol or utility standard. I assume it's a retired model."

Ni: "Where'd you get it? With how little you know about it, I'd be surprised if it was through legal channels."

Laka: "I acquired the droid from a friend that manages an off-world Czerka warehouse. It was in trade for a debt he owed. He said no one would miss it. Might have been surplus."

Ni: "See, none of this is convincing me that it wasn't stolen. But I'll talk to the droid."

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HK-47: "Query: Would you be so kind as to purchase this model from Yuka Laka? It would serve my purposes to be removed from his ownership."

Ni: "I know Systech Corporation makes aural blasters (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Systech_Aural_Blaster), but I wasn't aware that they manufactured protocol droids."

HK-47: "Statement: I suspect I am of unique construction... or perhaps I was intended for a very specific customer. How I ended up here I can hardly say."

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Ni: "Why aren't you revealing all of your functions?"

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HK-47: "Not to mention that the fool Ithorian might raise his asking price if he knew more... ore might make inquirires into my history. Neither outsome is beneficial to me."

Ni: "How do you come to this shop?"

HK-47: "Statement: Access to my memory core is restricted. It is possible that the Ithorian place the restraining bolt on me to prevent my return to a previous owner. It is also possible that the removal of the bolt will not restore memory functions. Without my memory, I do not know if I know the answer. Do not interpert this as a reduction of my worth, however. My capabilities are quite expansive."

Ni: "What guarantee do I have of your loyalty if I remove your restraining bolt?"

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HK-47: "As well, it is rare that I am able to utilize my full array of abilities. You seem likely to give me the opportunity to do so."

Ni: "Why would you assume that?"

HK-47: "Extrapolation: You are no farmer or diplomat. You are armed, and comfortable as such. One of your companions bears a lightsaber, and the other has his weapons slung in a Mandolorian harness. We will mesh well."

Ni: "Why would you be better than an armored battle droid?"

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Ni: "You're sounding more and more like an assassin droid."

HK-47: "Retraction: Droids built for such a function face strict regulations and often have unique difficulties with previous owners. I therefore make no claim to that designation, prospective buyer. I am a law-abiding droid. Yes, indeed, law-abiding, that's me."

Shan reports that she had never before heard such sincere irony.

Ni: "I'll see about purchasing you, then."

HK-47: "Advisement: I have observed Yuka Laka. He is a coward, and will be responsibe to... aggressive bargaining."

Ni: "Does he know you talk about him like that?"

HK-47: "Statement: I wish only to be purchased and away from ill-treatment at the hands of this poorly-skilled mechanic. I have no desire to be subtle. Qualification: Err... of course I shall be quite pleasant to you, should you purchase me. Please?"

Ni: "Yuka Laka, I'm interested. Let's talk price."

Laka: "It's a very solid machine, in good shape. I can't let it go for less than 5000 credits."

Ni: "5000. You're serious?"

Laka: "4000! Not a credit less!"

Ni: "That was quick. Desperate to sell?"

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Ni: "You do realize that this droid was stolen from Malak's Crusaders?"

Laka: "What?!"

Ni: "That's what it told me. And we passed some men in dark robes huddled together. I thought at least one had a lightsaber."

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Ni: "I'll give you 2000 credits. And I'll make it very obvious that I'm taking the droid away from your shop."

Laka: "Done, though you are taking the food out of the mouths of my children."

HK-47: "Statement: I see you have purchased me, master. I find this a satisfactory arrangement."

Ni: "Bastila, head back to the ship. Tell everyone onboard to lay low. We don't want to draw more attention than we already have. Have Carth keep the ship prepped and ready to take off at a moment's notice. HK-47, Canderous, come with me."

Unfortunately for our history, we have no records left by Ni or Ordo, and HK-47's memory banks are likewise unavailable. However, we do have access to one source that is sufficiently detailed to prevent this program from veering off into wild speculation: the oral history of the Jawas. Join us next time, as we delve into this untapped wellspring of knowledge.
Commentary So meet HK-47:

http://img602.imageshack.us/img602/564/hk47level10.jpg

HK is in many ways the antithesis of T3-M4. He's had time without a memory wipe to develop a personality, he's actually useful in most parties (though not nearly as useful as a Jedi most of the time, but such is the balance of this game), and he actually has spoken dialogue. It's not too much of a stretch to say that HK is one of the most beloved characters from KotOR, to say nothing of the entire EU canon. He's also the most strongly dark side-aligned party member that we'll get. Speaking of which, we've almost completely filled out the party, and we won't be picking up the next and last party member for some time. Which is good for my party theories with regard to Bioware games, since apparently all of my electronic notes on it went down in flames with my last computer.

It's worth noting that this is the only exchange between Canderous and Bastila. Actually, unless I'm much mistaken, most of the pairings only have one exchange. Which is really unusual in some cases, because you'd think that Canderous and Carth would constantly be sniping at each other. But I'm hard pressed to think of a second exchange between any two characters but Carth and Bastila. I suppose some of this is the 'new party member syndrome.' If this was someone's first time through the game, I'd imagine that they'd have just gotten a decent understanding of Juhani when HK or the last party member popped up and drew their attention away. This is probably one of the reasons that I'm in favor of smaller parties in general. It gives the authors a change to really stretch and give us a deeper understanding of a few characters, instead of fairly shallow views of a whole bunch (see Baldur's Gate I, which I loved or Neverwinter Nights 2, which I didn't). On a good day, I can remember all the names of the PCs of both games.
Neverwinter Nights 2:
Khelgar Ironfist, Neeshka, Elanee, Qara , Casavir, Sand, Bishop, Shandra Jerro, the freaky githzerai priestess (psion) whose favorite word was 'know' and whose name I can't remember, Amon Jerro.
Retrospective: Forgot Amie and Bevil. Zhjaeve was the name of the githzerai. Completely forgot about the construct and Grobnar Gnomehands. Which is a mercy, I suppose.

Baldur's Gate I:
Imoen, Montaron, Xzar, Khalid, Jaheira, Viconia, Ajantis, Safana, Coran, Yeslick, Minsc, Edwin, Dynaheir, Xan, Branwen, Eldoth, Shar-Teel, Alora, Quayle, Tiax, Garrick, Silke, Faldorn, Kivan.
Retrospective: Forgot about Kagain and his absurd Constitution score. As well as the tutorial party members in Candlekeep, but they count for even less than Amie and Bevil.
I should remember that one should also consider how likeable the characters are, and that a smaller party size doesn't automatically equal better NPCs. Also, the difference between providing choices to fill out the party (as Baldur's Gate) and forcing NPCs on you regardless of whether or not you like them, need them or any combination thereof.
Next time, on Knights of the Old Republic: http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/6496/end18.jpg

[Phexar]

It's worth noting that this is the only exchange between Canderous and Bastila. Actually, unless I'm much mistaken, most of the pairings only have one exchange. Which is really unusual in some cases, because you'd think that Canderous and Carth would constantly be sniping at each other. But I'm hard pressed to think of a second exchange between any two characters but Carth and Bastila.

I know that Carth and Mission have a second exchange where they make up after arguing the first time. Carth then slyly comments 'kids are like that', after which Mission goes to blow up again before quickly realising and laughs it off. :smalltongue:

Not surprisingly, Mission and Zaalbar have two exchanges also, one where she comments on him having worse breath than usual(turns out he took a piece out of a Gammorean slaver's arm), and one where she wants to make him a nice trendy Wookie with trimmed and dyed fur(she claims he's going a little grey) to which he reacts very grumpily.

There's probably other multiple exchanges between characters though I can't remember any off hand.

[BladeofOblivion]

Yeah, the only character in NWN2 that had a meaningful personality was Khelgar.

In the expansion pack, there were a total of five possible long-term party members, two of which were mutually exclusive. This time, however, each character had a complex personality and history. These developed characters caused some to compare the new campaign to Planescape: Torment.

A quick list:

Gannayev-of-Dreams, a half-Night hag spirit shaman. He is described as charismatic, which is unheard of among Hagspawn. There is a justifiable reason for this. He is a romance option for female characters.

Safiya, a Red Wizard of Thay, who, breaking the mold, isn't a complete monster. She's one of the better party members for obvious reasons. Male romance option.

Kaelyn the Dove, a fallen Half-Celestial who still crusades for law and good. Her ultimate goal is to tear down the Wall of the Faithless, finishing the betrayer's crusade.

Okku, God of Bears, is an ancient and mighty spirit of the land. He servesas the antagonist for the first chapter of the game, but Good characters can ask for his aid.

If you killed Okku, you may recruit One of Many, a collective of lost souls from Myrkul's furnace inhabiting Okku's pelt. This being is sadistic and an abomination. It supports you as its creator, however.

[Tam_OConnor]

Oh, believe me, I'm familiar with the Mask of Betrayal. Mainly through Lt. Danger's superb Let's Play (http://lparchive.org/LetsPlay/MotB/). I think that that Obsidian may have been a bit confused about how to structure their campaign, though, because I bashed my head against the Death God's Vault for entirely too long. That, and their arbitrary party limit set one lower than the number of party members. I don't mind making mistakes, but blatant stupidity like that makes me all twitchy. You want me to care about the NPCs? Then let me take all of them (that aren't mutually exclusive, obviously), so I can listen to what they have to say.

Mechanics aside (and I include the annoyance of the feeding mechanic in that), level inflation aside (really, it's okay to let the PC feel competent. Knight Captain, Hero of Neverwinter, all that? Oh wait, no, I guess you didn't give me a chance to feel competent then, either.), it comes down to the story being forced upon me. Look, I appreciate that it's hard to write a plot hook that'll draw in the whole alignment spectrum, but suddenly I'm infested with this entity? Look, mate, Baldur's Gate (http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Bhaalspawn) did that, only they used the first game to set it up. You want to tie things in with the original game? Set up the conflict between Netheril (http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Netheril) and Ilefarn (http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Illefarn), drop the PC back through time through the magic of a collapsing lair, let me cut loose and do what I want. You know, that thing that PC games are anti-ethical to nowdays? Let me force the creation of the King of Shadows, let me be the King of Shadows, let me be forced to fight against the inevitability of the future, not against a point of theology that got cut out with the edition change anyway. At the very least, the paradoxes would do something to excuse the weakness of the first story.

...so, I guess I might still be a little bitter. But only a smidge.

[Tam_OConnor]

Welcome... (Cue music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4v9I2P_G7zo&feature=related))
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http://img683.imageshack.us/img683/8412/i193.jpg... to Knights of the Old Republic.

Episode 19 (A voice begins chattering in Jawaese (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Jawaese). After a few moments, a female voice begins speaking, translating into Basic)

Jawa sing through ages,
Of time gone, time taken.
Of giants and Jawa.
Giant who helps us:
Sandstorm, krayt dragon call,
Janni Fortress-Giver.

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Translator's notes: Jawas refer to the Sand People by various epithets: "ghosts of the sands," "giants made of sand," "horned ghosts," or other similar constructions. Off-worlders are usually called "giants from the stars," or the like.

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Janni will exorcise
Ghosts made of sand from us.
Into the drifting dunes
With Gray Grim Ghost in Steel
And Soulless One in Rust
Janni will adventure.

Translator's notes: Ordo in his durasteel battle armor and gray hair is no doubt the 'Gray Grim Ghost in Steel,' while HK-47, as a droid, was regarded as 'Soulless,' as well as 'rust red' in several accounts.

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Caged by floating Soulless,
Giant betrayed by mate.
Grim Steel laughs, Red Rust mocks.
Janni gives Jawa tithe,
Quarter of Giant's wealth.
Protests, Janni Suns-glares.

Translator's notes: The 'Jawa tithe' here seems to indicate that Ni left at least one of the droids as salvage. The Jawas no doubt interperted this as an offering or sign of respect.

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Giant tempted Janni,
No acid did [she] spare.
Journied across the dunes.
Ghosts from the sands appear,
'Jawa always be slaves!'
With the Sun Janni strikes.

Translator's notes: The Jawaese word used here indicates both male and female, a pronoun that Basic lacks. In Jawaese, gender and sex are closely tied together. This pronoun is used for those of one sex who assume the duties of the other gender. In this case, Ni is recognizable to the Jawas as a female physiologically, but is rebuking another, which is traditionally recognized as a male gender-role. Elsewhere in the work, the feminine pronoun is used.

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Janni walks, Fortress looms.
Star Giants fear beneath.
In the shade, Janni fights.
Steel and Sun, earth and sky.
Janni speaks. Fortress tithed:
Jawa home, Jawa free.

Translator's notes: I have omitted multiple verses here, as they describe the Jawas' claiming of the Sandcrawler, the 'Fortress,' as their own. Again, the Jawas seem to have mis-interperted Ni convincing the Czerka employees to abandon the Sandcrawler, which were originally designed as ore harvesters. I return to the text when we see Ni re-emerge.

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Janni strikes with the Sun.
Ghosts vanish, Janni plots.
Across wastes, past dry bones,
Under tall suns she runs,
Up shifting sides, down drifts,
She thinks with a bare head.

Translator's notes: Again, I have omitted verses about the dangers of not wearing appropriate headgear while under the suns. For the Jawas, this is seen as Ni's tragic flaw: her refusal to wear a hood, exposing herself to the suns' light and heat made her take bold action for the Jawas, but made her life (among them) short. Consulting with the Jedi archives have revealed that Ni was trained in Tutaminis (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Force_absorb). That is to say, it is probable that Ni was simply using the Force to absorb excess heat. From the text, it is probable that she used this energy to speed her and her companion's progress towards the Sand People encampment.

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Janni hunts, a mirage:
Ghost magic reflected.
Sunset and new mountain.
Giants of the sands camp,
Soulless star-spitters guard.
Janni makes new mirage.

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Commentary So hopefully this wasn't too far crazy for you guys. I'm just going to blame the simplicity of the style on it being a fairly literal translation that keeps the meter, but not the rhyme scheme or literary devices unique to Jawaese. That sounds almost plausible.

In any case, there was a great deal of leveling up. This is one of the few areas in the game with respawning encounters that aren't total cakewalks. I won't lie, I nearly had a party wipe when I was careless. Thank all that is warm and fuzzy for Canderous' healing implant.

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We've reached the point in the game where the XP growth isn't nearly as dramatic as it was on Taris and Dantooine. There are only twenty levels (it took until KotOR 2 to provide 'epic' support), and we've still got quite a few planets ahead of us. We're well on the way to developing Jan's force powers, with just enough to spice up combat but not enough to really dominate it. Right now, Jan is relying on three powers: affect minds (the traditional Jedi Mind Trick), force speed (haste is always good, regardless of if it's Celerity, Haste or Force/Knight/Master Speed) and stun (which means we get to use those sneak attack dice from the smuggler levels). One of the mods I have installed eliminates most of the visual displays of the Force, which means no blurring of the screen while under the effect of haste, and no glowing auras or graphical displays from powers like heal or valor.

With the malfunctioning droids, you have the choice of solving a math puzzle (as the player) or just making a repair check and spending the parts to fix it (as the character). I tried to solve the math puzzle (didn't want to waste the parts; seriously, I'm playing Pazzak for the money), guessed wrong, and wound up having the droid explode in my face. Yeah, after that I just buckled down, admitted I'm not as good at math (or guessing) as I thought I was, and just spent the parts. But, it all worked out with the story, so I can live with my shame.

I may have made up that specific usage of Tutaminis (seriously, though, who names these things? At least it's better than 'Force Absorb'), but I did need some way to justify the apparent stupidity of running around a desert without the proper headgear. And yes, I am enjoying the Dark Jedi Knight Robe (+2 AC) that I looted off of the Crusaders who attacked me.
Next time, on Knights of the Old Republic: http://img580.imageshack.us/img580/8200/end19.jpg

[Tam_OConnor]

Welcome... (Cue music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mh-gJOF9ju8))
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http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/8747/i203.jpg... to Knights of the Old Republic.

Episode 20 *The incantations in Jawaese begin, and a smooth female voice follows with a translation.*

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Close eyes spoil ghost mirage:
Janni unveils secrets.
Taken to Sand Ghost Lord,
Scheming mind, plotting heart.
Ghost Lord demands tribute,
Clever Janni lulls [him].

Translator's notes: Jawa gender roles are unusual by the standards of tribal society. By their very nature, Jawas are not warriors. The manner in which they refer to warriors, therefore, requires the use of another pronoun entirely. From what we know of Sand People society, chieftains are always male, and thus I have chosen to insert 'him' here.

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*The stream of Jawaese ends, and the translation likewise stops* At this point in the history, we can utilize Czerka records. They reveal the sale of a pair of portable moisture vaporizers to Ni, at a price significantly below the manufacturing price.

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*The Jawaese begins to be incanted again, and the translation begins a moment later*

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Janni brings life-makers,
Trades to ghosts for Jawas.
Janni speaks through Rust Red:
'Braid your time for my ears,
How did you become ghosts?'
But those tales are sacred.

Warriors alone hear
History of ghost-time.
Janni masks cleverness,
'I will prove my power,
Slay Dragon in [his] lair.'
Chieftain laughs, 'You will fail.'

Janni grins, 'Then wager.
Krayt pearl for tales and slaves.'
Ghost Lord takes the wager.
Clever bet Janni made,
Difficult deeds to do.
But sun and mind will tell.

Translator's notes: Our knowledge of Sand People culture indicates that slaying a Krayt dragon is the definitive manner in which to ascend to warrior status. Hence, if Ni can kill a dragon and retrieve a pearl from it's stomach, she will be accorded the status of warrior, and thus be able to listen to the tales of the tribal history, as well as be entitled to own slaves. From the Jawa perspective, Ni is using knowledge of Sand People culture to force them to bow to their own rituals in defiance of their own desires. The Jawa perception of 'the warrior's honor' that is so often idealized in warrior culture is revealed as darkly humorous. The epic continues in many stanzas on the heights of this irony, before following Ni out of the enclave and towards the location of a Krayt Dragon lair. Scattered throughout the ironic verses are implications that Ni has stolen a Sand People map of the Dune Sea and is generally making this up as she goes.

At this point in our history, we acquire another source: the personal diary of the Twi'lek hunter Komadfort'una, a recent find thanks to the kind donation of his descendent Bib Fortuna (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Bib_Fortuna), majordomo of Jabba the Hutt of Tatooine. Komadfort'una details his hunting of a particularly large and foul-tempered Krayt Dragon with the aid of a Corellian named Rex Johnson, who referred to himself unironically as an 'Adventure Seeker.'

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Komadfurt'una hailed Ni, and shared his plan for felling the Krayt dragon:

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Komadfort'una: "I have placed mines around the mouth of the cave. We must coax him out, but this is the middle of his season of hibernation. It will take much to rouse him. To lure him out we must use food to tempt him. The food of a bull of this size is almost exclusively banthas... and foolish hunters, if we are not careful."

Ni: "Look, I just came from a Sand People enclave, and I know they hold banthas in pretty high regard. I'm going to guess that you know that too."

Komadfort'una: "You are more heavily armed and armored than I am. I trust you are capable of fending off an ambush."

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Having led the bantha herd to the cave entrance, the krayt dragon within stirred.

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Komadfort'una records that Ni got a strange look on her face, and walked into the cave as he began to butcher the dragon.

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Ni: "The neatly folded robes and lightsaber crystal on top was also suspicious."

Ordo: "I notice that didn't stop you from wearing the robes and pocketing the crystal."

Ni: "I like to live dangerously. And speaking of coincidence..." *triggers a comlink* "Ni to the Ebon Hawk, come in."

Shan: "Yes, Jan?"

Ni: "I found your father's holocron. I'm afraid I also found your father."

Shan: "...Thank you."

Ni: "I'll bring everything back for you." *the screech of speeders is heard over the comlink* "What the-! Bastila, secure the Hawk. We've got trouble incoming, and I'd bet they used the ship's ID codes to find us."

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Commentary Feels just a little bit like I'm talking to myself here.

So apparently, the tradition of smooshing Twi'lek names into something separated by a punctuation shaker (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PunctuationShaker) (TV Tropes warning) came from the X-wing novels. Apparently, separating your names into given name and surname is indicative of putting distance between yourself and your clan. Only the apostrophe placement is movable, to form aesthetically pleasing patterns of meaning. Apparently, Bib'fortuna means something different than Bibfort'una. If that's true, I'd really hate to learn Twi'leki (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Twi'leki), laying aside for the moment that much of the subtlety of meaning is apparently conveyed through lekku movements. On a Twi'lek related note, apparently there's an on-going joke about the Ark of the Covenant (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Ark_of_the_Covenant) in the expanded universe.

I really do wonder how Calo Nord has managed to find us, especially this quickly. Even logistically, it doesn't make much sense. So, Calo's been hunting us ever since we conspired to drop a large girder on his head back on Taris. He's had maybe three months to recover and find us on a backwater planet. I'm leaning towards him having tracked down the Ebon Hawk, as it's a fairly distinctive looking ship, attracts the attention of local smugglers, and the group hasn't had much cause to hid their passage.

I mean, consider it from Jan, et al's perspective: they jacked this ship out from under Davik's control. It's a known smuggler's vessel (Suvum tan, among others, comments on this); who would expect Jedi and persons vital to the Republic war effort to be onboard? Sadly, they seem to have fallen prey to genre blindness (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GenreBlindness) (TV Tropes warning): If 'no one could survive that (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NoOneCouldSurviveThat),' (still TV Tropes) then they almost indisputably did. But in all fairness, it's a fairly safe assumption. The Crusaders glassed the surface of Taris, and Bastila and Jan were barely able to limp aboard. Which leaves Canderous to have finished off Calo 'just in case.' But we already established that Mandolorians value a good fight more than victory. The idea of 'making sure' by firing a few blaster bolts through their skull probably never occurred to the culture at large. If they survive this beating, maybe they'll be tougher next time.

^^^ This attitude right here? This is why the Mandolorians ended up as a 'shell of a man, too easily killed by Jedi.' This kind of attitude can work on an individual level, but if it's expanded to a cultural level, sooner or later you're going to put someone's back up, and they'll end you.
Next time, on Knights of the Old Republic: http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/5065/end20.jpg

[Sucrose]

Well, Tam, I've mostly been keeping quiet because I don't have much to add, but I have been enjoying your commentaries and the content itself. I might give more feedback if you ask specific questions, though.

[The_Werebear]

Yeah, if it hadn't been for the fact that the Ebon Hawk is just downright awesome, I probably would have been annoyed that the party didn't find another ship after they saw Calo Nord was still alive. From there, it can be extrapolated that approximately everyone knows the Hawk is your ship, and it just keeps getting worse with each planet you go to. It's public docking record you were there on Manaan, something the Sith can get to. Czerka would sell the information to Malak for a pat on the head on both Kashyyk and Tatooine, and on Korriban, you give your name and description are probably recorded by the Sith right there and circulated. By all rights, the Hawk should probably be drawing ground fire every time it gets NEAR a planet that's neutral or Sith controlled.

[Klose_the_Sith]

Well, Tam, I've mostly been keeping quiet because I don't have much to add, but I have been enjoying your commentaries and the content itself. I might give more feedback if you ask specific questions, though.

I'm in the same boat as Sucrose here, as it were :smallsmile:

[Fri]

Ebon Hawk is awesome. Everytime I got myself a ship, in a campaign or so, I tried to name them in star wars style: material bird.

My last ship in that style was called Aluminium Malard.

[Tam_OConnor]

Welcome... (Cue music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkbDzq1aClA&feature=related))
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http://img842.imageshack.us/img842/6164/i213.jpg... to Knights of the Old Republic.

Episode 21 Having just found the Star Map on Tantooine, Ni, Ordo and HK-47 had been confronted by the bounty hunter Calo Nord and a band of thugs. Our knowledge of the fight comes from Shan's report to the Jedi Council, in which she relates the events as told by Ni.

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Ni: "So we're at the entrance to the dragon's cave, his corpse still lying outside. And waiting for us is Calo Nord- that bounty hunter from Taris - and a bunch of Rodian and Aqualish thugs. Him and Canderous snipe back and forth,"

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Ni: "Until Calo'd had enough, and the firefight starts."

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Ni: "Funny thing, I think his armor is some alloy I've never seen before. I couldn't penetrate it with my saber, but it didn't shut it off like pure cortosis (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Cortosis) would have. Maybe phrik (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Phrik)?"

Shan: "It's possible."

Ni: "Well, we know soon enough. I'm having T3 analyze it while he resizes it for Carth."

Shan: "You took it? Isn't that a little disrespectful to the dead?"

Ni: "Second rule of the military: if the enemy's gear is better than yours, use it."

Shan: "...I am afraid to ask what the first rule is."

Ni: "Kill them before they kill you. You know, I've been meaning to ask you: how'd you get involved in this business anyway? You're not that much older than Mission. And still a Padawan."

Shan: "Most spend nearly thirty years as a Padawan, and many Jedi never advance beyond Knight. And you're only a few years older than me."

Ni: "Wait, wait. Training a Padawan to Knighthood elevates one from Knight to Master, right?"

Shan: "Correct."

Ni: "So why aren't there more Masters?"

Shan: "Because the Council has to individually approve each apprenticeship. And on Coruscant and Dantooine, Padawans are trained by the Council as a whole, not by any individual."

Ni: "But it seems like all the Jedi I've heard stories about- the Qel-Dromas (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Qel-Droma_family), the Sunriders- had a single Master who guided them to Knighthood. Why the change?"

Shan: "Exposure to a wide veriety of teaching styles permits us a broader perspective on life and the Force."

Ni: "Yeah, that's what the Masters said, too. But why do you think it changed?"

Shan: "What the Masters said is perfectly reasonable. Look at Exar Kun: he had only a single Master before he fell. A broader perspective is a stronger defense against the Dark side."

Ni: "But it's more than just the Dark side. There's a limit of one student per master, right?"

Shan: "Under the old system, yes, that was correct."

Ni: "So this way is more efficient. It may not create Padawans any faster, but it lets you train more than one Padawan per Master."

Shan: "And? The Jedi Order always welcomes new members. Yourself, for instance."

Ni: "Yes, but - that's my point! This system isn't creating a strong bond between Padawan and Masters. It's creating a large pool of Force-sensitive soldiers."

Shan: "I think you're jumping to conclusions. You just started learning to use the Force - how did that compare to your military training?"

Ni: "It... wasn't as exhausting as commando training. Yeah, I see your point. How old were you when you started training?"

Shan: "Five. Old enough to remember my parents - I remember missing my father terribly for a very long time."

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Ni: "But now she's the only one you have left. Are you going to give your father's holocron to her?"

Shan: "Do you think I should?"

Ni: "I think you should consider it."

Shan: "I always despised talking to her."

Ni: "Bastila, it was nearly two decades ago. How can you be so sure?"

Shan: "I'll... think about it. I should try and remember my training. I should be able to let go of this, but I can't."

Ni: "You'll have a few days to decide yet. I sent Mission and Zaalbar out to go scrounge up some fake transponder codes. Tell Carth to help them install it when they get back."

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Ni: "Was that directed at me, or were you starting to meditate?"

Shan: "Both. A Jedi must do what is needed, personal desires notwithstanding. Love can only obscure and confuse the matter."

Ni: "...what's love got to do with it?"

Shan: "Juhani and I were talking. She said that you two were about to kill each other or flirting. Or was that 'and flirting'?"

Ni: "He's nearly twice my age!"

Shan: "And Canderous is over twice your age." In retrospect, Masters, I realize that I was baiting her. I need to become more aware of my own emotions.

Ni: "...I'm going for a walk."

While Ni wandered the streets of Anchorhead, we learn something from a source that we are not, as of yet, permitted to disclose. While we try to gain authorization on that account, the source states matters simply.

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Ni: "Thanks?"

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Vek moved off, and noticed Ni looking at the datapad and the short message within:

Datapad: "The Genoharadan say to see Hulas in Ahto City on Manaan. Come alone or not at all."
Commentary (and voting opportunity)Oooh, we end on a mystery! But before we visit this Hulas, Jan's got Jawas to free. And here's a question for you to ponder: the situation has been resolved peacefully, but for how long? This tribe is about to migrate away, but won't that mean displacing other tribes? We can solve the situation in a much more permanent manner. It all comes down to how the Sand People think of us when the dust has settled. What'll Jan's epithet in their legends be?
1) Janni Feudwhip (we force them out, igniting a series of bloody feuds that continue down to this day)
2) Janni Darkstar (we use somewhat darker methods, involving a lightsaber and a cortosis-alloy blade)

I'll take votes until I start the chapter on Wednesday.

Also, if those are the first two rules of the military, what are the rest? How much overlap is there with the "Seven" Habits of Highly Effective Pirates? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schlock_Mercenary#The_Seven_Habits_of_Highly_Effec tive_Pirates)
Next time, on Knights of the Old Republic: http://img690.imageshack.us/img690/6118/end21.jpg

[doliest]

Feudwhip-she's concerned with keeping the Republic stable, and generally upholding the law. Slaughtering them to prevent future conflicts seems needlessly confrontational, considering the colonists are likely to pull out soon anyway.

[Klose_the_Sith]

Feudwhip! Etcetera! :smallwink:

[Sucrose]

I'd be inclined to agree; Darkstar seems not to be how she tends to act, unless she's given reason to believe that they'll cause trouble for her in the future. My vote also goes to Feudwhip.

As for the rules of the military, while the ones about dishonorable action should definitely stay in, in the military, I'd think that there is such a thing as overkill, as they need to be more concerned about munitions stores and possible bystanders.

[Brother Oni]

in the military, I'd think that there is such a thing as overkill

The Lockheed AC-130 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_AC-130) would like to disagree with you on that front. I was reading an account of that thing in action - apparently after an operation they have to use shovels to get all the empty casings out of the aircraft.

[Sucrose]

That's certainly a fair point; allow me to rephrase. Given Jan Ni's background as Spec Ops, such lack of operational subtlety would probably not be included in the rules she's been taught to live by.:smalltongue:

[Brother Oni]

I'd certainly agree with that. :smallbiggrin:

However I remember HK-47 making a reference to an Aratech sniper rifle hitting a target's knee at a silly distance (Wookiepedia says 120km!), thus I'm fairly sure while Jan Ni knows there is such a thing as overkill, when things go pearshaped she'd like the big guns to start firing at the bad guys NOW.

Actually given her spec ops background, she'd probably phrase it as 'over calibred fire support'.

[kamikasei]

Votin' Feudwhip.

However I remember HK-47 making a reference to an Aratech sniper rifle hitting a target's knee at a silly distance (Wookiepedia says 120km!), thus I'm fairly sure while Jan Ni knows there is such a thing as overkill, when things go pearshaped she'd like the big guns to start firing at the bad guys NOW.
...When Jan's in a tough spot, she calls in her friends to use THE POWER OF LOVE. Thank you, Brother Oni, for making me love KotOR a little more.

[Tam_OConnor]

Welcome... (Cue music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcZ9kQ1h-ZY))
http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/6909/i221.jpg
http://img203.imageshack.us/img203/3960/i222.jpg
http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/3416/i223.jpg... to Knights of the Old Republic.

Episode 22 Unfortunately for our history, but fortunately for our audience's ears, we were unable to secure a Sand People storyteller to present their interpretation of the events. However, Jocasta Nu of the Jedi Archives made an impressive discovery on our behalf: a transcript of the following exchange, apparently gleaned from HK-47's memory core.

http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/5061/221p0.jpg

Ni: "You will release all your prisoners into my custody. They will only be a liability when you migrate."

HK-47: "Translation: He agrees, Master. Query: I thought that particular Jedi trick only worked on those of weak will."

Ni: "Weaker will, HK. That's all it takes. Tell him that I killed the Krayt Dragon, and that I wish to hear the history of his clan in exchange for the pearl."

http://img593.imageshack.us/img593/8314/222ny.jpg

HK-47: "Translation: He will allow you to meet the Storyteller, but also gives a warning: if you dare to repeat the histories incorrectly, you will be killed."

Holonet History would like to assure all of our viewers that we are repeating the histories correctly, and thus the Sand People have no additional reason to kill them.

HK-47: "Translation: The Storyteller will be summoned to one of the rooms here in the enclave. He seems to think this will be a great honor for you, master."

http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/4666/223fw.jpg

HK-47: "Translation: He identifies himself as the Storyteller, master. He has been told of your warrior skills and will speak the history to you."

Ni: "Tell him that I am honored. Feel free to insert polite remarks, HK."

HK-47: "Affirmation: Yes, master. Translation: There is only one accepted history, passed orally to each successive generation. A book or a datapad can be taken away, cheapening the value of what it contains. To commit the history to paper or storage is to remove it from the people."

The irony of this statement, being taken from a datapad and broadcast across the galaxy four millenia later, is not lost on us.

HK-47: "Translation: He warns you not to question the accuracy of his information. The stories are learned perfectly by each successive Storyteller."

http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/6210/224n0.jpg

HK-47: "Criticism: It seems inefficient to me, master. A score of apprentice Storytellers would be slaughtered each generation. What if the elder died before completeing the teachings?"

Ni: "What about the fact that they're culling the potential intellectuals, keeping themselves technologically stagnent? ...Don't ask him that. So, where do we start?"

HK-47: "Translation: You may choose to hear the history, or you may choose not to. Their history is a single entity that cannot be partitioned. The only exception is in continuing the tales once they have begun. If you leave, or must sleep, when you return he will contine from where he left off."

This view of history is remarkably common in primitive societies. It is also conducive to the storyteller, and not to the historian. By their very nature, historians are forced to specialize. The inability to do so means that no one part of history can be unpacked and examined closely without subjecting the entire timeline to equal scrutiny. Simply put, most sentients don't live long enough to do so.

http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/6462/225yx.jpg

HK-47: "Translation: Though the land was beautiful, they lived apart from the land. They built their walls high, and saw beyond the horizon. They dared to reach to the stars. There are no words for how long ago this was. This was before the outsiders, before the abduction, before the cities fell. Before the Builders."

Ni: "I've got a question for him."

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HK-47: "Clarification: They may consider this to be "speaking the words in error," a blasphemy they would attempt to kill you for."

Ni: "In that case, I'll just ask you. how do you understand these events?"

HK-47: "Clarification: It would appear that they once had a thriving technologically advanced society, but were wiped out by a much more sophisticated alien speccies."

Ni: "Anything in the galactic record to support that?"

HK-47: "Negative: I am no library, but since there is no Republic record of this planet having sentient life before Czerka colonization, I doubt you will find such evidence."

Ni: "Does he know what these Builders looked like?"

HK-47: "Translation: He only understands the Builders as an iconic force meant to test the resolve of his people. He is not making sense, master. Clarification: They claim their stories are repeated unchanged, but they have demonized these Builders. In their minds, they wreaked such havoc they could not possibly be flesh and blood."

Ni: "We know that the Star Maps were made around five thousand years ago. Is that a fair estimate for how long ago this was?"

HK-47: "Doubting: This has become very much like a creation myth for his people. There is no date; it simply was."

Ni: "Go ahead and continue."

http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/9149/227kk.jpg

HK-47: "Translation: Great demons of metal stripped the world of its riches, until all that was left was the green of the ground. The great cities were lifted away. Those that had used the wealth were taken along with it; transgressors abducted to serve past the sky, seeding the stars with penitent, adaptable slaves. Clarification: I believe they were occupied by this technologically superior species for a substantial period. Stripping an entire planet of useable resources would have taken generations."

Ni: "How many were taken off-world?"

HK-47: "Translation: He has no number. He claims that those that were taken were examples of the worst of his kind, arrogant and uncaring of the land. Doubtful: Master, this is just another distortion due to the demonization of the Builders. It's like claiming an aspect of his people were taken, not actual individuals."

http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/8936/228qd.jpg

Ni: "You have no idea how much I want to see the fallout from you sharing that observation. Don't, though."

http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/1779/229bo.jpg

HK-47: "Translation: The Builders faltered, and his people realized why they had been punished: so that they understood the crime, and would now strike down the greater offender. They worked chaos in the machines so they destroyed themselves. The Builders fought back, laying waste to the green that had been misused with fire from above. Soil became glass, grinding to sand, but the fight was long-planned, and his people were safe. Deep in cave-homes carved from valley wall, they were free. Clarification: The occupying force suffered some kind of species-wide plague that lowered their numbers substantially. His people used this extended weakness to sabotage their larger ships. The response of the Builders appears to have been to lay waste to the entire surface of Tatooine."

Ni: "How could they have fought off such a powerful species?"

HK-47: "Doubting: They didn't, master. They struck a blow, but the Storyteller only believes they won because the Builders were gone when the emerged from their caves. That does not mean they defeated anyone. It seems clear that the Builders simply sterilized their problem and left. The enemy judged them not worthy to fight."

Ni: "Can he give any details about the weapons used in the orbital bombardment?"

HK-47: "Clarification: I may not have properly conveyed how long they fought with the Builders. Given time, any type of armament could destroy a world. Hypothesis: Perhaps this is another distortion. Their climate may have begun to fail due to their unrestrained development even before the Builders arrived. Looking back, thousands of years later, such a shift could easily be attributed to the much-hated conquerers."

Ni: "Go on."

http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/1183/2210.jpg

HK-47: "Rather than strain my circuits on his dialect, might we just assume there was much fighting over who had the biggest bantha and move on to more recent things?"

Ni: "Try to gently suggest that."

*Several hours later*

Ni: "That's it, I'm making the Council listen to this. May as well spread the misery."

HK-47: "Exclamation: A conclusion, master!"

http://img815.imageshack.us/img815/5317/2211b.jpg

HK-47: "Translation: Then machines fell from the stars again. Outsiders, like you, that brazenly walked apart from the land. And greater still was the insult to come."

http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/2137/2212d.jpg

HK-47: "Translation: So it is to the current suns, that the Sand People hate all outsiders and give them no footing. You come again, time after time, adaptable slaves to the machine."

Ni: "Anything further?"

HK-47: "Editing: The last thousand years are full of conflicts with different groups of attempted planetary settlers, all of whom are poorly described, long dead, and likely untraceable. I believe I have truncated it down to the usable bits in what was already said. I hope it is enough, master."

Ni: "Ask about the outsiders' resemblence to slaves the Builders took."

HK-47: "Clarification: Perhaps there is a lingering fear that you are their tainted selves returning from exile among the stars."

Ni: "Is it a physical or societal similarity?"

HK-47: "Cautionary: Master, if you mean to suggest that humanity is ancestrally linked to ancient Tatooine, you will strain his belief system to its pitiful meat-bag maximum."

Ni: "In that case, we're leaving. Make some polite noises in his direction. I'm going to find the Jawas."

http://img835.imageshack.us/img835/6613/2213d.jpg

Jawa: "Iziz must have sent your coming. Are you a rescuer? You must be."

Ni: "Come with me. The chieftain has agreed to your release."

Back at Anchorhead:

http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/1483/2214b.jpg

Presumably, Ordo concluded the bargain with Czerka Corporation, trading gaffi sticks for credits. Aboard the Ebon Hawk:

Ni: "Mission, Zaalbar: you got the fake transponder codes installed?"

Vao: "Sure did. We're the Chrome Mynock (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Mynock), out of Ord Mantell (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Ord_Mantell)."

Ni: "Great. Now maybe we'll be able to go unnoticed. T3, set a course to Manaan, by way of Ord Mantell. I'll be in my bunk."


Commentary So here's the question: are humans originally native to Tatooine? On one hand, you've got the constant harping that this is an unreliable narrator, the story passed down and distorted through generations. Additionally, you have the refusal of the game to acknowledge whether the similarities are physical or societal. We know that the Sand People are humanoids, but their wrappings mean that we don't get much more in the way of detail (despite Jan having stripped some Sand People for her disguise).
On the other hand, humans don't have a known origin point in the Star Wars universe. Coruscant is a common assumption, but that's only an assumption. From an out of universe perspective, it has a certain narrative appeal: the original movie began on Tatooine, why not the human race as well?

A few more rules of the military:
3) It's only overkill if you don't have enough blaster charge for the next guy.
4) Armor comes in two categories: too light and too heavy.
5) The quartermaster is the most important figure in the army. It logically follows that you should kill the other side's quartermaster.
6) Don't worry about the blaster bolt with your name on it. Worry about all the ones addressed 'to whom it may concern.'
7) Cover beats blasterfire. Heavy ordinance beats cover. Close range encounters beats heavy ordinance. Blasterfire beats close range encounters.
Any more?

And we're finally leaving Tatooine. Not for good, but we'll only be coming back for short visits. Now that we've got a few planets under our belt, we can start to see a pattern emerge.

Taris was the introductory planet, with a good mix of action and talking, but not much depth to either one. Without force powers, tactical options in combat were fairly limited. This was further hampered by our minimal funds, so our store of mines and grenades was likewise limited. Story-wise, it was the planet of the present: introducing the story, the characters. But at this point, our ability to actually influence the broader story is minimal. Whatever accomplishments we achieve, whoever we save or kill, Malak's bombardment of the planet negates all of it.

Dantooine was the re-training planet, teaching us how to use our new force powers, the lightsaber, and generally presented options to define our force alignment, most notably with the Sandral-Matale feud. Dantooine is a planet of the future, of Jan's potential being molded. It gives us the opportunity to look forward, to how everything will ultimately play out.

Tatooine was the planet of the past, giving us the opportunity to find out about the Builder's impact on a culture. We fought the natives, we killed the dragon, and generally fulfilled an imperialist role in driving the natives away from their native sand.

We've got three planets left: Manaan, Kashyyyk and Korriban. Taris was 'surviving the now.' Dantooine was 'planning for the future.' Tatooine was 'learning from the past.' The remaining planets are pairings of those same action with different time-frames. But we'll have to wait and see for the specifics.
Next time, on Knights of the Old Republic: http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/2278/end22.jpg

[Brother Oni]

I'm disputing 7 - if close encounters beat heavy ordnance, then your ordnance obviously isn't heavy enough. :smallbiggrin:

6 isn't quite right: 'Worry about the thermal detonators marked 'To whom it may concern'.

Some more off a website:


Friendly fire - isn't.
Recoilless rifles - aren't.
Suppressive fires - won't.

You are not Superman; Marines and fighter pilots take note.

A sucking chest wound is Nature's way of telling you to slow down.

If it's stupid but it works, it isn't stupid.

Try to look unimportant; the enemy may be low on ammo and not want to waste a bullet on you.

If at first you don't succeed, call in an airstrike.

If you are forward of your position, your artillery will fall short.

Never share a foxhole with anyone braver than yourself.

Never go to bed with anyone crazier than yourself.

Never forget that your weapon was made by the lowest bidder.

If your attack is going really well, it's an ambush.

The enemy diversion you're ignoring is their main attack.

The enemy invariably attacks on two occasions: when they're ready. & when you're not.

No OPLAN ever survives initial contact.

There is no such thing as a perfect plan.

Five second fuses always burn three seconds.

There is no such thing as an atheist in a foxhole.

A retreating enemy is probably just falling back and regrouping.

The important things are always simple; the simple are always hard.

The easy way is always mined.

Teamwork is essential; it gives the enemy other people to shoot at.

Don't look conspicuous; it draws fire. For this reason, it is not at all uncommon for aircraft carriers to be known as bomb magnets.

Never draw fire; it irritates everyone around you.

If you are short of everything but the enemy, you are in the combat zone.

When you have secured the area, make sure the enemy knows it too.

Incoming fire has the right of way.

No combat ready unit has ever passed inspection.

No inspection ready unit has ever passed combat.

If the enemy is within range, so are you.

The only thing more accurate than incoming enemy fire is incoming friendly fire.

Things which must be shipped together as a set, aren't.

Things that must work together, can't be carried to the field that way.

Radios will fail as soon as you need fire support.

Radar tends to fail at night and in bad weather, and especially during both.

Anything you do can get you killed, including nothing.

Make it too tough for the enemy to get in, and you won't be able to get out.

Tracers work both ways.

If you take more than your fair share of objectives, you will get more than your fair share of objectives to take.

When both sides are convinced they're about to lose, they're both right.

Professional soldiers are predictable; the world is full of dangerous amateurs.

Military Intelligence is a contradiction.

Fortify your front; you'll get your rear shot up.

Weather ain't neutral.

If you can't remember, the Claymore is pointed towards you.

Air defense motto: shoot 'em down; sort 'em out on the ground.

'Flies high, it dies; low and slow, it'll go.

The Cavalry doesn't always come to the rescue.

Napalm is an area support weapon.

Mines are equal opportunity weapons.

B-52s are the ultimate close support weapon.

Sniper's motto: reach out and touch someone.

The one item you need is always in short supply.

Interchangeable parts aren't.

It's not the one with your name on it; it's the one addressed "to whom it may concern" you've got to think about.

When in doubt, empty your magazine.

The side with the simplest uniforms wins.

Combat will occur on the ground between two adjoining maps.

If you can keep your head while those around you are losing theirs, you may have misjudged the situation.

If two things are required to make something work, they will never be shipped together.

Anything you do can get you shot, including nothing.

Whenever you lose contact with the enemy, look behind you.

The most dangerous thing in the combat zone is an officer with a map.

The quartermaster has only two sizes, too large and too small.

If you really need an officer in a hurry, take a nap.

There is nothing more satisfying than having someone take a shot at you, and miss.

If your sergeant can see you, so can the enemy.

You'll only remember your hand grenades when the sound is too close to use them.

Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.

[doliest]

Heh. Personally, I like the idea that humanity came from Tatooine-not sure why, but the narrative nature of the first movie starting at the unknown beginning of humanity has a nice piece to it-not to mention that our pimary character for every film is of Tatooine helps. Not a major issue though.

I AM however, going to enjoy Manaan. It's a field day of strange side quests. And Ni seems the type to go along with the Genohaden, at least in how they introduce themselves, as vanguards of order, doing evil with lawful intent.

And also because I loved the Geno-gear, particularly the sword. That poison effect is soooo lovely...at least, it was when I played. It's been a while. :smalltongue:

[Tam_OConnor]

Welcome... (Cue music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaVz5djS26c))
http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/9443/i231.jpg
http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/6937/i232.jpg
http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/7582/i233.jpg... to Knights of the Old Republic.

Episode 23 Onasi records that he wanted to make completely sure that no covert sabotage had taken place, and requested (via Canderous), that Ni take a final circuit of the Ebon Hawk. Stumbling out of her bunk, Ni paused at the bottom of the boarding ramp to clear her head. The following conversation is courtesy of one of Vao's holorecorders.

Ni: "HK, do you have any experience with hull designs?"

HK-47: "Statement: No, master, my programming is limited to protocol functions and conflict resolution."

Ni: "No self-repair programming?"

HK-47: "Retraction: Yes, master, I have repair modules, but only of the most rudimentary sort."

Ni: "You don't have to call me master."

http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/7335/231b.jpg

Ni: "'Organic meatbags?'"

HK-47: "Retraction: Did I say that out loud? I apologize, master. While you are a meatbag, I suppose I should not call you such."

Ni: "I should hope not!"

http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/4941/232ab.jpg

Ni: "Neither do I, come to think of it..."

HK-47: "Statement: Now do you understand the travails of my existence, master? Surely it does not compare to your existence, but still..."

Ni: "I survive. Somehow."

HK-47: "Commentary: As do I. It is our lot in life, I suppose, master. Shall we find something to kill to cheer ourselves up?"

Ni: "Just circle the ship. Let me know if you find anything that looks like a bomb."

HK-47: "Affirmation: Yes master."

As the droid started its circcumnavigation, Ni turned to Ordo with a yawn.

Ni: "Canderous, you got any war stories?"

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/6636/233pc.jpg

Ordo: "In one battle above the world of Althir, my unit managed to defeat a force of Althiri ten times our own size. That battle gained me command of an entire sub-sect of my clan."

Ni: "Let me guess: you surrounded them."

Ordo: "Not quite. For five days they had managed to hold off our forces, keeping us to outer rings of their world, preventing us from attacking it directly. My task was to assault one of their flanks with a false attack. The Althiri would be drawn out by the units I had sent in. Once they had surrounded those units, the bulk of my forces would attack from the rear and defeat them in detail."

Ni: "Classic feigned retreat, though I think the Republic and Mandolorian meanings of 'defeat in detail' are different."

http://img818.imageshack.us/img818/2757/234fs.jpg

Ordo: "While fending off our main force, they had let their fleet split in two! The center of their entire fleet was left exposed! I turned my forces and assaulted the center of their fleet, decimating them!"

Ni: "Hmmm."

Ordo: "Their slow, ponderous ship could not turn to face us without being overwhelmed. Their command vessels were destroyed in seconds. THeir ranks were thrown into chaos. It was most amusing to watch the survivng ships scatter and flee. Several even tried to dive throught the plane of the rings to escape us! They were shredded by the rings, or crashed into rocks, or were destroyed by our forces as we pursued them."

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Ni: "Thanks for the story, Canderous. Shoot anyone who gets close to the ship. I'm going to check for bombs or tracking devices."

The three returned to the ship, satisfied at having found nothing attached to the hull, and the Ebon Hawk lifted off from Tatooine. On her way back to her bunk, Ni nearly tripped over a large amphibious creature.

http://img713.imageshack.us/img713/6889/23601.jpg

Ni: "Come here, you."

http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/9895/237d.jpg

Ni: "I'll make a deal with you. You sacrifice yourself and all other gizka en masse to kill any intruders on ship, and I'll give you food and scratches. Deal?"

http://img844.imageshack.us/img844/8163/238t0.jpg

Ni: "Good, glad that's settled. Go, both Mission. She needs something to cuddle, and there's a strict 'no stuffed animals' rule on this ship. I'll be in my bunk."

During the journey to Ord Mantell, Shan mentions that Ni spoke with both Vao and Juhani, but the content of these conversations has not come down to us. Shan only says that Vao was more stable, and less broken up about the destruction of Taris, and that Juhani was reassured that emotions and Force-use were not wholly incompatable. Shan rather vehemently disagreed with the latter statement, but refrained from speaking with Ni for the sake of peace aboard-ship.

It's at this point that the historian becomes convinced of the emotional cost being a Jedi Loyalist. Shan brutally supresses her own emotions, forcing internal serenity by leaving no emotional alternative. And all of this was practiced in the name of holding back a nebulous 'dark side' that seems a convinient excuse for splinter groups from the Jedi Order at large, such as the Jedi Crusaders. Unlike earlier groups, like Kun's Brotherhood of the Sith (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Brotherhood_of_the_Sith) (a failed attempt to reclaim the word 'Sith' as a descriptor, instead of a curse), or later groups like the Brotherhood of Darkness (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Dark_Army) (demonized by its connection to the idea of darkness without consideration of the philosophic alternatives (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DarkIsNotEvil)[TV Tropes warning!]), the Jedi Crusaders had worked closely with the Republic military forces. Their near co-opting of the Republic military was a source of great difficulty for the remaining Republic forces, supplemented by an unknown manufacturing base of tremendous power.

The Ebon Hawk's stay in the Ord Mantell system was brief, and the ship, broadcasting false transponder codes, made the jump for the Manaan system. En route, Ni spent time making repairs to HK-47.

http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/5113/2390.jpg

HK-47: "Access complete: I have restored a great deal of information about my previous owner, master. Would you like to hear it?"

Ni: "Lay it on me."

HK-47: "Recitation: The earliest memory of my last owner specifies that he was human, a low-ranking commercial officer for Systech Corporation. I am unaware of his designation. He purchased me from an acquaintance I cannot identify, for the purpose of protocol and bodyguard duties."

Ni: "Why can't you identify this acquaintance?"

HK-47: "Explanation: That previous owner is part of memories that are still corrupted, master. It is customary for a droid's memories to be wiped when it is sold."

Ni: "This man needed a bodyguard?"

HK-47: "Observation: Not that I could perceive, master. The human believed that accompaniment by a bodyguard droid would increase his importance in the perception of others."

Ni: "Is this man still alive?"

http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/7037/2310s.jpg

Ni: "What happened?"

HK-47: "Explanation: My former master had owned me for a duration of two standard months before discovering my assassination protocol. He was pleased by the discovery. The human informed me that a competitor corporation was preparing to market a product that would ruin him personally. He was most agitated. He activated my assassination protocol and instructed me to kill all those responsible for the competing product. I proceeded to carry out my orders. My former master was unaware of this, but the competitor was in fact an arm of Systech Corporation, my master's own employer."

http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/7441/2311y.jpg

Ni: "Impressive."

HK-47: "Observation: While it may have been unintentional, my master's wording of thehis orders left little room for me. Systech was responsible for the product, after all."

Ni: "It would explain why I haven't seen any new products of theirs in a while."

HK-47: "Pondering: I do not know why my master was so upset, really. He was an officer of Systech and a potential target, but I cannot terminate my own master. I would assume that being the sole officer remaining, he would surely be promoted. Instead, however, the human chose to go insane with rage and attack me."

http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/1823/2312a.jpg

HK-47: "The resulting shock terminated him and, sadly, destroyed my assassination protocol. Pure luck on his part, I suspect."

Ni: "Well, it was his own fault."

HK-47: "Statement: I was only doing as I was told, master. I would have told the human the proper codes to deactivate my protocol, had he asked. I shut down immediately whenever my master dies. I can only assume that while I was shut down Systech was dismantled and I was auctioned off as former corporate property. Observation: No doubt my sale price was quite cheap, leading to Yuka Laka's purchase. How very demeaning."

Ni: "Did you recover any other memories?"

HK-47: "Negatory: No, master, but your repairs have re-activated other actuators which will enhance my performance. I will activate them now. But as for my own history... negative. It will require further effort on your part to restore them, if you wish... though certain external stimuli could always completely restore my memory core."

Ni: "Some sort of hidden programming?"

HK-47: "Affirmation: Indeed, master. Though it is merely conjecture. I cannot be aware of hidden programming."

http://img816.imageshack.us/img816/1514/2313x.jpg

Onasi (over open comlink): "The Hawk just left hyperspace. We should be landing at Ahto City within the hour, depending how strict their security is."

Ni hastened to the workbench, where she spent the better part of the hour fiddling with various components. As the Ebon Hawk settled to a halt within the docking bay, she tested her work.

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Commentary Let's talk tactics. Specifically, Canderous'. While I have to admire his initiative, I really really really have to wonder about the matter of war in Star Wars. First of all, 'defeat in detail' is usually applied to catching the enemy in bunch of little groups and crushing those, not enveloping them. Second, who the heck designs these ships? It's space, direction is mostly arbitrary. What's to keep the Mandalorians from attacking from the poles? Excuse me, Space is two dimensional (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Two-DSpace) (TV Tropes warning) and three-dimensionality in science fiction space battles is regarded as innovative (see Ender's Game).

Okay, ignoring the part where the battle shouldn't have happened anyway: the Althiri are defending with ventral flank with the planet's rings. You know, that's almost reasonable. Canderous is supposed to use a feigned retreat to break their formation. Formations... in space. But that's alright, I vaguely recall something about tight formations permitting the overlapping of deflector shields, which would justify formations.

So Canderous spots a hole in the formation and attacks it... with what? I'm assuming some sort of small capital ship, since he's very told us about any sort of fighter piloting skill. And the enemy ships are too ponderous to turn to fire upon them... what? No, seriously, what the heck? What kind of design for a warship designed to operate in space doesn't allow for weapons to be directed at all angles? I'm interested to see how other people interpret this, because all I'm getting is that the writer a) didn't know what the heck he was talking about or b) originally wrote this as a ground encounter, where it would make sense.

Like I said previously, I won't be showing Juhani's or Mission's conversations or quests, for two reasons. First of all (and this only applies to Juhani), I couldn't get her quest trigger to fire correctly, so it'd be a bit unfortunate for me to set it up and then not give y'all a resolution. Second, their conversations are, to put it bluntly, fairly generic. Mission's just doesn't tie in all that well with the story as a whole. I don't have any problem with economic-based adventures, but interrupting a 'save the galaxy' quest with a 'for my personal profit!' quest doesn't mesh all that well. Now, if you tie the economic quest into the traditional quest, by say, having the product be kolto (like we'll see on Manaan) or refined Tibanna gas (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Tibanna_gas) cartridges (or monoceri urine for scribing magical scrolls, etc) then it can work. But as is, it doesn't make sense for Jan to drop what she's doing. Juhani's conflict to me, is essentially a no-frills version of Bastila's, only with less original content. Sooooo, unless the outcry is tremendous, they'll be fairly minor figures on the historical record. That reminds me of another point: would their plots even had made history?

But, my excuses aside: I have some complaints on how they actually went about implementing HK-47. He's an assassin droid - with no capacity for stealth or extra damage (like, just to toss something out at random, sneak attack). Canderous has his problems as well, but those can be remedied (details in spoiler).
Canderous really only emphasizes a problem that already exists: the lack of heavy weapons in the game. I believe he's already specialized in them by the time you get him, but the repeating blaster he comes with is practically the only on in the game. Thankfully, he's got enough feats from his soldier levels that you can give him another specialization: dual-wielding/power-attacking melee weapons, in this playthrough.
HK-47, on the other hand, can't use melee weapons, and the selection of good blaster rifles is hardly generous. In addition, he gets an almost criminally low selection of feats. My real problem is that HK-47 is presented as a bad-ass, and the system doesn't really support that.

I'd love to see a re-imagining of KotOR under a system that wasn't the d20 mishmash that Bioware kitbashed together. The Star Wars d20 system was published in 2000 and revised in 2003. KotOR came out for the XBox in 2002. Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars:_Knights_of_the_Old_Republic#Development )tells me that pre-production began in 2000. KotOR doesn't match up all that well to the official system (the Jedi Sentinel for one), but it works. In general, though, the game doesn't really make optimal use of the system. I can only guess on this, but I get a feeling the KotOR was one of the last straws that pushed Bioware into developing their own systems (Jade Empire, Mass Effect, Dragon Age) where the system, at worst, gives the occasional nod to the story.

As is, though, we're left with lightsabers that take a few hits to drop the average grunt, to say nothing of named characters. On top of that, tactical considerations are mainly limited to gear, feat and force power selection and on when to deploy your chosen combat feat (pretty much all the time). I mean, consider what I've been showing y'all: lots of talking heads and not all that much combat. Combat in KotOR is not all that interesting. Much prettier than, say, the blocky NWN 1 combat (actually, everything was blocky, but let's not get bogged down).

The usual problems of a Star Wars system:
1a) Are Jedi going to outshine non-Jedi? This was one of the things that WEG d6 Star Wars did at higher levels of power, when Jedi were omnipotent.
1b) And should Jedi be better than everyone else? I'm of the opinion that Jedi are going to be very very scary... if you engage them on their terms. The problem is, it's hard to program alternatives into a game.

2) The need to balance the lethality of thermal detonators and lightsabers with the light-hearted nature of the setting. In KotOR, they can be seriously screw you up, but the average mook with the lightsaber is still just a mook. I can't recall that many enemies who use thermal detonators against you. I ran a Star Wars game under the Serenity system a while back, and our problem, at least, was that everything was lethal. A frag grenade was near-instant death. That, and hyper-specialization in skills, but that's neither here nor there.

I'm rambling, so I'll have to ponder this over the weekend. Oh, yeah, levels were gained:

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Next time, on Knights of the Old Republic: http://img842.imageshack.us/img842/2921/end23.jpg

[Sucrose]

In fairness, nothing that I've seen thus far from HK-47's dialogue indicates that he's a massive, army-crushing badass- just a skilled sniper, which would be sufficient to find a good vantage point, and pick off civilian corporate drones.

It could be that something later shutters this interpretation, but at the moment, all he's revealed himself to be is an amusing sociopath, with the skills necessary to kill several civilians before being caught.

As for the tactics, I think that the inability to turn has to do with the main force that had caused the enemy to split. Odds are, turning to bring their main guns against his small capital ship attack would lead them to be destroyed by the main Mandalorian fleet, so they didn't really have any options. At least, that's the best explanation I can think of.

[Mando Knight]

HK, like every other blaster character in the game, has only one option: dual-wielding tricked-out pistols. As a Combat Droid, he has more feats than he'd use otherwise, anyway. (Canderous has the same issue. Mission has the problem of already having a Dueling feat instead, and is a relatively feat-starved Scoundrel)

[DMfromTheAbyss]

Canderous actually makes a fairly good tank.. heavy armor and a solid strength score, and he regenerates with the aid of his cybernetic implant.

Not as well as a dedicated melee jedi obviously, but for less combat centric main characters a solid choice for your thug.

Though it's just fun to watch him with the heavy repeater.. not all that effective.. but fun:smallbiggrin:

[The_Werebear]

Tactically, I agree with Sucrose. My thought was that he forced a situation in which the enemy ships were unable to keep both threats in a viable targeting position. Now, if the ships were designed with three dimensional non-atmospheric combat in mind, then it is possible to avoid that issue via circular symmetry. However, since they are built like aircraft at the best and sailing ships at the worst, it's entirely conceivable that a capital ship would be unable to keep up their "broadside" with enemies inside of their ranks. Furthermore, the description makes me think he might have surprised a commander who was slow to react, thus granting him additional advantages as his foe scrambled to figure out what was going on.

In regards to the narrative, It'd be awesome if you could continue to swap in non-Jedi. I think Canderous and HK are both cool to have around simply for their stories (in fact, the only guy I like to chat up more in either game is Jolee), and it's a pity that nothing I could do could get either of them close to the effectiveness of going "lightsaber smashy-smashy" on everything in front of me. And yeah, I won't think any less if you have to use Jedi to get past a particularly annoying fight.

Actually, the above causes another thought- Did anyone else think the Companion special abilities made someone worth bringing along who would normally be shipbound in KoTOR II?

[Klose_the_Sith]

HK, like every other blaster character in the game, has only one option: dual-wielding tricked-out pistols. As a Combat Droid, he has more feats than he'd use otherwise, anyway. (Canderous has the same issue. Mission has the problem of already having a Dueling feat instead, and is a relatively feat-starved Scoundrel)

Whaddayamean 'only one option'? :smallconfused:

I mean, sure, there's only really one option that's stand out good ...

... but it isn't so bad that the game becomes hard if you do otherwise. Personally I got decent enough mileage out of my HK with some badass rifle and plasma thrower to justify taking him. Combat in KOTOR isn't hard enough that you can't have fun with any option you damn well feel like, even on the highest settings.

[Brother Oni]

Assuming they did design ships with 360 degree fire arcs, it doesn't mean the weapon turrets can rotate fast enough to track new targets.
The other option is that the sudden appearance of the Mandalorian ships in the centre meant the two halves of the fleet couldn't fire at each other without fear of hitting friendlies, while the Mandalorians could blast away happily.

Added to the fact that they destroyed the enemy command ships first meant that the enemy were initially paralysed by indecision, then crippled by the loss of firm orders from above and loss of cohesion, resulting in a complete loss.

[Arcanoi]

I'd just assume that the writer had no bloody idea what he was talking about when he wrote the battle and simply made something up that sounded vaguely like a reason Canderous might have won.

[Aux-Ash]

Hmmm... remember that in Starwars ships have a front and an aft and the latter tend to be little more than egine exhaust. Theoretically Canderous ships could have swung around behind the enemy fleet and starting shooting at them from behind... where there'd be no guns due to the engine exhaust.

[Mando Knight]

And strategically speaking, formations in 3-dimensional combat, and using fewer dimensions in space combat actually make sense.

Formations are useful because then you have a means of providing strategic cover fire against enemy forces, which you can generally assume the attack vector of because you're fighting in orbit, not in deep space. Deep space combat is pointless, since if you're going to defend a relatively infinitesimal point, you might as well defend something worthwhile, such as something you can orbit around.

Limiting your combat dimensions on a strategic level (i.e. setting up a reference plane akin to that of the horizon for air-breathing fighters) also makes sense because you're in orbit. Changing your orbit plane is a maneuver that requires more ΔV than a good number of maneuvers within the same plane. A capital-sized ship likely won't be maneuvering all that much because of that, and if you intend on taking out an enemy fleet you'll generally be trying to stay close, which requires being on similar orbits within the same or similar planes. Thus, a combat scenario in which the starships act almost exactly like naval vessels (with starfighters being analogues to naval jets, but able to dip below the horizon) isn't necessarily that far-fetched.

[Squark]

Except that performing the kind of maneuvers Fighters pull at the speeds you would see in orbit is probably beyond any human. IIRC, we're already reaching the point that fighters move too fast in dogfights for pilots to shoot each other manually. Don't quote me on that, though.


One of the big questions about space combat, though, is what the drive system will be like. If we have Star Wars or Star Trek drives (that is, really big massive ones at the back of a starship), direction in space combat will be important, as you can't fit nearly as many guns onto the place you mounted your engine. But if the ships are built around a drive core that manipulates gravity (like in Schlock Mercenary), then the ships can be much more circularly symetrical, and direction based tactics will be... Probably best left to computers.

[Mando Knight]

Except that performing the kind of maneuvers Fighters pull at the speeds you would see in orbit is probably beyond any human. IIRC, we're already reaching the point that fighters move too fast in dogfights for pilots to shoot each other manually. Don't quote me on that, though.

Nope. It's all relative: the maneuvers would have much smaller ΔVs than orbital transfers (dozens of m/s rather than a few km/s). Also, fighter jets slow way down if they need to dogfight (ideally, they'd lock on with missiles from a few km off and not dogfight at all), since cruise speed would introduce nasty reaction forces on the jet, not to mention the g-forces needed for a tight turn at such a high speed. Every US fighter jet since the F-4 Phantom has been designed to carry a gatling gun, and even F-4s were retrofitted to carry them (the F-4 Phantom II was designed to carry the gun internally like most modern aircraft, instead of the gun pod base Phantoms had to use). If you want space fighters that can pull off tight high-speed turns, you'd need to go with grav-proofed droids as much for the resistance to the g-forces as for the combat reaction times... and then you get into the thrust issues again, since you've got ΔVs in the hundreds of m/s rather than dozens.

[Arcanoi]

Which is why space fighters will probably be spheres with the ability to rotate their quandrants like an 8-block rubic's cube.

[Mando Knight]

Which is why space fighters will probably be spheres with the ability to rotate their quandrants like an 8-block rubic's cube.

I don't think so. It'd probably be easier to have a relatively linearly built craft with thrust vectoring and maneuvering thrusters (that is, a "classic" starfighter) than it would be to include all the moving parts required for a rotating-quadrant fighter. Not to mention the dynamics nightmare of the rotation control.

[Tam_OConnor]

Welcome... (Cue music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiMqj8eHmWY&feature=related))
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http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/9489/i243.jpg... to Knights of the Old Republic.

Episode 24 http://img820.imageshack.us/img820/6278/24101.jpg

Ahto City still floats on the seas on Manaan, though it has lost the prominence it enjoyed during the Jedi Civil War. Manaan's primary export, the healing kolto plant, has been superseded by bacta (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Bacta), but kolto remains a cheap alternative. The Confederacy of Independent Systems is the primary market for kolto, as the Zaltin (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Zaltin_Corporation)and Xucphra Corporations (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Xucphra_Corporation) have firmly aligned themselves with the Republic. While the Selkath of Manaan have not committed forces to the CIS, a garrison in maintained in Ahto City and the planet is used as a hyperspace waypoint.

At this time, though, Manaan's monopoly on kolto production encouraged them to support both sides of the conflict for their own profit. Ahto City was home to both Republic and Jedi Crusader embassies (and accompanying kolto processing facilities). Emotions in the city were drawn tight with enemies living alongside each other. The Selkath courts were quick to punish any outbreaks of violence, usually by imposing limits on the initiating side's kolto purchases.

The Corulag University of Economics (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Corulag_University_of_Economics) has recently released a collection of essays, The Infancy of Galactic Economics. Multiple essays within this work refer to 'the Kolto situation,' referring to the rise of planetary-based economies and the potential pitfalls of war-profiteering. Much of our economic information from this period is collected in this volume, and we encourage our viewers who find a particular interest in such matters to take a closer look. However, in the interest of the layperson, we will be providing only the immediately relevant economics.

Shan records that Ni gathered the crew together in the common room of the Ebon Hawk, to give them all assignments.

Ni: "All right people and droids, I've read through the Republic bulletin on Manaan. Rule number one, don't let yourself be goaded into a fight. The entire city is wired with holorecorders, and any punches we throw will lead to us being tied up in court for a week."

Onasi: "And sanctions on the Republic's kolto draw. You loose your temper here, and you're killing our men on the front lines."

Ni: "HK: stay on board. We take an armed protocol droid into Ahto City, and they're going to assume you're an assassin droid, even if they don't know. T3, Zaalbar, Mission: Upkeep and maintenance on the ship. Get her refueled, check for mynocks eggs, the usual. Mission, don't do anything too gratuitous, but poke around, see what the bay technicans are up to, what they're talking about. Zaalbar, if anyone sneaks aboard, you have my full permission to tear them limb from limb."

Vao: "Maybe I can find someone to take those gizka off our hands..."
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Ni: "Carth, Canderous: With both Republic and Crusader forces here, it's a prime spot to hire mercenary companies or individuals. What kind of mercs are being hired: assault troops, privateers? Carth: Feel things out from a Republic stand-point, talk to some of the Republic recruiters. Canderous: I'll want your opinion from the mercs' side."

Onasi: "Understood."
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Ordo: "I can manage that."
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Ni: "Juhani: we're going to wander around the city, see if you can sense anything with the Force or just overhear. This is recon only, got it? I don't care if they're slavers, we're only watching at this point."

Juhani: "I swear I will only observe."
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Ni: "Bastila: you're our trouble-shooter. Anyone get in over their head, get her on the comlink. Bastila: I'll leave what you want to do while you're on call up to your discretion."

Shan: "I'll just follow you around, if it's alright."

Ni: "Good enough for me. Sync chronometers (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Chronometer)... and I'll meet you all back here in twelve standard hours."

Shan and Ni left the Ebon Hawk, and walked in silence for a time.

Ni: "You look like you have something to say."

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Shan: "The truth is, I have come to depend on you. Not just for the sake of the mission, but for my own sake as well. I am... I am glad you are with us."

Ni: "You made that sound very painful to admit."

Shan: "Did I? I am trying to be sincere, here. It occurred to me that I may have been too critical of you. Too demanding, at times."

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Shan: "I spent all of my years being hounded by my instructors. Being told so often how gifted and important I was until I was sick of it. I remember when I was younger I used to swear that I would never become as self-absorbed and stodgy as the Jedi Masters. It's ironic, really."

Ni: "Don't be silly. You're not self-absorbed or stodgy."

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Shan: "Being controlled has kept everyone around me at an arm's length; even those like yourself who are most in need of my understanding and compassion."

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Ni: "Just as a friend? Nothing else?"

Shan: "I... I have to remain true to the Jedi ideal. If this is going to cause a problem maybe... maybe I shouldn't have said anything."

Ni: "No, I'm glad you did. I care for you too, Bastila. As a friend."

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Shan's comlink sounds.

Shan: "Yes? What, already? I'm on my way. I have to go, Mission's in trouble."

Ni: "What a surprise. Go ahead, I'll keep my comlink on."

We return to our confidential records for the following conversation.

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Ni: "That's a rather strange greeting."

???: "These are strange times. The Crusaders and Loyalists battle to control the galaxy, but their war destroys what they both seek to possess. The war sows fear and confusion, people are lost. They want guidance, direction. They have questions, and they want answers. That is why I am here... I too seek answers."

Ni: "Then what are your questions?"

???: "The Republic. The Crusaders. The Loyalists. The war. Everything. Nothing. Answers are always hardest to find when the questions are unclear. Yet that does not stop us from searching."

Ni: "Here's a clear question, then: what's your name?"

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Ni: "My name is Jan Ni."

Hulas: "Jan Ni. Now we know something about each other... but really, we still know nothing. Do you have any other clear questions?"

Ni: "What are you doing here on Manaan?"

Hulas: "I am an observer, a seeker of answers. The Crusaders and Loyalists vie for control of the galaxy, and I am anxious to know as much as I can about the eventual victor. On Manaan, I can observe both parties in relative safety. Here I watch, and study, and learn."

Ni: "You're a spy for a third party."

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Hulas: "I watch the Crusaders on this world. I watch the Loyalist's puppet, the Republic. I watch the Selkath. I see how they act and react and I can draw conclusions about their true natures. I see what drives them. And when an ultimate victor emerges from this war, I will know them better than they know themselves. This will give me power: the power to survive and thrive no matter what events may come."

Ni: "Just sit and watch, hmm?"

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Ni: "Then tell me about the Republic here on Manaan."

Hulas: "The Republic comes to Manaan with offers of alliance, but the Selkath are wary. They have no wish to join the Republic, given recent history. The Republic say they protect the galaxy, but they have seen much war: Exar Kun, the Mandolorians, the Crusaders. Why does the Republic breed so many enemies? Until they know the answer, the Selkath will not join."

Ni: "And how about the Crusaders?"

Hulas: "War is the tool of empire building. The Crusaders conquer world after world, taking resources as they want. They came to Manaan to plunder the most valuable resource of all - Kolto. But Manaan is different, it is difficult to conquer. If the Crusaders attack, the Selkath can slip away to safety far below the oceans. They can hoard their Kolto - or give it to the Republic. So Manaan gives us a glimpse of how they will react should they win this war. Here they must use diplomacy and negotiation: tools they will need to maintain their empire."

Ni: "Judging from Taris, they'll keep using brute force."

Hulas: "They might try, but an army can only build an empire, not sustain it. Rebellions, insurrections - in time the weight of the Crusader's own policies would bring them down. It might take a century, or two, or even three. But eventually they will learn diplomacy or their Empire will fall."

Ni: "What do you know about the Selkath?"

Hulas: "They are a species of secrets. They invite both sides to their world, but welcome neither. They keep their true allegiance close to the vest."

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Hulas: "Their secrets are what makes them strong. I would tell you more if I knew, but I do not."

Ni: "Does the word 'Genoharadan' mean anything to you?"

Hulas: "And now we come to your true intention, Jan Ni. Senni Vek did not think you would come. But I knew better."

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Commentary By George, I think Bastila's finally got it! She's finally starting to realize that the Jedi Order (should) stand in support of other ideals, not exist as an end unto itself. But though she's grasped it intellectually, I wonder how it'll affect the future conversations.

Gaming digression: Pacing. It's something that so few games get right, and the quest hub structure isn't really the best way to encourage it. Actually, I think it's a problem that hits RPGs hardest. An FPS usually only has one path you can take through it, so any problems of pacing are either narrative (Yahtzee complaining in his review of Call of Duty: Black Ops (http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/2486-Call-of-Duty-Black-Ops) [Naughty language warning] that there's never a breathing moment) or game-design issues (the repetitiveness of the Library level in the original Halo). I suppose that this applies to most games with a linear structure, from World of Goo to Metroid to Warcraft. But the defining characteristic of an RPG is a branching narrative structure, an opportunity to meaningfully shape the narrative.
Length digression into definitions:Of course, most definitions are so over-used as to become completely useless, RPG more than most. When Diablo, Planescape: Torment, GTA: San Andreas and KotOR are all lumped in the same category, it's understandable where the confusion comes from.

Let me try to clarify a few points from my perspective:
Knights of the Old Republic: create a character, shape the tactical progession of that character and influence the story. What'd I'd call 'a traditional RPG,' coming from the D&D background that I do. Other examples include the Baldur's Gate series, the Fallout series (3 is questionable) and Neverwinter Nights 2 (and 1, if you stretch the definition of 'influence the story.' The Hordes of the Underdark expansion, as well as certain community mods, definitely fit).

Planescape: Torment: customize a character (personality and tactics) and influence the story. I'd argue that the NWN 2 expansion Mask of the Betrayer fits into this, as it mostly disregards the Knight-Captain to emphasize your new friend. I'd call this more of a 'visual novel,' laying aside that they can feature combat (usually the Western examples, though I don't have enough experience with the Japanese examples really confirm that).

Icewind Dale: Customize a character (tactics). I'd call this an 'action RPG.' It includes Diablo and its successors, but isn't limited to having a minimal story. This is where I'd put most JRPGs, in that your influence on the story is fairly minimal, despite the lavishness of said story.

Monkey Island: If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, and I love it in no natural way for a man to love a duck, there's still a chance that it isn't a duck. Your ability to influence the story is mostly limited to how long it takes you to figure out that last angle to the case or what bloody word you need to use to make the parser let you [Use] the [Apple] on the [Snake].
Back to pacing: There are two basic ways to give the player story control: give them control over the story's turning points or give them control of background events. Or, of course, you could do both. Fallout, I believe, was the first game that showed the long-term consequences of your meddling in background events, but it's become more popular (Obsidian, at least, does it all the time. Mainly because they have some of the folks from the Fallout team).

The problem with giving the player background control is that they need to have the opportunity to get out of the narrative spotlight and muck about. Which, in tern, means that the game designer has to give up a portion of their control over the pacing. The best they can do is to develop every background event to flow naturally. But in a hub system, the designer has no way of knowing what order the player will do things in, so it's harder to have one event flow into another.

But trying to clamp down and make everything well-paced can backfire, in that you lose the benefit of a hub structure entirely. I kinda hate to keep coming back to Obsidian games and Neverwinter Nights 2, but there's a finite number of 'traditional RPGs', of which Bioware and Obsidian are the top producers. So let's look back to Taris. Taris is a fairly good example of a hub structure gone wrong. Is it terrible? No, but it's a bit more constricting that I'd like (Other examples in this vein: NWN 2: Act 1, KotOR 2: Nar Shadda).

So Taris: At first, you've got access to the Upper Levels of Taris, where your available sidequests include: looting, a few one-shot street encounters, the dueling ring, and two quest-givers that you can't do anything for until you get access to the Lower Levels. You get access to the Lower Levels after flirting your way into a Crusader uniform. No, you don't have a choice on the matter (unless I've missed it for multiple play-throughs).

On the Lower Levels: more looting, more violent street encounters, the bounty hunting quests, and the main plot (gained from the Hidden Beks). After exchanging your uniform for passcards (which you have to do), you can proceed to the Undercity.

In the Undercity, you continue the main quest (sneaking into the Vulkar base), and you can try to scavange information out of folks you find there, and resolve one of the quests from the Upper Levels, as well as a self-contained quest (the journals to the Promised Land).

The climax of the planet follows, as you duel Brejik for possession of Bastila in hand to hand combat (and maybe Bastila helps a little). And then you get swept up in the main plot, infiltrating the Crusader base, Davik's place, with some cleaning up of loose ends (Starkiller) along the way. By this point, we've left the hub structure for the main plot. From when Bastila joins the party onward, I don't have a problem with Taris. It's before that that I find it problematic.

I believe I've ranted before on the lack of alternate solutions on Taris: there's only one way to get the uniform, the Beks are the only way to get to the Undercity, the swoop race is the only way to rescue Bastila. But the problem I'm trying to address here is that all of these single-solution gateways are choking the openness out of the hub.

Assume for a moment, that those gateways are non-existant. The minute you land on Taris, you can run all the way down into the Undercity and get eaten by Rakghuls. Let's expand on the two quest-givers in the Upper Levels:
There's the doctor who wants a sample of the Rakghul serum being used by the Crusaders so he can eradicate the disease. Having him say that he's trying all the legal channels, and let the player make the connection to acquiring the serum by less than legal means. Having run down to the Undercity and survived long enough to find the serum, the player can investigate the escape pods first-hand. Not finding Bastila, they can start asking around as to who looted the pods.
There's a girl with a bounty on her head, put there by one of Davik's enforcers. Get the bounty lifted, or collect, player's choice. But it also allows them to dive right into the underworld politics: the enforcer needs the girl killed to keep him from losing face. Davik can't have his enforcers looking weak, or the swoop gangs will take even more liberties. Like they did in looting the pods before Davik got to them.

At the same time, you don't need either quest-giver to get the player started. Opening up the whole hub like that, though, allows the player to choose their priorities. As is, the whole planet is organized such that it's possible to do practically everything with one or two circuits of the level.

So what I guess I'm saying, all in all, is that I don't feel all that bad about Jan using the party to simultaneously gather information, because it's a heck of a lot easier to establish everything at the starting gun, and take off from there.

...

'I have lost myself in your words, but Boo thinks you're just ducky.'
Next time, on Knights of the Old Republic: http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/5086/end24.jpg

[Squark]

^Technically, you can end up fighting your way to a sith uniform if you're not charming enough, but that's it.

(If you don't flirt with the sith officer, you instead inevitably get into a fight with a group of sith who are roughing up a Hidden Bek who stole some uniforms. You can then loot their bodies. Why you aren't able to get the suit of armor of any sith is beyond me)

@Mando Knight. The problem, from my relatively layman's perspective, is that traditional starfighter designs don't have any way of steering or "stopping*" (in the frictionless enviornment of space). Let's look at the starfighters in star wars.

Tie Fighter- I'll level with you. I have no idea how this thing steers. It has only one engine, mounted at the center of the ship.
Y-wing- The thing has two engines on the right and left side of the ship. I geuss it could do some sort of turns with those, but only right/left
X-wing- Okay, with four seperate engines, this thing could probably have 3-dimensional movement.

However, none of these ships has any way of slowing down in space, and their turning ability to turn is severely limited. And I doubt manuvering jets too small for us to see could do anything meaningful to give a starfighter the ability to decelerate in a dogfight.

(If I've missed somethign obvious about how space flight works, please tell me)

*By stopping, I mean slowing down to an orbit speed relative to, say, your carrier.

[kamikasei]

@Mando Knight. The problem, from my relatively layman's perspective, is that traditional starfighter designs don't have any way of steering or "stopping*" (in the frictionless enviornment of space). Let's look at the starfighters in star wars.
...
However, none of these ships has any way of slowing down in space, and their turning ability to turn is severely limited. And I doubt manuvering jets too small for us to see could do anything meaningful to give a starfighter the ability to decelerate in a dogfight.
The maneuvering jets only need to let the ship turn about its own centre of mass. You do that to point your main drives in whatever direction you want to apply a force away from. Look at how Vipers move in the rebooted Battlestar Galactica.

Not that Wars actually shows ships moving in the way I've described, but it could/would make sense.

[Brother Oni]

However, none of these ships has any way of slowing down in space, and their turning ability to turn is severely limited. And I doubt manuvering jets too small for us to see could do anything meaningful to give a starfighter the ability to decelerate in a dogfight.


Given that the Star Wars universe has the ability to generate artificial gravity, would it be possible that this is involved in helping star fighters turn? Especially for the Tie Fighter, if you make one side suddenly heavier wouldn't it make the ship veer to the left from the single point of thrust?

Admittedly, I'm pulling things out of thin air and more likely, the designers never gave realistic ship design any real thought.

As an aside, would the Star Fury from Babylon 5 be regarded as a 'realistic' space fighter? If I recall correctly, it slows down by rotating 180 degrees and firing its thrusters in the opposite direction.

[Fayd]

Given that the Star Wars universe has the ability to generate artificial gravity, would it be possible that this is involved in helping star fighters turn? Especially for the Tie Fighter, if you make one side suddenly heavier wouldn't it make the ship veer to the left from the single point of thrust?


Actually, manipulating the location of a ship's center of gravity makes some amount of sense. At least, as a process to achieve this. I would think it would be less efficient than another engine, but maybe the antigrav is both really cheap in both energy and money. Would have to be for the TIE fighters. "Expendable ships for expendable pilots."

[Squark]

Ok, I geuss I can see how a starfighter could turn... but I still don't see how you could slow down with one, frankly.

[Fri]

Actually, manipulating the location of a ship's center of gravity makes some amount of sense. At least, as a process to achieve this. I would think it would be less efficient than another engine, but maybe the antigrav is both really cheap in both energy and money. Would have to be for the TIE fighters. "Expendable ships for expendable pilots."

Antigravity is really cheap in star wars universe that it's even cheaper than wheels or beast of burden. You can see animal-pulled hovering-cart in episode one.

[Mando Knight]

Ok, I geuss I can see how a starfighter could turn... but I still don't see how you could slow down with one, frankly.

Retro-thrusters and thrust vectoring. As I understand it, thrust vectoring is a fairly mature technology in Star Wars, so the primary engine thrust might even be redirected so the exhaust effectively fires forward. Both technologies, in a simpler form, are used with the Shuttle Orbiter. Some kind of retrorocket system has been mentioned in Star Wars media to date (going so far back as Splinter of the Mind's Eye, Han Solo at Stars' End, and the ESB novelization), and the X-wing is known to have an "Etheric rudder" integrated into its engines to provide significant thrust vectoring, allowing it to eschew the maneuvering jets included on most other fighters, including the TIEs (which used maneuvering jets powered by the main engines). I don't have it near me, but the Star Wars Cross-sections series (the Original Trilogy book, and also the Complete compilation) includes an X-wing, which I believe points out small retrothrusters within the main engine cowling.

Antigravity is really cheap in star wars universe that it's even cheaper than wheels or beast of burden. You can see animal-pulled hovering-cart in episode one.Gravity manipulation is in almost everything in Star Wars (at least by the time of the Clone Wars and the GCW), and is how most vehicles fly within atmosphere (since the main engines could be dangerous to use in a populated area due to their exhaust content). However, it seems that the power requirements are an issue at times, so any droid laden down with systems (i.e. R2-D2 as opposed to the training remote from ANH) has to be at least of a minimum size before they can carry repulsors.

[Arcanoi]

Ok, I geuss I can see how a starfighter could turn... but I still don't see how you could slow down with one, frankly.

Transfer it into rotational velocity! Then you can drift into the hanger spinning at thousands of radians per second, subject to hundreds of Gs. But your velocity along a straight axis will be slow! :3

[Squark]

But if gravity manipulation is that advanced, why not just use a purely gravitic drive?


Of course, now we've come to the point that we just have to live with the fact that "Engines look cool"


I think I need to recite the MST3K mantra a few times.

Oh, and great work, by the way, Tam.

[Mando Knight]

But if gravity manipulation is that advanced, why not just use a purely gravitic drive?
Because gravitics in Star Wars apparently require sufficiently massive objects to manipulate the gravity of in order to work. Gravity is a two-body force system, so using it away from a massive enough object would require more effort than it's worth, especially compared to other engine systems.

Alternatively, it could be like asking "why don't we have fully electric cars, if they operate better in the city than internal combustion engines?" The answer isn't because combustion engines are "cooler" or "better" (even though they are "cooler"), it's because a fully electric system, while relatively efficient, have several major limitations that combustion engines can overcome (overall power output, range, IC engines can charge the batteries for a hybrid to operate in two modes, etc.).

[Tam_OConnor]

Welcome... (Cue music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHcNxKvRzbs))
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http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/4196/i253.jpg... to Knights of the Old Republic.

Episode 25 One of the conditionals of Holonet History being allowed access to these exclusive records was that we present them without commentary, to let the audience draw their own conclusions.

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Hulas: "If you do not follow our rules, we will vanish and you will be like all the others. You will never see us again. We will be nothing but a figment of your imagination. But if you swear to keep the secrets of our order, you will learn of a forbidden society known only to a handful throughout the galaxy."

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Ni: "I'll preserve the secrecy of your order."

Hulas: "Excellent, Jan Ni. We have high hopes for you within the guild... if you prove yourself worthy. Listen closely and I will give you a first glimpse into our secret world."

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Ni: "How does anyone hire you if nobody knows you exist?"

Hulas: "In the highest corridors of power a handful of people know we exist, and how to contact us. Of course, these people are smart enough to keep this knowledge a carefully guarded secret. And on very rare occasions, when we are seeking new clients, one of our guild-masters will approach a powerful political figure and offer our services when the time is ripe."

Ni: "All well and good, but I'm hardly important on a galactic scale. Why approach me?"

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Ni: "Are you saying you serve the Republic? A shadow version of the Jedi Order?"

Hulas: "The Genoharadan have a vested interest in preserving the Republic. It is the perfect cover for our work. We operate behind the scenes, manipulating events through subtle machinations. Do you think the Republic has persisted for 15,000 years through the work of the Jedi Order alone? If not for our influence - distasteful as our methods may be to some - the Republic would have collapsed long ago!"

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Ni: "I'm just finding the whole idea of a secret society staying secret for so long a little unbelievable."

Hulas: "That is one of the reasons our existance has remained seccret for so long. Nobody wants to believe in a secret society manipulating and controlling events on a grand scale."

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Ni: "Why?"

Hulas: "As I said earlier, your efforts here will help the Republic. And by aiding us you will earn the right to join an exclusive organization with the power to alter the very course of galactic history."

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Ni: "Power and wealth, huh? And you're also appealing to my civic nature... I don't really see a reason to refuse."

Hulas: "As you can image, joining the Genoharadan is not a simple process. To begin, we will need proof of your loyalty and your competence. When you feel you are ready, I will give you a task: a target who must be eliminated."

Ni: "Nord was only good enough for an introduction then."

Hulas: "Killing Calo Nord was an impressive display of your skills, but there is more to the Genoharadan than mere killing. To preserve the secrecy of our order our agents must be discrete."

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Hulas: "Also, you cannot ask people for information about your target. You must complete your mission using only the information I will provide."

Ni: "Then this is an assignment making me trust your ability to give complete information. It's forcing me to rely on the organization. Who's the target?"

Hulas: "We will begin with something simple. Your first mission is to eliminate either of two targets: a Gran named Zuulan Sentar or a Rodian anti-Republic terrorist named Lorgal. We will be suitably impressed if both are eliminated, though."

Ni: "Tell me about the terrorist."

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Hulas: "He was recently capture and is being held prisoner in the Republic embassy here on Manaan awaiting transport to Coruscant for trial - and a chance to publicly voice his radical beliefs. We do not want to give him that chance. You must find a way to kill him before he leaves for Coruscant, but you must be subtle. It must look like an accident or be an unexplainable death."

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Ni: "And the slaver?

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Hulas: "He will probably try another similar kidnapping soon. If he succeeds, he might ransom his victim in exchange for dangerous political secrets that could threaten the Republic itself. The Genoharadan want to eliminate him before this happens. Our latest information place Zuulan on Dantooine - he often sells illict goods to the wealthy settlers of that world."

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Hulas: "Remember - tell no one about this. If there are others with you when you confront Zuulan or Lorgal, make it seem as if you are acting on behalf of the Republic, not the Genoharadan. That is all for now. Return to me when either or both are dead."

The Republic achives from the embassy on Manaan note that the terrorist Lorgal was killed through a series of unfortunate events. A cleaning droid apparently mistook the air-inflow vent on the holding cell for a hazardous substances receptacle, and flushed its store of depleted cleaning liquids into the cell. The mixing of the chemicals created a toxic gas.

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While Lorgal was suffocating from gas, the liquids appear to have found a flaw in the floor of the cell, dripping onto the containment field generator.

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This appears to have caused a tremendous short-circuit, putting an end to Lorgal's gasping. The cleaning droid was found wrecked nearby, having mistaken a power coupling for a charging station. The damage to the droid was extensive enough that no detail could be gathered as to where the programming fault occurred. The report proposed that model of cleaning droid be taken out of service until an extensive review of its programming could be performed. This request was denied, citing the potential expense, especially when the Republic's economy was already being stretched by the Jedi Civil War.
Commentary One of Hulas' lines is causing me some consternation. If the Genoharadan are reliant on their presence being too incredible to believe, I would think they would be actively generating mis-information. Or at least that the people who actually believed the Genoharadan was an actual inter-galactic conspiracy would generate enough mis-information themselves.

But we don't get that. This is the first we've heard of them, not just in dialog, but also in item descriptions. And believe me, the item descriptions can get pretty obscure in their references (though Bioware just made most of them up).

I'm reminded of some of my favorite books: The Vlad Taltos series by Steven Brust. The titular character is an assassin and mob boss, and even very early on we get references to a legendary assassin, Mario. Whenever the guards have an unexplained murder on their hands, they'll eventually close the case by saying "Mario did it." He's become a mythical figure, a tale instead of a person. And we find out from a series set in the same universe (The Khaavren Romances) that Mario does exist. That realization was more of what I was hoping for with the Genoharadan. Have them be dropped into casual conversation, drop a line in some item descriptions about how 'a Genoharadan assassin would be proud to use this weapon,' or somesuch. The important thing would be not to over-saturate the player. Make them noticable to the observant player. I'd probably push the encounter with Calo Nord back to the second Star Map (leaving aside the Dantooine one), just to give the idea longer to build.

Just a comment on the ship-design discussion going on: TIEs have two engines (heck, it's an acronym for Twin Ion Engine), mounted at the back of the wing struts. At least considering the Star Destroyer design, the only real location safe from turreted turbolasers would be to attack from the rear, where the engines are. Sadly, Star Wars doesn't seem to have grasped what the Kzin learned in the first Man-Kzin War (aside from maybe a mention or two in the X-Wing series). The exact text eludes me, but generally 'the usefulness of a technology as a drive is directly proportional to its effectiveness as a weapon.' Attacking from behind should be rediculously dangerous. This was not the case in the X-Wing or TIE Fighter space simulator games, but I collided with other snubfighters often enough to make up for it.
Next time, on Knights of the Old Republic: http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/1553/end25.jpg

[Sucrose]

Wonderful episode. I agree that the Genoharadan plotline is being inserted rather abruptly; there's not even much that can be retconned into their involvement.

That said, while a reference or two would be totally appropriate and appreciated, the Genoharadan would probably have to be pretty careful when it comes to the extent of the misinformation that they spread. If they give too much, then the sheer volume of similar claims would make normal people start to think that something may be up (even if it's just a coverup of some other group's activities.) That's attention that no secret organization should want.

[Cogwheel]

I didn't even know it existed. This quest, I mean.

I went to Manaan last. Talked to him for a bit. Played and lost a match or two of Pazaak, if memory serves. Wrote him off as some strange sort of philosopher spy and left.

[Mando Knight]

The abruptness of the GenoHaradan sidequest has always caught me as odd, too. I never followed it, since it's a rather Dark Side quest with too little immediate benefit for a Light Sider, not to mention that one of the targets relies on you not saving the sidequest for later, since he becomes unavailable just before you get the fourth Map. Overall, it's an amusing sideplot, but disappointingly completely separate from the main plot.


Just a comment on the ship-design discussion going on: TIEs have two engines (heck, it's an acronym for Twin Ion Engine), mounted at the back of the wing struts. At least considering the Star Destroyer design, the only real location safe from turreted turbolasers would be to attack from the rear, where the engines are. Sadly, Star Wars doesn't seem to have grasped what the Kzin learned in the first Man-Kzin War (aside from maybe a mention or two in the X-Wing series). The exact text eludes me, but generally 'the usefulness of a technology as a drive is directly proportional to its effectiveness as a weapon.' Attacking from behind should be rediculously dangerous. This was not the case in the X-Wing or TIE Fighter space simulator games, but I collided with other snubfighters often enough to make up for it.
The primary engines are placed center-wards of the root of the wing struts, between the maneuvering thrusters and the ionization reactor, according to the schematics (http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20081030151130/starwars/images/0/09/TIEfighter_egvv.jpg) from The Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/The_Essential_Guide_to_Vehicles_and_Vessels).

In Rogue Leader, attacking the three Star Destroyers you have to take down from the rear is the safest vector, but that's a relative term. There's enough point-defense turrets on Rogue Leader's ISDs to prove a menace to most players, to the point where I take out the turrets next to the upper domes while I'm attacking them, so I don't get shot down as quickly. The ventral surface and bridge attack runs are lost causes, though, since almost every weapon on that surface of the ship can be brought to bear on your puny little snubfighter, meaning you have to really skirmish the thing in order to escape alive, let alone with your astromech operational.

The fact that its drives aren't dangerous in Rogue Leader has perplexed me a bit, unless none of the ISDs are actively thrusting with their main engines at the time: those are ion engines, each of which appear to be several dozen (possibly up to a couple hundred?) meters across. That much ionized exhaust should, by rights, cripple any snubfighter that passes through the backwash.

[Squark]

For the record, the last few games in the series (definately Alliance, not sure if X-wing v Tie-Fighter did or not) did add engine backwash, but it was hardly devastating, provided you didn't stay there for long.

[Tam_OConnor]

Welcome... (Cue music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCyhSEVY3Mg&feature=related))
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http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/162/i263.jpg... to Knights of the Old Republic.

Episode 26 Ni returned to the Ebon Hawk, where she learned what everyone had found out on their respective missions. The next day, the crew assembled and received much the same assignments. Ni, Shan and Onasi, however, set off for the Republic Embassy.

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Ni: "I'm Jedi Jan Ni, Special Forces, Republic Army, this is Force Commander Bastila Shan, and this is Commander Carth Onasi, Republic Navy. We're on a mission from the Jedi Council. Perhaps you could help us with it."

Wann: "Uh... of course, of course. I will do whatever I can. But I am only a simple diplomatic representative of the Republic. I doubt I can be of any use to the Jedi Council."

Shan: "We're looking for an artifact, a remnant of an ancient and forgotten race."

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Onasi: "Can you help us?"

Wann: "Well... perhaps. But if you want to get information about that, you'll have to do something for me first."

Shan: "This is vital to the war effort!"

Wann: "I'm sure it is. But my request is equally important, and I'd like the Jedi to aid in it."

Onasi: "Then how can we help?"

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Wann: "But while it was returning to the surface it encountered difficulties and was disabled. Its automatic systems floated it to the surface, but we could not retrieve it in time. The Sith have been applying subtle pressure to the Selkath authorities for some reason we have not determined, and were able to delay us long enough that they retrieved the droid before we could."

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Ni: "Don't tell me - the droid is inside of their embassy."

Wann: "I'm afraid so. We have no remaining soldiers to spare, and certainly no elite forces like yourselves. We have no one capable of entering the Sith base and retrieving it. Fortunately, this is where you come in."

Ni: "I'm sure you've been keeping their embassy under surveillance. Do you have a way to get us inside?"

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Wann: "You could help us interrogate a Sith prisoner we managed to capture when he tried to infiltrate our base. He should have the base access codes. He's proved resiliant so far, but two Jedi should be able to crack him."

Shan: "Distasteful, but possible."

Wann: "We managed to appropriate a crate of blank Sith data cards, the type they use for passcards. The encryption system to unlock them is very difficult however, but if you are more skilled than our technicians, you may be able to gain access that way."

Ni: "Carth, get on the com and have Mission and Zaalbar bring T3 down here. Any other options, Wann?"

Wann: "The Sith have got the Selkath to give them exclusive use of one of main hanger bays. Visiting Sith masters land in this bay, then take a transport over the water to an external entrance to their embassy. That spy we caught had a hanger passcard on him. While it is surely well guarded, it may prove to be the most direct route. Here is the card."

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Ni: "Thanks. Carth, Bastila? Thoughts?"

Onasi: "I say we take the hanger, and attack their flank."

Shan: "I does mean that we won't have to wait for T3-M4 to slice the datacards, or for us to interrogate the prisoner."

Ni: "Agreed. The longer we stay on Manaan, the more likely it is that someone like Calo Nord will catch up to us. Carth, tell Zaalbar to send Canderous and Juhani in the front door as soon as T3 breaks the encryption-" Ni's comlink sounds. She answers it, and listens for a minute or two, then puts the comlink away. "That was Juhani."

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Ni: "She's agreed to find these Selkath youth- why won't this thing shut up?" Ni answers her com-link again. "Apparently Juhani called Canderous first. He 'persuaded' an Iridorian to tell him some things about our missing Selkath:"

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Onasi: "So we've gone from 'storm the Sith enclave and steal back the droid' to 'storm the Sith enclave and free the kidnapped Selkath?'"

Ni: "Seems that way. What are we waiting for?"

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Commentary So, the routes I didn't take here. Hacking the pass cards take some real-life math skills, which I can fake, but math isn't as interesting to me as destroying the opposition. Isn't as much fun to watch, either. And contrary to what I said, you can't just use Force Dominate to crush the spy's mind and take the information you need. That would have been too easy! Actually, this is one of the things that occasionally bugs me about KotOR: at times, your Force powers arbitrarily won't solve the situation at hand, even if that's what they're designed to do. There are plenty of opportunities to use Force Persuade and Force Dominate in conversation, but it's always been just a little bit annoying when I can't. The in-game excuse is 'they're trained by the Crusaders to resist Loyalist meddling,' but that's always struck me as a little odd. How many Loyalist are there, anyway? The only ones we see are on Dantooine, which means that most of those are Padawans. But as for other Loyalists who don't immediately drop everything and affiliate with us (like Juhani)? Not a one off of Dantooine.

At the same time, though, you never hear anything about the Jedi Order being stretched too thin, or about how devastating the Crusader split has been to its numbers. It really isn't helped by those unnamed Jedi wandering around the Dantooine Enclave: even renaming them 'Padawan' would have been less distruptive. Maybe Bioware didn't want to do anything to steal the player's thunder, but it comes off as a glaring omission on their part.

I should also mention that the speed with which this attack is carried out is uncanny. We didn't even have a briefing session! *frantically grasps at the straws of organized military action*
Next time, on Knights of the Old Republic: http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/6531/end26.jpg

[Brother Oni]

I should also mention that the speed with which this attack is carried out is uncanny. We didn't even have a briefing session! *frantically grasps at the straws of organized military action*

Well that's the sort of thing that happens in spec ops - a mission suddenly gets dropped in your lap and you barely have time to kit up before you're on your way to the mission with briefing en route if you're lucky. :smallbiggrin:

One minor nitpick when Jan Ni is introducing herself to the Embassy official - actual spec ops soldiers don't introduce themselves as such. If you're lucky, you might get a first name out of them but usually, they don't give their regiment or branch, no last name, no identifying badges or marks on their uniform.

Jan Ni is still a padawan right? She hasn't made it to Knight yet?
I think the introduction would probably start as "I'm Padawan Jan Ni, Republic Army", which if the officials are on the ball, would trigger the unasked question 'What's a Jedi doing in the Army', followed by an 'Oh!' moment when they figure it out.

Which brings up another question - there's a Republic Army and a Republic Navy, but is there a Republic Marines? Otherwise the question of what's a Jedi officer and a Navy officer doing with an Army soldier? Or don't the distinctions exist in Star Wars?

[Mando Knight]

Which brings up another question - there's a Republic Army and a Republic Navy, but is there a Republic Marines? Otherwise the question of what's a Jedi officer and a Navy officer doing with an Army soldier? Or don't the distinctions exist in Star Wars?
In the Clone Wars and following, there are indeed Spehss Muhreens. For the Republic/Empire, mostly they're just more Clone/Stormtroopers, with special training such as astral-amphibious assault, all-weather combat, mechanized infantry, and the like. Most Marines in SW are the astral-amphibious (by which I mean ship-to-ship combat and boarding operations) kind.

[Brother Oni]

While astral amphibious is a great alliterative term, I think a more sci-fi one would be 'EVA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extra-vehicular_activity) operations'. :smallbiggrin:

[Mando Knight]

While astral amphibious is a great alliterative term, I think a more sci-fi one would be 'EVA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extra-vehicular_activity) operations'. :smallbiggrin:

EVA is a part of the Marine's job. They need to be able to transfer from EVA combat (if necessary, as they can use boarding shuttles against capital ships) to on-deck combat in the enemy vehicle. Thus, astral-amphibious, much in the way that the Marines were initially organized for amphibious assault (i.e. ship-to-ship boarding operations, or covering a landing operation).

[Squark]

Technically, shouldn't it just be EVO, since Extra-vehicular Activity Operations is kind of redundant.


Actually, that's a pretty cool name, really.

[Brother Oni]

Technically, shouldn't it just be EVO, since Extra-vehicular Activity Operations is kind of redundant.

Not really since Operations in this case is a military term indicating some sort of mission/action. I agree that being either 'EVO trained' or a 'EVA Ops specialist' would be a cool addition to your resume.

I guess the point's moot as Republic Marines are about by the time of the Clone Wars, 4000 years after the events here in KotOR.

[Tam_OConnor]

Welcome... (Cue music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFBbO6r62Fk&feature=related))
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http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/6483/i273t.jpg... to Knights of the Old Republic.

Episode 27 The assault on the Manaan Crusader embassy began well.

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The decryption center was not too heavily guarded, and the assault took them by complete surprise. Ni removed the droid's memory core, and Onasi placed charges on the droid's interior. Once they were clear, he activated the charges, destroying nit only the droid, but much of the decryption center. Meeting Zaalbar, Ordo and Juhani at the main enterance, they entrusted them with getting the memory core to Wann, then headed deeper into the base.

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Crusader personnel, however, had finially managed to sound the alert, and the base entered lockdown. With the main hallway deeped into the embassy sealed by repulsor fields and guarded by auto-targetting turrets, they searched for a way to avoid it. As they tried to slice into the enclave's water coolant systems, to open the access tunnels, Ni spoke to Onasi.

Ni: "We, ah, haven't talked since Tatooine..."

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Onasi: "I was just so desperate to finally face Saul directly in the battle over Taris, and now the Jedi have us looking for these... these Star Maps."

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Ni: "Look, we've got other people who can fly the Hawk if you want to return to the front lines."

Onasi: "But this is more important. This may really, finally make a difference... I suppose even if I can't figure out everything that's going on, I still want to help if I can."

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Ni: "I'll live through having my feelings hurt. Don't worry about it."

Onasi: "No, I do worry about it. I've traveled the lanes more than once, I should know better than this."

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Ni: "Only if you agree to work with me, for once."

Onasi: "Done! Let's get underway, then, shall we... partner? I think Bastila's finally lost her patience with their interface."

Shan's reports are somewhat clearer on the matter. She had managed to uncover a complete map of the enclave, and had closen the area where the wall was thinnest between the front section and the rear section of the base. From there, progress was only a few lightsaber strokes and explosive charges away.

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The room had apparently been a medical bay, but the selkath within showed signs of deliberate torture. Shan writes that, as best as she could tell, they were only adolescents.

Onasi: "The Sith did this. But why would they lure the selkath kids here if the only thing they were going to do was this?"

Shan: "The dark side corrupts everything. Perhaps they intended to lay some scheme, but they couldn't control themselves."

Ni: "Nothing to be gained from standing around, though. We can ask the Crusaders 'why' during the inevitable fight."

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Shasa: "No - wait. We cannot always be running to the Masters for help. We should handle this on our own."

Unknown selkath youth: "Perhaps this is a test the Crusaders have prepared for us?"

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Ni: "I am Jan Ni. What are you selkath doing inside the Crusader embassy?"

Shasa: "They are teaching us mastery of the Force. Our alliance with the Crusaders will bring strength to Manaan and the selkath people!"

Onasi: "The Sith destroyed the surface of Taris!"

Shasa: "Republic propaganda. The Crusaders are the victims of lies and half-truths! They are not monsters - no more so than the Republic. The Crusaders have promised to guide us in the use of the Force, as a sign of their good faith. And once the Republic is defeated, they have promised to withdraw from Manaan and respect our independence."

Shan: "Because that always works out so well in history. Sounds like the Sith guarantees on Onderon's independence before they took over."

Shasa: "Spare your lies! The Crusaders have treated us with nothing but respect and honor!"

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Ni: "Recognize this? I found a young selkath dying from torture here. He gave me this pin and told me to show it to you."

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Ni: "I can take you to the body, but it isn't a pretty sight."

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Shasa: "I apologize for doubting you. The Sith are truly as evil as you have claimed. You have saved us from a terrible mistake."

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Proceeding into the very heart of the embassy, they came face to face with a Crusader master.

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Crusader Master: "Lord Malak was most displeased when he learned Bastila Shan had escaped Taris alive! He has promised a great reward to whoever destroys you."

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Commentary Well, that was an awful lot of hitting Crusaders with lightsabers. So much, in fact, that it made us even better at hitting Crusaders with lightsabers (or plaster pistols, as the case may be).

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So, contrary to what I said, you don't actually get to cut through the wall. Either you spend an awful lot of computer spikes (the resource you need for slicing) to open the sealed entryway (which would be expensive even if I had T3 with me), or you undergo a puzzle involving moving water from one chamber to another, when the only means to control said water flow are within the pressure chambers themselves. It's a moderately aggravating puzzle, but it's mostly compulsory, seeing how I prefer to horde resources. Worse than that, it doesn't even make much sense in game. Why do they even have these water-cycling chambers in the base? There's a datapad nearby which gives you the clues to get through it, which lampshades the absurdity of the situation as well, talking about how they've lost a few squads of soldiers to mistaken floodings. Even with that, though, the puzzle still annoys me.

On a related subject, we've finally ended the cold war with Carth. Things are all sunshine and roses in the game's quest to force a romance upon Jan. ...and I'm afraid my brain just broke a bit imagining a , uh, shall we say, 'shared affection between Jan, Carth and Bastila.' And, shockingly, I'm not finding any art of it. What *is* this world coming too, when you can't even depend on the shippers to make art of one true threesomes? Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go try to glue my brain back together.

Oh, one last thing before I go: the 'do you think this is some kind of test' bit was lifted almost directly from Baldur's Gate II, where it's a necromancer's house that you're invading, and his apprentices have a little discussion before hurling themselves to die on your weapons. They, uh, seem to have surgically extracted the humor for the second time around, though.
Next time, on Knights of the Old Republic: http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/1970/end27.jpg

[Cogwheel]

The flooding thing is obvious, really. Even Sith enjoy a bit of Dwarf Fortress now and then.

Also, that armour on Carth. Wow. That's by far the most hideous thing I've seen all day. I... I think I may need new eyes.

[Tam_OConnor]

Welcome... (Cue music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIHI5aouffE&feature=related))
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http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/1557/i283.jpg... to Knights of the Old Republic.

Episode 28 Searching the Jedi Master's chambers, Ni found the man's private journal, recounting his plans to overthrow the Selkath government by corrupting their youth to the dark side. Exiting the Crusader embassy, Ni, Shan and Onasi stopped at the sight of an array of battle droids and a selkath wearing a badge of the Ahto City Civil Authority.

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Shan records that Onasi shifted self-consciously at this, hitching up his blaster holsters.

Officer: "Inquiries to the staff of the Embassy yielded no response. It would seem that contact has been cut. Our cameras recorded you entering the base shortly before contact was lost and fighting apparently began. It is the conclusion of the Ahto City Civil Authority that you are responsible for the disturbance here, and you are hereby placed under arrest. You will come with us to await your trial."

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Escorted to individual cells, Onasi and Shan independently record the charges against them: 'Initiating violence within the Crusader Embassy, murdering members of the Ambassadorial Commission of the the Crusader Empire, and disregarding local laws regarding violence in Ahto City.' At this point in our history, we have to turn to the Ahto City legal records.

'Whereas the defendant, Jan Ni, padawan of the Jedi Order, holding the rank of Specialist in the Army of the Republic, has requested that the following item of evidence be entered:
One (1) datapad, allegedly containing evidence of criminal activities performed at the behest of the Crusader Empire.'

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Baliff: "How do you plead?"

Ni: "While I may be guilty of those offenses, I did so at the ultimate request of a local Selkath."

Baliff: "The severity of these offenses means that we have dipensed with the usual order of the court. You are representing yourself, and the the judges themselves serve as the prosecution. Present your case, and judges Jhosa, Naleshekan, Kota and Duula will determine your guilt or innocence."

Ni: "I was not present at the Crusader base in my capacity as a Republic soldier, but at the request by a private citizen."

Kota: "And who was this private citizen?"

Ni: "Shaelas. When my people were last in contact with him, he was in the cantina just opposite this hall. He was searching for his child Shasa, and requested my aid."

Kota: "Baliff, have Shaelas taken into custody. Obtain a statement as to this matter. Continue."

Ni: "During my investigation, I learned through my sources that several selkath youth had been persuaded to enter the Crusader embassy. I obtained access to their enclave with my compatriots, and discovered Shasa and her peers within. They were being brainwashed to overthrow this government and set up a state subserviant to Malak. I've given the baliff a datapad I found in the possession of the embassy's Jedi, detailing this scheme."

Baliff: "Exhibit G, your honors."

The court adjorned briefly as the judges considered this evidence, then reconvened.

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Released from their cells, Ni and company retrieved their weaponry and made their way back to the Republic embassy.

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Ni: "Yes, here's the memory core. It wasn't pretty, but I figured you wouldn't mind if we took out all of their security forces."

Wann: "Excellent! It does not appear to have been tampered with, so the Sith did not manage to copy its contents yet."

Onasi: "And even if they had, the firefight wrecked their decryption center pretty badly. They threw a lot of grenades around."

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Wann: "As you know, the Republic is fighting for its very existence against the evil of the Sith Empire. As you also undoubtably know, we are doing very poorly. We need much in the way of supplies and material to stem the tide of battle and bring us victory."

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Shan: "What has the Republic done?"

Wann: "The selkath conservatives with their neutrality treaties seek to treat the Sith and the Republic equally. This includes kolto exports."

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Wann: "So we made a deal..."

Shan: "You violated the treaty?!"

Wann: "We recently began construction of a seccret underwater facility to harvest kolto directly at its sources. This had the unforseen advantage of being more potent than normal. We also hope to one day be able to synthesize it effectively. Current techniques are insufficient for the task, so we must harvest it for now. The amount we take would hardly be noticed, since most is lost naturally before it reaches the surface anyway."

Unfortunately, from a scientific perspective, Wann didn't know that the biological sciences had reached a plateau, one that would continue to this day, with the continued inability to artificially synthesize many products, including bacta. Small strides in the area have been made by various criminal organizations in synthesizing alternatives to Kessel spice (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Spice), but such advancements are useless when not performed consistently in a scientific manner.

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Wann: "Transmissions from the base were cut off abruptly after that, and we haven't heard from the station since."

Ni: "What happened?"

Wann: "*sigh* We don't know. We just don't know. When we lost contact with station in the Hrakert Rift, we sent most of our contingent of soldiers down to investigate. None returned."

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Onasi: "It's people like you that make me glad I'm in the Navy."

Wann: "Yes, well. The reason we really sent that droid underwater - and the reason we needed its data back so badly - was to find out what had happened to the Hrakert Rift station."

Ni: "Well, it's the only possible lead we have on the Star Map. At the very least, we can take a sub down to your treaty-violating underwater base and try to find out what went wrong."

Wann: "There may be some survivors left down there, perhaps even the head scientist - Kono Nolan. There's a submarine waiting for you in the embassy bay. If you wait an hour, we should have that information from the droid's survey for you."

While they relaxed in the embassy lounge, they discussed plans.

Shan: "I am just... not comfortable with the idea of miles of water pressing down on me."

Onasi: "What's the difference between that and being on a space station? Or the Hawk, for that matter?" Shan makes a note here, about how she intellectually understands the similarities, but that being underwater seemed somehow very different. She adds in two other tidbits: first, that she never learned how to swim, and second, that she was experiencing a vague premonition that she was not meant to go to the station.

Ni: "Oh, leave off Carth. Bastila, if you don't want to go, that's fine. We'll pick up HK from the ship, and drop you off. I haven't checked, but I think he's waterproof."

The droid's report arrived, giving them the following information: The Hrakert Rift station was mostly intact, though at least one section had been flooded, and one of the submarine bays had partially collapsed. There was an unnaturally high concentration of firaxan sharks in the area, including a creature that shared several characteristics with firaxa, but was larger by several magnitudes.

The survey had also picked up evidence of at least one destroyed submarine. The report also included information that only dedicated comlinks could manage to reach the Ahto City facilities, and that the transitting antenna array had apparently been destroyed. Upon examining the raw holorecording, Ni and Shan were able to agree that the artifact uncovered was a Star Map. Loading the submarine with a pressure suit designed to withstand the oceanic weight, they were ready to depart.

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Commentary A few things to expand upon here. First of all, the trial. Illogically, if you plead guilty (which you are), then you get a game over without even a chance to explain why you were completely justified in your actions. I do have to wonder what happens if you don't encounter Shaelas, and just go into the embassy for the droid data. The obvious thing is just not to spawn the Ahto City Civil Authority and wardroids unless the incriminating datapad is in your possession, but I'm not sure how that would would out from a narrative perspective. But in general, I'm of the opinion that this trial is complete nonsense. It's completely unnecessary, so as a simulation of the actual judical system, it isn't that bad of a model. Cynicism aside, the only thing it does is introduce the judges to you. And while they do have their own distinctive personalities, they don't affect the outcome of this trial, and it's impossible to tell them apart anyway, because they all look and sound identical.

This is where it becomes really really obvious that there's a finite amount of alien dialogue (in this case, selkath dialogue). Likewise, there's only one selkath model, which gets really dull after a while. Bioware couldn't have given the ACCA differently-colored jumpsuits, at least? If the selkath were supposed to be indistinguishable, I could understand, but as is, it just smacks of laziness.

Aside from my ranting on the trial, there's a plot hole here that I had to close. Roland Wann says they sent the droid down to check out the base - and he never tells you what they learned from the memory core you just killed the Crusader enclave over. Need-to-know-basis, I understand, but Jan's the one you're sending down there, so a little information would be nice.
Next time, on Knights of the Old Republic: http://img560.imageshack.us/img560/8592/end28.jpg

[Klose_the_Sith]

<snip>

I didn't even know that fishface would help you in that trial at all :smallconfused:

All you honestly need is the datapad. That'll get you marked as innocent.

(Although actually, you can survive the trial with neither. I forget the exact way it plays out, but that was how I did it on my first game 'cause I didn't know better.)

[Cogwheel]

Next time, KOTOR jumps the shark. Lots of sharks, actually. And kills a few.

I just wish they worked Sharktopus into this. Would've been something good, at least. I hated this level.

[Mando Knight]

For your trial, if you forgot to liberate the Selkath not-Sith, then you can still bluff your way out of it by convincing the judges that you were there obviously because the Sith were trying to turn you to the Dark Side, and when you refused you just had to kill them all because they didn't want to take no for an answer. There are numerous cases of such things occurring throughout the galaxy, after all, so your story is seen as obviously true by the Republic-leaning judges and plausible by the neutral ones. Since the court is normally split, this means you've got enough judges on your side to get you a get-out-of-jail-free card.

There's also an idiot of a Selkath that is supposed to be your attorney, but he runs with the "my client is criminally insane" defense. Pretty much your only choice is to tell him to shut up and go away.

[Tam_OConnor]

Welcome... (Cue music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVycvLAFXmc))
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http://img576.imageshack.us/img576/1634/i293.jpg... to Knights of the Old Republic.

Episode 29 Exchanging Shan for HK-47, Onasi piloted the submersible along the coordinates given to him by Wann. Even at the high speeds the sleek craft was able to produce, the journey took several hours. Hours spent looking out the viewport as the water grew steadily darker, and dim shapes danced at the edge of vision.

Onasi guided the craft into the intact Hrakert Rift station docking bay. The three disembarked quickly, spreading out through the bay, looking for threats.

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Onasi was met by a terrified-looking twi'lek clutching a stunner protectively.

Twi'lek: "How... how did you get in? Did they send another submersible? Quick, we have to get out of here, we have to get away!"

Onasi: "Jan! HK! We've got someone alive here! Listen, my name is Carth Onasi. Calm down, it's going to be alright."

Twi'lek: "No! No! We have no time, we have to leave now! I managed to close the door after they killed everyone else, but I don't know how long it will hold!"

Ni: "What happened here?"

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Twi'lek: "They swarmed out and over us. There was no way we could stop them. So we ran... But hardly any of us made it. I locked the door behind us, bu... but the others had already left in the submersible!"

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Onasi: "Let's get you back to the surface. Jan, there's only room for three -"

Twi'lek: "NO!!! There's something out there... it got the other submersible already."

Onasi: "Then how are we supposed to get you out of here?"

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Twi'lek: "But all the machinery and stuff is in the southern half, and that's been flooded! There might still be environmental suits around but... but... the selkath might have laid their eggs in them!"

HK-47: "Observation: This meatmag has become irrational. May I dispose of him, master?"

Ni: "Down, HK. Carth, go get the suit from the sub. I'm going to cracck open the door."

Twi'lek: "No! I locked the door so that the selkath won't get in! If you open it, we're all done for!"

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Ni: "HK, stun him. .... Thank you. His hysterics were giving me a headache. Carth, can you lock the sub's controls so he can't leave without us?"

Ni was able to slice the door open, and the three of them proceeded deeper into the base. On the way, they passed through a corridor set with long windows, presenting excellent views of circling firaxan sharks.

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Ni: "They're completely irrevocably mad. I kept trying to touch them with the Force, and the only thing I was getting was this anguished scream. It's not going away, either."

HK-47: "Query: Have you considered oxygen deprivation, master? The air scrubbers may have been damaged, and your physical exertions could have made you more aware than the other meatbag."

Onasi: "Hey!"

Ni: "Not worth the energy getting upset over, Carth. That was only one pack of the selkath, though. We need to find a working airlock, get to that other wing."

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Onasi: "How did he fit himself into that locker?"

HK-47: "Supposition: Self-mutilation?"

Ni: "Listen, you in the locker. My name is Jan Ni. I've been sent by the Republic to find out what's happened down here."

Locker: "Investigate? You're just like the others - fodder for the selkath. Walking fish snacks. Chomp, chomp, chomp - if you can run you might be fast food."

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Ni: "What made the selkath go insane?"

Locker: "Don't know. Go ask them. Ha-ha-ha!"

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Onasi: "Look, come out of there. We can protect you from the selkath."

Locker: "No, no, no, no, no. That's what the others said. Mercenaries like you. But they're dead. The selkath ate them! Luchie-munchie! Only the ones left in the south part of the base might still be alive, where the kolto is. Few fishies there! But many, many fishy in between in the water!"

Ni: "Can you at least tell me where the nearest airlock is?"

Locker: "Straight ahead, take a left, then straight. Bye-bye. Go look for fishy people. They'll chomp and bite and chomp and bite. Food for fishy - that's you."

Onasi: "Look, if you just come out, we can take you back to the surface. Wouldn't you like that? No fishies on the surface, right?"

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Ni: "Alright, Carth. Com working alright?"

Onasi: "Reading you loud and clear. HK decided to double back through the base, see if he could flush out any more selkath. He said it with such glee that I wasn't in a hurry to stop him."

Ni: "He gets more into his work than anyone else on the team, even Canderous."

Onasi: "Yeah, well. You sure about what you said, that we couldn't help them?"

Ni: ""I'm sure - ugh, this enviro-suit is ridiculously heavy. I can barely move in it."

Onasi: "Should be grateful. It's the only thing keeping the ocean from crushing you. I just hope it keeps the firaxan off you too."

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Ni: "Carth! I think I see somebody. Republic enviro-suit - sees me too. They're waving. I'm going to get close enough to trade com frequencies. ... My name's Jan Ni. I'm here to rescue you."

Survivor: "I'm Dralin Puus. I'm a merc they hired a couple days ago to investigate - but all we found was a bunch of insane selkath killing everything that moved!"

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Puus: "There's no way for me to get to the submarine docking bay."

Ni: "Yeah, we noticed that the airlock there had malfunctioned."

Puus: "I figured it's got to be safer out on the ocean floor than back in there with all those crazed selkath running around looking for dinner."

Ni: "My team is holding the airlock back there. We should be able to get you out.

Puus: "I'll start heading that way, then."

Ni: "Carth? You heard all that?"

Onasi: "Got it."

Ni: "He sounded pretty jumpy. Don't be afraid to stun him."

Onasi: "I think HK's rubbing off on you, Jan."

Ni: "Yeah, well, I'm feeling pretty jumpy myself at the moment. Leaving the facility now."

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Ni: "Carth, you should see this! The view's spectacular - whoa!"

Onasi: "Jan! Is everything okay?"

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Ni: "Yeah. A firaxa tried to take a chunk out of me. He broke some teeth off in my helmet. Knocked me around a bit. He's swimming away now, and giving me these really annoyed looks."

Onasi: "Whew. Had me worried there for a second."

Ni: "Oh, come on, Carth. You think I'd come all the way from Deralia just to die on the ocean floor of some four-docking bay planet like Manaan?"

Onasi: "'Even the wisest among us does not know the hour of their own death.'"

Ni: "Oh, don't tell me you've been reading Jedi philosophy now. I get enough of it from Bastila. Ugh! Get off!"

Onasi: "More firaxa?"

Ni: "Yeah, the things are thicker than mynocks here. I'm knocking them away with the Force, but one slips through every so often."

Onasi: "Pretty good for someone who was having trouble lifting a datapad four weeks ago."

Ni: "What can I say, I'm a natural. That feedback in my head, the scream I picked up from the selkath, it's getting stronger. Making me a little nervous."

Onasi: "What, afraid that one of the firaxa is going to ignite a lightsaber?"

Ni: "... these things don't have thumbs, Carth. If they were trying to eat you, you'd know that. Off!"

Onasi: "How much farther to the airlock?"

Ni: "Just... about... there. Alright, starting the cycling. I'll keep the comlink on."

Onasi: "You do that. I think our friend is coming through as well."

Ni: "Don't stun him too much."

Onasi: "You and your love of the stun setting."

Ni: "Not my fault everyone forgets their blaster has a stun setting. If I can't get Canderous to punch them out, it works almost as well."

*snap-hiss*

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Commentary "Fishy little war-cries" is the best dialog ever. I also love how the locker gets the same close-up shots that people with actual facces get. I was going to do this as a single update, but it got a little too long. So, the rest of the Hrakert Rift station on Monday!

Aside from that, I think that this is one of the best-paced sections of the game. Laying aside the part where moving in the enviro-suit is waaaay too slow and there's way too much ground to cover, it has a nice mix of combat and expository dialog. It also has that air of 'if you weren't such a bad-ass, this would be a horror movie.' I'm going to be charitable and assume that was the mood they were going for, because I don't think this area has ever been challenging, if it was the very first place you went after becoming a Jedi. It's also got a lot of humor - because taken out of context, horror movie survivors become hilarious.

Those who have actually played this far will notice that I've changed a few things. First, the survivor in the enviro-suit seems dead-set on going in through the hanger airlock, and you can't tell him 'Hey, why don't you use that airlock right behind me?' Second, the firaxa more or less instantly kill you if they get close, and you have to find this sonic emitter that automatically kills them right back. This is one of my problems with a lot of the expanded universe: they introduce all of these new gadgets for dealing with problems. And I don't blame them: new widgets and geegaws are half the fun of science fiction, after all. But, echoing others, Star Wars is not science fiction. It's fantasy with nuts and bolts painted on. There are significant technologies and devices (lightsabers, the Death Star), but they're built up, singular (or at least personalized) items. In Star Wars, you shouldn't find a new device that solves whatever problem you've been having with the karglesponders of Gelgon III. you should innovate, and find a new use for what you already have. Besides, killing firaxa with a sonic emitter, or throwing them arround with the Force? One of these is much more visually intriguing.

I'm afraid that's all the time I have tonight, kids. Keep your Holonet locked on History.
Next time, on Knights of the Old Republic: http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/7827/end29.jpg

[Cogwheel]

I think they were trying to be genuinely horrifying with a side-order of H.P.Lovecraft. It didn't work.

That said, I like the level... mostly. Loathe the enviro-suit bits, though. So much.

Nice to see someone else noticed that Star Wars is desperately pretending to be sci-fi, but isn't. "No, no, you don't understand, we have laser swords and space wizards!" Just look at the Undercity. Your first major mission is to free slaves from some ruins while fighting orcs and zombies (well, I consider gamorreans orcs, anyway). And then you go and cut deals with/fight bandits.

Of course, I'm not big on star wars, so I may be missing a few things here.

[FlyingScanian]

Nice to see someone else noticed that Star Wars is desperately pretending to be sci-fi, but isn't. "No, no, you don't understand, we have laser swords and space wizards!" Just look at the Undercity. Your first major mission is to free slaves from some ruins while fighting orcs and zombies (well, I consider gamorreans orcs, anyway). And then you go and cut deals with/fight bandits.

That might actually be why I like Star Wars, and did even before I realized how awesome sci-fi can be...

Great play-through so far, I might add. Looking forward to seeing how this one develops.

[Brother Oni]

Nice to see someone else noticed that Star Wars is desperately pretending to be sci-fi, but isn't. "No, no, you don't understand, we have laser swords and space wizards!"

I agree completely. 4000 years of knowledge of an monastic order of monk wizards and nobody's invented fletchette ammunition or an anti-personnel weapon with a rof/blast radius that can get past their laser swords.

At least they've come up with 'effective tactics' to deal with them by the time of the Clone Wars (from the writers' point of view at least. Firing on an opponent that you've encircled is a great way of racking up friendly fire casualties :smallsigh:).

[Mando Knight]

I agree completely. 4000 years of knowledge of an monastic order of monk wizards and nobody's invented fletchette ammunition or an anti-personnel weapon with a rof/blast radius that can get past their laser swords.
Flechette launcher. (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Flechette_launcher)

"Answer: Select grenades, sonic screamers, cluster rockets, and plasma charges. Mines are also effective, since many Jedi will run to meet you in hand to hand combat. Silly Jedi."
―HK-47 to the Exile on how to kill Jedi (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPeI4mX8Nus)

[Brother Oni]

Flechette launcher. (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Flechette_launcher)

"Answer: Select grenades, sonic screamers, cluster rockets, and plasma charges. Mines are also effective, since many Jedi will run to meet you in hand to hand combat. Silly Jedi."
―HK-47 to the Exile on how to kill Jedi (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPeI4mX8Nus)

So how come none of that weaponry is in regular use? Especially by factions opposed to the Republic and their Jedi enforcers?

Edit: I suspect the answer to that would be that the Republic outlawed or heavily restricted all such anti-Jedi measures, which is a fairly smart move considering all the other idiot decisions they seem to make.

[Mando Knight]

1) Jedi are strong. If you have dedicated anti-Jedi weaponry, you're likely specialized in finding and killing them, such as Boba Fett or HK-47, as otherwise your superior is just wasting cash on you so you can be slightly more effective against a warrior who is far enough beyond your league that it doesn't really matter what you use.

2) Some of the weapons, such as grenades, are deployed due to their usefulness as a weapon against general targets. Flechette launchers and sonic weapons are less useful against non-Jedi, as they don't deal as much damage per hit as a blaster bolt.

3) Jedi are rare. Rare enough that if you're rank-and-file, you've got enough guys with you that if you all fire together, it doesn't matter that the weapons aren't flechette launchers, since the effect will be roughly the same. Plus, on each hit you'll hurt them more than a flechette launcher would.

[Irbis]

So how come none of that weaponry is in regular use? Especially by factions opposed to the Republic and their Jedi enforcers?

To be honest, according to the Jedi Knight games, most of these weapons (like Flechette launchers) don't work against prepared Jedi. They just stop the bullets Matrix-style.

The only one that seems to reliably work are sonic weapons, that are rather unwieldy, sort of restricted, and not as good as blasters against anyone else.

There are also disintegrators, too, but they are outright illegal pretty much anywhere.

[Mando Knight]

There are also disintegrators, too, but they are outright illegal pretty much anywhere.

And NPC Jedi can dodge those just as easily as anything else, for some reason. (In Jedi Academy, you can, too... but I think it takes you having Force Speed 2 or 3 and doing something just before/as the opponent fires the gun)

[Brother Oni]

1)
3) Jedi are rare. Rare enough that if you're rank-and-file, you've got enough guys with you that if you all fire together, it doesn't matter that the weapons aren't flechette launchers, since the effect will be roughly the same. Plus, on each hit you'll hurt them more than a flechette launcher would.

Are Jedi really that rare? I remember they mentioned that their numbers were thin on the ground by the time of the Clone Wars, but back in the KotOR era, there should have been significant numbers of them, although split between the Sith and Republic.
There certainly was enough Jedi running around to make issuing of cortosis weaponry and armour worthwhile.

While I agree that an individual blaster bolt would cause more damage than an individual fletchette round, that fletchette round is far more likely to land a partial hit. Against a target that doesn't wear armour and is highly reliant on clarity of mind and unrestricted athleticism to achieve combat effectiveness, having multiple bits of sharp metal sticking out of you is highly inconvenient to put it lightly.


To be honest, according to the Jedi Knight games, most of these weapons (like Flechette launchers) don't work against prepared Jedi. They just stop the bullets Matrix-style.

Ah, didn't know this. That would pretty much stop any sort of projectile weapon from being effective against a prepared Jedi.
I remember from TESB that Darth Vader was able to stop blaster bolts barehanded, so I guess against more powerful Jedi, you're resorting to chemical warfare (chlorine gas, VX, etc) or artillery level AOE effects.

HK47 also makes some very good ways of hunting down Jedi, especially in that video, although he's missed a couple tricks (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_Denial_System).

[Irbis]

Ah, didn't know this. That would pretty much stop any sort of projectile weapon from being effective against a prepared Jedi.

Well... it would be good not to overestimate them as well :smallwink: Knight/master can stop all bullets from one direction, but the more of them there are, and the more directions he has to cover, the more difficult it is.

Plus, he needs to be prepared, and each deflection tires him and uses valuable concentration/energy he won't use on other powers.


And NPC Jedi can dodge those just as easily as anything else, for some reason. (In Jedi Academy, you can, too... but I think it takes you having Force Speed 2 or 3 and doing something just before/as the opponent fires the gun)

Yup, they dodge them, but I remember hitting more than a few.

Plus, that's the modern disintegrator, with long range, focused beam. Older ones are short range, and work like shotguns - you can't dodge them. Though, of course, so close to Jedi you're pretty much a second from losing your hand.

[Brother Oni]

Well... it would be good not to overestimate them as well :smallwink: Knight/master can stop all bullets from one direction, but the more of them there are, and the more directions he has to cover, the more difficult it is.

Plus, he needs to be prepared, and each deflection tires him and uses valuable concentration/energy he won't use on other powers.


So how many bullets could a Jedi Master feasibly stop? Are we talking about first Matrix movie levels, where Neo manages to stop a couple rounds from hand guns, or Matrix Reloaded levels where he stops fire from several fully automatic weapons with ease.

I know that the more dakka principle seems to be at odds with the general heroic fantasy theme of the Star Wars universe, however a pair of heavy droid gunplatforms manage to make Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan run for it.

Edit: Wookiepedia calls them Droidekas, but makes no mention of their estimated rof.

[Mando Knight]

Are Jedi really that rare? I remember they mentioned that their numbers were thin on the ground by the time of the Clone Wars, but back in the KotOR era, there should have been significant numbers of them, although split between the Sith and Republic.
Compared to the rank-and-file? Yes, they're rare. If you're up against a million troops, unless you specifically attack a Jedi stronghold, you're probably going to fight only around ten or so thousand Jedi.

So how many bullets could a Jedi Master feasibly stop? Are we talking about first Matrix movie levels, where Neo manages to stop a couple rounds from hand guns, or Matrix Reloaded levels where he stops fire from several fully automatic weapons with ease.
If it's a Master? All of them. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan ran from the droidekas because it was more trouble than it was worth to stop the entire army of untiring droids on the ship, not because they couldn't deflect the droideka bolts quickly enough.

[Irbis]

So how many bullets could a Jedi Master feasibly stop? Are we talking about first Matrix movie levels, where Neo manages to stop a couple rounds from hand guns, or Matrix Reloaded levels where he stops fire from several fully automatic weapons with ease.

It depends on skill, but my guess? All of them, provided they're not coming from all directions. Still, he will eventually tire and fail to block in time.


I know that the more dakka principle seems to be at odds with the general heroic fantasy theme of the Star Wars universe, however a pair of heavy droid gunplatforms manage to make Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan run for it.

It was more the fact they couldn't damage the Droidekas while deflecting shots, they couldn't hack way to Gunray anymore, and standing there risked more of them showing up, so they ran to save the secondary target.

[Squark]

Actually, In Battlefront II, Shotguns are one of the better ways to deal with the Computer controled jedi in the campaign, after dropping a mine or detpack in front of you and running before the idiot triggers it (To quote HK, Silly Jedi). In my experience, and maybe it's a bug on my computer, rockets don't work at all, as the jedi will deflect it back at you... WITH HIS LIGHTSABER!!!???:smalleek::smallsigh::smallannoyed :

Which is yet another reason The Engineers are easily the best class.

As far as Jedi deflection goes, I imagine it's actually easier to block a scattershot coming from one direction than 2-3 shots from wildly different directions, since you can just pulse the entire scattershot outwards, while the individual bullets, all coming from different angles, have a better chance of overwhelming an apprentice. Furthermore, a Jedi can block projectile weapons with his lightsaber, but he has to be careful that he fully vaporizes the bullet, as opposed to just turning it to slag. Still, you won't have the bullet coming back at you, at least.

[Tam_OConnor]

Welcome... (Cue music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcZ9kQ1h-ZY&feature=related))
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http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/4383/i303.jpg... to Knights of the Old Republic.

Episode 30 Having dispatched the selkath that had lay in wait outside the airlock, Ni proceeded deeper into the Hrakert Rift station.

Ni: "Carth, looks like we have more survivors. They've activated the security fields - still look a bit nervous. Going to try to talk to them."

Onasi: "Be careful. They've probably had a few tense days."

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Onasi records that the next half minute was broken only by an enormous sucking noise and the frantic tic tic of keypad use.
When he heard Ni heave a sigh of relief, he took that as a sign that the crisis had passed.

Ni: "Tense."

Onasi: "Alright, maybe they're just a little bit psychopathic. What did you do?"

Ni: "Sliced into the nearby console. Shut down their access and the security field. I'm going to resist doing them injury now."

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Ni: "Stop screaming!"

The sheer volume of the statement apparently caused some problems for Onasi, who had to re-adjest his comlink. When he managed to get it functional again, the man was speaking. In the interm period, Ni had identified the man was head scientist Kono Nolan, and the woman as named Sami. Republic records are non-existant for either of them, leading us to believe that the records have been excised. Research is on-going, but it is believed that this lapse of records was a deliberate action by the Republic, a symptom of the corruption that had resulted from the galactic conflict.

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Nolan: "We had a few people outside the station when it happened..."

Sami: "The... firaxan sharks just tore them apart... it was like they were frenzied..."

Nolan: "The next thing we knew our selkath researchers started screaming and... and clawing at everything around them. My team... my team was torn apart and eaten before my eyes! Sami and me... I... I thought we were the only ones left. We heard the selkath outside at the doors every once in a while... and those strange noises echoing through the base."

Ni: "What happened?"

Sami: "We don't know! Not for sure..."

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Nolan: "It was a firaxa shark I think... bigger than any I'd every seen before. Bigger than our submersibles."

Sami: "It was like it was screaming inside my head..."

Nolan: "Then all the selkath started screaming too... and they turned on us."

Ni: "Carth, we've got a cause. Talk to HK if he's back. Ask him about Force-sensitive firaxan sharks, or selkath legends that could fit that descriptor. Kono, Sami, is there anything more you can tell me about the firaxa? Was it protecting something, like the ruins down here?"

Nolan: "How did you -"

Ni: "Just answer the question."

Nolan: "It could have been . It might have a lair in the Hrakert Rift near the kolto vent. Hmm... that may explain a few things, too..."

Ni: "Such as?"

Nolan: "Like why it reached so violently when our construction efforts got closer to the vent. And also why it is so large. It must be feeding off the kolto. It would have to be ancient indeed for it to reach that size. But with kolto as a food source..."

Ni would later share a different conclusion when she related the events to Shan. She theorized that, like the enormous bull krayt dragon, the presence of the Star Map and its accompanying nexus and dark side energy had accelerated the growth of the firaxa. Shan agreed in principle, but cautioned Ni not to jump to conclusions. There were still two more Star Maps to discover. If they too displayed aberrant physical growth, then Ni's theory would have credence.

As historians, we have an even broader perspective than Ni and Shan, and can state that to the best of our knowledge, it does seem as thouh Ni's theory is broadly correct. Where the Jedi Order has deigned to inform the public at large of dark side nexi, there does seem to be living organisms of unnatural size. To use an obscure example, the planet Dagobah is known for the breadth of its swamps and is identified as a locale of powerful dark side energy in the Jedi Archives.

Sami: "All those other firaxan sharks! Those might be its offspring!"

Nolan: "Which would be why they all swarmed when it called out to them... Children coming to protect their mother."

Again, Ni provides an alternate theory in her discussions with Bastila. She believed that the huge firaxa was an instinctual Force adept, and was compelling other firaxa to defend it. The sheer power of the creature created a bleed-over of Force energy, and that was what drove the selkath insane, as they were of a similar mental physiology to the firaxa.

At this time, HK-47 returned from his sweep of the compound. Onasi queried him with Ni's questions, but the droid was unable to supply anything beyond the most rudimentary of creation stories: that the selkath, and indeed all life on Manaan, had been spawned from a singular creature.

HK-47: "Conclusion: Such stories are, to say the least, improbable. Will that be all, meatbag?"

Onasi: "Yeah, yeah, you bucket of bolts. Jan?"

Ni: "Back in the airlock. They got a little unstable again, so I, uh, sedated them."

Onasi: "You didn't."

Ni: "I keep telling everyone: what's the point of a stun setting you don't use?"

Onasi: "Jan -"

Ni: "Alright, the problem is that the giant firaxa is more or less actively patrolling the rift itself. And the ruins, and the Star Map, are on the other side of the rift. So here's the deal: I have to get to the Star Map, and somehow I don't think years of training is going to help me hide in my bright yellow envirosuit. Especially because I get this nagging feeling that it can see my mind."

Onasi: "So what are our options?"

Ni: "That was what sent them into fits. They saw two options. The station has been dealing with near-constant firaxa attacks, so they were trying to develop some kind of repellant."

Onasi: "I guess if the kolto synthesizing wasn't working out, they needed something else to occupy their time."

Ni: "The problem is, they hadn't finished, and the product they have now exploits pressure differentials or somesuch science, and pretty much makes them explode into clouds of goop. HK would probably love it."

HK-47: "Affirmation: It does sound lovely, master."

Ni: "Right, forgot you had a built-in comlink. Have you been listening this entire time?"

HK-47: "Negatory: Master, I have been hunting down the last of the selkath. I could hardly have done that with meatbags blaring in my aural receptors, could I?"

Onasi: "Moving on."

Ni: "Right. So they've got enough 'repellant' to fill a fairly large canister. Kono had gathered it all together, and was planning to use the kolto harvester to vent it into the surrounding ocean."

HK-47: "Warning: Though I would like to see this compound in action, my programming tells me that this would be both grossly inefficient and a dreadful breach of protocol."

Onasi: "So what's the alternative?"

Ni: "Sami said that the firaxa had been displaying territorial characteristics towards the harvesting machine - apparently she's their ecology expert. She thought that if the harvesting machine was destroyed, the firaxa would subside. Sami said that the hydrolium fuel they use could be pressurized to a liquid state, at which point it should spontaneously detonate."

Onasi: "And an explosion is supposed to calm this thing down? Somehow I doubt that. Besides, it would mean losing the extra kolto from this facility, and the Republic is in dire enough straits as is."

HK-47: "Debate: The alternative is to endanger the kolto supply as a whole. We do not know how this compound would react with the environment at large, or even if it will prove effective when diluted."

Ni: "Well, like I said, I don't think sneaking is an option, and my lightsaber isn't designed to work underwater. And blaster bolts would probably lose cohesion at this depth."

Onasi: "So what do we do?"

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Voting So what does Jan do, ladies and gentlemen?

1) Chemical warfare, which may not even work. And if it does work, it may have unexpected consequences like poisoning the kolto.

2) Destroying the Republic's harvesting capabilities, which at the very least will cost the Republic thousands of lives. And may not ever work.

3) Jan tries something clever. (Taking suggestions on what said clever action would be, of course).

Voting is open until Wednesday, up until whenever I start up the next chapter.
Commentary Again, I'm liberally editing this. In case Jan had completely forgotten why the station was here in the first place, she could ask that. But my time and patience, and I'm sure yours, is finite, so snip snip. Again, if there are any requests for specific sidequests, or questions, in-universe or gameplay-wise, ask away.

Mostly random side note here: Kono Nolan is voiced by Cam Clarke. Among other things, he's Leonardo from TMNT, He-Man, Toph's father, Sky in Jade Empire, Kaneda from Akira, and the role I know him best as, Aran Linvail in Baldur's Gate 2. Actually, let's make this not completely random. The part where this is a screenshot Let's Play means that you're not getting the voice acting, most of which is actually pretty darn good. So let's give credit where it's due, and maybe inspire the voices in your head to read lines somewhat differently.

Bastila Shan: voiced by Jennifer Hale: Female Shepard (Mass Effect), Mazzy Fentan (Baldur's Gate 2), Aayla Secura (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Aayla_Secura) (numerous recent Star Wars media), Samus Aran, Prier(e) (La Pucelle), and in something I didn't even know until I looked it up, Dynaheir (Baldur's Gate). I think calling her fan base rabid is maybe a bit of an understatement.

Carth Onasi: voiced by Raphael Sbarge: Kaiden (Mass Effect), a whole bunch of TV roles, and a semi-recurring role on Star TRek: Voyager. Notice how Bioware has this tendancy to re-use voice actors?

Canderous Ordo: voiced by John Cygan, who also turns up, strangely enough, as Dash Rendar (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Dash_Rendar) from Star Wars: Shadow of the Empire.

HK-47: voiced by Kristoffer Tabori. In a continued trend of characters voicing strangely similar, but completely different characters: provides the voice of rogue rebel commander Garm bel Iblis (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Garm_Bel_Iblis).

Juhani: voiced by Courtenay Taylor. Voices a whole slew of characters in Troika's Vampire: the Masquerade: Bloodlines, as well as Jack (Mass Effect). Strangely for me, her voice is very non-descript - her voicework has absolutely nothing to do with why I like (ah, Damsel), or dislike the character (Juhani).

Mission Vao: voiced by Catherine Taber. Also does Padme in the recent Clone Wars TV show. Appropriately enough, she also does voicework for Leia in the Force Unleashed.

Master Vrook Lamarr: voiced by Edward Asner, of all people. He also did Carl Fredrickson (Up), Hudson (Gargoyles) and has TV credits stretching all the way back to 1957. Somewhat distressingly, he's also the voice of Granny Goodness in the DCU.

Finally, we haven't seen the character he voices yet, but Kevin Michael Richardson will be performing as our last party member in his characteristic deep and moderately terrifying voice. He's the Almighty Jabba in the Clone Wars series, which is a heck of a reversal. Also the Joker (the Batman), making him a very strange parallel to Mark Hamill. Has done Mace Windu at least once. But to me, he'll always be Sarevok Anchev (Baldur's Gate), which is why he's so especially terrifying. "Why is the Avatar getting helped by Sarevok? They're all going to die!"
Next time, on Knights of the Old Republic: http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/5729/end30.jpg

[Arcanoi]

Commune with the Firaxan Broodmother, because maybe it's Force Fishy Warcries will be interesting. :smalltongue:

[Mando Knight]

Wait, you've got HK voting against poisoning the water hole causing wanton slaughter the loss of the entirety of the kolto supply? Did Carth go installing an aftermarket modification when I wasn't looking? Did it affect HK's assassination protocols?

-"Answer: Assassination protocols? As in the premeditated killing of another for personal or economic gain? Surely master is joking with his humble, peace-loving droid. I exist only to serve and learn how to serve meatbags."

[Tam_OConnor]

I guess I've picked up more from KotOR 2 than I thought. An assassin droid that wantonly murders is an assassin droid that gets dismantled. Consider his own reasoning for not picking up a war droid: finesse. Chemical attacks, while amusing, are not typically very precise. Or at least that was my (apparent) line of thinking. I think. Maybe. That enough temporizing for you? :smallbiggrin:

[Cogwheel]

Commune with the Firaxan Broodmother, because maybe it's Force Fishy Warcries will be interesting. :smalltongue:

This. If we're making stuff up anyway (and if it's not too much trouble), talk to it.

I think I blew the place up, if memory serves. As for the chemical warfare option...

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4_oTAxX4Onc/SJVNI0tR7nI/AAAAAAAABWM/O8tm7q5xjf8/s400/bat%2Bshark%2Brepellent.JPG

The joke basically makes itself.

[Kzickas]

That does sound a little more like a reasoning KOTOR2's HK would come up with

[Squark]

Also, more kolto means more meatbags for HK-47 to shoot.


I vote for knocking out the base, it seems more in line with Jan's reason.

[Brother Oni]

Couldn't HK rig up the canister with a remote detonator, get fishy to eat it, then activate it, giving you a precisely delivered chemical attack.

Alternately, he could do a Jaws, then sharpshoot the canister while it's still in the critter's mouth (they must have spearguns or something similar to chase off the smaller sharks).

Either way, he kills two birds with one stone - the shark is dead and HK gets to see it pop spectacularly. :smallbiggrin:

[Squark]

Except HK can't get that close (he's obviously not built for walking on the depths of the ocean), so he wouldn't get to see the exploding shark.

[Fayd]

I vote no to the poisoning... poison is just too messy.

[Tam_OConnor]

Welcome... (Cue music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryohHTpxpOI&feature=related))
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http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/7653/i312.jpg
http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/563/i313.jpg... to Knights of the Old Republic.

Episode 31 http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/8808/311p.jpg

We return to the Hrakert Rift Station on Manaan, where Ni, Onasi, and HK-47 have just concluded their discussion on how to deal with the enormous firaxa shark.

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Ni: "I can't believe I'm doing this. ... Here, fishie, fishie, fish...."

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Our details of the encounter come from Ni's later discussion with Shan. Shan's initial impulse was to describe what Ni had done as a form of animal friendship (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Animal_friendship), an ability practiced by many Force adepts through the millenia. Many Jedi manifest an instinctual use of this ability, creating the general impression that Jedi are good with animals. It is theorized by many Jedi historians, including the present chief librarian Jocasta Nu, that the Beast Riders of Onderon (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Beast_Rider) unconsciously developed this ability, aided by the ambient dark side energy present on the planet. But when Shan explained the ability:

Shan: "Animal friendship is reliant on the Oneness of the Force. The Jedi uses that oneness with the animal to create a temporary force bond, to both raise the animal's consciousness and lower the Jedi's to the same level. In a sense, you adopt some of the animal's way of thinking, and it gains some of yours."

Ni: "But it wasn't like that. That was what the selkath had tried to do, when the firaxa got angry in the first place. But the firaxa was so overwhelming, its sense of self was so strong, that the selkath got absorbed. I didn't want to risk that. So -"

Shan: "So you decided to face it head on? I do not think that was any wiser."

Ni: "Oh, let me tell the story, already. I made myself a target, and it came at me, physically and mentally."

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Ni: "I, uh, gracefully avoided its physical assault."

Onasi: "Fell flat on your face, you mean. I saw it all on the holorecorders."

Ni: "Shush, you! But I did essentially the same thing mentally. I made my mind, for lack of a better word, slippery. And then I hit it in the back. The hind-brain, I suppose. I guess it was so used to being able to overwhelm anything that it never learned how to defend itself."

Shan: "And then?"

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Onasi: "Any chance we can get the Star Forge's location from just these three?"

Ni: "I've set T3 on it, but they're all corrupted in very different places. I don't expect anything."

Shan: "But how did you get back to the surface? And does it have anything do with why you told us to 'drop everything and get to the ship,' followed by a very hasty departure into hyperspace?"

Ni: "Yeah, about that... We're kind of fleeing selkath custody."

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Ahto City Civil Authority: "You have been observed taking a submersible down to the Hrakert Rift - a forbidden sector!"

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Ni: "And I looked ahead, and saw an awful lot of explaining, and we're sort of on a time limit here - besides, there's no reason to help the Crusader bounty hunters by staying in one place for too long."

Shan: "So you decided it would be better to cause a diplomatic incident?!"

Ni: "Yeah. Turns out that the Crusaders weren't the only ones planning a coup - the Republic is doing one of their own, and Wann is using our escapades in the embassy as the flashpoint. He, uh, recommended that the Jedi Order not have a presence in the coup."

Shan: "Carth, you're supporting this?"

Onasi: "Look, I don't like it, but it's better than what the Sith did to Taris. Once Saul and Malak are gone, we can deal with the corruption inside the Republic. That's why Wann didn't want the Jedi involved - their integrity won't be compromised."

Shan: "... fine. But the Jedi Council will hear of this."

Ni: "If the two of you want to argue about it, could you do it somewhere other than the bunkroom? I've been running non-stop for a few days now."

Onasi: "Will do. Maybe Zaalbar will open up enough for a game of dejarik (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Dejarik). I'll let you know when we dock with Yavin Station."

During the trip, Ni found time to perform further maintainence on HK-47.

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HK-47: "...and now re-wire the last three relays... yes, good. Well done, master. I believe your operation was a success. Accessing new memory... Acess complete: I have recovered information on my owner previous to the commercial officer, master. Intriguing."

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Ni: "Seems like you've been around, HK."

HK-47: "Observation: It does seem that way, does it not? I can still remember all the glittering lights of Coruscant. Very pretty. Can we go back there, master?"

Ni: "Only after this situation is resolved. I think Malak has most of the routes interdicted."

HK-47: "Statement: I do remember that I was very pleased to be the property of a senator. One of his assistants descovered my assassination functions later through questioning."

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Ni: "So we're not talking about a nice senator, then."

HK-47: "Observation: Senators are not nice, master. They are either on top of the game or yesterday's news. My master told me that frequently, you see. I was most proud to have partaken in the political system of the galaxy. During the time my owner possessed me, he gained significant rank."

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Ni: "And no one noticed all of this?"

HK-47: "Answer: There are a lot of politicians on Coruscant, master. I could spent decades slaughtering them and still not make a dent. And it is not as if I walked into the Senate chambers with a carbonite explosive. I was very discrete. My best work to date... that I can remember."

We would like to take this moment to assure our audience that HK-47's statement about a ccarbonite explosive is verifiable historical fact, and not a commentary on the recent attempted bombing.

HK-47: "Observation: I think he would have done far better had he not allowed his use of me to become personal. He set me on his wife."

Ni: "Why?"

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HK-47: "I was to go to their summer estate and terminate his wife... along with whatever male companion I discovered there."

Ni: "Should've guess it. She was cheating on him."

HK-47: "Statement: I have no idea, master. Cheating seems to be a relevant terms only when one is caught in the act. Otherwise it is viewed as intelligence, no?"

Ni: "Regardless, go on."

HK-47: "Statement: I journeyed to the southern continent, but it appeared my master was not far behind me. Apparently he regretted his activation of the protocol. When I found the wife and her companion, I proceeded to launch my attack... but my master interposed his own body and was destroyed. It was a rather strange meatbag thing to do, do you not agree? Naturally I shut myself down, my master being terminated."

Ni: "Seems as if he got a conscience in the end."

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Ni: "So then what?"

HK-47: "Statement: I believe the senator's wife was unsure what I was or what to do with me. It was she who sold me to the corporate officer, an acquaintance."

Ni: "Well, that's two out two masters killed."

HK-47: "Observation: Only so far, master. There are still more memories not recovered, remember?"

Ni: "Speaking of, has your functionality improved?"

HK-47: "Answer: As previously, I have found a few more programs which will enhance my performance. A most gratifying discovery, in fact."

http://img542.imageshack.us/img542/2876/3119.jpg
Commentary Have I mentioned that the court sections on Manaan are completely pointless? Not to mention arbitrary - the selkath originally call you in on 'why is there poison in the water?' or 'what were those explosions down at the Rift?' But the Republic has sent at least two, maybe three submersibles full of soldiers or mercenaries down there, to no reaction.

In any case, mucking about with the fishies has given us a level:

http://img714.imageshack.us/img714/2375/carthlevel14.jpg
http://img836.imageshack.us/img836/8931/hk47level14.jpg
http://img828.imageshack.us/img828/3831/janlevel15.jpg

We're pretty serious bad-asses: the only time we have trouble is when the opponent is throwing around high DC status effects. This is d20-based, after all. Pure direct damage just isn't that efficient, and we've got lots of medpacks (and Force Healing) to counter their effects. The last time that damage alone was problematic was back in with Davik Kang and Calo Nord, with them dual-wielding and using Power-Shot.

One of my complaints with the system is that it creates a lot of very similar-feeling fights. Options:
1) They're a monster, and they close to rip and tear. It's odd, but I can't remember any of the monsters having any abilities other than poison or Force Resistance. Nothing knocks you over, stuns you, causes fear, etc.

2) They're a ranged attacker, and might throw grenades. Which, because of the timing, won't hit you if you're moving towards them. Essentiallly, you close with one opponent, and they'll throw grenades while you tangle in melee.

3) They're a Jedi, or one of the rare war droids with carbonite/flame launchers. But they're either mooks, and so don't do anything besides create interesting FX or catch someone who bombs a save, or bosses, which means their abilities are a bit too likely to work.

This isn't really an argument against the game, but against the game system. Without cool monster abilities, and with no obvious caster/warrior divide, and the game engine limiting your terrain choices, how do you make interesting encounters?

Add in the part where grenades become annoyances around level 12 (except the insanely expensive thermal detonators), and most of the options are in leveling and equipping, and when to use items. And there are a fairly limited, non-randomized selection of items, and ranged combat and single-saber aren't very good. Maybe I shouldn't play Jedi Academy and KotOR in the same week...
Next time, on Knights of the Old Republic: http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/2443/end31.jpg

[Fri]

This might be the best screenshot yet :smallcool:


http://img828.imageshack.us/img828/3831/janlevel15.jpg

this is just too rich :smallbiggrin:

[Irbis]

It's odd, but I can't remember any of the monsters having any abilities other than poison or Force Resistance. Nothing knocks you over, stuns you, causes fear, etc.

Wait until you get to Kashyyyk. It's broken in the precisely other direction, which is why I fond battles there infuriating. :smallannoyed:

[Tam_OConnor]

Welcome... (Cue music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onWSaGauh8U))
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http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/7452/i322.jpg
http://img713.imageshack.us/img713/691/i323.jpg... to Knights of the Old Republic.

Episode 32 The Ebon Hawk has completed docking with Suvam Tan's Yavin station. Ni, Shan and Ordo disembark; Shan to make sure Ni doesn't spend hours play pazaak, and Ordo because he wanted to inspect Tan's weaponry personally. But Tan apparently already had company.

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Tan: "What? You can't just rewrite our agreement whenever you feel like it! The Excchange won't stand for it!"

Trandoshan: "The Exchange is in no position to dictate orders anymore, Suvam... Who's that? A stranger... You haven't been telling us everything, now have you, Suvam?"

Tan: "Tell you everything? What are you talking about? I don't have to clear everything through you!"

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Trandoshan: "We'll be back, Suvam!"

The trandoshans leave Tan's workshop.

Ni: "Canderous, give Carth a buzz. Tell him to have the autoblaster warmed up, just in case."

Tan: "Thank you for helping, but... I really don't think you should have provoked them like that. They can be... impulsive, sometimes."

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Ni: "What'd they want?"

Tan: "They want me to give them more of my inventions... stuff that I haven;t even finished working on yet! Ever since Davik went down, the Exchange has been a non-facotr in these parts. The trandoshans are trying to muscle in on all the old Exchange businesses now. Maybe I can still work something out with them... Thank you for being here, though. It might have gone less... pleasantly if you hadn't shown up."

While Shan and Ordo looked over Tan's inventions - Shan trying to sense dark side energies, and Ordo itching to test fire them - Ni took Tan aside. We don't have the particulars of the conversation, but the broad strokes of the argument were revealed later, back on the Ebon Hawk.

Ni gathered everyone in the lounge.

Ni: "Alright, people. I've been pushing you fairly hard for the last week or two. You need a break, so I'm handing the ship over to Carth for five - no, make it a week. That should be enough time to make it to somewhere fun - Zeltros (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Zeltros), Nar Shaddaa (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Nar_Shaddaa), Alderaan (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Alderaan)- and enjoy yourself for a few days before meeting me back here."

Onasi: "Nar Shaddaa is fun? If you want to get knifed, maybe."

Shan: "Are you sure this is a good idea? Malak and his fleet -"

Ni: "Are consolidating their gains around Taris. Word is that Malak himself is on some rock named Dathomir (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Dathomir), or something like that. You take the Gordian Reach (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Gordian_Reach) to the Perlemian Trade Route (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Perlemian_Trade_Route), and most of the galaxy is open. And there's no point in fighting when we're in anything but top shape."

Vao: "What are you going to do, Jan?"

Ni: "Suvam is loaning me his ship. It's a fast little thing - I should be able to get to Dantooine and deliver a package. You had reports you wanted to send to the Jedi Council, Bastila?"

Shan: "I do, but -"

Ni: "You guys are great, but I haven't had a moment to myself since the Endar Spire went down. I get my alone-time, you guys get time without me giving you orders."

Shan: "Very well. Come with me, and I'll get you those reports."

In the Ebon Hawk's cockpit:

Ni: "Go ahead and ask your question."

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Ni: "No, some things I won't share. Get one of your own."

Shan: "Excuse me?"

Ni: "Uhh, nevermind. Go ahead?"

Shan: "In our time together I've been watching you. You are a true servant of the light, you follow the tenets of the Jedi Order despite the lure of the dark side. And with so little training."

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Ni: "It's a struggle for me, sometimes."

Shan: "That's a relief to hear. I have never found the Jedi path an easy one to walk, and it's good to know I'm not alone."

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Shan: "I've often dreamed that I might be able to confront Darth Malak myself. I dream I can use all this power I have to kill him and stop all the death and destruction. I just think about all the evil that the Sith have caused and I... I get so furious. Yet we are told that these feelings are the path to the dark side."

Ni: "Look, Bastila, I only know about three ways of coping with everything I have to do. You make yourself not care, treat them just as faceless threats. And that turns you into a monster. Or you care too much, realize that all these people we're killing have families. And that makes you helpless. Or you try to do both, and go crazy like every good soldier. We're doing something that needs to be done."

Shan: "But part of me thinks that it would be worth anything to vanquish evil, even if it meant giving in to my base emotions. The very thought that I could become as evil as Malak; I just can't fathom it. It just doesn't seem possible. How could I... no, wait. I'm sorry."

Ni: "What for?"

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Ni: "Bastila -"

Shan: "These are dangerous thoughts, the indulgences of a vain mind. Please, forget I ever mentioned this. Please convey these reports to the Jedi Council."

Ni: "Just do me a favor: let your hair down wherever Carth takes you. Forget about the war, forget that you're a Jedi. Just try to enjoy yourself."

Shan: "I...I'll try."

Within the hour, the Ebon Hawk lifted off from Yavin Station, accompanied by a sleek one-seated craft.

Ni: "Carth, keep Mission out of trouble. And keep Canderous from starting another Jedi Crusade."

Onasi: "Hey, I out-rank you! Why have I been taking orders since Taris?"

Ni: "Because it was either me or Bastila, and I'm more reasonable."

Shan: "Jan, I'm sitting right here."

Ni: "Right, forgot you're co-pilot. Ummm, look at that, there's my hyperspace vector! See you guys in a week."
Commentary So Jan's technically light-sided (around 54-60, where 100 is pure Light Side and 1 is pure Dark Side), but Bastila's making it out like she's a shining beacon of goodness. KotOR doesn't really have a neutral option. They expect - and mechanically encourage - to commit to an extreme. But Jan isn't really one to go out of her way to pet/smush small cute animals, her irrational love of gizka aside. That, and a neutral alignment means that you guys are free to consider your votes without bias to either side.

Oh, and just to clear something up, I'm not going on hiatus. The crew is (and I'm taking recommendations and what kind of wackiness they get up to), but I'm not. I should be churning this out all through the holidays.

Other than that, we're getting fairly close to the endgame here, at least in terms of dialogue trees. So we're finally gettting to see for ourselves how truly screwed up Bastila is. I'm not taking lines out of context and stringing them together here. She reveals that she has doubts, and then uses her training as an excuse to shove those doubts away without answering them. Folks go on about how Carth is this horribly broken human being because of his trust issues (and we'll deal with that later), but no one seems to talk about how equally messed up Bastila is. I mean, she's not as transparently broken as say, Aerie,

Aerie explanation/semi-spoilers for folks who haven't played Baldur's Gate 2Aerie, like Carth and Bastila, is a romance option. Technically, she's an avariel (winged elf). But because she tried to save a kid from slavers, she wound up stuffed into a tiny cage and sold to a circus. The aforementioned tiny cage caused an infection in her wings, at which point her captors cut them off. Without anesthetic or magical healing. The trope Broken Bird (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BrokenBird) (TV Tropes warning) is apt in name only. The Woobie (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheWoobie) is probably more accurate, especially considering the fandom is split on whether Aerie needs a hug or a stab. Of the official BG2 female romance options, she's the Maiden (Jaheira's the Mother, and Viconia's the... other one). She will also shatter if you raise your voice at her.
but Bastila is not exactly stable. No, that's wrong. She's very stable, but she's also very brittle. But it's not her outer nature that's brittle - it's when she starts questioning herself that everything can just fall apart.
Next time, on Knights of the Old Republic: http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/6813/end32.jpg

[kamikasei]

Ni: "Just do me a favor: let your hair down whenever Carth takes you."
...Was that intentional?

[Tam_OConnor]

...noooo, but it is a very Freudian mistake (that I am fixing for clarity, and not the lulz).

[The_Werebear]

You're very correct in pointing out Bastila's brittleness, though I never really thought about it that way before. Carth's lack of trust in other people just seems a lot more obvious than Bastila's lack of trust in herself.

[Tam_OConnor]

Welcome... (Cue music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rfekvwfQRw))
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http://img703.imageshack.us/img703/6584/i332.jpg
http://img821.imageshack.us/img821/4616/i333.jpg... to Knights of the Old Republic.

Episode 33 We return again to our confidential source. Ni landed on the surface of Dantooine, delivered Shan's missives to the Jedi Council, and was dismissed without comment. By some uncanny means - perhaps use of the Force, perhaps by more conventional means, she tracked down a speeder registered to one Zuulan Sentar. Sentar was a Gran slaver, kidnapper and blackmailer.

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Ni removed herself to a location within earshot, and waited. Presently, Sentar returned. Activating his speeder, he triggered the baradium (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Baradium)charge that Ni had set, destroying the speeder and everything else within a five meter radius. Her mission complete, Ni returned to her borrowed ship, and set a course for Manaan.

Arkos Sakith, a Zeltron entertainer, wrote eloquently on the transition from tense neutrality to the subtly different tension that arrives in the aftermath of a coup. His complete memoirs have recently become available to the public, and so we will limit ourselves to a brief excerpt.

Sakith: "In spite of all the charges that the new Republic-supported government had made, there were still little details that were jarring - differences between the primary and the understudy. One incident stands out in my mind - not because it was unusual, but because it was such an iconic scene. From a staging perspective, it was without par.

Sakith: "A Rodian in a spacer's outfit stood with his back to the ocean, his eyes on the moving crowds. He would stand there for hours at a time - practically a piece of the scenery. As I was sitting and taking in the Manaan sunshine, he was approached by a woman.

Sakith: "This woman - when I was a student, I would have said she moved like a dancer. Older, and perhaps a little wiser, I could have corrected my younger self. Dancers move with grace and control, but their movements are designed to be very expressive. The goal of a dancer is to communication, to share the beauty of movement with the audience. This woman was a cipher. Each step flowed into the next, but following the fluidity of motion made me aware that I had no idea where the next step would fall. It may sound overly dramatic, but this woman was killer. Not obviously, but to eyes like mine - I've seen tens of thousands of soldiers, bounty hunters, Jedi, crime lords - I've seen the type.

Sakith: "And then, this constant observer and this trained killer stopped and spoke with one another. I carefully kept my face neutral. The way they stood, I couldn't read their lips. The tones in which they spoke didn't carry. I knew that I didn't want to overhear. But this meeting, the very casual nature of it, profoundly unnerved me."

Sakith soon turns to other subjects. And similarly, we turn to our confidential source for the details of the metting of Hulas and Ni.

http://img826.imageshack.us/img826/9982/332wh.jpg

Ni: "Sentar and Lorgal are dead."

Hulas: "Yes, Jan Ni, I am aware of this. Our agents have been keeping a close eye on you, though I doubt you saw them. They were there when your targets met their untimely ends. And as promised here are your rewards for the task: a blaster developed exclusively for the use of those within our guild, and a vibroblade to match. They will serve you well, I am sure."

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Hulas: "There are three targets that the Genoharadan want you to remove. If you can eliminate all three, then you will gain full membership in our ancient guild. The first is a gammorean (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Gammorean)named Vorn Daasraad. The second is a shapeshifter (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Changeling_(species_type))called Rulan Prolik. The third is a selkath known as Ithorak Guldar."

Ni: "Tell me about Vorn Daasraad."

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Hulas: "The Genoharadan will tolerate a certain amount of competition, but Vorn has become too dangerous. You'd be surprised at how much political damage one rogue assassin can inflict. Vorn was last seen on Tatooine. We suspect he's taking a break from hunting sentients by going after a krayt dragon. We don't want him to leave the Dune Sea alive. Just be careful when you face off against him. Vorn doesn't travel alone: he's always got his assault droid close at hand. The two of them make a formidable pair."

Ni: "Details on Rulan Prolik?"

http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/5376/335e.jpg

Hulas: "But we suspect he's behind several prominent assassinations on the Outer Rim. The Genoharadan are worried he might decide to move his operations closer to the galactic core. With his ability to assume virtually any form, he could wreak havoc in the Galactic Senate. We aren't about to let that happen."

Ni: "Any idea on where to start looking for someone who could look like anyone?"

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Ni: "And Ithorak Guldar?"

Hulas: "Ithorak isn't violent like Rulan or Vorn, but in many ways he's far more dangerous. He's a con artist and blackmailer who's taken millions of credits from rich and powerful families."

http://img695.imageshack.us/img695/3659/337x.jpg

Hulas: "All we know is how to contact him. There's a twi'lek named Vek at the Ahto City swoop track. He can set up a meeting between you and Ithorak."

Ni: "Why would Vek set up a meeting between us?"

Hulas: "Ithorak poses as a merchant of rare antiquities. It's the perfect cover for his real work - it gives him access to rich and powerful families without drawing suspicion. You'll have to convince Vek that you represent a buyer interested in purchasing some rare art from Ithorak. Convince Vek, and he'll set up a meeting. The meeting will be your one chance to take Ithorak out, but be careful. He'll choose the time and place, and he's not going to leave himself vulnerable."

Ni: "Anything else I should know?"

Hulas: "Just a warning, Jan Ni. The assignments I have just given you are far more difficult than the simple bounties I gave you as your first test."

http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/1557/338f.jpg

At the Ahto City swoop track, Ni made contact with Vek.

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Ni: "You want to set a meeting between me and your boss."

Vek: "I... I want to set up a meeting between you and my boss. Meet me at docking bay three tomorrow, at 1800 hours."

The next day, at the entrance to docking bay three, 1800 Galactic standard time:

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Vek: "However, before we go in I'll point out this rather large assault droid standing beside me. I and the droid will both accompany you in to see Ithorak, just to make sure there is no trouble."

Ni: "My business with Ithorak is confidential."

Vek: "Ithorak is an important man with access to the rich and powerful. He is not about to let himself become an easy target for a kidnapping or an assassination. When you meet Ithorak, I and the droid will both be there. It is my job to protect my employer, and I intend to do that regardless of my personal feelings toward him."

Ni: "So you don't care for him?"

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Vek: "But despite all Ithorak's faults, he does pay well. So I serve my employer faithfully, for now."

Ni: "You should quit on him right now. Leave and find another job."

Vek: "You're.. you're right. He's never treated me with the respect I deserve. Yelling at me, insulting me, belittling me. I don't know why I stayed with him as long as I did!

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Vek: "Whatever your plan for Ithorak is, be careful. I've always suspected he was more than just a simple merchant. I've heard people who cross him are rarely heard from again. I don't want to risk his vengeance, so I'm going to disappear for a long while. Just in case Ithorak gets the better of you in this, you understand. Goodbye, human... and good luck."

Ni stepped inside the hanger bay. Guldar immediately realized something was amiss.

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Guldar: "Vek's going to pay for this betrayal... after I'm done taking care of you!"

But for all his bravado, Guldar was only an unarmed selkath, facing down the lightsaber and vibroblade of a very dangerous woman. The outcome was inevitable.

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Ni: "I have some questions about the Genoharadan."

Hulas: "You must understand that there is much I cannot tell you until you are accepted into the guild, of course. But ask your questions and I will tell you what I can."

Ni: "Who formed this guild? And where did it begin?"

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Hulas: "During Xim's short but brutal reign he used Genoharadan agents to eliminate his most powerful enemies. When Xim was finally overthrown, it was believed the Geonharadan disbanded. But the Genoharadan did not disband. Instead, we vanished into the darkness. In the first few centuries after Xim was overthrown, the Genoharadan were nothing but hired killers. We were a mere tool to be used by those who were rich and politically ambitious."

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Hulas: "The organization of the guild itself also changed at this point. Instead of a single guildmaster, it was decided there would be four Overseers to guide and lead the Genoharadan. By distributing the power in this way we were protected against becoming a tool of a single person. The Overseers' individual ambitions would serve to balance each other out."

Ni: "Tell me about the Overseers."

Hulas: "I'm sorry, Jan Ni, but I am not ready to reveal all our secrets to you yet. Perhaps after you have completed another of your missions I will tell you more of this."

Ni: "Why haven't the Genoharadan assassinated Malak? He's causing at least as much havoc as the Mandolorians did. Don't you want to keep the Republic intact?"

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Hulas: "In any case, there is no guarantee that the Genoharadan would eliminate Malak even if we could. Not yet. He may someday be of use to us, depending how events play out."

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Hulas: "We have found it more effective to let the grand scope of events play themselves out, then manipulate the situation to our advantage. It is one of the keys to keeping our existence well hidden."

Ni: "Does the Jedi Order know about your guild?"

Hulas: "Some of the wise masters have knowledge of our existence. Those who study galactic history carefully will see evidence of our influence throughout. But it is unlikely that even the Jedi know the true scope of our power and influence. They permit us to exist because they see us as a minor faction in the galaxy: one of many."

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Boarding her borrowed ship, Ni returned to Yavin Station, just preceeding the arrival of the Ebon Hawk.
Commentary Once again, I'm taking suggestions on where the crew ent, and what kind of trouble (if any) they got up to.

So that's the bulk of the explanation we're going to get on the Genoharadan. It seems like a shame to me that Bioware's major contribution to the setting so far is just so painfully generic. THough perhaps that's the wrong way to look at it. I've heard KotOR variously described as 'the best Star Wars game,' and 'more like Star Wars than the movies.' And Star Wars itself is fundamentally a pulp story. One that's very formulaic, but enjoys the formula, unlike the usual Hollywood summer films. From that perspective, the inclusion of an ancient conspiracy of meddlers is very appropriate. And I'm practically showing you more of the Genoharadan than of the main quest, so obviously I enjoy it greatly.

Why it can be a better Star Wars story than the original movies, then? Fundamentally, it's because every playthrough can take on the aspects of a different pulp story. As the player-created character, you can follow Luke (pure Light-sided), Han (some morally questionable acts, but ending Light-sided) or as an villan-protagonist, which is something the original movies didn't present. The prequel trilogy arguably tried to make Anakin into a villain-protagonist, but they're more about his becoming a villain, with him as the protagonist. KotOR actually gives you the opportunity to be a complete monster, without asking you why you're so horrid.

That's the one angle Bioware didn't really cover well: the insidious evil. You can take all sorts of short-term benefit actions to your benefit, but in terms of longer-term schemes, theoptions are somewhat lacking. But that itself is more of a symptom of the reactive nature of protagonists, not really a failure on Bioware's part. They could have done it better, but if they had we might have been left with something looking more like KotOR 2.

Most of the Genoharadan gear is pretty good. The blaster is accurate but not terribly damaging, and is certainly the weakest item of the set. The gauntlets give +4 Strength, so they go straight on Canderous, and won't come off. The vibroblade is pretty good, with a chance to poison the opponent, and Jan'll be using it for a while. Actually, that's something I haven't touched on yet. Why is Jan using a lightsaber and a vibroblade in combination? Why not two lightsabers, or a double-bladed lightsaber like Bastila? (Single saber is pretty terrible, and the only ones who should be using it are Consulers, who just destroy things with Force powers instead).

From a visual standpoint, it's distinctive. I can't think of a single character who uses lightsaber and vibroblade in combination. As we'll find in the endgame, vibroblades can do some truly impressive damage if you have the right ones. In fact, I remember sitting back in my chair, flabbergasted that my vibroblade was doing more damage than my lightsaber. Lastly, it makes sense from a narrative perspective. It's remarkably hard to use a lightsaber subtly. Jan can slit throats with a vibroblade without worrying about the light giving her away. Besides, you never know if you'll go up against pure cortosis, shorting out lightsabers completely.
Next time, on Knights of the Old Republic: http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/617/end33.jpg

[The_Werebear]

Don't ask me where I read this, but I remember reading somewhere that using a Vibroblade and Lightsaber in conjunction is incredibly difficult due to the difference in weight and effort needed to move each of them. That means Jan's got a distinctive and potentially unpredictable style, giving extra fluffy points for a mysterious stranger type.

[Klose_the_Sith]

Don't ask me where I read this, but I remember reading somewhere that using a Vibroblade and Lightsaber in conjunction is incredibly difficult due to the difference in weight and effort needed to move each of them. That means Jan's got a distinctive and potentially unpredictable style, giving extra fluffy points for a mysterious stranger type.

...

Well played, good sir :smallamused:

[Tam_OConnor]

Welcome... (Cue music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOUF6TtZvSA))
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http://img63.imageshack.us/img63/4538/i342.jpg
http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/2239/i343.jpg... to Knights of the Old Republic.

Episode 34 Ni: "Alright, Carth. Tell me what happened."

Onasi: "We were making for the Starlight Casino; it's a space station in orbit around Ithor (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Ithor). Nice, wholesome fun, I thought. Not too much for Mission to steal, no one willing to give Canderous a fight -"

Ni: "A casino."

Onasi: "Not like a Nar Shaddaa casino. Small stakes, Ithorian-regulated, all that. No Exchange presence."

Ni: "Wait, let me guess. They wound up dead bored."

Onasi: "...yeah. Mission, Canderous and Zaalbar got approached by some unsavory people. To make a long story short, the Exchange wanted a cut of the action, and was trying to knock over the casino to prove a point. They recruited our people, and the three of them destroyed the group from the inside."

Ni: "Huh."

Onasi: "Hey, they may have been bored, but it doesn't mean that Mission or Zaalbar would stand for innocent people getting hurt. But we should probably keep them clear of the Exchange for the next few months."

Ni: "Juhani and Bastila?"

Onasi: "They took a trip down the surface - some nature tour. I guess they had fun. Said it was very peaceful."

Ni: "Kept the droids on-board?"

Onasi: "Yeah. T3 did maintainance, HK scared anyone away who got too close."

Ni: "And you?"

Onasi: "Broke even, more or less."

The Ebon Hawk departed Yavin station soon after, setting a course for one of the two Star Maps left. Shan had expressed a concern that her presence on Korriban might lead to unwanted attention, leaving Kashyyyk as the next destination.

Shan was performing maintainance on her lightsaber when she overheard and duly recorded the following conversation between Ni and Ordo.

Ni: "Canderous, could you give me an overview of the Mandolorian Wars? From your side, I mean. I know what the Republic says about them."

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Ordo: "At the start, they were not much of a threat to speak of, but once the Jedi Revan had taken charge, things began to turn on us. The Republic fleets began to use more than just basic tactics. Feints, counterattacks, mass deceptions. Revan was a genius on the field."

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Ordo: "And in the end, Revan proved too much for us."

Ni: "Wait, what about all of Exar Kun's remnants?"

Ordo: "The Sith had gone - retreated back into their empire. They sealed themselves off from the rest of the galaxy. We thought it would be centuries before they'd come back. It's amazing that they could rebuild their fleet so fast. But at the time, it looked like the galaxy was in our grasp!"

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Ordo: "It was not your ships or your men or your vaunted 'fight for freedom' that won this, the final battle of the war. It was by the actions of one person, the Jedi Revan, that you prevailed."

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Ordo: "Revan fought us to a standstill and then began pushing back. We didn't really have a chance."

Ordo completely ignores the role that the Mass Shadow Generator (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Mass_Shadow_Generator) played in the battle. Combined with other Mandolorian records of the time, it is possible that the decisiveness of the superweapon in resolving the conflict was greatly over-stated by Republic sources.

Ni: "Wouldn't this have been a good time to retreat?"

Ordo: "It was what we had wanted all along, in a way. We wanted to fight the best in a battle that would be remembered for centuries. And we did."

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Ordo: "I don't hold a grudge against Revan, and neither do any of my people. It was the greatest moment of my life to be in that battle. If Revan had been a Mandolorian, nothing in the galaxy would have stopped us. But wishing for the past to be different is useless. Better to look to the future. As we should now."

During the hyperspace travel, Ni also found time to make further repairs to HK-47.

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HK-47: "Access complete: I have accessed information on my owner prior to the senator, master. Most... unexpected."

Ni: "Don't tell me. It's a galactic conspiracy."

HK-47: "Query: You know, master, that the probability of a galactic conspiracy remaining secret is infinitesimal?"

Ni: "Just joking. Go ahead."

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Ni: "And what gruesome fate awaited him?"

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HK-47: "Contemplation: Hmm. My memories tell me that, for a time, Bochaba was one of the most feared gangsters on Sleheyron (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Sleheyron). I helped him with this reputation greatly."

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Ni: "What happened to stop that?"

HK-47: "Answer: It was unfortunate but inevitable that eventually Bochaba would overstep his bounds. I had just cleared two Hutt households when the Exchange retaliated."

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Ni: "And how gruesome was his fate?"

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HK-47: "At any rate, I quickly shut down upon my master's death. The rival Hutt claimed me along with my master's other possessions. Observation: If that Hutt had only known my true functions, he surely would not have sold me to a senator he bribed regularly."

Ni: "You would have preferred to stay on Sleheyron?"

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Ni: "You would have been found out eventually."

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Ni: "Do you remember anything else?"

HK-47: "Answer: Negative, master. There is still more memory that can be restored, however, if you wish to try. As well, I believe I can restore several programs the Hutt installed to improve my performance. Yesss... they are now active."

Ni: "I think I'm all out of time for this trip, and I'd rather not leave you dismantled while I'm on Kashyyyk."

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As the Ebon Hawk completed its journey, Ni spoke with Onasi.

Ni: "Look, Carth. I just want to know why you want revenge on Saul so badly."

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Ni: "No, it's more than that. It's more... personal, somehow."

Onasi: "Well, there... there is more to it. I'm... I'm sure you don't want to hear about it."

Ni: "I asked, didn't I?"

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Ni: "Bastila? Could you give us a little privacy?"

Shan: "Oh. I suppose I'll speak with Juhani about something or another."

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Onasi: "I had... a wife and son on Telos. I thought they would be safe there. But my task force arrived to late to be of much help. We didn't have enough medical supplies. The colony was burning and the dying were everywhere. I remember holding my wife and screaming for the medics. They... didn't come in time."

Ni: "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

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Onasi: "I... miss them. I know killing Saul won't bring them back, and it won't make me happy again... but I have to do it."

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Ni: "What was she like, your wife?'

Onasi: "She had courage... and she was stubborn. Heh. A bit like you in that respect. I could never talk her out of anything once she put her mind to it. And she hated it when I signed back onto the fleet at the start of the war. I had planned on... on leaving soon, to join her..."

Ni: "What happened to your son? You didn't say."

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Onasi: "I made inquiries and followed the reports from Telos for years, but... I stopped. Anyway... that's the story. For what it's worth."

Ni: "Thank you for telling me."

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The Ebon Hawk exited hyperspace, and swooped down upon the planet of Kashyyyk, site of the on-going Battle of Kashyyyk (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Battle_of_Kashyyyk_(Clone_Wars)). between the CIS and the Republic.
Commentary So here's the problem: like the Holonet said, Canderous makes no mention of the Mass Shadow Generator. Which means that either the Jedi Exile makes a much greater deal out of it, or that Canderous is lying to us (unintentionally or not). Which one makes more sense?

What does Canderous gain from lying to us? Very little. What could he gain from lying to himself? Well, pinning all the blame/praise on Revan, instead of the zabrak, allows him to continue to elevate Mandolorian virtues. The only reason they lost was because Revan was a worthy opponent. I'll admit, this is reasonable. But while it could make sense, Canderous is just so blunt with everyone that I have trouble believing he could engage in this level of self-deception.

The other option is much more tempting, though. The Jedi Exile's story is much more personal than the space opera of KotOR 1. Consider this: the mass shadow generator was important in shaping the battlefield to Revan's advantage. But the losses that so utterly destroyed the Jedi Exile were, in Revan's mind, acceptable casualties. This option tells us so much more about both Revan and the Jedi Exile, and really drives home the scope of each. KotOR 1 is about the exploring the galaxy. KotOR 2 is about exploring the Exile.

Let's talk Carth. Last time, we got the root of his trust issues. This time, we're going past that, finding out what makes Lt. Carth Onasi tick. And it's revenge, but it's a very different kind of revenge than we usually get in media. Carth can see that his revenge won't solve anything, but he doesn't see an alternate path. And to be honest, it's not like he really wants to look for one. This is what makes Carth and Canderous into such different people: besides the soldier/warrior discussion they had back on Dantooine, Canderous doesn't really have a cause. Carth does, beyond just preserving the Republic. He wants what he realizes is a hollow revenge, but he's hopeful that killing Saul will allow him to move on.

It would be a major bummer if we never meet Admiral Saul Karath.


One of the joys of KotOR is being able to witness the evolution of your companions.

With Carth, it's all about winning his trust. And once you get that, you find out that Saul is responsible for all of Carth's ranting about how he can't trust you. And that gives you, the player, motivation to annihilate the admiral.

With Bastila, it's a brief struggle for control, followed by relative equality. Notice how Jan's stopped teasing her about the rescue? Bastila, though, has been increasingly been taking on a subserviant role - I mean, consider the conversation two episodes ago. She isn't acting like Jan's superior, and is confessing to feeling inferior.

But the really weird part about both Bastila and Carth is that their growths are typically something belonging to the other gender. Carth's is remarkably similar to that of a defrosting ice queen (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DefrostingIceQueen) (TV Tropes warning), though his frigidness is much less 'I'm going to ignore you, lowly scum' and more 'don't get too close.' And while Bastila's growth can be seen as a defrosting ice queen as well, the struggle for dominance that features so prominently in your first conversation is something that shows up in buddy-cop movies. Which, last time I checked, were pretty much male-male.

But the rest of our companions will have to wait until later, when we actually have all of them. This is one of the reasons I think the game might have benefited from fewer companions. If you do Tatooine or Kashyyyk last, you can wind up with a companion out of no-where.

Also, Carth is dangerously close to using up all of his ellipses. Supposedly, Sleheydron was going to be one of the Star Map sites, but got cut fairly early on.
Next time, on Knights of the Old Republic: http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/2318/end34.jpg

[Arcanoi]

I like to think that the Exile did indeed overemphasize the importance of the MSG. To the Exile, the MSG was a symbol for the entirety of his/her involvement in the Mandalorian Wars. The Exile sacrificed many of his/her beliefs when (s)he joined the Crusaders, and the MSG was the indelible fall where the Exile became the Exile and gave up (At least at the time) on all of the Jedi teachings that had defined him/her up until then.

As my personal canon, Revan could have won the war without the MSG. This might have been another reason why Canderous never mentions it. The war was already over at Malachor V. To the Mandalorians, the MSG was just another of Revan's ruthless tactical moves, the final nail in their coffin, but still just a nail amongst dozens of others that Revan had been relentlessly driving in. The MSG had two objectives that barely involved the Mandalorians at all. It destroyed the elements of his fleet that he couldn't trust to join him to conquer the Republic, and it turned the Jedi that would become the Exile, into the Exile. For reasons that we might learn in The Old Republic, Revan needed the Exile just as much as Kreia.

[The_Werebear]

My assumption with the Mass Shadow Generator was that it was just the killing blow, the final part of a previously laid out battle. Revan maneuvered the Mandalorians to Malachor V in the first place, Revan's assaults and tactics forced the Mandalorians into the weapon's range, and Revan laid out the plan that the Exile was following when she gave the Kill command and triggered the Generator.

Since he doesn't go into any further detail about the battle other than "Only Revan could have beaten us" it always seemed to me that his thought process was "Revan forced us back into the planet, when he activated a superweapon which crushed our fleet. It was the type of Plan only he had the will to carry out."

[Tam_OConnor]

Welcome... (Cue music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-qR2Mu9sMM))
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http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/7589/i352.jpg
http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/7108/i353.jpg... to Knights of the Old Republic.

Episode 35 We break from the usual Life Day (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Life_Day) programming to continue to bring you the continued story of Jan Ni and the Jedi Civil War. By a remarkable coincidence, just as the galaxy is celebrating Life Day, Ni and her companions were arriving at the planet where the holiday originated.

As the Ebon Hawk broke the atmosphere of Kashyyyk, and followed the beacons to a docking site, Ni asked Zaalbar what to expect.

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Zaalbar: "I'm not sure what I could tell you. Or even what I would want to. You are an outsider here too. It angers me."

Ni: "Well, I'll just have to see for myself. Mission, Zaalbar - let's go."

Our records of the following events have been reconstructed from Vao's diary. It is nowhere near as precise a source as Onasi's journal or Shan's reports, but it provides a basis for logical extrapolation. For all of Vao's expertise, she writes like any sentient of her age.

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Janos Wertka: "The Czerka Corporation will see to your needs, of course, but there will be a 100 credit docking fee. In advance, I fear."

Vao: "I thought this was Kashyyyk."

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Wertka: "But, I'm sorry, I really must insist that docking fees be paid before I impart any further services. I must follow proper procedure. Upon collection of the correct fees, I will extend what resources the Czerka Corporation can offer. I'm sure you understand."

Ni: "I don't need to pay the docking fee."

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Wertka: "I see you have a Wookie with you. Can I assume you understand their language? For a fee, Czerka Corporation can provide a translator for you during your visit."

Ni: "That won't be necessary."

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Wertka: "Now then, please follow me to our information center. I will anser any further questions there."

Ni, Vao and Zaalbar followed Wertka at a leisurely pace, taking in the impressive sights.

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Ni: "What do you mean, 'prepared me?'"

Zaalbar: "I didn't leave Kashyyyk voluntarily. Mission must have told you how I was fleeing slavers... but there was more."

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Ni: "Why were you forced to leave?"

Zaalbar: "My brother made deals with the slavers and allowed them to get a foothold. I found out and attacked him."

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Zaalbar: "I was made an exile, disowned by my home and people. I should not be here. They will not accept me back."

Ni: "Why didn't your father believe you?"

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Zaalbar: "Our claws are tools, not weapons. To use them in battle is to become an animal. It is madness without honor. I am forever a madclaw in the eyes of my people. Nothing I say is to be trusted. They were right to cast me out."

Ni: "We'll deal with it if we have to. Let's go."

Zaalbar: "I don't have much hope."

In the information center, Zaalbar spoke to one of the Czerka employees.

Zaalbar: "Who leads the wookies?"

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Ni: "You work on Kashyyyk and you don't understand the language?"

Technician: "Czerka Corporation calls the planet Edean, and no, I don't understand the language. The local Wookie leader has made it so we don't need to."

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Ni: "What good does that do?"

Technician: "It helps ease tensions. They are less hostile towards us if they understand what we say."

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Technician: "What did he say? I don't usually have a translator; I can ask."

Ni: "That knowing Basic just makes his people better slaves." Vao makes a comment here. "Oh, burned!"

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Wertka: "Your current wookiee seems displeased with the situation, but I fail to see a concern. You seem to be a satisfied customer."

Vao: "Zaalbar's no slave! He pledged a life-debt to Jan!"

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Zaalbar: "Do not demean the life-debt! Do not!"

Wertka: "I must warn you that you will be blamed for the actions of your wookiee. Please, call him off."

Ni: "Mission, Zaalbar, it might be better if you wait outside."

Zaalbar: "No, I want to hear everything he has to say."

Ni: "Why do the wookiees tolerate you doing this?"

Wertka: "It's not me, personally. I merely represent Czerka Corporation at this outpost. There are other directors at other stations, of course."

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Ni: "You want to tell me about these arrangements."

Wertka: "I'll tell you about the agreement. We supply arms in exchange for a supply of healthy wookiees. We are kept profitable and an agreeable leader is kept in power. It keeps the process from becoming a constant firefight."

Ni: "What is this leader's name?"

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Ni: "What about, Zaalbar? What's the matter?"

Zaalbar: "This is not something I will talk about. Not yet."

Wertka: "It sounds as though your thrall has an opinion about our arrangement with this leader, but it doesn't matter. Chuundar is unquestioned."

Ni: "I've heard enough."

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Outside, the three stopped for a brief consultation.

Ni: "It sounds like we should try to avoid contact with your village, Zaalbar. And if the theory that Bastila has is right, then the Star Map will probably be near the largest trees, probably near the base somewhere."

Zaalbar: "Then it will be in the Shadowlands. Not many wookiees venture down there. We will have to use one of my people's lifts."

Vao: "Yeah, we don't have a hover-barge or anything like that. And the speeder repulstors max out at twenty meters."

Ni: "Alright, then. Looks like the lift is our only option, since I'm not giving Czerka a centicred."

Zaalbar: "Then let us go to the great walkway."

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Guard: "Wookiee hunters usually keep numbers down, but I think they leave certain areas infested, just hoping a Czerka guard will get killed."

Ni: "What do you know about the wookiees?"

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Ni: "So the wookiees are fighting back."

Guard: "Not anymore. Look, you want to know why the wookiees are acting compliant, you go ask them. When they rip your head off, we'll fish it out of the Shadowlands and give it a proper burial. How about that?"

Ni: "Tell me about Czerka's operations here."

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Ni: "Try it, and the katarns will be eating well tonight."

Guard: "I don't take kindly to threats. Don't test me, spacer, we've more than enough firepower to bury you here."

Ni: "You didn't say that. I'm a nice person. You like me."

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Ni: "Tell me about Czerka's operations here."

Guard: "I'd feel a lot better if we had heavier weapons. These wookiees can take hits from a blaster pistol without flinching. Wish we had some of those mandolorian rippers - the ones the say can go through capital ship plating."

Ni: "Numbers?"

Guard: "Wish we had more. We don't have nearly enough to cover all of the lines of approach, especially from the vertical."

Ni: "My twi'lek friend here is a good mechanic. She can give your blaster turrets there more coverage."

Vao: "Who, me?"

Guard: "That'd be kind of you. Go ahead, girl."

Ni whispered into Vao's ear as she unbolted the turret's maintainance casing.

Ni: "Give them a feedback loop - make it detonate with repeated fire."

Vao: "You're planning something?"

Ni: "Not yet. But I've got a feeling an uprising is in the works."

Once Vao finished her 'repairs' to the turrets, the three proceeded onto the great walkway.
Commentary http://img814.imageshack.us/img814/7186/missionlevel14.jpg
http://img832.imageshack.us/img832/1502/zaalbarlevel14.jpg

Looks like that vacation really paid off, huh? Like I said, all of our party members level up at the same rate - I'm just only giving y'all their character sheets when I take them in the party. If anyone wants specifics, just ask. Right now, Zaalbar is using two vibroswords and Power Attack, and Mission is plinking away with a blaster pistol and Sniper Shot. Since Zaalbar can't wear a single piece of armor in the game, his defense has, and will continue to be terrible. Zaalbar has the potential to do more damage than Canderous, but Canderous will stay alive much much longer.

This is one of the main reasons I would have wanted the characters of Canderous and Zaalbar to be fused: they have very similar abilities already. Zaalbar is a Scout who plays like a Soldier. Canderous is a Soldier who already as implants, but has to manually take the implant feats (which Scouts get for free). Zaalbar is a glass cannon (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GlassCannon) (TV Tropes warning), but hits at least as hard as Jedi, and harder if you get him the right vibroblades. Canderous is designed as a heavy weapon specialist, but gets forced into melee combat because a) they forgot to put in decent heavy weapons and b) he has a good Strength score. Either way, Canderous and his 10 Dexterity beg for the heaviest armor you have. Combined with his natural regeneration, and Canderous is probably the toughest character in terms of composite Defense/Hit Points. My idea for Wookie!Canderous is for him to be able to buy/find a suit of mandolorian crusader armor in the late game, thus creating a character who can go toe-to-toe with lightsaber master and come out even.

But rewrites aside: Zaalbar finally opened his mouth! And he still needs a breath mint.So what did today's episode tell us about him? Now that he's back on Kashyyyk, excuse me, Edean, he's a lot angrier (compared to what?), mainly because he has to watch his people suffer what he did. We learned that he's not only a wanderer, but an exile. That, combined with his reluctance to talk, even when the matter is immediately relevant, gave me my big insight for the episode. Zaalbar doesn't trust us. It's exactly the same hell that Carth put Jan through in the early game, only Zaalbar had the much more realistic reaction of just not talking to her. We can extrapolate from here: why would Zaalbar swear a life-debt to us and not even make an effort to try to assure a mutual trust? It doesn't make sense.

There are two ways of reading this: either Zaalbar is really reallly really terrible at personal relations, to an extent that would leave a human completely homebound, or the Big Z isn't nearly as old as we might think. Wookiees can live for 600 years, and undergo their coming of age ceremony (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Hrrtayyk_ceremony) at around 12. I'd be shocked if Zaalbar was much older than Mission. For comparison, Chewbacca was around 200 in Episode 4. If you think of Zaalbar as being, at latest, a young adult, then the rest of Kashyyyk makes a lot more sense.

Oh, and this kind (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Katarn) of katarn, not this kind (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Kyle_Katarn). If it was the second kind, we'd be so ridiculously screwed. Imagine if you will, a pack of Katarns - Kyle, Jan (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Jan_Ors)(nee Ors) and pack of younglings, with their mom's looks and brains and their dad's force powers. I'm terrified.

Next time, on Knights of the Old Republic: http://img63.imageshack.us/img63/5112/end35.jpg

[Arcanoi]

Imagine if you will, a pack of Katarns - Kyle, Jan (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Jan_Ors)(nee Ors) and pack of younglings, with their mom's looks and brains and their dad's force powers. I'm terrified.

Oh god. And they'd understand our technology. They'd spread across the galaxy before we really even recognized the threat and then we would be doomed.

[Tam_OConnor]

Welcome... (Cue music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2ziLVCR89Y))
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http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/3558/i362.jpg
http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/3230/i363.jpg... to Knights of the Old Republic.

Episode 36 http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/4099/360rw.jpg

On the Great Walkway, Ni, Vao and Zaalbar paused for a moment, catching their breath after beating off an attack by kinrath spiders.

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Zaalbar: "I remember the trees. My village is not far from here."

Ni: "Anyway I can help you?"

Zaalbar: "It is kind of your to offer, but my problems are very personal. I'm not sure if I am ready to deal with them."

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Zaalbar: "Perhaps his feelings have mellowed, but if my brother had his ear all this time... I may be very unwelcome."

Ni: "Like I said before, we'll deal with that when the time comes."

Zaalbar: "That is what I am dreading. My shame was meant to be forgotten on some far away world. I never thought I'd come back. I'm sorry, I've taken enough of your time. We should press on."

The trio continued along the walkway, fending off the occasional attack by wild beasts. They came upon a cluster of three Czerka mercenaries, clustered around a dead wookiee.

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2nd Mercenary: "You think I can? Do you know what they get for a healthy one of these things?"

Dehno: "We'll work it out later. We've got company."

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Ni: "My name is Jan Ni. What happened here?"

Dehno: "This wookie slave got a little... rebellious. We had to put it down."

Zaalbar: "You "put it down"? We're not animals!"

Ni: "Zaalbar, let me handle this."

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Ni: "I've asked you to let me handle this. Please, honor my request."

Zaalbar: "I will do so. For your sake, not theirs."

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Dehno: "Just shut up, you trigger-happy idiot."

Ni: "Do your superiors approve of you killing wookiees?"

Dehno: "No, of course they don't. Why would you ask me that? Are you doing some sort of snap inspection? You're trying to get me to admit to incompetence, aren't you? Not going to happen. I stand by my patrol. This wookiee got out of hand and had to be put down. We'll find another easy enough."

Ni: "No, you won't."

*snap-hiss*

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The fight was concluded quickly.

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But nearly within sight of the platform that descended into the Shadowlands, their passage was barred.

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Guard: "Especially when you bring filth such as this with you. This madclaw has no place here."

Zaalbar: "Who are you to question my place? You follow Chuundar into the arms of outsiders."

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Ni: "Where is Chuundar?"

Guard: "You will find him in the village of Rwookrrorro. He will decide if you are worthy."

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Ni tried to rouse Onasi on her comlink, but some manner of intereference prevented her.

Ni: "Mission, I need you to get back to the Hawk. Tell Carth we were just attacked by a band of Crusaders. I need him to find their ship and destroy it. If they disappear, Malak will know we're here, but he'll know even faster if they get a report to him. Get Canderous and HK back her. It could be messy."

Vao: "Can't I follow you guys to the village, make sure you get there alright?"

Ni: "Fine. Zaalbar, how long until we get there?"

Zaalbar: "We're here."

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Zaalbar: "Stand aside! This human is with me and I want access to the home of my people!"

Guard: "You have no rights here, mad-claw! This human should not have brought this taint upon our land! You must answer to Chuundar!"

Ni: "What taint?"

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Guard: "Shut up! GROWWLL! You are nameless with dishonor, mad-claw! Yours is a foulness that disgusts me! RRaaaghh! Enough talk! You and the outcast mad-claw will be taken to Chuundar now!"

Ni and Zaalbar followed the Guard into the village, while Mission, drawing upon lessons learned in the lower city of Taris, crept back to where the Ebon Hawk was docked.

Join us next time, as we are forced to seek alternate sources for our history.
Commentary I'm going into slightly more detail than I have with the incidental encounters. You're all smart types, I'm sure y'all can already see the options presenting themselves. Unlike Tattooine or Manaan, Kashyyyk is fairly tightly bound together - almost all of its encounters tie back into the central idea. On Kashyyyk, it encourages you to pick a side very quickly - are you for the wookiees or Czerka Corporation? The problem here is that there's very little reason to ever support Czerka Corporation initally. After all, Jan's been killing slavers since she rescued Zaalbar. What should the fact that they're humans and not gammoreans matter?

Seguing from that, let's talk about racism. The Czerka occupation of Kashyyyk, their re-naming of it, everthing they're doing, are all hallmarks of classic imperialism. As I was typing Wertka's dialogue last episode, I couldn't help but think of the kings in West Africa, who would sell captives to the white traders. The original movies show the Galactic Empire's non-egalitarian views: more by omission than admission. All the Imperial troops and officers we see are male, human, and white (and the white armor of the stormtroopers doesn't exactly detract from this). Grand Admiral Thrawn (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Thrawn) is practically the only non-alien in the Imperial military, and certainly the most high ranking. It's a similar situation with Ysanne Isard (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Ysanne_Isard) and Leonia Tavira (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Leonia_Tavira) (Daala (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Daala)doesn't count). I've read at least one (http://www.thealexandrian.net/creations/starwars/sequel-trilogy.html)essay on how droids are mistreated, and have more than a few in-universe examples (HK's comment on being treated like furniture, Atton Rand (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Atton_Rand) and Han Solo's general dislike of droids, and so on). I'm just going to be using the term 'imperialism' as a catch-all for this specism, racism, sexism, robophobia, etc. But whatever I call it, it's clearly endemic to the Star Wars universe.

But here's the question: why? I think a great deal of it harkens back to Lucas' sources. I can't comment on how present it is in Japanese cinema (The Hidden Fortress), but it's hugely present in the pulps (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulp_magazine). I'll let the wikipedia entry do most of the explaining, but the pulps were the manly action movies of their day. And, like good (mostly) mindless entertainment, they were intended as power fantasies for their audience. Which means that they say a great deal about what the authors considered to be empowering - the way things should be. A great deal of it was about capturing the thrill of exploration, filling in the empty areas of the maps. And exploration brought colonization and imperialism in its wake.

But unlike the original movies and its inspirations, KotOR forces us to confront the issue. And while pushing the player to confront and eliminate imperialism isn't a bad thing, it still hasn't gotten to the point that I'm completely satisfied with it. The lure of imperialism (peaking as a white, priviliged male) is that it makes you think that you know best, that you can save and protect these people. Maybe asking for that lure is too much from a game, too morally gray for the Star Wars universe. But it's the same problem most of the game has with the dark side as well - it isn't seductive.

I mean, Jan's doing good things here, isn't she? ... Isn't she?

Also, killing wildlife is apparently good for the soul.

http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/2954/janlevel16.jpg
Next time, on Knights of the Old Republic: http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/5729/end36.jpg

[Mando Knight]

Czerka's also filled with annoyingly pompous jerks and is the designated Hyper-Evil Corporation That You Buy Everything From Anyway.

[Arcanoi]

The thing that pisses me off the most about Kashyyyk's inclusion in KOTOR is the principles it sets. The Wookies have been being enslaved for millenia. They've been introduced to the galaxy at large for just as long. Yet their technology never advances, and their culture never evolves. 4000 years later and the only thing that has changed on Kashyyyk is who owns them. It's sort of ridiculous. It gets even more annoying when you're supposed to accept that the Wookies are fantastic at both construction and technological aptitude.

[Klose_the_Sith]

Y'know, even with you Crusader madness, Jan would still call them Sith :smalltongue:

That said, I can see what you mean by Imperialism very 17/18 hundreds, with the world being opened up by the great European powers ... and by opening up, taking whatever they feel like.

Good show Britain :smallwink:

[Tam_OConnor]

Welcome... (Cue music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meTY7hMzpZk))
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http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/5530/i372.jpg
http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/1606/i373.jpg... to Knights of the Old Republic.

Episode 37 *A wookie begins roaring and growling in a specific cadence. After a few moments, a gravelly male voice begins translating into Basic.*

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Crafty Chuundar speaks welcome
Madclaw bristles, taunts, shouts: wrath
Chuundar cautions, chief's sons both
"I am the chief now.
You have no name now."

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Wily Hanni scoffs at chief.
Calmly, Chuundar speaks vile taunts
"Mighty Chuundar, I rose to save
All from chains, madness."
"Runt!" calls the mad one.

Translator's note: Wookiee throats find it extremely difficult to produce 'j.' As such, 'Jan Ni' was localized into 'Hanni.' It is also important to distinguish between the epithets used to describe Chuundar as opposed to Hanni. The literal meaning of the word I have translated as 'crafty' is 'cunning like a kinrath spider,' whereas Hanni's 'wily' is literally 'in oneness with the trees.' Hanni's cleverness is more elemental, less predatory, and carries the implication of Force sensitivity.

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Chedi Hanni asks chief why.
Chuundar answers: "I have hope:
"Brothers as one; you: a task.
Mad one in the deep,
Hunts my friends as prey."

Translator's Note: Similarly to 'Jan Ni,' 'Jedi' became 'Chedi,' with a heavy aspiration and the 'i' pronounced, as normal, as a long 'e.' As a tangental note, this caused problems with early translations from Shyriiwook to Basic, translating 'Jedi' to 'cheese.'

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Chuundar growls, "Kill that one,
Flee to your ship; I care not."
Canny Hanni knows the truth
Chief strikes once, kills twice.
This is a crude scheme.

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Madclaw protests, "Some will fight."
Chuundar smiles, "He is dead.
Father Freyyr did fight them,
Now he is long gone,
Now I lead the clan."

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Crafty Chuundar speaks to her:
"Gorwooken will lower you deep.
Do my own will, or flee here.
Kill the mad one or
I kill your mad one."

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Hanni summons her gray man:
Demon Armor, dead eyes, strong
Singing, twilight blades she bears.
Death, left in their path.
She hears the trees talk.

Translator's Note: The speaking of the trees is a metaphorical device, used in two ways: either as the voice of the people, or as meta-narrative comments. It mirrors the early Alderaani use of the chorus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_chorus)in their theatrical works. Hanni's willingness to listen to the lamentations of the trees has two interpretations: either she has great stores of empathy, or is simply more observant the the usual hero of wookiee tales.

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"Mighty Bacca, blade (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Ryyk_blade)of chiefs,"
they keen, "a tool to make chiefs.
Lost now, walkers of the sky
Strike us with no fear.
Return in our great need!"

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Canny Hanni asks of below.
Gorwooken paints, "Fear the deep,
Katarn, kinrath, and like you,
Men, weak arms, fire arms.
One has our respect."

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Gorwooken leads the two down
Into the deep lightless land.
Children: danger on all sides.
Light! Green leaf drifts down,
Foes fall to the light.

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At this point in the history, we can leave behind the wookie tradition, and turn to sources more reliable than oral histories.
Commentary Gorwooken annoys me, because he's got three syllables in his name, and it's wreaking havoc with my rhyme scheme. Speaking of which, I'm very nearly sure that this is the last time I'll inflict native oral histories upon you guys, because it hasn't really clicked for me either time. I trust there will be no objections?

Here's the big problem with Kashyyyk: Chuundar's whole plot-scheme-thing doesn't work all that well. He shows up, yoinks Zaalbar out of the party, and tells you to either kill the mad wookiee in the Shadowlands or get lost. You're more or less forced into deciding 'I should overthrow Chuundar, and liberate the wookiees.' Because a) Czerka Corporation is made of immense jerks, of the Stupid Evil (TV Tropes warning) variety, b) Chuundar is a collaborator with Czerka, but is vindicative about it. If Chuundar geneuinely believed that he was doing this for the betterment of his people, and did less mustache-twirling, then I'd be able to understand his point of view. But as is, it's hard to sympathize, especially when he takes your native guide away from you. I do have to wonder if the developers prevent you from taking Zaalbar below just so they wouldn't have to write expository dialog for him.

As is, though, Chuundar sows the seeds of his own destruction. Most players will be motivated primarily by getting Zaalbar back - I'd be surprised if anyone just found the Star Map and left (though if you could abandon Mission and Zaalbar on Kashyyyk...) It just
strikes me as odd that Chuundar wouldn't realize that he's all but forcing Jan into a confrontation with him.

I suppose one justification is that Chuundar is so wrapped up with himself that he's neglected to account for the virtue of loyalty. After all, Chuundar is only loyal to himself.

Speaking of loyalty, it's a fairly good time to examine everyone's loyalties. D20 Modern had a nice system where you listed and (vaguely)ordered your allegiences, with those higher on the list superceding lower ones. They mainly used it as an alignment substitute, which is a shame, because there are really great stories when loyalties conflict.

That said:
Jan: 1st: Bastila and the crew; 2nd: The Republic; 3rd: The Jedi Order (though she's realizing, via Bastila, that it's really messed up)

Carth: 1st: The Common Good; 2nd: The Republic (in as much as it aids and abets the common good); 3rd: Jan and the crew.

Bastila: 1st: The Jedi Order; 2nd: Jan and the crew; 3rd: The Republic (as it supports the Jedi Order)

Mission: 1st: Zaalbar; 2nd: Being good people; 3rd: Jan and the crew

Zaalbar: 1st: Mission; 2nd: Wookiees; 3rd: Jan and the crew

T3-M4: 1st: Jan

Canderous: 1st: himself; 2nd: Jan and the crew

Juhani: 1st: The Jedi Order; 2nd: Belayla (her lover, who I don't think I've given screen-time. It's fairly subtle/cut-content.)

HK-47: 1st: Jan; 2nd: his own psychotic tendancies.
Next time, on Knights of the Old Republic: http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/9659/end37.jpg

[Cogwheel]

Ooh, my favourite character's up next (after HK, anyway). Gleeness.

[Sucrose]

I actually kinda enjoyed the oral histories, though I'll grant that they're a spice that's best not overused, since it does make the narrative harder to understand. Plus, it cuts down the conversations, which I also enjoy.

As for Chuundar, I find it hard to believe that he'd consider selling off his own tribesmen a strengthening of his people. If the Wookiees had slaves from other Wookiee tribes, I could see it, but as is, the only way it could work, IMO, is as a smug, disloyal bastard.

[Mobius Twist]

Juhani: Belayla (her lover, who I don't think I've given screen-time. It's fairly subtle/cut-content.)

It's a lot less subtle if you end up killing Juhani on an evil play-through. Belayla (Belaya?) ends up running away from the Jedi order and joining the Sith (sorry, Crusaders) on Korriban, followed by an abridged attempt to kill you in retribution.

Among her most telling lines are the approximate "oh how I remember how we'd spend the nights together alone under the stars" and "the Sith have shown me how to do this 'revenge' thing I've heard about. FOR JUHANI!"

All in all, a very interesting playthrough you have going, and one that inspired me to replay the game myself (after wrestling with a myriad crashes and bugs). Does anyone else run into a problem moving melee characters after some fights? I have to save and reload the game to even proceed. Especially annoying when playing the solo parts.

Truth be told, playing as an impatient, petulant, and temperamental child with no moral compass and the powers of a demigod is not altogether a fun or fulfilling experience. Must be part of the reason why Lucasarts went with the light-side character as canon.

[kamikasei]

I actually rather enjoy the oral history segments, but I can definitely see how they'd be a pain for you and wouldn't think worse of you for deciding they weren't worth the hassle.

(Yay, Jolee!)

[The_Snark]

For what it's worth, I quite enjoyed the oral histories. I certainly don't mind if you stop—those can't be easy to write, and I like the more conventional chapters too—but I appreciate the work that went into them. I liked seeing your idea of what a (translated) Jawa or Wookiee epic might look like.

[Fri]

Indeed. I think there's a trope about it... waitasec

ah. Xenofiction is one of my favourite genre.

[Tam_OConnor]

Welcome... (Cue music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcSpxLIpozI))
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http://img821.imageshack.us/img821/2660/i383.jpg... to Knights of the Old Republic.

Episode 38 Our primary source for the events that occured in the Shadowlands of Kashyyyk is the journal of Jolee Bindo. Up until this point, his journal has been largely filled with private ruminations and meditations on his past life and current hermetic existence. Bindo writes,

"There I was, trying to get enough wasaka berries for dinner when this great galumping caloot gets near, shining their Force power all around and near blinding me. Well, that new pack of young katarns thinks that this is fine time to pounce."

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"Not their best decision."

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"But as I'm finishing them off, the Force beacon herself comes rushing up. The Mandolorian looks almost as old as me, though."

Ni: "What's a Jedi doing down here?"

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Bindo: "I'm Jolee. Jolee Bindo. Keep close. My home's nearby, under a log. Yeah, I live like some burrowing rodent. I fought the Sith... now look at me. Hmph!"

Ni and Ordo followed Bindo to his home.

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Ni: "I get the feeling there's much you can tell me."

Bindo: "Don't coddle me, child. I'm neither a Jedi nor your master. I'm just an old man that's been lost in the woods for far too long. My days of glory are behind me, but... perhaps there is something I can do for you. You must have questions."

Ni: "Just a senior citizen in the Shadowlands, huh?"

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Ni: "You muttered something about fighting the Sith - did you mean Dark Jedi or Korribani natives?"

Bindo: "Did I? You have annoyingly good ears. It doesn't matter. Those days are gone. Leave them in their graves."

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Bindo: "Perhaps you will be of some assistance to me after all. Let us discuss what you came here for."

Ni: "You are difficult to deal with. It worries me."

http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/9580/387v.jpg

Bindo: "Well, I assure you, I see more grey than dark or light. I'm just a stubborn old man, tired of the foolishness of others."

Ni: "I need to know about problems here on Kashyyyk."

Bindo: "Yes, among the wookiees. Intriguing creatures. I like that they have little patience for bureaucrats."

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Ni: "What do you know of Chuundar?"

Bindo: "Czerka Corporation was smart to put him in power. He's as good at destroying wookiee culture as dropping corpses full of Ardroxian Flu. Will you work for him or against him, I wonder? I will be interested to see."

Ni: "What, you don't have a recommendation?"

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Bindo: "The wookiees have prophecies of deliverance if you ask them, but for now they follow without hesitation. That is their wish."

Ni: "Have you seen a crazed wookiee in the Shadowlands?"

Bindo: "Maddened with grief, perhaps, but not crazed. I helped him pass to the lower forests where only a wookiee could follow. Some other matters will determine if you can follow. There's a barrier that... well, we'll talk of that more in a moment."

Ni: "You aren't being very helpful."

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Bindo: "I'm not saying that outside help isn't needed. I just... well... I didn't want to make anyone mad while I didn't have a way off the planet. We'll talk more about that momentarily."

Ni: "Do you have any knowledge of Star Maps?"

Bindo: "Now why would you be asking about that, hmmm? Don't answer. I knew that had to be why you were here."

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Ni: "Just because I'm here for the map doesn't mean that I won't try to fix this."

Bindo: "Kashyyyk is an interesting place, more so than anyone suspects. If Czerka Corporation knew, heh, the planet would be a strip mine. The wookiees have their legends that they were not always here, but it is more than that. The trees themselves are strangers."

Ni: "You may say you're not a Jedi, but you can hide your meaning as well as a Council member."

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Bindo: "You must do a task for me, and then allow me to join with you. I will then remove certain barriers in your path."

Ni: "Why should I trust you, you crazy old coot?"

Bindo: "Oh, save it. I know this sounds absurd, but I'm old and entitled to work you around a bit. Besides, the test is simple. Since they began expanding in the Shadowlands, Czerka has left me alone, for the most part. Until recently, anyway. A group of them set up camp not far from here. Poachers is all they are. I'd like them removed from this place."

Ni: "Where? How many men?"

Bindo: "They are not that far northeast of here. There are usually five in the area, as far as I can see."

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Ni: "Why do you care if they are here?"

Bindo: "The wookiees could take care of themselves if they wished, but the animals are truly helpless victims."

Ni: "I see. So the aged semi-Jedi wants me to get some kids off his lawn."

Bindo: "Yes, yes, I'm an old man that's getting fussy. Call me foolish if you will, I don't care. You still have to do it."

Ni: "Why would you want to join up with me?"

Bindo: "You presumably have a ship. I've seen all I wish to here. Isn't that enough? I mean, I'm really sick of the trees."

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Ni: "Why not get rid of them yourself?"

Bindo: "Don't talk back to your elders, child. Look, they know me quite well, and are always on alert when I approach. The only way I could get rid of them would be violence, which would eventually lead to trouble for the wookiees. I want them gone, but with as little fuss as possible. They have already caused enough trouble as it is."

Ni: "I'll look into it."

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We turn away from Bindo's journal briefly, to return to our confidential source. Ni did not immediately head to the northeast, but scouted the area. She found a datapad written in Shyriiwook, detailing a hunt for a dangerous beast that could apparently change shape. The datapad indicated that the writer's partner, a wookiee named Grarwwaar, had already fallen to the shapeshifter.

Ni finished scouting the area, finding a wookiee crouched in the deep shade of a root.

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Ni: "Can you only take the shape of things you've killed?"

Grarwwaar???: "So you have uncovered my little secret. No matter, this body has grown tiresome to me. Maybe I can find one more to your liking, human."

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Ni: "Your tricks don't fool me, Rulan."

The sound of their fighting soon led to Ordo joining the fight.

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Hard pressed, Prolik changed shape again, into some monstrous being that, from the report's description, we have identified as a terentatek. The sudden expansion of mass sent Ni flying backwards, but did less to move Ordo.

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Now Ordo was hard pressed, Ni having apparently disappeared. Prolik knocked Ordo to the ground and was about to deliver a death-blow when Ni re-appeared - landing on Prolik's back and driving blades deep into his torso. Prolik screeched, transforming into a tiny tach monkey and trying to flee. A barrage of fire from Ordo's sidearm, however, put an end to Prolik.

Ordo: "What was that?"

Ni: "Just another story, now. Come on, let's run that errand for the old man."

Bindo records that he felt several pulses of Force energy and heard the poacher's sonic emitters fail. This was followed by screams as katarns descended into the camp, followed by a fighting retreat back to the lift to the Great Walkway. Ni and Ordo returned to Bindo.

Bindo: "You spared them? Interesting."

Ni: "There was nothing to gain by killing them myself."

Bindo: "Wasn't there? I suppose not, but the environment would say otherwise, if it could talk. No matter."

Ni: "You mentioned eliminating barriers? Could we get to it?"

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Bindo: "There's also a Czerka repulsor field blocking the way, past the poacher camp in the east. I saw it when it was installed, so I know how to pass it. And on the other side... ancient answers. and perhaps a wookiee you were seeking. I hope he's in the mood for visitors."

Ni: "Anything you can tell me about Kashyyyk?"

Bindo: "Oh, I know plenty about Kashyyyk. You think someone doesn't live here for twenty years a pick up a thing or two?"

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Ni: "Nevermind."

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A short trek later:

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Bindo: "It's only been here a short while, or the wookiees would have disabled it. They wouldn't have had an easy time of it, though."

Ni: "Why put this thing here? The wookiees can just climb around it. I could probably climb around it."

Bindo: "There are others, each blocking similar points on certain paths. It is all very calculated. Very precise. And, like you said, very useless."

Ni: "You said you could shut it down?"

Bindo: "Let me see... how did the Czerka engineers do it... Ahh, there we go. Now keep moving. These are the most dangerous depths of Kashyyyk."

http://img375.imageshack.us/img375/1454/3827.jpg
Commentary Meet Jolee Bindo:

http://img691.imageshack.us/img691/8428/joleelevel14.jpg

Well, our party is finally complete. Jolee is a Jedi Consular, which means that he's focused on force powers, as opposed to Juhani's combat focus or Jan or Bastila's balanced approach. He's very slightly light-side aligned, but he's close enough to the middle that he can use light or dark side powers without penalty. Jolee is voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson, which means he has this wonderfully deep and moderately terrifying voice. He's also the Cool Old Guy (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CoolOldGuy) (TV Tropes warning) of the group. I'd peg him at around seventy or eighty. Accounting for the Star Wars differences in aging, he's probably physically in his mid to late fifties. He's also a strong competitor with HK-47 for funniest party member. The strange thing about Jolee is that he doesn't seem interested in mentoring Jan (and dying), in the classic tradition of the Obi-Wan (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheObiWan) (TV Tropes warning). Whether this is because he's aware of the trope and wants to avoid it, or some other reason, we'll have to look into later.

In the interest of catching everyone up, let's locate him, HK and Juhani on the alignment and methodology paradigms (see episodes nine (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9628187&postcount=63)and ten (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9647627&postcount=66)for everyone else).

Alignment:
Juhani: Lawful Good.
Evil/Good: Unlike Bastila, Juhani actively wanted to become a Jedi, because of all the injustices she suffered as an alien child on Taris. She became a Jedi to save people. Good, her lapse into the dark side aside.
Chaos/Law: She's fixated on justice and brainwashed by the Jedi Council. Very lawful.

HK-47: Chaotic Evil.
Evil/Good: His programming only goes so far. The sadistic glee is all him. Strongly evil.
Chaos/Law: HK tends to be fairly indescriminate in his killings, at least as far as his programming will allow. In KotOR 2, this is de-emphasized (and he might slip into Neutral Evil), but he's strongly chatoic at the moment.

Jolee Bindo: Chaotic Neutral, with good tendancies.
Evil/Good: Jolee is reluctant to interfere in the problems of the wookiees if he doesn't have an escape route. You could call this prudence, but it can also be labelled cowardice. He does have his good side, but it's mostly occluded by his self-interest.
Chaos/Law: Seeing as how he claims to not be a Jedi and hates bureaucracy, it's hard to argue that he isn't chaotic.

Methodology:
Juhani: Hard External.
Internal/External: Juhani wants to change the world, which may be one of the reasons she's so terrible at learning to be a Jedi. She wants to change the world by action, not example, making her strongly external.
Hard/Soft: It's hard to argue that Juhani is reactive or subtle. She's very much a Jedi soldier, Carth with a lightsaber. She hasn't stopped to think too much about it, either. Very much a hard way of (not) thinking.

HK-47: Hard External.
Internal/External: Like T3, HK is a tool. He's made to be external.
Hard/Soft: He may be more precise than a war droid, but his methods are largely the same: eliminate all opposition. Hard.

Jolee: Internal Soft.
Internal/External: For all that he claims not to be a Jedi, he operates under a very Jedi-like way of thinking. But unlike the Jedi, who try to lead by example, it doesn't seem like Jolee wants to change anything.
Hard/Soft: Like the Jedi Masters (and the Emperor), Jolee is a user. He's comparably benign, but he's following the same path of using catspaws, and using an enemy's strength against them.

Next time: why everyone is a terrible person.
Next time, on Knights of the Old Republic: http://img713.imageshack.us/img713/7421/end38.jpg

[Cogwheel]

Ah, Jolee. So very awesome.

I think I went through most of the game with a team of him and HK.

[The_Werebear]

I forget, is the reason why you can't just climb around the barrier in the game, or is that your reasoning Tam? Because I always hated that I was stopped by a 12 foot fence in a world of twenty mile trees. Friggen plot doors.

[Cogwheel]

If Chuundar geneuinely believed that he was doing this for the betterment of his people, and did less mustache-twirling, then I'd be able to understand his point of view.

http://i877.photobucket.com/albums/ab332/Crawlscreens/Avernum/Chuundar.jpg

You're welcome.

[Tam_OConnor]

Cogwheel: That is amazing. But Kashyyyk doesn't have any railroad tracks, or swoop tracks! What can he tie maidens to?

How about a carnivorous plant (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Syren_plant)? Now we just need to find some maidens. (Jan and Juhani are not, Bastila probably is and Mission is a 'I certainly hope so').

Werebear: Nope, there's not really any reason, unless the barrier is blocking a stairway down inside of a tree that leads to the lower Shadowlands. But at least it isn't a chore to deal with Jolee (unlike, say, the entrance to the Blacklake District in Neverwinter Nights 2).

[Cogwheel]

Cogwheel: That is amazing. But Kashyyyk doesn't have any railroad tracks, or swoop tracks! What can he tie maidens to?


A terentatek. On rails.

Also, I can do better. Just not much better (I'm not good at photoshopping with photoshop itself, let alone MS Paint).


http://i877.photobucket.com/albums/ab332/Crawlscreens/Avernum/Chuundar-1.jpg

[Mando Knight]

(unlike, say, the entrance to the Blacklake District in Neverwinter Nights 2).

If it wasn't the spot that Nasher had chosen to stick his castle, I'd say it should be damned to the Nine Hells. Not only does it take forever and a day to unlock the District, it's got that massive valley with a large-ish lake. Which spelled horrors for my computer.

[Squark]

^Also, navigating the district is a pain even if your computer can handle the graphics. You basically have to tote Grobnar or Quara around for the haste spells if you don't want to double your playing time walking around the districts.
Cogwheel: That is amazing. But Kashyyyk doesn't have any railroad tracks, or swoop tracks! What can he tie maidens to?

How about a carnivorous plant (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Syren_plant)? Now we just need to find some maidens. (Jan and Juhani are not, Bastila probably is and Mission is a 'I certainly hope so').

Werebear: Nope, there's not really any reason, unless the barrier is blocking a stairway down inside of a tree that leads to the lower Shadowlands. But at least it isn't a chore to deal with Jolee (unlike, say, the entrance to the Blacklake District in Neverwinter Nights 2).

How do you figure Jan as not a maiden? I suppose Jan's backstory is your choice, of course, but given the reveal that's coming up (sorry for the spoiler), I don't see Jan as the type to have had much of a relationship.

Also, given the game's engine, all Chuundar would need to do to put a maiden on a railroad is knock down a few trees, and block off all but one path :smallwink:

Ooh, wrong type of railroad.

[The_Werebear]

^Also, navigating the district is a pain even if your computer can handle the graphics. You basically have to tote Grobnar or Quara around for the haste spells if you don't want to double your playing time walking around the districts.


When I quit playing that game (Due to bugs in the final sequence preventing me from leaving what I think was the first room of the final dungeon), I decided that RP wise, my character had grown so sick of Neverwinter that he was face-heel turning just to make sure it died.

In relation to siding with the Obviously Evil Chundar, I liked KoTOR II's approach to Czerka. They're even more evil than before (and their left hand has NO idea that there is a right hand), but Lorso actually can give you some really convincing reasons that their plan is better than the Ithorian's. And when it comes down to the end, I think that the epilogue for siding with Czerka is way better than the Ithorians. For those who haven't played, if you pick the Ithorians, Telos grows back into a verdant paradise, but eventually forgets the lessons they learned from Kerath. The implication is strong that they take another beating in the future for it. With Czerka, it mentions it grows strong, cold, and artificial, but it never is unprepared again.

[Mando Knight]

And when it comes down to the end, I think that the epilogue for siding with Czerka is way better than the Ithorians. For those who haven't played, if you pick the Ithorians, Telos grows back into a verdant paradise, but eventually forgets the lessons they learned from Kerath. The implication is strong that they take another beating in the future for it. With Czerka, it mentions it grows strong, cold, and artificial, but it never is unprepared again.
Canonical Telos is Ithorian-restored, and ends up fine (except when the Empire attacks it. But that's the Empire's fault). And you have to keep in mind who gives you the epilogues.
Darth Traya tells you lies and half-truths to you throughout the story, and despises any suggestion that helping people actually works. I would readily posit that her foresight is clouded by her own bias, just like the Emperor could not foresee his own demise.

[Brother Oni]

HK-47: Chaotic Evil.
Evil/Good: His programming only goes so far. The sadistic glee is all him. Strongly evil.


This is debatable in my opinion.

Droids in Star Wars are highly advanced pieces of software with the capability to learn and adapt. Due to this learning ability, they're regularly reset to their factory defaults to prevent the development of non-standard behaviours and other quirkiness.

It's strongly implied that HK-47 hasn't been reset to its factory defaults for a while and that Revan encouraged this because he liked HK's comments. Revan's not unique in treating droids like people in the Star Wars-verse as Luke Skywalker did the same with R2-D2 and the Exile with T3-M4.

We don't have much evidence about what HK47's factory default behaviour is like (although the HK-50s give a fairly good idea), so assuming that it's naturally full of malicious glee is an assumption too far I think, especially given the mention the programming 'mishap' you can have in KotR2. :smallbiggrin:

This puts its Good/Evil axis as ambiguous in my opinion - just because you enjoy 'achieving a singular purpose, against statistically long odds' doesn't mean you're necessarily evil.

I firmly believe that it's strongly Lawful though. HK-47's constricted by its programming to follow orders and although it sometimes take liberties in exceeding those orders, it doesn't twist the original intent that a Chaotic being would.

I admit there's the counter argument that HK-47 is forced to obey its orders, much like a fantasy character under a geas spell (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/geasquest.htm), but given it hasn't attempted to circumvent the limitations of its programming, I believe it chooses to follow orders.

[Tam_OConnor]

Welcome... (Cue music)
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http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/9818/i392.jpg
http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/5826/i393.jpg... to Knights of the Old Republic.

Episode 39 Bindo's journal tells us that the trio descended deeper into the Shadowlands, dodging attacks by katarns and kinrath spiders, as well as larger beasts that lurked in the mists. The whirr of vibroweapons drew their attention, and they found a small clearing.

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Ni moved to attack the two watching Mandolorians, before they could fall upon the injured wookie.

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Ni: "Here. Eat this, and hold still." Ni bound the worst of the wookiee's wounds, as Ordo and Bindo approached slowly.

Ordo: "Mighty generous of you, Jan. A little too generous, if you ask me."

Grrrwahrr: "I... I thank you. I would not have expected an outsider to aid me. Perhaps... perhaps you will help again? My hunting party, all of them, killed without honor. I barely survived. I want the murderers to suffer the same."

Ni: "Tell me about your attackers."

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Grrrwahrr: "Your man is correct. They followed us for a long while. We found bodies to the southwest, and then again further south after the west branch of the path. Their speed was amazing. They fought like outsiders, waiting until we were unarmed. They would not attack until we had put our weapons away! They strike like cowards!"

Ni: "Cowards?! Uhh, I mean... I'll look into it."

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The trio moved away to the southwest, and Bindo records that he heard Ni muttering to herself.

Ni: "They all go on and on about the courage of the guy on the front lines. Never talk about the one behind enemy lines, with no support, dead the minute you give the enemy a chance to strike back. And they call it cowardice."

Ni: "Weapons away; we'll see if we can lure them out."

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Several more 'ambushes' were defeated in the same way. The trio found their way to a collection of swoop bikes.

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Mandolorian: "You have interrupted our hunt, interloper. The inhabitants of this world could do little against us, but you appear to be a threat."

Ordo: "More than enough for you!"

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The fight was concluded quickly.

Ni: "'Another Mandalore?' He thought you were trying to recruit him, or something?"

Ordo: "Don't be ridiculous. Revan took Mandalore's mask. There will be no more Mandalores until it is found."

Ni: "That's absurd."

Ordo: "It's tradition."

http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/8086/3916.jpg

Ni: "They're dead."

Grrrwahrr: "Yes... yes I see the mask from the one that gave orders. Their bodies will not last long in the Shadowlands. The taint of them, their cowardice... the forest will consume it all. I hope this gives my hunting brethren peace."

Ni: "I hope it does. Goodbye."

http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/6205/3917.jpg

Grrrwahrr: "You have acted as a fellow wookiee would have. Here, take this. It is the symbol of my hunting clan. You served them, so you deserve it. When you look at it, remember that we reward respect, even from outsiders."

Grrrwahrr returned to upper levels, while Ni, Ordo and Bindo pressed deeper. In a secluded grotto, under the shelter of a massive root system, Ni found what she was looking for.

http://img683.imageshack.us/img683/5528/3918.jpg
http://img708.imageshack.us/img708/5666/3919v.jpg

Bindo: "Yes, there's the thing. Obstinate machine. I've no doubt it holds what you seek, but good luck getting it operational."

Computer: "Primary neural recognition complete. Preliminary match found."

http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/3820/3920n.jpg

Computer: "Begin socialized interface. Awaiting instruction. Greetings. This terminal has not been accessed for quite some time."

Ni: "Who placed this terminal here?"

http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/644/3921u.jpg

Computer: "I am sorry, I did not mean to confuse you. I will answer questions to the best of my programming limitations."

Ni: "What limitations have been placed in your programming?"

Computer: "Corruption has resulted in gaps appearing in my memory, and in that of the original installation. It could theorized that these gaps are intentional, but I have no information on that."

Ni: "Where are these gaps?"

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Ni: "What do you mean by behavioral reconfiguration?"

Computer: "I have been programmed with a very limited field of knowledge, and I must restrict access to only those that fit my allowed pattern."

Ni: "And I don't fit that pattern?"

Computer: "I can't say. I will try to bring forward the behavior that you need to proceed, as outlined by my programming."

Ni: "That seems suspiciously helpful. Why have I been allowed access?"

Computer: "I can't say. Preliminary matching allows for you to be coached."

Ni: "Do you not know why, or are you restricted from saying?"

Computer: "I can't say. Likelihood of restriction by previous user, 100%."

Ni: "I want to ask questions about you and this installation."

http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/233/3923.jpg

Ni: "Who built this installation in the first place?"

Computer: "Error. Corruption. Extrapolation. This installation was built to monitor planet-wide agricultural reformation. It has since malfunctioned. It can be theorized that the super-growth of Kashyyyk's forests is a direct result."

Bindo: "Well, that is surprising. I doubt any wookiee would support such a claim. The forest is millenia old."

http://img819.imageshack.us/img819/4271/3924.jpg

Ni: "Why was agricultural reformation needed?"

Computer: "Agriculutral record indicates this planet was incapable of sustaining sufficient levels of production. Error. Specific conditions corrupted. It can be theoried that produce was being exported to support a larger demand."

Ni: "Like one of the agri-worlds supporting Coruscant. Makes sense - empires, by their size, encourage specialization. But 30,000 years is a short period for the development or even adaptation of native creatures."

Computer: "Error. Records corrupted. It can be theorized that bio-seeding allowed the ecology to remain balanced. It could be expected that the same energy feeding the trees of Kashyyyk also accelerated the evolution of various species. No further information is available. There is too much corrupted data."

Ni: "Who installed this holo-interface?"

Computer: "This interface was installed to better access the ancient data stored within the pre-existing system. The exact date is unavailable. Programming keys indicate no earlier than five years before current Republic standard."

Bindo: "Hmmm, five years ago? I didn't notice it. This must have been installed in the strictest secrecy. It couldn't have been Czerka."

http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/29/3925v.jpg

Ni: "Who last accessed this installation?"

Computer: "Sorting by identity. Three attempts by the wookiee Freyyr, all denied. 152 attempts by human Jolee Bindo, all denied."

http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/2627/3926.jpg

Computer: "Error. List of access attempts prior to these is corrupted. Likelihood of removal by user, 100%."

Ni: "Five years ago is about the time Revan and Malak passed this way."

Computer: "Error. Data regarding subjects "Revan" and "Malak" corrupted."

Ni: "But there was an entry at some time?"

Computer: "Error. Data on "Revan" and "Malak" unavailable."

Ni: "Was there any further contact with the installer of this interface?"

Computer: "That information is unavailable, but contact is not required for the execution of my programming. Scanning range of this facility is well beyond planetary boundaries."

Ni: "What's the current function of this installation?"

http://img403.imageshack.us/img403/2971/3927.jpg

Ni: "Defense of what? The Star Map?"

Computer: "Error. That information is not available." By this time, Bindo has created his own shorthand notation for this response.

Ni: "Can you tell me about the Star Maps, then?"

Computer: "Accessing. Yes, I have found a Star Map in the original system memory. Access is restricted."

Ni: "So the map is as old as this installation?"

Computer: "Error. Data regarding author of the Star Map is corrupted."

Ni: "What do I need to do to get access to the Star Map?"

http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/4800/3928y.jpg

Ni: "How can I match them when I don't know what they are?"

Computer: "There are measures available. Personality profiling will verify the basic structure of your conscious mind. With that, I will determine whether you are ready to receive the Star Map, or can be made ready."

Ni: "What do you mean?"

Computer: "Information unavailable."

Ni: "How did I guess? Begin the evaluation."

Computer: "Evaluation commencing. Results will be compared against the pattern in memory. Just act like you should. You travel with a wookie and have encountered complications. Hypothetical: you and this Zaalbar are captured and separated. If you both remain silent, one year in prison for each of you. However, call Zaalbar a traitor, and he will serve five years, while you serve none. He is offered the same deal, but if you both accuse the other, you both serve two years. What do you do? What do you trust him to do?"

Ni: "How do you know about him?"

Computer: "I hear what happens on Kashyyyk, and a good deal beyond. Answer the question I have posed."

Ni: "Can I confer with someone else?"

Computer: "This test is not for your companions! You will answer and demonstrate that you match the pattern in memory."

Ni: "Zaalbar has barely talked to me, and I hold his life debt. I accuse him, go free, and return to break him out."

Computer: "You achieved the proper result with logic that does not match the pattern in memory. I shall adjust my evaluation."

Ni: "Why pit me against my companions?"

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Computer: "I merely serve to illustrate the proper paterns. You must be guided to think in the proper manner."

Ni: "Get on with it, then."

Computer: "Hypothetical: you are at war. Deciphering an intercepted code, you learn two things about your enemy. A single spot in their defense will be at its weakest in ten days, and they will attack one of your cities in five days. What do you do with this information? What is the most efficient course of action?"

Ni: "The most efficient action is to ignore the city, and marshal my forces to attack in ten days. But -"

Computer: "Very good. If you had moved to evacuate the city, you would have alerted the enemy to their lost codes. Ultimate victory required the deaths of the people in that city. You wisely ignored sentiment in your decision."

Ni: "Your logic is faulty. A weak point in the enemy's defenses does not ensure victory. And you presuppose a lack of sentiment. If my attack ends the war, then I will have saved many more people. And what's to say that this city isn't vital to my defenses as well?"

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Computer: "Hypothetical: remove the ongoing war from the previous example. Consider the enemy states to be weak and remote. With no external threat, your empire stagnates. Your people become complacent and begin to question you. Same scenario as before; you discover an impending attack, but also a weakness that will come after. How do you react?"

Ni: "If I stop the attack, my people remain complacent, and the situation will worsen. If I let the attack happen, my people may unite behind me, but the attack will make me appear weak, and encourage others to attack. Neither solution is acceptable."

Computer: "You will be brought down by indecision. You have failed to match the pattern in memory."

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Two war droids appeared to the north, and were quickly scrapped by lightsabers and vibroblades, despite their shielding.

Computer: "Neural scan complete. Analyzing... It would appear initial scans were incorrect. Secondary scans during battle have revealed much. Under duress, your emotions were easier to read. Programming now instructs that I give you what you seek."

Ni: "What did your scan during the battle reveal?"

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Bindo: "I wonder if the Star Map has had an effect on the evolution of the creatures here in the Shadowlands. Might explain why it's so dangerous down here."

Ni: "The other two maps we found had a giant krayt dragon and a giant firaxa shark, so I certainly thought so."

Bindo: "It's an interesting theory, but I suppose we don't have time to test it now, do we? Now that we've got what you came for we should be heading back up to the treetops."

Ni: "I still want to find Freyyr. I could take this information and go, but that'd mean leaving two of my companions here."

Bindo: "Have it your way, then."
Commentary Unravelling the mysteries of Kashyyyk and unlocking the penultimate Star Map has made us better at killing things and taking their stuff (if they have any).

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I should probably mention that Canderous and Jolee were under the influence of Master Valor at this point, so all of their abilities are five higher than normal.

This episode is extra long because I didn't want to spend three episodes in the lower Shadowlands, and it is the first episode of the new year. Happy 2011, everyone.

We found yet another band of Mandolorians without a cause - I get the feeling that this is going to warrant some fairly hefty introspection from Canderous. What separates him from all the Mandolorians turned raiders? He's fighting on the side of the Republic - and isn't it curious, he hasn't once brought up the question of payment for his services. He can't still be following Jan out of obligation for getting him out of Davik's service, or because he enjoys the view. Canderous doesn't have the obligations that our other party memebers have, as Jedi (Bastila, Juhani) or Republic soldiers (Jan, Carth), or that they've got no-where else to go (Mission, Zaalbar), or are along for the ride (Jolee). The only party members I haven't mentioned are the droids, and putting them and Canderous in the same category makes some very interesting points.

We right out bought T3-M4 and HK-47, though HK-47 made a guarantee of his loyalty in exchange for the oportunity to use his talents, and for use of our resources - replacing power couplings, oil baths, battery charging. Think waaaaay back to when Canderous and Calo Nord were bickering. Canderous related himself and Calo to kath hounds. And that is, I feel, a very apt image. Canderous is a dog. Feed him, take him for walkies, and he will love you forever, so long as its clear who's top dog.

Canderous, oddly for someone who's dark side alignment, hates betrayals. He wants there to be clearly defined sides, us verses them. One of the reasons that Canderous needs an employer, a master, is to tell him who to shoot. This isn't always the picture we get from his backstory, though. What about the Canderous who attacked when he should have held back?

Well, he's a glory hound, for one. Besides that, in a huge pack, initiative can be valued above following orders, especially on the individual level. On a larger, strategic level, it gets problematic(Caeser, The Gallic Wars, 7.52, chewing out his troops for charging without orders), but that's neither here nor there.

Here's the question, though: when did Jan prove she was top, uhhh, female dog? She did it in a very Mandolorian-manner: she killed Davik and claimed his ship, thereby legitimizing Canderous' betrayal. If Jan won, then Canderous never betrayed Davik, and his honor is intact. The instant he goes his own way, he loses that. Until someone proves that they're better than Jan, or Jan proves herself unworthy, Canderous is her dog. And if that doesn't conjure up uncomfortable sexual connontations in your mind, there's nothing I can do for you.

Now that we've gotten all those pesky feelings of emotion out of the way, let's talk logic. The question about Jan and Zaalbar is the classic prisoner's dilemma (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisoner's_dilemma). This isn't the first time that this problem has cropped up in a Bioware game. In Shadows of Amn, a djinni presents you with the following problem: You and a sibling are locked in separate cages. In each cage is a button. The wizard who put you there presents you with a choice: If you push the button, you die, and your sibling goes free. If your sibling presses the button, they die, and you go free. If you both press the button, you both die. If neither of you press the button, you both die. Minsc, the resident berserker, responds: 'I would smash the cages and kill the wizard!'

Minsc illustrates the reason that the usual response to this kind of dilemma is to take a third option. But KotOR tries its hardest to prevent you from taking that third option. The first and third options, despite what I've written, are light side/wrong or dark side/correct choices. There's no option: '[Lie] "I would betray Zaalbar."' It just grates, and doesn't tell you anything about Revan or Malak besides that they're eeeeeeevil, which we already knew.

The only redeeming feature is the second question, where you can arrive at the conclusion that not defending the city and striking later will save more lives in the long run. And the computer tells you that your answer is right, but your reasoning is wrong. And do you know what this tells us about the bad guys? That Kreia is lying to us. Which is almost always true, and completely out of left field, but let me explain. Kreia claims that Revan turned to the dark side in order to save the galaxy from a coming threat. But at the point that this machine got his neural patterns, he wasn't thinking of saving more people in the end. Or, I could be wrong, and Malak was the one who programmed this bloody holo-interface, and that's why it's stupidly evil and had its memories erased with all the subtlety of a wookiee foot to the face.
Next time, on Knights of the Old Republic: http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/9918/end39.jpg

[Klose_the_Sith]

Here's the question, though: when did Jan prove she was top, uhhh, female dog? She did it in a very Mandolorian-manner: she killed Davik and claimed his ship, thereby legitimizing Canderous' betrayal. If Jan won, then Canderous never betrayed Davik, and his honor is intact. The instant he goes his own way, he loses that. Until someone proves that they're better than Jan, or Jan proves herself unworthy, Canderous is her dog. And if that doesn't conjure up uncomfortable sexual connontations in your mind, there's nothing I can do for you.

Just why should these images be in any way uncomfortable? :smallamused:

[Cogwheel]

See, this is what bugs me about Bioware. Everyone else sees amazing writing/plot, I see comparatively (as in, when you look at the rest of the industry) decent, but not amazing efforts at both. And then you get their massive black and white issues. I suppose they're allowed in this case - Star Wars is not, traditionally, a setting conductive to grey areas. Pity, that.

Interesting look at Jan's personality, though. I always hated this test. But yes, Malak reprogramming it would explain a lot, now that you mention it. He's something of an idiot.

Also, "152 attempts" always cracks me up.

[Brother Oni]

Just why should these images be in any way uncomfortable? :smallamused:

Depends on how often Jan mounts* Canderous to maintain her top dog position. :smalltongue:


*Incidentally, the typically displayed mounting position for dogs isn't the actual way they breed, thus there's technically nothing sexual about it. When applied to humanoid bipeds though...

[Klose_the_Sith]

Depends on how often Jan mounts* Canderous to maintain her top dog position. :smalltongue:


*Incidentally, the typically displayed mounting position for dogs isn't the actual way they breed, thus there's technically nothing sexual about it. When applied to humanoid bipeds though...

Good sir, my sick and twisted mind loves you :smallbiggrin:

[Tam_OConnor]

Welcome... (Cue music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhpaxmHWzJo))
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http://img821.imageshack.us/img821/1042/i403.jpg... to Knights of the Old Republic.

Episode 40 Searching for the wookiee Freyyr, Bindo records that they stumbled across a large stone marked with ancient symbols. The pictograms were worn, as though traced by generations of wookiee claws. Bindo mentions that Ni had to remove layers of moss and dirt.

Ordo: "What does it say?"

Ni translated from Shyriiwook:

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Ni: "'Feed the beast and it will heed your call.
Take vipers from their lair and hand them above.
Let blood scent the ground of our ancestors.'
Jolee, help me with this: I think it says 'viper,' but I haven't seen anything like a snake here."

Bindo: "No, no, 'viper' is about as close as you're going to get. Sneaky and poisonous is the intent. This is the word they use to descibe the poisonous mutation of kinrath spiders."

Ordo: "We killed some of those up the trail."

Ni: "Look at this: this flat rock below is stained with blood. And there's this awful convenient kshyy vine here... This kind of blood offering is never a good thing."

Bindo: "Seen many of these, have you?"

Ni: "Only in my nightmares. But I read something about the ancient inhabitants of Korriban doing blood sacrifices to appease the marooned dark Jedi."

Ordo: "The Zabraks (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Zabrak)do the same kind of thing - though they end it with cannibalism, not leaving the corpse out for scavangers."

Ni: "Canderous, get one of those corpses, one of the ones that Jolee or I killed. Should be more blood in it."

Bindo: "What are you up to?"

Ni: "Bastila keeps reminding me that Jedi aren't always warriors. So I'm studying. If it's just katarns or something, then there's no trouble. But I have a feeling that it's worse than that."

Bindo: "Why?"

Ni: "It's more than just a hunch, or the Force telling me. We were attacked by a shapeshifter just south of your home. One of the forms it took was a terentatek. Where could the shapeshifter learned about the terentatek? The Great Hunt all but exterminated them, and I hadn't even heard of them before I joined the Order."

Bindo: "So you think there's a monster of the dark side here. Something so dangerous that the Council appointed three Knights to deal with them. Three Knights, including a Qel-Droma (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Qel-Droma_family) and a Saresh, all in the prime of their lives. And you want to take one on with the help of two broken-down old men."

Ni: "One who can throw lightning and has been spending his retirement in the Shadowlands of Kashyyyk. And the other is a Mandolorian who survived the wars. Keep your Knights."

Bindo: "Hmmph. Kids these days. No respect."

Ordo returned, hauling the kinrath.

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Bindo: "Take a look at this. There's a blade lodged in its side."

Ordo: "I don't believe it - it's made out of Mandolorian iron (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Mandalorian_iron). No wonder it's still intact. But it's a naked tang - the hilt's been broken off."

Ni: "That's not the only thing - there's a... I don't know how to describe it."

Bindo: "Try 'swirling Force.' This blade has some significance."

Ordo: "So we're taking it, then."

Ni: "Yeah. Let's get it out of there."

A low growl to the north drew the trio's attention. A tall wookiee with matted fur stood beneath an arching root.

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Bindo: "He's almost feral after all this time. Calm yourself, Freyyr. We are friends. Don't you remember me?"

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Bindo: "Well, this may prove difficult."

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Ni: "I'm not here to kill you! Just listen!"

Freyyr: "The words of outsiders are tainted with lies. You can't convince me otherwise."

Ni: "You know Zaalbar and Chuundar."

Freyyr: "What? Those are my sons. Why do you speak their names? Tell me!"

Ni: "My name is Jan Ni. I came to Kashyyyk with Zaalbar."

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Ni: "No, he follows because of a life-debt."

Freyyr: "Does he? Then he sees something of worth in you. I will listen... cautiously. Gullibility has harmed me in the past. If I had seen the lies of Chuundar, he would have been exposed as a slaver. Zaalbar would not have been exiled..."

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Ni: "Go over exactly what happened with Zaalbar."

Freyyr: "Zaalbar saw it first. He learned that Chuundar was dealing with Czerka, leading them to our hunting parties. Chuundar would blame disappearances on the dangers of the Shadowlands. Zaalbar was crazed when he found out. He attacked Chuundar with his claws. I thought he had ggone made... shed his honor. I was bound by the old ways."

Ni: "So Zaalbar was exiled. When did you learn the truth?"

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Freyyr: "He and his Czerka guards attacked me. I had to retreat to the deepest Shadowlands, but even there they followed."

Bindo: "That's when I first saw him. I helped him lose his pursuers for a moment. Do you remember me now, Freyyr?"

Freyyr: "Yes, I think I do. I am sorry about attacking. It's been so long since I have offered my trust, or accepted that of someone else."

Ni: "Chuundar sent me down here to kill you. Why now?"

Freyyr: "Well, if Zaalbar is back, perhaps Chuundar is worried the people will realize things are not as they seem. He has established himself as a leader that succeeded despite the "tragedies" that have plagued his family. If it was shown that he conspired with the slavers, his honor would be gone. I wonder... There is a way I might challenge Chuundar, but it would take a lot to convince people they have been lied to."

Ni: "Appealing to tradition, or something like that."

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Freyyr: "Bacca found a crashed starship, our first hint of life elsewhere. He was a cautious old wook, and feared the taint of invaders. He constructed a vibroblade from the wreckage. It has long symbolized our independence. Only destined leaders have held it. Here in the Shadowlands, Rothrrrawr fought the Great Beast. He sought a challenge, but this arrogance got him more than he could handle. He survived, but the blade of the sword stayed in the creature's hide. Our tales say it was taken because we had become undeserving."

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Ni: "I think we may have already found it."

Freyyr: "You have? Please, let me see it. I must be sure!"

Ni: "Here, take it."

Freyyr: "It... it is! It may not look like much... but it is a very important relic of my people. Tradition dictates that it be respected. I didn't think I was worthy to search for it, but I realize that was selfish despair. I should have challenged Chuundar long ago."

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Ni: "Ummm, yes. It must be the will of the Great Beast. But we should proceed carefully -"

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Freyyr: "When you arrive, we will confront Chuundar in the throne room. My people will no longer be slaves!"

As the wookiee bounded off, Ni turned to her companions.

Ni: "Hooo, boy. They way he's moving, we have no time to waste. We need to get high enough for my comlink to work - I need to warn the crew about what's happening, make sure they aren't killed in the fighting. One way or another, this is going to end in violence."
Voting So, I realize it may not seem like much of a choice, but our options are going to come down to supporting Chuundar or supporting Freyyr. Let's look at the issues:

Chuundar: (Incumbant; Progressive Party): Advocates a continued technical exchange program with Czerka Corporation, raising the income levels of the villagers, and continues to support a strong linguistic education program.

Freyyr: (Traditionalist Party): Advocates violence against our current allies, and a generally aggressive posture in local and galactic politics. Rumored to be insane.

Write-In:________________

Cast your votes, fellow wookiees! And remember, your vote matters. (Unfortunately, our voting machines are only equipped with keyboards in Basic. No Shyriiwook, please.)

The polls open now, and close on 11:59pm, Thursday, January 6th (Board time/EST). Apologies for the short time, but I'll be on a train all day Friday, so it's either a short voting time or an episode that's not posted until Saturday.
Commentary Here's something to chew on: the chieftains of this village have been making sacrifices to a terentatek for generations. Freyyr had the spit-take inducing line about the Great Beast willing this conflict. Since it's a creature of the dark side, I can't see why it would be against parricide/fraticide (except for the part where Jan stabbed it a lot).

But let's take a step back for a minute. Let's ignore that the wookiee who's against the slavers thinks that a terentatek is on his side. Let's go back to a question that I asked a while back: Jan is doing the right thing, right? While the end result depends on how you ladies and gentlemen cast your votes, Kashyyyk as a whole is problematic. How has Jan been solving most of her problems on Kashyyyk?

Well, let's run down the list:
Mind Tricks and intimidation (Janos, the Guard Captain)
Violence (Dehno)
Getting animals to inflict violence (the Czerka poachers)
Violence (Mandolorians, the Great Beast, calming Freyyr)

Now, admittedly, this isn't all that different from the other planets - even if Jan was shining with light side goodness, she would have still killed an awful lot of people. But on Dantooine (Juhani), Tattooine (the Sand People) and Manaan (the giant Firaxa shark), there was the option of solving things without killing people (or sharks).

Kashyyyk ends in blood. Whatever way the votes fall, people will die. So the question is, why? Why is it on Kashyyyk?

Kashyyyk is the wild world, in contrast to Taris, the ecumenopolis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecumenopolis). There's also Dantooine the farming world, Yavin the abandoned world, Tattooine the dying world, Manaan the living world and Korriban, the corrupted world. Death is so much more present on Kashyyyk, everything living and dying in the great circle of life (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwSKkKrUzUk&feature=related) (warning: Disney music). Things may die on Tattooine, but it's a slow death by centimeters, as thirst wears away at you. On Kashyyyk, life is jerked away with brutal haste.

Alternately, some crimes are so horrific that violence is the only solution. Enslaving others, say. Let's just say that this debate is on-going in the real world, and leave it at that.

Actually, let's talk murder. At this point, I think only T3 and maybe Mission are innocent of it (I don't recall off-hand if she got any kill-shots on Gammoreans in during the sewer expedition, and rakghouls are, well, monsters). But killing in war really isn't murder, right? I'm sort of dancing pretty close to the 'no religion or politics' line, so I'll just say that there's been an awful lot of ink spilled on the subject. But let's make this simple: Who on the crew would kill another intelligent being in cold blood? And that, I think, is a very short list.

HK certainly would, and has (though there's been less ink spilled on free will and programmed artifical intelligences). Canderous is certainly willing to throw his weight around, but he doesn't try to kill people in bars for trying to talk to him (see Calo Nord). I don't think he's quite on Jayne Cobb's level when it comes to convenience killing.
Jayne's level "Hell, I'll kill a man in a fair fight... or if I think he's gonna start a fair fight, or if he bothers me, or if there's a woman, or if I'm gettin' paid - mostly only when I'm gettin' paid."
Zaalbar would probably have to work himself up into a rage first. Carth would only do it if there was absolutely no other choice. Bastila would and Juhani might, if the Jedi Order told them to, but they'd have some serious issues to work through afterwards. Jolee might, but he'd have to settle it on his own time - he couldn't be pushed into it, and he'd have to have a very good reason.

Now, I know Jan's stealth-killed people before. Heck, she's been doing it since episode one. But all that is in a war setting. So here's something to ponder. Is she the type of person who would kill someone in cold blood? And if she is, is that a good or bad thing for the crew?
Next time, on Knights of the Old Republic: http://img641.imageshack.us/img641/2295/end40.jpg

[Squark]

I vote for Feyrr (spelling?). DOWN WITH THE MUSTACHE TWIRLING VILLAIN!

Write in: I propose that all future photos of Chuundar have mustaches MSpainted in.

[Brother Oni]

I vote for Freyyr. Better to be bathed in blood than swathed in lies.


Things may die on Tattooine, but it's a slow death by centimeters, as thirst wears away at you. On Kashyyyk, life is jerked away with brutal haste.


In contrast to Tattooine, life on Kashyyyk is also recycled, usually by digestion. I expect the majority of life on Tattooine is simply lost to the enviroment and wasted.



Who on the crew would kill another intelligent being in cold blood? And that, I think, is a very short list.


A quick definition here - when I say 'in cold blood', I mean a calm, rational, justified and calculated decision to kill a person. A sniper operating under Rules of Engagment in a combat zone would count, since they have the discretion to pick off a target or not, plus they need clarity of thought to pull off the shot.

Canderous and Carth are both soldiers and usually kill under Rules of Engagement. Neither would kill people unneccesarily (Carth because he's essentially good at heart, Canderous because it's a waste of ammo), so while they would kill another intelligent being in cold blood, it would have to be justifiable to them (Canderous requiring lower levels of justification).
Also Carth wouldn't wait unless there was no other option and as a fairly high ranking officer, it would be negligent of him to do so as that's risking the lives of the people under him. If pre-emptively attacking a ship or killing an enemy patrol would save lives, he'd do it.

With regard to HK, it has only killed while under orders (it's offered to kill/torture/maim others, but still always asks for your permission to do so) and since as a droid it can't get 'caught up in the heat of the moment', can only kill 'in cold blood'.

I agree with your assessment of Zaalbar, but that's probably true of wookies in general. That said, it doesn't take much for them to flip into 'pulling people's arms out of their sockets' mode.

As for Jan, a distinction must be made between her previous life and her current one.
The way you've set up her backstory as a covert ops specialist, the answer is a definite yes, especially since she apparently has experience of insertion behind enemy lines with no support (implanted memories?).
In addition, you've hooked her up with the Genohadaran, so she's flown to star systems for the explicit purpose to kill a stranger she has no personal reason to, aside from an offer of 'we'll give you some goodies if you do'.

As for whether she's good or bad for the crew, my answer is that she's a useful tool due to her skillset. She's capable of both making the decision to kill a person in cold blood and has the ability to pull it off. The other crew members either lack the command capability (eg: the Jedi, the droids), or a similar level of effectiveness (Canderous and Carth, while excellent soldiers, aren't Jedi).

In a war, she's good for the team. In peace time, she's not.

[The_Werebear]

I'll vote to go with Freyr. Because he's taller.

[Fayd]

Down With Mr. Mustache!

[Fri]

I'll vote to go with Freyr. Because he's taller.

A perfect reasoning. I'm sold.

[Tam_OConnor]

Welcome... (Cue music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2ziLVCR89Y))
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http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/8884/i413.jpg... to Knights of the Old Republic.

Episode 41 Ni, Bindo and Ordo returned to the wookiee village of Rwookrrorro. Bindo wrote that "the trees themselves seemed to be waiting. Most of the wookiees had retreated to their homes, to wait for the dispute over the chiefdom to be resolved."

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Chuundar: "You have Bacca's blade? So what! I have the hilt, held by each ture Chieftain in recent memory! Even you claimed it was all-important! We both have our ancient trinkets, so who will the people follow? You? You are old and weak!"

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Zaalbar edged closer to Ni, trying to shake the eyes of his father and elder brother. The two obligingly locked eyes, growling.

Zaalbar: "I... I don't know what to do, Jan. Chuundar has been telling me things... he makes sense... I think. I don't know."

Ni: "Haven't the three of you fought enough? Your brother needs help, Zaalbar. With your father as chief, perhaps he can get it."

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Ni: "It's worth trying, at least."

Zaalbar: "Then so be it. The fighting stops here! I will not have our world destroyed beneath you two!"

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Freyyr: "We have done it... I am saddened that it had to come to this, but I couldn't let it continue. Zaalbar, my son. I am truly sorry. You have suffered a great shame. I was blind. I have no excuse."

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Ni: "What will you do about the slavers?"

Freyyr: "We will fight them. It will be difficult, but I swear they won't take another one of my people without bloodshed. I'll send quick-climbers to other villages and try to rally a defense. We mmust guard against this ever happening again."

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Ni: "Zaalbar? Would you like to stay, to fight for your people's freedom?"

Zaalbar: "Returning home has lifted a great weight from my mind... but it has been painful as well."

Freyyr: "You have a place by my side, Zaalbar. I would be honored if you would take it."

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Zaalbar: "And I have a life-debt. Now that my life is truly my own again, honoring that agreement is all the more important."

Freyyr: "Listen to my son! His insight humbles me. Take that good judgment with you and all the planets will come to revere wookiee wisdom."

Ni: "I think it's time I was leaving, then. I will help with your attack against the Czerka platform, if you like."

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Freyyr: "Because of you, I am reinstated as Chieftain. We will return to the old ways, when honor and trust of kin ruled above all else. I'm not sure there is a reward that accurately reflects the value of what you have done. Our world is changed because of you."

Zaalbar: "I have a request, father. I have thought about it a great deal. I would like Bacca's Sword."

Freyyr: "Well... that is quite a request. I am tempted to say no, but... perhaps I should consider it an investment."

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Zaalbar: "I understand. I want this, father. I'll bring it back one day."

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Ni made contact with Onasi, and the wookiees began their attack on Czerka.

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The platform captured, the wookiees began to carry away Czerka supplies and deal with corpses. Czerka employees were hurled down into the shadowlands, while wookiees were borne away on litters, for later cremation.

Ni: "Welcome to the Ebon Hawk, Jolee. You'll be bunking in the port compartment with Carth, Canderous and Zaalbar. Don't worry, though. Carth spends all of his time in the cockpit, and Canderous just works out in the cargo hold. Don't say anything you don't want recorded: Mission's set up holorecorders all over the place, and likes to crawl through the ducts."

Vao: "Only because we're going to be famous. I just want to be able to sell them for a mint."

Jolee: "Hrmph."

Ni: "Oh, and we've got trained attack gizka. They're like katarns, but smaller and more cuddly."

Zaalbar: "They like to hide under the covers, eat the electrical wiring - why do we keep them around?"

Ni: "Because I'm the captain. And it forces you guys to actually do maintainance so we don't crash. So, uhh, make yourself at home. You want to know what's going on, Bastila can probably explain it best. She's usually up front."

T3-M4: "Beeeep-zeee!"

Ni: "Thanks for reminding me, T3. The protocol droid is an assassin droid. Just so you know. Any questions?"

Bindo: "Just one. Where are we headed?"

Ni: "Korriban."
Commentary That was very nearly anticlimactic. For all that Chuundar makes of his Czerka allies, Jan also had allies in this fight. And two angry wookiees, plus two Force-users and a Mandolorian, is not exactly a meager fighting force. Heck, Jan and co. are probably a hopeless boss fight (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HopelessBossFight) (TV Tropes warning) for most opponents. Speaking of how overpowered the party is, Bacca's Blade is a fairly nasty weapon. It can be upgraded, and does absurd damage to droids. This in addition to the other weapon that Zaalbar has in his off-hand. Honestly, it's a bit like watching a blender. That's actually something that I think we'll never see: a gory Star Wars game. The dismemberment potential of lightsabers and vibroweapons aside, Lucasarts has a fairly tight hold over what's permissible. Plus, gory Star Wars game -> Star Wars is no longer all ages fun, which meants less money. Which means it'll never happen. Not that I'm objecting, it's just weird going from the geysers in Dragon Age to these bloodless exchanges.

I finally managed to reconstruct my archetype lists, and the crew is finally completely assembled, so let's break things down. This is less analysis than normal, and more getting inside my head on how I understand these characters.

Archetypes:
Hero: the central protagonist, defined by their closeness to the plot. Paired with the Shadow, the Hero removed from their formative experiences and narrative focus, a failed Hero, or the like.

Mystic: the guiding figure of the Hero, both narratively and otherwise. Their role may also extend to the Hero's companions. Possibly a Hero removed from their surroundings, but that's more likely a Shadow.

Stoic: the solid and unemotional companion, the endurer of ills, unlike the Hero. Motives for accompanying the Hero are likely obscure. Paired with the Loyalist, who is emotionally invested in the Hero or a particular cause.

Psycho: crazy in such a way that it impairs their judgment with regard to the narrative. Dangerous in their madness. Paired with the Loon, whose insanity is less dangerous and more comedic.

Outcast: one driven from their home by the inhabitants, most likely looking for another place to place their affection. Paired with the Wanderer, one who left home because of some incompleteness there.

Shapeshifter: one who changes roles frequently. Their loyalty may be in question.

And this is how I've got the party classified:
Jan: Hero.
Carth: Loyalist.
Mission: Aspects of the Shadow early on, but comes off more as an Outcast later on.
Zaalbar: Like Mission, initially appears to be the Stoic, but is revealed as the Outcast.
Bastila: Shadow.
T3-M4: 'Stoic.'
Canderous: Wanderer.
Juhani: Shadow (lure of the dark side).
HK-47: Psycho.
Jolee: Shapeshifter. He could be seen as a Shadow, but he's a Wanderer (from the Jedi Order), a bit of a Loon, and openly mocks the idea of him as a Mystic. Don't worry, we'll be getting to Jolee's dialogues shortly.
Next time, on Knights of the Old Republic: http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/7870/end41.jpg

[BladeofOblivion]

Actually, There is a Star Wars game featuring Gore. (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Republic_Commando)

It also happens to be a Halo Clone.

[Cogwheel]

Chuundar really is awfully suicidal.

[Brother Oni]

The dismemberment potential of lightsabers and vibroweapons aside, Lucasarts has a fairly tight hold over what's permissible. Plus, gory Star Wars game -> Star Wars is no longer all ages fun, which meants less money. Which means it'll never happen. Not that I'm objecting, it's just weird going from the geysers in Dragon Age to these bloodless exchanges.


With regard to lightsabers, any wounds they inflict are instantly cauterised, so there wouldn't be any geysers of blood from dismemberments.

That said, there would be the overpowering smell of burnt flesh and vapourised blood, but that's beyond the purview of movies and games (for now anyway).



And this is how I've got the party classified:
Bastila: Shadow.
HK-47: Psycho.


I can understand your reasoning for most of these, but I would have thought that Bastila would be more Loyalist than Shadow due to her strong attachment to the Hero.

I'd also challenge the Psycho definition, or at least how it applies to HK. I'm not saying it isn't dangerous, but I'm not so sure it's dangerous to the narrative.

[Squark]

Actually, There is a Star Wars game featuring Gore. (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Republic_Commando)

It also happens to be a Halo Clone.

You say that like it was a bad game.

[Tam_OConnor]

Welcome... (Cue music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cs23nStrk-E&feature=related))
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http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/8522/i423.jpg... to Knights of the Old Republic.

Episode 42 As the Ebon Hawk pulled away from Kashyyyk, Ni stopped in the cockpit to speak with Onasi.

Ni: "Carth, I had a question. What do you know about Revan and Malak? I've been hearing what Jedi say about them, but not soldiers like you."

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Onasi: "Although I suppose only Malak is left, isn't he? Turned on his own master, not that Revan didn't have it coming. Heh. Typical for their kind, I guess."

Ni: "Did you get a chance to meet them personally?"

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Recently on our sister station, Holonet News (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/HoloNet_News_(podcast)), Professor Nasdra Magrody (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Nasdra_Magrody) alluded to the possible CIS use of exogorths (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Space_slug) as a secret weapon, referencing the Battle of Omonoth (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Battle_of_Omonoth). This battle is the most likely candidate for Onasi's meeting of the the future Darth Malak.

Ni: "Do you know why they turned to the dark side?"

Onasi: "Nobody does. When they left after the Mandolorians Wars ended, they were Jedi. When they returned... they were something else."

Onasi's observation here is the result of continual Loyalist insistance that the Crusaders were no longer Jedi. Travelling with Jedi, and subject to military demonizing of the opposition, Onasi's separation of Loyalist and Crusader is understandable. However, the historical record does not bear this out. The large scale of the conflict occludes the issue, but the schism was ultimately rooted in the role of the Jedi in galactic politics. Should the Jedi continue to support and protect the Republic (the Loyalists), or establish their own government in place of the Republic (the Crusaders)? Two thousand years after the end of the Jedi Civil War, the Ruusan Reformations (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Ruusan_Reformation) dismantled the Jedi Army of Light (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Army_of_Light). The Army of Light had replaced the Republic military (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Republic_Army) of Ni's time, effectively achieving Revan and Malak's goals long after their own deaths. The current use of Jedi Generals is a movement back towards the Army of the Light.

Ni: "How did they get away with all this?"

Onasi: "Well... when they returned from wherever they went, they had an entire fleet with them."

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Ni: "So what do you know about the dark side?"

Onasi: "You're the Jedi. You tell me."

Ni: "I know what I think. I want to know what you think."

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Onasi: "I'm starting to think it's different for the Jedi, however. That there's this evil watching them, waiting for its chance. You have so much courage and strength in you... yet somehow, I have no trouble imagining it differently. Like the flip side of a credit-chip."

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Onasi: "Not that you're evil, don't take that the wrong way. All I'm saying is that when you have so much power, the stakes are higher. I can only imagine the kind of conflict that goes on inside you."

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Ni: "Awww, I didn't know you cared."

Onasi: "Well, that's not what I... I mean... I wouldn't want to see you hurt. Either of you. I suppose finding the Star Maps is more important than your training... and your safety. I just hope there isn't a price for you to pay."

Ni: "Uh, speaking of, could you give Bastila and I some privacy once we hit hyperspace?"

Onasi: "I suppose so."

...

Ni: "Bastila, we need to talk about what you said before. About giving in to your emotions."

Shan: "Yes, I did end that quite abruptly, didn't I? Perhaps a Master could have addressed my questions with the proper wisdom. But I never should have brought it up here. Not with you."

Ni: "But-"

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Shan: "I don't think I'm the proper Jedi to guide you. I am no Master. You should have remained with the Council."

Ni: "And why do you say that?"

Shan: "The fact of the matter is that I have never possessed much skill at controlling myself. With the bond that joins us, it seems I have even less. You have maintained the path of the light side. but it has been in spite of my influence, not because of it. It is increasing obvious I am unable to guide you properly."

Ni: "You're joking, right? Bastila, you've been a tremendous help to me."

Shan: "Which is why I've been on the ship the entire time we've been on Kashyyyk? I... I just don't know. I think... I think I may have made a very big mistake. I simply hope that you are not the one who pays the price, ultimately, for the fact that I can't help you enough."

Ni: "Look, we can help each other. Help each other to stay strong?"

Shan: "That's a kinder response than I deserve. You... you continue to be there for me, don't you? Even after I keep pushing you away, you're still around when I need you most. You're like no one I've known before. And you're nothing like what I expected you to be after... after the Council sent us on this mission together."

Ni: "...how did you expect me to be?"

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Ni: "I... alright. I'll be in the hold, taking HK apart."

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Ni: "Canderous. I need someone to hold these wires apart. Just don't let the live ends touch you, me, or anything in HK's torso. You were telling me about the aftermath of Malachor V?"

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Ordo: "There weren't many of us left after that last battle. Mandalore himself was killed at the hands of the Jedi Revan. The best of us could not defeat him! After that last battle, those of us that survive were stripped of our weapons, our armor, and our Basilisks. Those who hadn't fled earlier with left with nothing to call their own... only the honor of having fought in the battle we just lost."

Ni: "One of things my old instructor used to tell us was 'you can't eat honor.' And then he showed us nine ways to kill a humanoid with an entrenching tool."

Ordo: "I only know eight."

Ni: "The last one involves some mechanical gymnastics, but it winds up creating ball lightning (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball_lightning). It isn't a sure-fire solution, but it is a ninth way. But you were talking about honor."

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Ni: "And you found work on Taris."

Ordo: "Yeah. Enforcing for Davik was not... stimulating. The gangs on Taris and Davik's rivals were trash. They gave no thrill in battle, no honor or glory in defeating them. It was like stepping on bugs."

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Ni: "You're a worthy companion. Here, let me take those wires back."

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Ni: "Still?"

HK-47: "Answer: The majority of my memory is still locked within my core. And I have no idea what stimuli will unlock it, unfortunately. Sadly, it seems my true origins will always be a mystery."

Ni: "You're eager to find your origins, aren't you?"

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HK-47: "Surely there are more droids like me out there, or is that too much to hope?"

Ni: "Well..."

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Ni: "You're sure your core isn't just damaged? It could be giving you a false positive, and what you think are more memories could just be corruption."

HK-47: "Observation: If it was, master, your restorations would have exposed that by now. I am certain that the proper stimuli would restore my core's functions. Sadly, that could have already happened and we missed it, and my core was too damaged to activate. Oh, woe is me."

Ni: "Well, tell me about this last owner, then."

HK-47: "Correction: That would actually be my first owner, master. The first I can remember. I had completed an assassination in Mandolorian space... though I have no knowledge of what my target was or who sent me. Regardless, my motor function had been damaged and I could not return to whereever I had been sent from. A Mandolorian solider claimed me as 'booty', I believe."

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Ni: "It appears no one could resist using your protocol."

HK-47: "Query: Do you not have enemies that you would desire eliminated, master? If my protocol still worked, would you not use it?"

Ni: "...I suppose I would."

HK-47: "Statement: See? I provide a function that is useful to others. They merely must learn to use it properly, I believe. At any rate, it seems that my Mandolorian owner finally decided to send me against Mandalore himself. My poorest performance, sadly."

Ni: "Oh?"

HK-47: "Answer: I was captured by this Mandalore during the attempt. He was able to reverse my programming and send me after my own master. It was quite depressing. There was little I could do. Needless to say, I dispatched the Mandolorian soldier efficiently. Once I was deactivated, I believe I eventually ended up on the black market and was sold to the Hutt on Sleheyron. *sigh* My darkest day."

Ni: "So you killed that master directly."

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Ni: "You're just a traveling piece of bad luck, aren't you?"

HK-47: "Objection: That is so unfair, master! Have I not brought you a great deal of satisfaction?"

Ni: "You don't want to hear the answer to that."

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Ni: "So you couldn't kill Mandalore? Even one of the ones that Canderous looks down as scum?"

HK-47: "Statement: With all due respect, master, he is the leader of the Mandalorians. Perhaps my old master was foolish to send me after him."

Ni: "Can you remember anything else?"

HK-47: "Answer: There are a few Mandalorian implants I can activate, now. They will improve my performance. Beyond that, master, there is nothing more I can relate to you. with luck, we will discover the stimulus to unlock my core very soon."

Ni returned to the cockpit, T3-M4 in tow, to imput the coordinates they had already gathered from the Star Maps, and to use the droid's processor to try to derive the location of the Star Forge. Shan was in her quarters.

Ni: "Alright, Carth, what's going on?"

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Ni: "Out with it. I won't have you moping."

Onasi: "Moping? I'm not moping! I... okay, fine, maybe I'm moping a little, but you're very pushy, you know that? I told you my wife died four years ago. I... I've just been trying to remember what she looked like."

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Ni: "Don't you have holos?"

Onasi: "Most of them were destroyed on Telos. And my personal effects were on the Leviathan when Saul betrayed us. I can half remember a holo, but I'm remembering it, and not her. Is... that strange? Maybe I shouldn't be talking to you about this."

Ni: "It does feel a little odd to discuss her, I admit."

Onasi: "Ahh, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have mentioned it, even if you asked. I just find you, I don't know... easy to talk to."

Ni: "Must be all the fights."

Onasi. "Heh... it must be really strange for me to be obsessing like this, still. You must think I'm incredibly stupid."

Ni: "No, but I doubt your wife would want you to do this to yourself."

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Onasi: "The only thing that's kept me going since she died has been the need to find Saul and kill him. It's better to think about that than... anything else. If I can do that, then maybe I can let her go. Let it all go."

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Ni: "If we get the opportunity... then I promise."

Onasi: "Thank you. I... guess there's really nothing else to say."
Commentary There may be nothing left for Carth to say, but I've got plenty. Remember how waaaay back on Taris (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9596844&postcount=49), I was talking about how it looked like Bastila was the Hero and Jan was the Sixth Ranger? And then last episode, I pegged Jan as the Hero and Bastila as the Shadow? Carth talking about the dark side as being the other side of a cred-chip got me thinking further. So if Jan and Bastila are two sides of the same cred-chip, does everyone else in the party have an opposite number?

Short answer: pretty much, yeah.

Long answer: Carth may have denied it back on Dantooine, but he and Canderous are more similar than either one will admit. The purpose of their lives is the fight: Canderous for the honor, and thrill and glory, and Carth to protect. A Mandalorian warrior and a Republic soldier. Canderous is looking for a new purpose, and has found it (so far) in helping Jan. Carth is clinging to his revenge, but after (and if) he gets it, he'll be in the same state that Jan found Canderous in.

Mission and Juhani have the same trend. Mission is an alien street rat from Taris, but she doesn't see anything wrong with it. Juhani was an alien street rat from Taris, and she hated it so much that she became a Jedi to fight against it. Since we're not really going into their stories, that's about all the detail I can go into.

I believe I've already touched on the parallels between T3 and HK. T3 is brand new, and has no personality. HK's dialogue trees are devoted to finding out his past, all flavored by his personality. They both use their droid nature as a disguise: who expects the furniture to pull out a blaster and shoot the senator, or to slice his accounts?

The whole goal of Taris was to rescue Bastila, because she's vital to the Republic war effort. This started out as a fairly low-key buddy cop movie, starring Carth and Jan. Bastila was the important one. But once Bastila saw Jan's potential, Carth got dropped, and Jan and Bastila were set up as peers.

So who does that leave us with? Jolee and Zaalbar. The old man and (if my theory is right), the wookie kid. Zaalbar's an exile, and Jolee (as we'll find out shortly), was on Kashyyyk in self-imposed exile. Zaalbar doesn't know what to think, turning to Jan for advice in the conflict between his father and older brother. Jolee doesn't care what Jan thinks, he's just along for the ride.

The lack of screenshots in the middle of Bastila's conversation is only because the mod I have doesn't change the dialogue files - Bastila calling Jan a man would have been a trifle confusing, I think. But other than that, these are all in-game. But I'm going to hold off on talking about Bastila now, and do it in detail later, for reasons that will become apparent at the time.

Brother Oni: Lightsabers make clean cuts, yes, but vibroweapons? They're tiny chainsaws. Geysers, I tell you. Geysers!

As for Bastila being the Loyalist: But she's not devoted to Jan. Bastila has a Force Bond with her, yes, but it should be fairly obvious that Bastila's not telling her things. Bastila's loyal to the Jedi Council first.

Psychos aren't dangerous to the narrative. The difference between the Loon and Psycho is that the Loon's madness is relatively benign, and doesn't have that much narrative impact. When things get serious, the Loon can stop being mad. The Psycho doesn't. I'll admit, though, HK is a bit of an usual case because he doesn't kill people that Jan doesn't tell him to. Hanharr from KotOR 2 is a much better example of the Psycho, regardless of whether he joins the party or not.
Next time, on Knights of the Old Republic: http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/5210/end42.jpg

[Cogwheel]

Ball lightning. My god. That... that's almost as horrifying as Carth's armour.

Also, your talent for reading into things (and not just clearly making it up) astounds me.

[Arcanoi]

You say that like it was a bad game.

And you would be wrong. Republic Commando was a solid, quality game. And the gore was limited to red splatters when you knifed a few rare types of enemies.