Greetings young padawan, and welcome back to Come Roleplay With Me, a week later than originally planned (sorry!). After trying my hand at Dragon Age: Inquisition last time around, I fancied taking a break from high fantasy to venture into sci-fi territory. So this week, I took a trip to a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away. Or, more precisely, 12 years ago when Bioware’s excellent Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic was released.
For me, Knights of the Old Republic is the be-all end-all in immersive Star Wars gaming. I loved Star Wars: Battlefront and the Jedi Knight franchise too, but KotOR remains my favorite Star Wars game of all time, which is why I decided to roleplay it for my weekly RP challenge. As I said last time, my challenge was to walk the line between good and evil, as neither a Sith nor a Jedi. As always, I played in one sitting and with permadeath on.
Now grab your lightsaber and your robes: it’s time to become a (pretty crappy) Knight of the Old Republic.
The Madness of Darth Indecisive
Ok, I’ll admit it, Darth Indecisive wasn’t actually my character’s name - just his hard earned title.
My character’s real name was Secundus, which I thought was an adequately cool Star Wars name (although I’m not so confident looking at it now). In any case, I created him as a scoundrel who was proficient with using two melee weapons and looked like a bit of a ruffian. He also had a fairly basic scoundrel skill setup - lots of stealth, persuade, awareness and security (lockpicking). So he was in good shape to cause some shenanigans.
Secundus’ story began with him awaking on a Republic vessel that was under attack from the Sith Empire. Unsure what exactly was going on, he begrudgingly agreed to aid a fellow Republican soldier to fight their way to the escape pods, attempting to save Bastila (some form of super-Jedi) along the way. All the while, the ever annoying Carth Onasi kept sending useful (yet still annoying) advice to them. Trying to suppress his rage, and desire to murder Carth, he fought his way through the corridors of the Endar Spire (the ship he was on), casting aside the Sith soldiers like the mere puppets they were.
After coming across several force powered Sith, Secundus began to fear for his life. How could he possibly face off against these unstoppable warriors? It was only that his companion heroically sacrificed himself, that Secundus was able to reach the escape pods. Secundus was happy enough to see him go though, he hadn’t been very interesting.
It was at the escape pods that Secundus finally met the annoying voice of Carth Onasi face-to-face. Again, having to desperately fight the urge to murder him, he boarded the last escape pod. They blasted away from the Endar Spire towards the Sith-occupied planet of Taris.
Sadly, they didn’t have a very smooth landing.
Like some form of sci-fi groundhog day, Secundus found himself waking up for a second time on the same day. However, this time it was some form of strange vision that caused him to awake, rather than the sound of battle. As he sat up on his bed, his worst fears were realised - Carth had survived the crash and was still with him. He quickly explained to Secundus that he’d pulled his body from the wreckage and brought them to the relative safety of this apartment building. What did he want, a medal?
Carth then requested Secundus’ aid in finding Bastila, who’d also crash-landed on the planet. This wasn’t a terribly appealing option, but despite several attempts to refuse, Carth wouldn’t take no for an answer. Deep down, Secundus didn’t just murder people because they annoyed him, but he reasoned that Carth might die on their journeys, so he finally agreed.
Directly outside their apartment they came across a Sith official who was shaking down the local residents, all of whom appeared to be non-human. Secundus had nothing especially against non-humans, he just found that he hated most people -they didn’t understand him and he didn’t understand them. After making an example of one of the more rowdy residents, the Sith official spotted the two of them. He correctly assumed that they were Republic soldiers who were taking refuge in a ghetto of non-humans.
See? This is why Secundus hated people.
He quickly drew his two vibro blades and leapt towards the Sith and his two robot bodyguards. However, just before he closed the distance with them, Carth threw a grenade into the melee, only just missing Secundus. With a hate-filled glance back at Carth, he quickly turned his attention to the remaining non-human apartment dweller, threateneing to kill him if he didn’t get out of his way. He found this the best method for defusing an awkward situation.
After pilfering several apartments, and leaving a few unhappy families in their wake, Secundus and the ever-complaining Carth made their way to the streets of Taris. In the chaos, they spotted a man who was being threatened to pay up to Davik, a local crimelord. Secundus decided that they’d help this poor man, so they approached and dealt with the bullies. However, he quickly had a change of heart and decided that he wanted the money from the man as a reward now. Carth quickly intervened, realising that his companion was most likely quite mad.
And he was quite mad.
Exchanging glances of bewildered contempt, they eventually decided to head to lower Taris - hoping to find some trace of Bastila (or maybe a criminal hideout where Carth might get brutally murdered).
Before this though, they made their way to another apartment building and came across more Sith doing what Sith do best - being assholes. They suspected another non-human of conspiring against them, and they were being very aggressive. Secundus didn’t take too well to this, so he decided to help the strange looking alien out. He and Carth quickly dispatched the few lackys and spoke to the oppressed apartment dweller (hoping for a reward). They quickly discovered that he actually was a spy, and Secundus was outraged. He hated the Sith empire himself, but he couldn’t stand a liar. So he looted the uniforms off bodies of the Sith and left in disgust.
Just because he could, Secundus decided to dress up as a member of the Sith. He quickly realized that he could use this disguise to sneak passed the Sith guarding the elevator to the lower levels of Taris. What luck!
They came across a lower-city cantina and Secundus decided they needed to relax a little, so he dragged Carth in (kicking and screaming). Rather than attempting to achieve anything of value, he spotted a dancer who was auditioning for a position at the cantina. Her partner had failed to show, so Secundus thought it would be kind to help her pass this audition, so he partnered up with her. At first he danced “well” in an attempt to help her get the position. However, on the final dance he suddenly changed his mind and decided to fall at the most opportune moment, thus ruining her chances. After the rough day he’d had, this prank cheered him up. It’s the little things…
They soon departed the cantina, Carth looking more and more confused, and made their way to the Hidden Beks hideout, who were against the Sith. Secundus briefly spoke with Gadon, their leader, discovering that Bastila was being held captive by the Vulkar gang and was being offered as a reward to the winner of the upcoming swoop race. Gadon agreed to sponser Secundus, on the condition that he retrieved a prototype swoop bike accelerator that had been stolen by the Vulkars. To do this, they had to find someone called Mission in the Undercity of Taris. “A worthy mission” joked Secundus, but nobody laughed. Gadon awkwardly handed the official papers that Secundus would require in order to use the elevator to the Undercity, and then pretended to be busy until he left.
Unintentionally, it seemed as though Secundus might actually be a hero and save this Bastila. However, this wasn’t to be the case.
On their arrival in the Undercity, they discovered a small depressing village. It was suffering from a plague that turned people into rakghouls - mutated monstrocities that were highly poisonous and attacked on sight. Secundus had no interest in helping them however, and simply killed those who had contracted the malady. He then left the village in despair, and made his way towards the sewers, his ultimate destination. On the way, he found Mission who told him that her best friend, Zaalbar, had been captured by slavers and that she’d only help Secundus if he helped her. He liked this girl, so he agreed.
They entered the sewers and found it totally overrun by Gamorrean slavers. It was here that Secundus met his end, felled by a Gamorrean axe. In his dying moments, he smiled to himself as he realised he was finally free from Carth’s whining. As he lay staring at Carth’s corpse, he realised things could be worse.
I actually managed to do quite well in a challenge for once - cue the celebration music! I maintained my morally ambiguous madman throughout, and managed to make a fair dent in the story (considering it was all in one permadeath sitting). Going back to an unvoiced protagonist was refreshing, as I was able to imagine the insane voice of Secundus in my head. I also felt that the events were less story driven and I was given more choices, even in smaller, more insignificant scenarios.
For next week, I’ll be roleplaying as Geralt in The Witcher 2 (in honor of The Witcher 3 being released). I’ve decided he’s going to be very sleazy - gambling, fighting and frollicking with womenfolk. He’s only going to hunt monsters when he runs out of money, as a necessity for more debauchery. This is so I can delve into a roleplaying experience that completely ignores the main questline. As always, you guessed it, one sitting and permadeath will be in effect.
I’d love to hear any of your own RP stories in the comments, or even suggestions as to what I could do next. Until next time, May the Force be with you, and Come Roleplay With Me again next week.
Chris Corbett
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