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rainofaugustsith · 4 years

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KOTFE/ET Headcanons

Thank you so much for the tag @thehighground! This was such a fun and interesting one! Tagging, um, @tishinada @soulparticle @dreamy04 @verbose-vespertine @levelofdepth and anyone else who wants to do this. NO PRESSURE! Spoilers for KOTFE and KOTET, as well as the traitor arc and Onslaught.

1. Starting with basics. Who is your Outlander (which class, what their aligment)? How did they end up being frozen in carbonite for 5 years? Why did you make them the Outlander?: My Sith Warrior, Viridana Dragoi (Vengeance Juggernaut) is my Outlander. That was a simple choice for me - Viri is my main, my alter ego in the game, and she seemed to fit so well. Viri's alignment is a tough one. She absolutely embraces the Dark Side and absolutely will kill her enemies. She makes LS decisions a lot too, though, and she has a moral code of her own. For example Viri killed Senya and Arcann without thinking twice, but she would not allow Kaliyo to blow up the Spire and kill civilians and she talked Broonmark into letting the senator live (he lived too, which is a special thing for SWs). Viri has a very strong aversion to killing civilians, rank and file soldiers, and animals, and would really rather negotiate with you than kill you, unless you have crossed her in a way she can't excuse. Viri landed in carbonite exactly as the game describes - she was part of Marr's coalition. When Marr's ship broke up, it was swallowed by an Eternal Fleet ship. Viri and Marr were gassed, and later woke up in prison wearing Force-suppressing cuffs. They were taken to Valkorion, where Marr was killed, Viri killed Valkorion, and Arcann framed her and threw her into carbonite. One difference from the game is that Viri refused to speak the entire time. She did not say a word to Arcann or Valkorion from the time she woke up to the time she was frozen in carbonite. She just screamed once when she was being frozen.

2. Now, to the rest of classes. What happens to them during KotFE/ET? Did they know the Outlander? Were they allies, enemies, family? Do they join the Alliance or have something else to do? Do they play a major or a minor role in the story? Spare no detail (if you wish, of course): Sith Inquisitor: My canon SI, Suvia (Darth Nox) was also part of Darth Marr's coalition. Her ships were destroyed by the Eternal Fleet and she was placed into carbonite. She was a trophy on the wall in the Zakuulan palace for seven years. Only the presence of her remaining ghost kept her alive. Viri and her Alliance searched desperately for Suvia, but only found her by accident, after the fall of Zakuul. Once they found her, they traveled to several planets to gather ingredients for an antidote to carbonite poisoning and gave her medical assistance and care after she was thawed. Suvia is now the head of Force Lore and the Odessen Force libraries and archives. She is a very good friend to Viri and Lana, and she was thrilled to be reunited with other good friends: Talos Drellik and Xalek. Suvia plays a major part in Viri's story and is a close, unshakable ally. She is currently romantically involved with Jaesa Wilsaam. Suvia did know Viri before KOTFE - they were Dark Council allies, and they also worked closely on both the Yavin 4 coalition and the fight against Vitiate on Ziost. My Darth Imperius, Jia, did not know Viri and did not follow the SI story. She worked as a saber trainer on Korriban. When Zakuul attacked, she was there. She and Darth Hexid helped each other dig out of the rubble and became allies, fighting and surviving together. They joined the Alliance after KOTET and now work with Viri as friends. My Darth Occlus, Shasi, is much younger. She did not follow the SI story either. She was still on Korriban while Viri was the Wrath. Viri meets her during the attack on Ossus, and Shasi asks to return to Odessen with her and join the Alliance. Bounty Hunter: Taran Walrez continued her work as a bounty hunter up through KOTET. She was an ally of Lana's during the carbonite years. Her wife saved Lana's hand after she was injured in a very bad fight with a Zakuulan walker, and they pointed Lana toward Asylum. Taran remained in contact afterward. When Theron Shan betrayed the Alliance, Viri took out a bounty on him, and she hired the very best- Taran - to take it. Taran and Viri tracked Theron to Copero, but Taran was badly injured in the battle. She has retired from bounty hunting and now lives on Odessen, serving in an advisor capacity. Her wife, Lucinda, is a genius microsurgeon who works in the Alliance Hospital. Her colleagues Mako and Akaavi now run the Alliance's slicing and intelligence wing. Viri did not know Taran until the Alliance years. My second BH, Auyrini, did not follow the BH story but is part of the Underworld network at the Alliance. Imperial Agent: My canon agent, Brynn, chose to keep the Black Codex and erase her information. She thus became a ghost after the class story, wanted nothing more to do with the Empire, Sith or Republic, and vanished into Wild Space with Vector, her husband. She is in Lana's intelligence network, and tipped Lana off to a few clues to Viri's whereabouts, but she has no desire to join the Alliance. She and Vector just want to be left alone and live in peace. Viri has never met or spoken to Brynn. Jedi Knight: Ror was about one step away from being sent to Belsavis after the class story, so she vanished, taking only T7-O1. She later surfaced as a member of Somminick Timmns' sanctuary for ex-Jedi on Nar Shaddaa and joined the Alliance. Ror is very much a Sith now. She is slated to play a major part in the Tenebrae Plague storyline. Viri does not trust Scourge and Kira and will not merge her minds with them - but Ror will. Ror also feels that she owes it to Satele Shan to try to save her; Satele was the only person who kept her out of prison. Viri meets Ror when she joins the Alliance. They're not friends yet, but they have a mutual respect. Jedi Consular: Jenari also left the Jedi and joined Somminick Timmns' ex-Jedi sanctuary. She has found her way to Odessen, where she works with Suvia Kallig on Force lore. She is later joined there by Nadia and Felix. Jenari's sister is Shasi, my Darth Occlus mentioned above. The siblings have never met, but on Odessen, they are slated to finally find each other. Viri meets Jenari when she joins the Alliance.

Smuggler: My canon smuggler, Marlena, is still out there smuggling, and is one of Hylo's underworld contacts - but she isn't part of the Alliance and prefers to just keep running her empire. Viri does not know Marlena. My second non-canon smuggler, Amedria, is also out there smuggling and is in Hylo's Rolodex, but has no other contact with the Alliance. Trooper: After seeing all of the things Garza did, including the Eclipse Squad, my trooper Keilla was done. She testified against Garza in front of the Galactic Senate, and then she peaced out. She and her friend Paxton Rall moved to the Tion Hegemony. She also helped her ex-girlfriend, Jaxo, move to the Hegemony to try to heal from her trauma. Keilla works in security there, but she is determined never to return to Imperial, Hutt OR Republic space and never to fight in another war. When the Alliance started, Bey'wan Aygo, Aric Jorgan and Rusk all tried to get her to reconsider. She would not. Keilla occasionally provides advice from afar, but she will not even set foot outside the Hegemony.

Viri does know Keilla and has spoken to her via holo many times to coordinate THORN activity, but they only met during the Alliance years. When Viri's Alliance sends help with THORN to fight the rakghoul plague on Kaon, Keilla helps orchestrate it. She also helps take in ex-Jedi who are fleeing from Task Force Nova, so she is slated to have a large part in the story eventually. 3. What about companions? Do you follow their in-game story or have headcanons for them? Did they stay with your non-Outlander characters or not? Why?:

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Viri: Vette, Pierce and Broonmark were recovered as per the game story. Jaesa - who is neither the LS nor the DS but something in the middle - was discovered in an ancient Sith trap on Yavin 4 after KOTET. She rejoined the Alliance at that time. Malavai Quinn was exiled and thrown in jail after the Quinncident in the class story, and he was smart enough to know that he should not go anywhere around Viri ever again. He did NOT serve as Acina's emissary on Iokath. Instead, Rezinal Orzik from the Black Talon flashpoint did. For my non-Outlanders: Jedi Knight: Ror ran away from all her companions, except T7-O1, after the class story. And T7 eventually needed to go fight Zakuul. So she lost contact with them, and T7-O1, Kira, Scourge and Rusk joined the Alliance as per the in-game story. Doc was never part of my Jedi Knight's crew, as Ror, Kira and T7-O1 took a united front and insisted that they would not let him on the ship. He was left on Balmorra and had nothing else to do with my Jedi Knight or her crew. So he's not there at all, and whatever happened to him, Ror neither knows nor cares. Jedi Consular: Jenari also ended up parting ways from her crew due to the war with Zakuul. She has been reunited with three of them on Odessen. Qyzen joined the Alliance Commander as per the game. Felix and Nadia were both rescued during various missions and brought back to Odessen. Zenith declined to join Jenari’s crew on Balmorra. He worked with her but was angry she would not alter the governor’s brain to place the new government in power, and is also angry that she shows sympathy to Sith, so he didn’t feel he belonged in her crew. Trooper: Keilla left all her companions after the class story and never came back. Viri has Aric Jorgan and Yuun in her Alliance, and they joined as the story dictated. Smuggler: Marlena is out in space with her crew. She's married to Risha. Bowdaar also remained with her. They never left her and thus have never been part of Viri's Alliance. Guss decided to eventually try being a Jedi again, in part because he was worried that the Eternal Empire would sense his Force sensitivity and kill him, and he wanted to be able to defend himself. Corso left Marlena’s crew during the class story after they had taken down with Skavak. He wanted to return to protect Ord Mantell and Marlena let him go. Akaavi also left the crew after she met Mako and fell ln love. She joined my bounty hunter’s crew to work with her and Mako. Sith Inquistor: Suvia was frozen in carbonite, so all of her companions dispersed. Ashara looked for her for years, hiring a slicer named Ikina to help her. It was unsuccessful - Suvia was a trophy in the Zakuulan palace and there was no way to track or find her. Ashara and Ikina finally fell in love, married and settled down on Voss, where they run a tea house and raise their daughter. Andronikos was picked up raiding Alliance ships, as the game story says, and was brought back to Odessen. Talos joined the Alliance as the game story dictates. So did Xalek. Khem Val is slated to be rediscovered on Ossus, as he is in the game, and return to Suvia on Odessen. Bounty Hunter: Mako has never left her crew and remains her right-hand help. Skadge has never been a part of her crew, as Mako and Taran killed him on Belsavis. Torian left early on after the death of Mandalore to help the Mandalorians and joined the Alliance as per the game. Blizz left temporarily to fight in the Alliance, and he's gone back and forth between Odessen and Taran's ship. Gault left, as per the game story, to hook up with Hylo. Imperial Agent: My Imperial Agent Brynn became a ghost at the end of her class story. She and Vector erased their tracks and vanished together. They also did their companions the courtesy of erasing their tracks, too. Kaliyo went off to grift from others; Scorpio became the Lady of Sorrows, Lokin went to his safehouse and Raina Temple returned to the Chiss. Kaliyo, Lokin, Raina and SCORPIO all joined the Alliance (and in SCORPIO's case, betrayed it) as described in the game. 4. If applicable: how your characters react if the Alliance joins the opposite faction on Iokath and after that? For example: how do Sith characters feel about joining the Republic? Will they stay or leave (if it’s too spoiler-ish, then feel free to skip this): Viri has chosen to keep her Alliance independent while allying with the Empire. The Republic characters who are with her (Ror and Jenari, my Jedi Knight and Consular) are both ex-Jedi so they're totally fine with that. My two smugglers, Marlena and Amedria, don't particularly care about the Republic and just want to be paid, so they will work with the Alliance regardless of who they support.

However, a few of the Republic companions, such as Rusk and Aric Jorgan, are eventually going to bow out and retire, just like Bey'wan Aygo, because they can't fight the Republic and they can't fight Viri either. 5. If applicable: if your Commander decides to be a saboteur, would they tell anyone (PC or companions)? Why/why not?: This doesn't apply to Viri. In AU, all of my Imperials are loyalists and all my Republic toons are saboteurs. They have chosen to only tell Lana with one exception - Jenari, my JC, would tell Nadia and Felix. 6. How would your characters react if one of their companions is exiled or dead because of Outlander’s choices? For example: sith warrior’s reaction if Commander doesn’t save Vette?: The three that this applies to are Skadge, SCORPIO and Torian. Viri killed SCORPIO because after all that betrayal and subterfuge, there was no way in the galaxy that she would have sat back and let SCORPIO merge with a super-powerful deadly droid planet. SCORPIO's assertion that she wouldn't bother them again meant nothing because she could not be trusted. Brynn, my IA, has no idea what went on, but she would have been indifferent to SCORPIO's death. She surely knew what SCORPIO was capable of, and would have killed her too under the same circumstances. Viri tried desperately to reach Torian, and sent Pierce and a team to try to save him. They couldn't reach Torian. Taran was saddened to learn of his death, but she also knew that Viri did not just shrug and walk away from him. She also knows that Vette is Viri's adopted sister. She can't fault Viri even a little for saving her sister first. Viri killed Skadge in the game but headcanonically, she never even met him. Taran killed him on Belsavis during the class story- she sure as hell wasn't going to let him on her crew or her ship. But if Viri had killed him, Taran's reaction would have been a big thumbs-up.

7. If you have something written about anything from the above (bc I know some people do), share the links to your works (again, if you feel like it)!: Oh, here we go! A lot of the companion returns/etc. are addressed in the post-KOTET fanfic The Eternal Wrath: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14255019 Stories set during KOTFE: https://archiveofourown.org/series/999348 Stories set during KOTET: https://archiveofourown.org/series/999342

#asks #rain plays swtor #Viridana Dragoi #Suvia Kallig #OC: Keilla #OC: Shasotukun Ashaa #OC: Rorjhana #OC: Jenari Ashaa #OC: Marlana #OC: Amedria #OC: Auyrini #Taran Walrez #Jiani Jiaasjen #kotfe spoilers #kotfe #kotet spoilers #kotet #onslaught spoilers #6.0 spoilers

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chaoticspacefam · 4 years

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I stayed up way too late to answer these, it was worth it

Questions by @pauletta-00 *dances* here we gooo, some cautions before reading the answers: 1) will contain spoilers for much much later in the fic so don’t read the answers if ya don’t want dem spoilers. I’m gonna try and keep ‘em vague enough that they don’t give everything away, cause I gotta make ya go read it, don’t I now? 😉 2) While I follow KOTFE/ET as a loose guideline it is just that. A guideline, in a lot of places we veer waaaaayyy off the established canon because *singing to the tune of a popular song* ✨it’s my fanfic and I do what I want to ✨ so don’t any of y’all yell at me because my headcanons are different pls? ok good :D

With that out of the way, the questionsss

1. Starting with basics. Who is your Outlander (which class, what their aligment)? How did they end up being frozen in carbonite for 5 years? Why did you make them the Outlander?

(my own art because losing an eye is not a scar option in-game and it’s one of her most defining features)

Vano Saal-Shenly - Canon Sith Warrior (alignment: Light IV in game, I class her as Neutral Good) and Empire’s Wrath. She got made the Outlander because it just made the most sense, also there are some parallels between her fate/whereabouts (including the amount of time they were “missing” to each other) in KOTFE/ET and that of her wife in earlier parts of the (class) story that I very very much did on purpose 😉 She was also the Wrath, so it made the most sense for her to end up on Marr’s ship when it went boom and led into KOTFE. Pretty much follows the canon there, Vano cuts her ship loose, tells her crew + wife to gtfo of there, she and Marr are taken prisoner and she gets frozen in carbonite after the dust up in the throne room. Becomes the Alliance Commander

Aria Saal-Shenly: Human, Major role. Vano’s wife, semi-canon Jedi Consular (alignment: Grey/Dark I, Chaotic Neutral) (follows the Consular story arc grey-Dark aligned, is in fact a Sith Inquisitor playing sleeper agent). Alias “The Wrath’s Shadow” (for obvious reasons) Joined back up officially with Vano during the SoR arc, they marry sometime in the interim between Rishii and killing Revan; on the other flagship with Lana, Theron and the others when Vano’s crew returns to give them the news. Inconsolable after her wife’s disappearance and refuses to accept that she’s dead (they share a Force Bond, so Aria knows and becomes increasingly frustrated when nobody will “listen to her telling them damn it!!”), drives Lana and the others crazy by continuing to try and look for her wife and putting herself in danger in doing so. Sticks with the Alliance, of course, her wife’s the Commander XD helps Vano to manage Odessen-side things of the Alliance, specialising in helping Ni’kasi and Sana-Rae at the Force Enclave of course.

Saarai Ahaszaai: Sith Pureblood, Major role. Niece to Vowrawn and twin sister to Ni’kasi (SI). Alt Sith Warrior in-game. Light I/II, Chaotic Good, but hiding out on Rishii to escape being convicted of a serious crime and exposing her family to Vitiate/Valkorion (who would absolutely kill them if he knew) picked up by Aria and Vano during their search for Lana and Theron during that part of the storyline. Joins up with the Alliance because she and her family have a personal vendetta (tm) against Vitiate/Valkorion and she wants to stab that dude too. Eventually becomes Empress alongside Vano who remains as the Commander (I still need to work out the details but basically it’s like...coalition government style thing and Saarai and Vano are the joint “final decision” voice mm’kay? hopefully that makes sense), with Lana, Theron and Aria to watch as Marr’s ship go boom. Has to restrain Aria when she loses her shit when they try to tell her Vano’s dead, helps Lana and the others to track Vano down and formulate the rescue plan. Stays with Aria to make sure she stays put like she was told while Lana gets Vano out of carbonite.

Ni’kasi Ahaszaai: Sith Pureblood, semi-Major role. Niece to Vowrawn and twin sister to Saarai (alt SW). Semi-canon Sith Inquisitor/Darth Occulus (follows the canon Inquisitor storyline, but is not related to Kallig, instead related to Vowrawn and lurking in hiding under Vitiate’s nose. Ends up as a “slave” when she takes the fall for her twin’s “crime” in order to protect her.), Light I/Grey, Lawful Neutral. With Saarai and the others on the ship when the big bad happens, sticks with the Alliance (and her twin) to try and track down Vano. Tries to contact Vowrawn and the other Dark Councillors etc., but can’t reach them obviously.

Merak Shenly: Mirialan, Minor role. Younger brother to Vano and friend to Aria as they briefly worked together before Aria returned to being a plant in the Jedi Order, Smuggler, Grey/True Neutral (mostly non-canon as of yet, I need to fully play through the Smuggler story and see how much of it I can graft into the fic-verse if it works or not), takes Aria’s side and works tirelessly to help them track down his sister, is likely the one to find the lead that takes them to Zakuul. Joins the Alliance and works alongside Hylo to run ammo/supplies etc. to the Alliance as they need it.

I haven’t yet played the Bounty Hunter or Trooper storylines, and my only current Imperial Agent is Aria’s mother (Light V/Lawful Good); she runs semi-canon in that she defects to the Republic, but is instead found out by the DC and Aria is sent to kill her as part of her Sith trials, so she’s dead long before KOTFE/ET happens.

I have a Jedi Knight too, but I honestly couldn’t figure out how to put him into the plot so I just left him out for now, I guess he was recruited and is probably in the background somewhere idk sjhsdyuidg

3. What about companions? Do you follow their in-game story or have headcanons for them? Did they stay with your non-Outlander characters or not? Why?

Mainly managed to plan out for the Warrior/Consular companions, haven’t thought deep enough into the Inquisitor companions yet, though I imagine at least Andronikos, Khem Val, Talos and Xalek will likely return to join the Alliance or at least ally with them somehow, because I love them ;-;

Qyzen: Stung by Aria’s betrayal and “leaves” for a while, re-recruited to the Alliance as canon/in-game and the two eventually patch up their relationship (as best they can, but are not as close as before). Tharan/Holiday, Felix, Nadia and Zenith do not return in my fic-verse. They cut ties with Aria after they find out her true loyalties are to the Empire and not the Republic.

Vette: Stays with Aria, Saarai, Ni’kasi etc. initially, eventually goes missing during their searches for Vano and loses contact with the rest of them, ends up teaming up with Gault and returning canonically/as in-game.

Quinn: is court-martialled and thrown in prison after the Quinncident. Released sometime during the five-year carbonite shebang, becomes an officer/aide to Darth Vowrawn, later joins the Alliance along with Vowrawn on Iokath. He and Vano reconcile of sorts, though she no longer considers him a friend and simply a “tactical advisor”. Quinn knows he fucked up so he doesn’t dare complain about it, or Aria will absolutely E N D him.

Jaesa: stays with Aria and co,

4. If applicable: how your characters react if the Alliance joins the opposite faction on Iokath and after that? For example: how do Sith characters feel about joining the Republic? Will they stay or leave (if it’s too spoiler-ish, then feel free to skip this)?

Aria was never truly on the Republic’s side, so she very much supports joining the Empire. Saarai and Ni’kasi originally came from the Empire so of course they’re enthusiastic. Merak is skeptical, but trusts his sister (and sister-in-law) so doesn’t protest even though the Sith do scare him, a lot.

5. If applicable: if your Commander decides to be a saboteur, would they tell anyone (PC or companions)? Why/why not?

Haven’t got this far yet to be able to plan this out, lemme get back to you when I do lol

6. How would your characters react if one of their companions is exiled or dead because of Outlander’s choices? For example: sith warrior’s reaction if Commander doesn’t save Vette?

Aria pretty much only cared about Qyzen out of her companions, he comes back fine in the end so she’s a-okay. Other than that the only person she would be deeply affected by losing again is Vano herself. She will fucking kill as many someones as she can get to before Saarai stops her if they let her wife go bye bye again.

don’t have a bounty hunter to be upset about Torian. I don’t hate him, he’s a great guy and I really enjoyed his character, but I cannot bring myself to not save Vette ;-; Vette and Vano have a sisterly-like relationship and her lock-picking etc. skills are very important to the Alliance. That Twi’lek ain’t dying on nobody’s watch hahahaha

haven’t yet had a chance to plan out anybody else’s, don’t think there are any choices in game (or that I’ve planned out in the slightly-altered fic timeline) that would affect this. May change as I get that far ahead and add or change things to fit!

7. If you have something written about anything from the above (bc I know some people do), share the links to your works (again, if you feel like it)!

The only thing I have published out on the web atm is Aria’s part of the class story, “Creeping Shadows”, which is on AO3, go give it a read if you want (rated M for mature themes like mentions of drugs & alcohol and frequent swearing etc.):

Creeping Shadows on AO3

I have pretty much all of the rest planned out, I’m just a big dummy who likes to write chronologically and as of yet cannot manage to write multiple fics at once, I will get through every part of this fic if it kills me or takes me 20 years so help me god. If you wanna hear more about my dumb children you can also DM me I could literally yell stuff about them for hours on end 😆😆

#swtor #star wars: the old republic #swtor worldbuilding #swtor headcanon #subterfuge series #subterfuge headcanon #swtor kotfe #swtor kotet #aria and vano also have two pet tuk'ata named chwûq and taral #but i didn't know where in the answers to put them #they used to belong to aria's father darth noctis (non canon darth nox)#but attached to aria when her father got killed by baras during the sw class story instead #i have a crap ton of stuff on this fic verse ive been writing stuff for them for like 5 years #SHYUDGYUDGYUDGFYD #i haven't updated the fic in a while but i swear im always plotting and planning for it #one day i'll get there #it's not abandoned #i will finish the entire series one day if it kills me #this stupid dumb space opera is the longest thing i've ever worked on and i love it #swtor fanfic #swtor fanfiction #sith warrior #sith inquisitor #jedi consular

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mandogirl93 · 4 years

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KotFE/KotET Headcanon Time!

Tagged by @mimabeann! Thank you so much, and I’m sorry for the mess you’re about to see!

Tagging: Anyone who wants to do this one!

1. Starting with basics. Who is your Outlander (which class, what their aligment)? How did they end up being frozen in carbonite for 5 years? Why did you make them the Outlander?

My Outlander is Vargus Organa. He was placed with the Jedi at a very early age, and follows the Jedi Knight story pretty closely, with a couple of extra twists/turns as he runs into the other class characters. He’s a great example of a Jedi, but he does sometimes struggle with the seriousness of what he does. He just views his day as another one for the books, and rarely sees just how much he impacts the events of the story. I think he’s leading every quest line for me except Ziost. He’s there, but he’s supporting Theron and the 6th line while my Imperial crew have all been called in to help Lana and my warrior takes center stage against Vitiate.

Okay, not gonna lie, this is a bit of a mess right now (mainly because I had got my little legendary icon and then deleted all of my toons. So I’m in the process of remaking and remapping… well, everything. But here’s what I’ve got so far!)

Republic

Knight is Vargus. Check.

Consular: Aishne Pashavi is my consular in-game. Aishne is a Mirialan and she follows the typical class story line. Her family were ambassadors on Corellia and she was discovered by the Green Jedi there, and trained with them for a time before landing on Tython. She ends up working closely with Master Gnost-Dural and Naadia on Ossus. (She also never abandoned Felix, her husband. Because of reasons.)

Smuggler: I don’t have one yet. Idk, In my brain, no one can really beat Hylo, and I haven’t made a smuggler that I’ve ever actually kept.

Trooper: Ruvah Khor is my trooper. Light side all the way. She follows orders as best she can, but knows when she can draw a line. Her superiors may not always like that, but they can’t argue with her results. She follows the class story line, and ends up marrying Jorgan. After the Alliance defeats Vaylin, Ruvah and Aric both retire for a few years before being pulled back into the conflict after Ossus.

Imperial

Sith Warrior: Lord Madraxian. Followed the warrior storyline, but took the Emperor abandoning the Empire pretty hard. When Arcann and crew took over, he was almost killed before Vette was able to cut the skytoopers off from following them. He decided to lay low for a bit and wait for an opportunity to strike back at Zakuul. And that is how my cool sith warrior ends up as a scary bodyguard for Gault and Vette. He joins the Alliance when they do, and is able to break out to go save Vette during Vaylin’s assault.

Sith Inquisitor: Darth Imperius/Vi’fan Kallig. He’s a bookworm who just can’t catch a break. He was a slave to a noblewoman on Drommund Kaas, but was sent to Korriban after discovering he was force sensitive. He follows the inquisitor story line as well, but romances Talos. He is… not a very good person. He’s not outright cruel, but he will scheme to protect what he loves at all costs, and he’s rather gifted at interrogations.

Bounty Hunter: Vhikka Farr. You guys have heard quite a bit about her, but I’ve twisted her story inside and out (sorry). She’s actually a member of clan Farr and living with those in the Order of Revan on Drommund Kaas at the beginning of her story. However, she’s heard of all the cheating that Tarro Blood is doing from her clan and decides to enter the Great Hunt the hard way and earn her place on her own. She packs up her beskar and heads to Hutta (she got that tip from one of my other bounty hunters). She follows the BH story after that, but has to reveal to Mandalore that she was already Mandalorian (and she’s very thankful that he found this funny rather than shooting her). She meets Vargus a couple of times throughout her travels, so they know each other during Shadow of Revan. This is where they actually start working together and where they fall for each other.

I also have a bounty hunter called Durgo Farr (or Pink). He grew up with Vhikka but was a few years older. He was already working as a Bounty Hunter when Vhikka was looking to join the Great Hunt. He had worked with Braden on Nar Shadda, so he set their meeting on Hutta up.

Agent: Sira’mi’rane, aka Amira. She’s a light-side imperial agent who is just trying to do her job. She’s pretty private, even with her crew and misses Copero (her homeworld). She only romances Aristocra Saganu, and they keep in touch through the expansions.

I also have a few more, but they’re not set in stone yet and may fall victim to the delete button.

3. What about companions? Do you follow their in-game story or have headcanons for them? Did they stay with your non-Outlander characters or not? Why?

Mostly? I mean, as much as Vhikka wants to blow Skadge out of the airlock, she can’t really bring herself to kill him. And he always manages to make it back on the ship, no matter how early she leaves the spaceport “unannounced”. Mako keeps in contact with Vhikka even though they separate, so I feel like there’s less abandonment/animosity there, and her and Akaavi join the Alliance sooner. (At the moment I don’t think anything changes for the other classes. But I’m also tired and there are so many of them.) Also, everyone lives! Yay!

I mean, most of my toons are relatively okay with Vargus siding with the Republic. Vhikka isn’t super fond of the idea, but she always made it a point that she wasn’t the Empire’s lapdog. (She knows that the Republic probably won’t accept her people even if Vargus vouches for them. She also REALLY doesn’t like being asked to be a double agent, and Vargus is so proud of her for controlling herself enough to not shoot Jonas when he asked.) The only ones who actually leave are Vi’fan and Talos, and that’s because he goes back to kill whoever has taken his libraries and offices and asks Talos to come with him. (He also just waltzes back into his spot on the Dark Council somehow. Idk, he’s just that good at what he does.) Most others eventually fall into their new places/roles.

5. If applicable: if your Commander decides to be a saboteur, would they tell anyone (PC or companions)? Why/why not?

Not applicable for Vargus, but I think that Vhikka may get persuaded to do it (oh no...). I haven’t really decided yet. If she does though, she’s going to be a mess. Shes definitely not cut out for that.

6. How would your characters react if one of their companions is exiled or dead because of Outlander’s choices? For example: sith warrior’s reaction if Commander doesn’t save Vette?

I know it’s cheesy, but I like that I saved Vette and Torian. Vhikka gets Torian and Madraxian gets Vette, which frees Vargus to go for Vaylin.

7. If you have something written about anything from the above (bc I know some people do), share the links to your works (again, if you feel like it)!

I… don’t actually have anything written. I try, but it’s always a jumbled mess. Maybe one day!

#this was a mess #but I'm so glad I've put it down in text #now I'm more likely to actually do something with it #my ocs #thank you for the tag! I hope it makes sense.....

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brightephemera · 5 years

Photo

Correspondences below the cut.

0. The Fool: Ord Mantell

Ord Mantell is a planet of beginnings: you may know nothing of the game going in. The Fool is a beginner, a traveler, a novice, one who may not see the cliff that will plunge him into experience. The Fool’s journey will continue across the cosmos. Reversed: naivete, recklessness, foolishness.

1. The Magician: Korriban

Korriban is a planet of power disciplined (however tenuously) by will. Its ground is saturated with arcane knowledge and its abilities grasp at the sky. Fire and control: Korriban is a powerhouse. Reversed: manipulation, poor planning, wasted talents.

2. The High Priestess: Tython

Tython holds mysteries from the earliest days of the Jedi Order. It is lost and rediscovered. It houses the secrets that will be revealed in training only to the greatest devotees. Its lunar and veil imagery point to hidden mysteries. Reversed: hidden agendas, a need to listen to your inner voice.

3. The Empress - Alderaan

I could have continued with Hutta in game order but it doesn’t fit. Alderaan is a prosperous world, a monarchy, a place of lush vistas and noble generosity. Beauty, nurturing, and growing abundance are the watchwords. Reversed: creative block, dependence.

4. The Emperor: Dromund Kaas

Dromund Kaas is the claim of the Empire, a place of rigid rule and unquestioned power. A patriarchal figure rules over all, and the symbol of his influence is pictured here. Its foundations are ancient, its continued existence inflexible, its authority absolute. Reversed: domination, excessive control, inflexibility, but also self-discipline.

5. The Hierophant: Yavin IV.

Sorry, the Emperor does double duty. The ancient temple of Yavin IV was built by slaves, and is used to gather the power of the Emperor for mysteries they will never be inducted into – their service and their deaths both go through Him. The religion has an inviolate structure: conformity, institutions. Reversed: Personal beliefs, freedom, disrupting the status quo.

6. The Lovers: Nar Shaddaa and Nal Hutta.

Planets of choices, of two paths (Agent and Bounty Hunter?), and of Hutt-sanctioned passions. Here Balkar smooths problems over. Here Hutts are pacified, with gifts, with coups. Here, any time you look up from Hutta, you see Nar Shaddaa, its companion in space. Relationships, mutual interests, and choices are the rule. Reversed: self-love, disharmony, imbalance, misalignment.

7. The Chariot: Balmorra.

Strength under control: Balmorra forms the arsenal of whoever manages to possess it. It is a planet of action: the war rages across it while it stands as a fixed point, and in the end its interests win. The imagery of the dual blaster forms the matched pair of the Chariot. Reversed: self-discipline, but also opposition and lack of direction.

8. Strength: Corellia.

Corellia stands with battered dignity against the Empire, emblem of strength, courage, and influence. And persuasion, as the Republic forces convince CorSec and other elements of the government to throw off Imperial chains. Here Baras and Thanaton’s agents are knocked out from under them, reclaiming influence for the player. Reversed: Inner strength and raw emotion, but also self-doubt and low energy.

9. The Hermit: Tatooine

Yes, the correspondence of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Tatooine is a place of reflection and guidance, most obviously portrayed in the Sith Warrior vision quest. It is the planet where the Rakata have waited alone with their thoughts for millennia, preparing for their rebirth. It is the planet where the Smuggler earns a sensor computer to guide to a treasure. The light in the pictured skeleton’s eye is guidance for those who would follow it. Reversed: Isolation, loneliness, withdrawal.

10. Wheel of Fortune: Voss.

The turn of fate could be no other. The Voss are a deeply fatalistic people, believing in their Mystics’ visions to guide their lives. The player character can undergo a ritual to glimpse their future, and some get additional warnings - all relevant. The Wheel of Fortune is the turn of the universe, a card not just of good luck but of destiny. Reversed: Bad luck, resistance to change, broken cycles.

11. Justice: Manaan.

The obvious reading is the trial in KOTOR, where you must find the truth to clear a man’s name under the rule of law. The theme of balance underpins this planet: it is where players of each faction meet their opposite-faction ally in the Shadow storyline. Its entire ecosystem hangs in the balance in KOTOR. And the Selkath Force users reject the duality of Light and Dark. Justice is fairness and cause and effect. Reversed: unfairness, dishonesty, lack of accountability.

12. The Hanged Man: Hoth.

Luke’s plight in ESB comes to mind. Hoth is a place of suspension, a frozen moment. To call it merely deadly is to pass over the equally apparent moments of transformation, the improbable alliance of Imp and Pub against the Hailstorm Brotherhood, the return of Temple to the Imperial fold, the escape of Horak-Mul in his new form: you. The Hanged Man is a martyr, but also someone discovering something new. Reversed: delays, resistance, stalling, indecision.

13. Death: Makeb

Makeb is a planet of cataclysmic transformation: a breaking core birthing a totally new resource. The transition breaks alliances and endangers the planet, but it is a change, not an end. Reversed: personal transformation, resistance to change, purging.

14. Temperance: Odessen

Lana said it first: Odessen is balanced in the Force, neither dark nor light, and it is here that your faction-spanning Alliance finds its home. Temperance stands with fellow virtues Strength and Justice, but where Corellia takes sides and Manaan rejects them, Odessen partakes in good measure of both sides of the equation. Reversed: imbalance, re-alignment.

15. The Devil: Belsavis

Belsavis is a prison planet, hard-bitten survival and chains that never break. Sometimes that seems wise, like with Darth Ekkage, and sometimes it’s patently unjust, like with Dagger Wing. The Devil is a card of sensuality (not pictured), addiction, and slavery. It is concerned with the material: the aspects of reality most immediate and easiest to cling to. Reversed: releasing limiting beliefs, exploring dark thoughts, detachment.

16. The Tower: Ziost.

Ziost will always be remembered as a disaster, an act of an enemy beyond defense. Ziost was destroyed in a moment that revealed the Emperor’s true scope. The Tower, too, is a thing of upheaval, chaos, and destruction. Reversed: Personal transformation, fear of change, averting disaster.

17. The Star: Ilum.

Above the stillness of a frozen lake, a star streaks over heaven’s field. (There’s a little orange one moving from top left toward middle right just upward from the main streak.) Ilum was home to Darth Malgus’s hope for a new Empire. It houses the Adegan crystals that promise new technology for those who persevere with purpose. At the same time, it houses Jedi ruins of peaceful spirituality. Reversed: lack of faith, despair, disconnection, self-trust.

18. The Moon: Quesh.

This was a hard selection, and Rishi almost took it. (Neither one has a visible moon in the sky.) But Quesh is a planet of mystery, uncertainty, and illusion: Republic Admiral Monk’s reveal as an Imperial operative, the Warrior being lured to a mine, the Bounty Hunter being lured to a merchandising deal, the Consular finding the unacknowledged Attis station, Lord Scourge being a cryptic mystery…I could go on. Here a wall hides a significant zone of the picture. Maneuvering for advantage without tipping into outright war is a matter of sleight of hand for all involved. Reversed: release of fear, repressed emotion, inner confusion.

19. The Sun: Rakata Prime

Damned planet doesn’t have a sun in its skybox. Nevertheless! I like the glowy flowers. What better expression of raw creation than the Star Forge? But that’s old history, and the Force has recovered. Here is revealed the truth of the Revanites in the light of day. The immediate foe is vanquished and the path is clear. Warmth and vitality rule. Reversed: inner child, feeling down, overly optimistic.

20. Judgment: Taris.

Absolution and rebirth – for a battered planet and for a spoiler on the Endar Spire, long ago. Destruction has come and gone, leaving only a new beginning. Reversed: self-doubt, inner critic, ignoring the call.

21. The World: Coruscant.

Is Coruscant the bright center of the universe? It symbolizes completion, integration, accomplishment, synthesis: the culmination of the Trooper and Consular questlines. And Ord Mantell, the Fool, leads directly into it, forming a complete circuit of the Major Arcana.

Images from Star Wars: The Old Republic. Meanings from https://www.biddytarot.com/tarot-card-meanings/major-arcana/. Deck by brightephemera. Fonts Exocet and Aurebesh.

#tarot #swtor #swtor planetary tarot #long post

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hythlodaes · 4 years

Note

top 5 SWTOR romances maybe??

oooh, thank you sierra!!

1. felix iresso — honestly what a warm, soft, and loving relationship? the consular’s va does an amazing job at expressing their affection for him, and he’s just such a love. like. he’s so caring and sweet and i honestly enjoyed every conversation with him even before they turned romantic. 10/10 would recommend.

2. theron shan — i mean. i already love him as a character, he’s such a disaster. his romance is charming and funny, but also really serious and vulnerable. i love it because you get a lot more content with him than you do with in vanilla, and there are a lot of moments with him that i absolutely adore. (ALSO his romance has the most angst, which you all know i’m here for.)

3. vector hyllus — my soft bug man!!!! could anyone be more gentle??? back in 2013 i was so obsessed with his romance that i made my sister watch it on youtube, and she def did not feel the same way as i did alskhdjs but i love him and i think he’s so good for the agent (taking him along during ch. 2 is a must). i love his honesty and how genuine he is, and even if the bugs creep me out, i still love his funky lil self.

aaaand that’s actually it for me lmao. i’ve done jorgan’s romance, but like most of the trooper storyline, i’ve forgotten it completely. i’ve also romanced quinn, lana, and aakavi but i wouldn’t list them under my favorites. i’ve watched torian’s and andronikos’ on youtube, and i wish i’d done them in game because they’re really good :’) i literally only have one male character, so i haven’t done most of the female vanilla romances (although i’m not sure i’d want to with either jedi class). but other than that, yeah! that’s my hot take on it lmao

#i have not and would not romance doc #although i kinda love him post kotet ngl #ask meme #visionmarred

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larena · 4 years

Text

SWTOR Parties Ranked

Wanted to see which SWTOR parties I liked best as a whole, so decided to do a little ranking of them. This is considering the entire party as a unit, and how many individual characters I feel strongly about.

Imperial Agent - Probably my favourite crew overall. I love every character in it, even if Kaliyo and SCORPIO scare the shit put of me and Lokin creeps me out, they're all fun characters to spend time with and talk to with interesting storylines. Probably gets bonus points for 3/5ths of them going on to be involved in the main plot for everyone. And I really like how they like... Acknowledge each other? There are multiple scenes of the Imperial Agent Crew talking to other members of the crew which is really cool

Trooper - This one I like because everyone has a reason to be there (which is even more than I can say for Agent - SCORPIO, Kaliyo, and possibly even Lokin and Vector can potentially have VERY little reason to stick around), they're all Havoc Squad, and Yuun and Vik are specifically recruited to be so. I also like all of the characters even if Vik, again, is kind of a piece of shit, and Yuun is kinda underdeveloped.

Bounty Hunter - With the major exception of Skadge, I love everyone on this crew. Mako is maybe my favourite starter companion overall, possibly tied with T7, and Blizz is... The best character. My jawa son. 20/10. I really love the BH crew as just this Morley crew of scum and villainy, and DEFINITELY appreciate it for being an Imperial crew with... No actual Imperials. The only points against the Bounty Hunter crew are, again, Skadge, and the fact that Gault, Blizz, and Skadge have very flimsy reasons for joining you (and Gault and Skadge have flimsy reasons for not being dead, depending on how you play your character)

Smuggler - This crew only ranks lower than Bounty Hunter because it doesn't have Blizz. But I like it for a lot of the same reasons I like the BH crew, it's just a gang of criminals trying to get by, again with no official representation from the faction they're ostensibly aligned with. Though Smuggler does again have points against it for having one character I absolutely hate in Corso (sorry Corso fans) who is probably my least favourite starter companion and one of my least favourite characters in the entire game. But it vastly makes up for Corso's dead weight with Risha, Bowdaar, Akaavi, and Guss all being characters I absolutely adore.

Jedi Consular - I like the Consular crew a lot for a lot of the reasons I like the Trooper crew, everyone has a reason to be there. With the exception of Tharan and *maybe* Zenith, it doesn't feel like the game has to strain to justify why any of the characters join your crew, they all have good reasons. The only thing I really have against it is we don't get much of the crew interacting with each other at all. There's a couple missions where they're all involved that are really cool but there isn't necessarily a sense they know each other. Also Tharan isn't as bad as Corso or Doc in terms of gross dude companions but I still... Really don't like him

Sith Inquisitor - Honestly this only goes here because I like the final two less. The Sith Inquisitor crew is... Really directionless? Aside from Khem, who is basically bound to you whether you want him to be or not, and Xalek who is your apprentice, no one really has a good reason to join the Inquisitor? Andronikos goes with you because... You helped him kill a guy I guess. Talos sticks with you because uh... I honestly entirely forget everything about Talos I don't like him very much. And Ashara... Makes sense if you actively corrupt her, I guess, but if you don't I don't really understand why she decides to stay with you forever. And if you do corrupt her the rest of her storyline makes very little sense. Besides Talos who isn't offensive, just kinda boring, and Xalek who I also don't dislike but really suffers from joining on *Corellia* which is later than literally every other character in the game and is literally the last planet, I love all of the Inquisitor companions as individuals I just don't think they really cohere.

Sith Warrior - I really like a lot of the ideas behind the Sith Warrior crew. Vette and (light side) Jaessa are absolutely fantastic characters that I love to death. Quinn is interesting as an extension of how the Warrior kinda has to deal with everyone they trust betraying them even if I hate how you're forced to forgive him, Broonmark is really interesting as a person who is so dogmatically committed to this philosophy of violence and destruction that he feels any member of his race that doesn't must be purged, and... Pierce just sucks, honestly. The Warrior crew isn't incoherent or bad, it's just full of *so* many characters I wish weren't forced to be on it. I understand why the Quinncident happens, and think Quinn's reasons for going through it are at the very least, understandable. But the fact that he HAS to walk out of it alive fucking sucks. I know the technical reasons for it, but I still dislike it. Broonmark is a character that none but the darkest dark side character would *ever* consider letting on their crew, to the point where in his Alliance Alerts it is literally *harder* to recruit him than not, and yet he joins no matter what and is also... Really underdeveloped. Pierce... Is just a fucking grunt. There's really no reason for him to continue to work with you after Taris. He did his job. And he's also... Super boring. Even Vette, who I love, doesn't... Really have a place with the Sith Warrior? Like I guess if you're a piece of shit and keep her a slave, she probably cleans the ship or whatever, but why would you take her into battle? She's a grave robber. I also don't really see how she thematically relates to the Warrior. I do love her though. She's great.

Jedi Knight - It sucks that I dislike the Jedi Knight crew so much because it is one of my favourite class storylines. But it's... Really incoherent to me? Like okay, T7 is there because R2-D2, and also he's my son and I love him. Kira is a fellow Jedi Knight (I refuse to consider her my Padawan, it makes no sense), sure. Doc... Though? Putting aside that I really hate Doc and think he sucks in every way possible, why is he here? I guess every ship needs a doctor except literally only the Trooper gets one. He doesn't really mesh with the themes of the Knight storyline? He doesn't seem like a guy who would even WANT to be on board a Jedis ship. I just don't get why he's there. Rusk, I guess, makes sense cause the Jedi have a connection to the Republic military but it still feels weird for him to be *personally* assigned to your ship and his storyline doesn't really go anywhere after he joins you. Scourge, I get, is the connection to the Revan plotline that has to be there because this is the main story of SWTOR, basically, and he's also directly connected to the emperor, so that all makes sense, I just... Don't like him (sorry Scourge fans). He's not the worst by any means but he's not a super interesting character to me? He's just a super generic Sith who decided the Emperor had to die. He also has absolutely no reason to stick around after the end of the story. Also I'm Petty and he killed the Jedi Exile for some bullshit ass destiny garbage so I really fucking hate him. And the crew as a whole feels maybe the least like a found family. Kira and Scourge have their stuff *after* the class storyline I guess, but it never feels like anyone has any connection to anyone else. They're all just... On the ship, I guess, not interacting.

If you read this far thanks, I have realized now that I'm here that this is a ridiculous endeavor and probably not a great post but I'm gonna post it anyway and I hope at least someone likes this post or agrees with some of it. Sorry again to anyone who is a fan of the characters I trashed (which, I know for Scourge at least is: Most people)

#swtor #star wars the old republic #the old republic

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rinskiroo · 5 years

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Question: what happened between Ruest and Raina Temple?

Oh man I have to think about this because it’s been so long since I did a full playthrough of the Agent story.

Part of Ruest’s background is that his father is a Republic soldier, but a married-to-the-job sort (very loosely based off the Trooper storyline), his mother had a freelance cargo hauling gig, and neither one of these people should have had kids. Ruest and his younger sister Te’Jal were constantly shipped back and forth between the two of them. He always saw himself as Te’Jal’s protector. Despite his parents lack of parenting, he still valued their little, broken family unit.

Through circumstances I never really fleshed out, Ruest ended up separated from his sister--likely in some sort of attack against the ship taking them in between their parents. Somehow, he ends up in some Imperial re-education school for troubled boys or something; that funnels into the Imperial military. From there he gets tapped for Intelligence.

I promise all of this will eventually answer your question. xD

Ruest has a thing with Kaliyo. She’s fun. She thumbs her nose at the system and doesn’t give a shit--something Ruest desperately wants to do. He tries, in his own way, never grovels before the Sith which earns him a few, very painful, electrocutions. But she’s not loyal. And that’s very important to him. Eventually, he realizes he’ll never trust her and she’ll never be straight with him. And it’s over.

Raina’s a bit of fresh air. She’s young, she’s brilliant, cute as a button. She’s someone he can teach and mold--to be better than he’s been. Ruest’s always been conflicted about the Empire, but that’s just government and politics. The people, he believes, can be good, and don’t deserve to be treated as fodder. He wants to show Raina that. What they’re protecting isn’t the Sith or the hierarchy, but the people that make up the Empire.

Ruest hates the Sith and defies them at every opportunity. So to learn that Raina is gifted in the Force and that her father, also a Cipher Agent, bucked Imperial protocol to protect her from those monsters? Oh, he’s a fan. I think at this point, Ruest is starting to realize he could really love Raina. Watcher Two... she’s always rebuked his advances, so he should probably just give it up as an infatuation that’s never going to happen. Raina--that could be something reciprocal and real.

But then the thing with her dad.

Ruest would do anything to find his family. At this point, he can’t do anything without exposing himself or putting them in danger, but it’s something that haunts his thoughts. And here’s Raina, with her dad that risked everything to save her. Ruest wants her to try and and get him away from the Empire--offers to help her! But her solution is to kill him? To spare him from torture? Ok, yes, torture would be worse than death, but not even try to help him escape? Look, I know murder is our go-to solution for just about everything, but why not try something different this time? None of these were dialogue options of course, but Ruest just can’t get past it. Every time he looks at her, he just sees someone who had a family that loved her unconditionally and she killed him to keep her secret.

Ruest is a sweet boy who just wants a family that will love and protect each other. Well, we all got dreams.

Thanks for asking! It’s been a bit since I got to talk about SWTOR and my Cipher boy. :D

#swtor #imperial agent #raina temple #ruest #swtorpadawan

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pineaberry · 5 years

Text

ESC: Lover’s Knot

ESC is a series of drabbles and ficlets that were really more like writing exercises created when inspiration struck. They’re labeled ESC because usually, they’re choices that I’d like to explore but immediately hit ‘Esc’ in-game before they’re set in stone. I also like to do little rabbit holes of character development for the Canon Storylines. To celebrate my 250th follower milestone... HAVE SOME AWKWARD CATS!

Feel free to reblog and let me know what you think! (Reading the tags fuels me. FEED THE AUTHOR!)

This fic is dedicated to @cinlat @kunoichi-ume and @sunsetofdoom for their beta-ing and world-building assistance.

Trooper Storyline Chapter 2 (Threats in the Darkness)

Setting: Immediately after the destruction of the Gauntlet. Elara Dorne was injured in the attack and has been transported to a Republic Hospital for her recovery, everyone else is off celebrating.

Location: Coruscant

Players: Sartem Roan (Cathar F!Republic Trooper), Aric Jorgan, Jonas Balkar

Relationship: They’re just friends, but mainly because Aric is so terrible at making the next move. It also doesn’t help that Sartem knows exactly ZERO about Cathar traditions.

Aric Jorgan hated Jonas Balkar.

He hated how the man’s cloying words seemed to reach out and taint the world around him twisting and taunting him to the point where JORGAN was the one who sounded unbalanced. He hated the familiarity and lack of respect the man showed whenever he addressed him. He hated the too-confident-for-his-own-good swagger in which he walked up to General Garza and simply acted as though rank didn’t affect him.

But most of all, he hated how the damn Spook’s flirting made his CO smile.

“Relax Jorgan, its banter. And besides, there’s no need to worry, you’ll get invited to the wedding. I’ll make you my best man,” Balkar teased and Jorgan answered with a feral snarl bordering on a roar that caused every patron in the cantina to flinch.

“Girls, girls, calm down, you’re both pretty,” Sartem said arriving just in time to save Balkar’s hide yet again.

“We’re supposed to be celebrating, Jorgan. It’s not every day we take down a superweapon,” the SIS agent grinned impishly.

“HAVOC took down the Gauntlet.”

“And I helped!” Jonas piped up undeterred by the obvious hostilities.

“Regardless, we all deserve a break,” Sartem interjected before taking a seat between the two.

“I was wondering if you’d stood us up! Congratulations, Major,” Jonas motioned to the bartender and the droid arrived with a bottle of chilled white wine.

“Coruscanti White, twenty years old, courtesy of an inattentive Senator who left their yacht docked at the Star Cluster Casino,” he winked as he unstoppered the bottle with a satisfying pop and poured Sartem a glass.

“Pre-sacking wine? Now that’s a treat,” she mused appreciatively. “I’m surprised you didn’t sell it instead. Bottle like this would easily get you at least 200k.”

“I’d never take less than half a mill,” Jonas scoffed, “but despite what you may have heard Major, my days of hocking pre-sacked finds are far behind me.”

“Mmm. This mean you don’t want the empty bottle back?” she asked as she tasted the pleasantly tang wine.

“Well… it would be a shame for such a pretty, easily refillable bottle to just end up tossed in the garbage disposal. Wouldn’t it?”

“Of course. And should said refilled bottle find itself back on the market...” Sartem smirked all too familiar with the typical Capital City con.

“Well then that’s just upcycling,” Balkar winked cheekily earning a bright laugh. Aric’s piercing green eyes narrowed but he remained quiet. He reminded himself he promised to be nice all the while nursing a tumbler of cheap local whiskey.

“Jorgan, care for a glass?”

“That’s a hard pass...” the Cathar growled.

“Oh come on, Aric, it’s not all that terrible,” Sartem said taking a sip.

“Ah don’t mind him. Can’t expect someone who spent half their life on some backwater like Ord Mantell to appreciate a good Coruscanti. I’m thinking beer, or whatever local moonshine is more up to his speed, eh? Hey droid, another shot of whatever paint stripper my buddy here is drinking!”

Jorgan’s grip tightened around his glass and he gritted his teeth to keep from slugging the sleazy grin off of the agent’s face. He was right, of course, even for a Cathar he was too blunt and awkward for polite society. Back home on Rendili it hadn't mattered and on Ord Mantell the most delicate thing he’d ever had to handle was the pin of a flash grenade. Growing up, his sisters had mocked his lack of finesse by implying the woman who mated him would have to be part-Rancor.

His brow furrowed as he stared at his drink.

Sartem was no Rancor.

But Sartem was no Cathar woman either. She was something else entirely. She was a charming woman from Coruscant who knew her way around a rifle and a diplomatic councilroom. She oozed charisma when she needed to, and at the same time, refused to betray her principles in the name of politics. She was clever, she was fair, she was brave, and gentle and kind…

“Balkar! You rat!”

She was laughing with the idiot whose only intent was to bed her. Aric scowled as he wished for the same ease of words Balkar had. Granted, he wasn’t an idiot, but having a brain filled to capacity with military strategy and tactics did little for his ability to wax poetic. Unlike the Spook, his strength was in actions not words.

Sartem chuckled and plucked off her gloves a finger at a time. It was rare for her to walk around without them, something he chalked up to minimizing callouses. Yet as she flexed her fingers he noted a wrongness to them. His brow furrowed as he absently grabbed her wrist and turned the full force of his glare on them. Her fingertips were wrong, modified. Her claws were dull. No, not dull, flat, almost human in appearance. And then it clicked. They had been removed and replaced with blunted, artificial caps. Someone had torn out her claws. Rage was the first thing to register followed by the intense desire to eviscerate the person responsible.

“Er… Aric?” her voice cut through the anger.

Vivid green eyes blinked and his throat went dry only then registering that he had been staring. He instantly released her wrist.

“Your claws… they’re,” he stammered for a polite way to say mutilated.

“Hm? Oh! Yeah. I had a habit of scratching up things as a kid. It was harmless, but as I got older it became a problem.”

Jonas cleared his throat before taking her hand in hers. “A shame, but it doesn’t detract from your loveliness...”

Aric felt ill. ‘It became a problem’ so they took care of it. Like an errant pet that ruined the furniture. They, no, not some anonymous face, the Republic decided to take it away. With no one to stand in their way, they took away her only means of defense. What did an old Twi’lek know about Cathar pride or heritage? What did any outsider care or understand about a kit’s behavior and the blatantly obvious signs of distress? It was easier to remove the source of irritation rather than mend the problem. What did they expect her to do? Cry like some bleating ape! It was easier to break off, and rend, and tear than to just…

Perhaps if Sartem was weaker, she would have cried for them. If they had broken her she would have sobbed. Maybe that would have pleased them.

How were such procedures still legal?!

Sartem was looking at him, as though gauging what had gone wrong. It happened more times than he cared to count. She took all of her cultural cues from him because- He gritted his teeth.

Because they took everything from her.

“Nothing’s the matter, right? Aric?”

Green eyes flickered to Balkar who was quite blatantly expecting him to say something. Expecting him to wave it all away as though it were normal to cut off pieces that were inconvenient. Such a narrow-minded, oblivious, humanistic point of view to have. Bile threatened to rise in his throat but he swallowed it down with the contents of his glass before standing to leave.

“Yeah, everything’s fine. Thanks for the drink,” he managed to keep his voice below a sneer before he ran away.

No. Not ran away. Tactically retreated. She was looking at her hands before reaching for her gloves. He’d made her feel self-conscious and he cursed himself for it.

Balkar was prattling on about some sordid adventure on Nar Shaddaa before he’d reached the exit and he trusted the man would soon distract her from the scene he had caused.

Aric took the long way back to the ship but the anger refused to dissipate. The ship was empty, save for the protocol droid, allowing him to storm to his bunk without being intercepted. The restless energy bubbled inside him and he gave a loud snarl before taking out his anger on a practice dummy Dorne had set up.

At times he resented her ignorance. He resented the fact that, despite her appearance, she was something so uniquely non-Cathar. She had more in common with Balkar than with him, but resentment was a selfish emotion. If he cared to delve into it, he simply detested having to explain the galaxy’s prejudices to her. He didn’t want to look into Sartem’s large blue eyes and explain how the Republic had failed her. Again. He didn’t want to see the disappointment in them when he explained that the same people who deserted her would reject her. He didn’t want her to know how so many would judge her for what was taken. He didn’t want to explain why some would think less of her; treat her as less. The scorn, the humiliation… he wanted to keep it from her all the while he knowing it would have to come from him. Another Cathar wouldn’t be bothered with her and would certainly be less understanding, less forgiving, and simply less kind about it.

A well placed slash broke the stand and it toppled over crashing onto a crate. He stood panting as his own claws lay trapped in his gauntlets preventing him from causing any real damage. He tore off the gauntlets and threw them aside as though disgusted by them. The rage had faded away leaving him with regret.

Sartem deserved better.

Instead, she was stuck with him, and he’d left her alone with Balkar.

He slouched into his bunk sorely wishing he’d drunk more than just a tumbler of whiskey in order to drown out his feelings of defeat. Idly he pulled out a velvet pouch tucked away in his pillowcase. He tipped it onto his hand and a piece of opalized wood rolled out. It was another failure materialized.

As custom dictated he’d picked out his stone when he came of age. The chocolate brown fossilized wood was riddled with cracks and seams of glittering opal filled the gaps. His sisters had hidden their smiles when he showed them. Opalized wood was too brittle, too soft. Once polished, it would scratch at the slightest graze of a claw. Others had chosen more sensibly. Garnets, amethysts, quartz crystals, and citrines were durable. These could be cut into sparkling gems that caught the light and burned with cold fire. Agates and jaspers were equally tough and easily fashioned into intricate carved cameos. These displayed skill and tenacity, but an opal? They were soft as sand, infinitely finicky to fit, and required a lifetime of maintenance. He could have done no worse if he’d just picked out a river pearl and declared himself a eunuch.

His father had provided little comfort other than to keep his opinion to himself. His mother had been more charitable, stating whoever Aric chose would find the stone perfect. Yet another foolish thought. Cathar men didn’t choose, they were chosen, though the gods knew he’d tried.

Naadia was his first, novice attempt at love. For a while, she encouraged his advances. She was calm and level-headed. He’d thought they made a good match. She took his gruffness with good humor and he entertained the thought of something more. Just as soon as he’d worked up the nerve to make his move, another rival with ‘better people skills’ began lavishing her with attention. Open displays of affection had never been his forte and never would be. She made up her mind rather quickly after that.

Sisa was lovely. It was one of the few times he’d fallen for someone at first glance, well him and several others. When he approached her, she demanded to see a sample of his handiwork, but his clumsy attempts at jewelry weaving left much to be desired. He could break down and reassemble his rifle blindfolded and upside down with an arm tied behind his back, but the infinitely delicate strands of wiring ended up tangled and bent by his fingertips. After weeks of crafting he presented her with a lover’s knot. His best attempt out of the eighty. Despite it all, she took the poor craftsmanship as an insult and refused him. He couldn’t bring himself to blame her.

And then there was Tae-Lyn…

His fingers curled around the stone.

For a long time he had thought her to be his last chance; the last train leaving the station. His love for her hadn’t been borne out naive foolishness like Naadia or fleeting passion like Sisa. Tae-Lyn was special. She was that rare mixture of woman that was both impulsive and patient, she was also notoriously difficult to please. Most Cathar were mated at her age… well, their age. Their courtship had been discreet and surprisingly intimate. Tae-Lyn was the only one to be offered his stone, but by that time Jorgan’s career kept monopolizing his attention. Serving with the Deadeyes meant more and more of their interactions were via holo. Still, he remained faithful to her promising he would take a promotion as soon as it became available; promising that he would make it all up to her if she could only wait. Wait another year, wait another season, wait another month... When a post opened up on Ord Mantell he took it. Despite it all, Aric never got the chance to tell her. The next day after his promotion was made official, he received a package containing his opal and a note he only half-read.

Aric didn’t need her excuses or apologies to confirm what he already knew: He’d made her wait too long.

And yet, rather than toss away the stone and be done with it, he’d kept it. For all his grandstanding about not being interested in such frivolous things, he’d never gone through with throwing away the damned thing. His fingers gripped the smooth polished stone tightly.

What was he hoping for anyway? If he was being honest with himself, what did he have to offer?

A lifetime of single-minded dedication to the republic military had left him bereft of anything that would appeal to a potential mate. He had no home or land to call his own, no social status, no real connections within the clan. He supposed there was his pension, but those were funds intended for the final stretch of his lifetime, not the beginnings of a family.

And still, staring at his reflection upon the glass smooth surface of the opal, Aric knew Sartem wouldn’t care about those things. The way she smiled, how she looked at him, she wouldn’t care if all he had was the armor on his back. Perhaps, if he hadn’t been so quick to abandon her side she would have chosen to spend the night with him instead of that smug idiot.

He stood and walked up to his tool box shuffling the contents a bit before pulling out a spool of magnet wire from his detonator kit. Aric then sat at his workbench, painstakingly, stripping the thin coating of varnish from the wire until the bright copper core was exposed. He hesitated as he stared at the spindly metal strand as though it were mocking him, before setting the stone down and measuring it. His fingers were as clumsy as he recalled. His claws snagged on the soft metal nicking and bending it in unflattering angles.

Aric growled in frustration and dropped the piece before leaning back and running his hand over his face. He took a deep breath before staring at the ceiling. How many years had it been? And he was still blindly stumbling through this. His skill was no better than it had been with Naadia. A lover’s knot was meant to be unique; a representation of everything a male adored about his mate. No two were ever alike.

Emerald green eyes blinked as the thought clicked into place.

Sartem wasn’t Naadia. She wasn’t Sisa. She wasn’t Tae-Lyn.

He sat up and tossed the mangled scrap of wire aside before cutting a new length. Bringing out his detonator kit he turned the wire into coils and the coils into knots. He worked efficiently, forgoing the traditional twists and weaving patterns and instead building the piece like he would a detonite charge circuit. At long last finding his rhythm, he spun the lattice around the opal until it was snugly encased into a pendant. He paused to analyze his workmanship and realized it looked nothing like an engagement piece was supposed to look like. It was too plain to be a proper Cathar gift, but he noted there were no dents or scratches on the wire. The coiling was deceptively simple in appearance, but Sartem would recognize the intricate configurations mimicking the circuitry diagrams in the detonation handbook. She would appreciate the sort of skill it would take to make the stable loops and connections out of a single piece of wiring. She would know that it would take decades of practice to make the curls uniform and the bonded connections invisible to the naked eye. It was perhaps the best work he had ever done.

There was a hiss as the ship’s door opened and Cee-Too gave a cheerful greeting. He stashed the stone in his pocket and reached for his rifle before masterfully dismantling upon the table so it appeared as though he were in the middle of repairs. He knew it was her from the sound of her footsteps and he kept his gaze focused on the table. If he was lucky perhaps she would ignore him and go straight to her quarters.

“You know, one of these days I’ll get you to actually have some fun, Jorgan,” her voice echoed through the barracks and he detected a subsonic purr that meant she wasn’t upset with him. He ventured a glance and saw she was leaning against the doorway smirking.

“Can’t say I’m familiar with the concept, sir,” he drawled sarcastically but tensed as she walked up and took a seat next to him on the bench. Her pupils were dilated as she looked at him. The curl of her lip meant she was amused. She smelled faintly of that expensive Corellian wine and blueblossom soap.

The pendant burned a hole in his pocket at the sight of her.

“That wasn’t why you stormed out though, was it?” she asked leaning casually against him and his gaze kept flickering from the table and back to her as though unsure where to keep his gaze.

“I… that was rude. I’m- I’m sorry.”

“Does it bother you that I don’t have claws?” And there was the question. Direct and blunt like a bolt between his eyes. The silence dragged on and he knew she expected an answer.

“The Cathar value strength. It’s everywhere in our culture. Claws and teeth are symbols of a person’s- of a Cathar’s strength.”

“Do you think I’m weak, Aric?”

“No,” he answered without hesitation, “I know you’re not. It’s just... There is the expectation, the notion that a Cathar without claws has suffered a severe humiliation and I-”

“Does it bother you that I don’t have claws?” she repeated with her typical infinite patience.

“How can it not?” he snarled as Sartem pressed the issue, “Every day I see how much they took from you, how they used you, how they hurt you and I can’t protect you from any of it! You should hate them for hurting you, you should hate us for abandoning you, you should hate me...”

He then felt her bare hand rest over his and it stopped his angry tirade. His brow furrowed as he looked down at her fingers smoothing over his fur in a soothing motion.

“It brought me to you, didn’t it?”

He was rendered mute by her words unable to formulate an argument against them. She was touching him, willingly. His pulse raced as she crept closer and snuggled against him. Was this how it felt to be chosen? No arduous struggle; no harrowing attempts to read her mind; they simply existed naturally. He reached out and held her hand before looking into her deep blue eyes and feeling a connection between them.

“Was it worth it, sir?” he rumbled.

“I’ve managed to meet the most interesting people,” she mused, “Dorne, Yuun, Vik...”

“Balkar,” he growled unable to hide how a spike of jealousy coursed through his veins. “Even got a proposal out of him.”

“Do you really think he has a chance,” she countered with a wry grin.

“I didn’t see you turn him down-mph!”

His griping was cut off when she leaned forward and kissed him. The doubt and shadowed thoughts faded away as she slipped into his arms easily. Aric’s heart swelled as her scent and touch filled his senses. It was part male instinct, part lovesick idiocy, but he never wanted it to let go. The kiss ended all too soon but he gave her a dazed smile.

“Does that answer your question?” she asked.

“You… wanna run that by me again?” he asked cheekily.

Sartem gave a soft laugh before rubbing her cheek against his and once again disconnecting his brain. His claws had extended as he fumbled at the clasps of her armor and she… sweet gods was she purring? He groaned as he felt the soft vibrations. She was going to kill him.

Tomorrow. Tomorrow he would give the pendant an acid dip and give the copper a dark patina. Tomorrow he would wrap it in velvet and place it in a cortosis bit case. Tomorrow he would give her his stone.

Sartem wouldn’t know what it meant to him. She wouldn’t understand how harrowing its rejection could be, but Aric realized it didn’t matter. Customs, belief systems, traditions, they were just a means to categorize emotion. After all what else could he do? It’s not like he could back down now. It was too late. She’d already stolen away his heart.

For all the curious out there, this is what Aric’s opalized wood stone looks like:

#Aric Jorgan #Jonas Balkar #SWTOR #Cathar #Republic Trooper #Sartem Roan #swtorhub

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greyias · 5 years

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So, occasionally I’ll be doing something else and go down a rabbit hole in regards to content over on torcommunity. This weekend, somehow I wound up taking a journey through some of the cut content for the first expansion.

And man... did I find some interesting could-have-beens.

Like, I’m still kind of poking around and nosing through some of the dialogue trees, so this is by no means a complete and accurate reading of what-could-have-been (not to mention that the mined dialogue is very incomplete, there’s only Bothawui and some other snatches here and there for various classes—but still!)

So, I already knew that the Knight storyline introduced a bi-romance option for both male and female Knights, a Doctor Audra Kantos who is like... the exact opposite of Doc and kind of a babe if her 3D model is anything to go by. From what I’ve gleaned from the dialogue, she seemed like she would have been a fun addition to the universe. I hope they find a way to reuse some of her story content or bring her into the game proper.

What I didn’t realize the first time around was that Audra was a Knight exclusive romance, meaning... there were other romance options planned for the other classes.

I found two of those other options this weekend, and man, I feel both robbed and a little giddy that there’s at least some content that showed that some of the character and dialogue paths in Vanilla weren’t pure tease.

You see, before they had to change course on this expansion, it looks like originally we were going to get a romance option of Master Sumalee for (male) smugglers and Jonas Balkar for (female) Troopers.

Jonas Romance: https://torcommunity.com/database/mission/BdZCIC4/hidden_speak_to_jonas_and_chall/

Sumalee Romance: https://torcommunity.com/database/conversation/Bn3RGeF/cnvexp01bothawuiclasssmugglermaster_sumalee/

Sadly, the Sumalee romance getting resurrected is probably a no go, since she was one of the Shroedinger’s Cultists during Nathema Conspiracy. Although since a certain SIS Agent is going to be making his reappearance soon... maybe if we all ask the devs nicely enough they’ll let us kiss a Jonas?

I also find it amusing that Theron literally stole lines from Jonas’s seduction technique, and now I’m imagining Jonas trying to give him dating advice, Theron pretending to ignore it and then using those pick up lines when no one’s watching.

Okay, more likely the writers repurposed some of those lines, as poking around some of the Knight’s dialogue I found out that the (light side) Hero of Tython’s promotion fo Battlemaster was originally intended to happen somewhere within the cut class-continuation. (There’s also some hints I found this weekend that Master Orgus’s ghost was going to show up again, although there’s no dialogue I found to see if it was what eventually became the Rishi sidequest).

Also interesting to note of content that was originally written one way, but it seems like they used the concept for something else it this one: link (although I will point out that I think the only thing that was reused for the upcoming 5.10 drop is the planet location and the character).

Aside from the cut romance content, I found these bits of dialogue most interesting (although I am guessing this is one of those pieces of world building that got lost in the shuffle and cuts, and probably won’t make it’s way into canon proper):

And I’m like... just laughing here at the thought that one of Satele’s big acts of defiance against everyone who kept calling her Revan 2.0 when they wanted to shut her up is public going “Look! You guys can go have sex! Just... don’t like get married or something”. Almost like she was preparing for the inevitable moment some hypothetical impetuous and hotheaded offspring started making a habit of breaking into her living quarters any time he wanted to have a conversation. Or something.

Sadly, I don’t think we’ll ever get confirmation on whether or not that really happened in-universe (unless they decide to promote Satele back to Grand Master). And that’s a shame, because it really ties in nicely with Obi-Wan’s dialogue in the Clone Wars series where they actually clarify the difference between “romance” and “attachment”.

Ah well. I guess we’ll see what happens in 6.0.

#cut content #spending too much time on torcommunity #i’m not even looking for red string anymore #i just go there... for reasons...#what could have been #jonas balkar #master sumalee #grey’s silly swtor tag

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tiredassmage · 5 months

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It's that time again - update rambles time kdfnalsdfnsd. The short version is, overall, I'm really pleased with this update, but there's... at least one thing missing that did sort of derail me in the end and I'll still need to go back and play it pubside on my Trooper, which I think I might enjoy slightly more for... cohesion of a story's sake, but that's. a) getting a bit into the actual ramble and b) getting my personal blorbo feelings involved which is absolutely what I do here but, let me do it in the right place, lmao.

Mechanically, this was. a really sweet update to me. There's lots of doing in progressing through the story part. The fights are engaging, the action is selling. It doesn't play like a bunch of run to checkpoint x, do y, hand in z, which is very nice. There's. actually a few things to consider. Comparing to 7.2 in Showdown, the action isn't just in the cutscenes this time - it's definitely there, too, I have plenty of nice action shots to add to the blasters out collection, lol - but it's also in the gameplay, at least from my take, so! I've really no complaints from a gameplay perspective thus far.

I haven't worked on any of the dailies or done the little follow up with Lane or whatnot yet because I sort of had my fill with the story for the day and I wanted to check out some of the lighting changes in other parts of the game, hehe! So, might run into other things later, but we'll see.

I also love seeing locations from earlier in the game making a comeback. The little hints here and there are enough to be exciting for me - though I see some people saying missed opportunity to do things with Jorgan and Corso and I will more than likely agree with that. I'd always be a sucker for more references.

Petra's really cool. I love her. Loved meeting her and working with her. As a local Imperial Agent enjoyer, I think it's only natural to say I do love the sneak and spy elements of this update, lol.

I got a lot of what I could've ever hoped to ask for out of this update. I'm just... missing the saboteur options? Which... really threw me at the end. There's at least a place or two that it felt exactly where those sort of options should've come up, but there's at least no directly labeled sight of them around, which is... jarring given Tyr's extensive history as a double agent for the Republic.

It's... a really tricky situation to deal with on Ord though, so that's. how I'm choosing to sort of interpret that one. There are some areas that felt a little too tight on strictly Imperial loyalty for how I typically play him, so it's. It's jarring, in short. One of my disappointment areas, I have to admit. I haven't done any of the dailies, but it looks like it'll end up being interpreted as Imperial support either way - which, fair, I'm playing an impside character, I know, but the lines were very clear on Ossus for where that saboteur option was involved and they even appeared on Manaan. I'm still hoping to see that storyline go somewhere even though there feels like there's a lot of moving parts on the board at the moment.

SO. With that said, onto my giggles and other miscellaneous references because it seems the last several story updates have thematically been reflective and reference-pockmarked for me, lol.

I cannot tell you the way I squealed with excitement to see these two in frame and actually doing something like cooperating.

And also the way I am, once again, haunted by being an Imperial Agent girlie. Because all I can think of in this is Double agent. Triple agent. Do you even know whose lies you're telling anymore?

Primarily, of course, my own feelings about blorbo who's been in the spy business for literally about half his lifetime and a double agent for maybe half of that - now he's going to balance being a double for the Republic with working with Sa'har? Ough. Tyr, babe. I hope you know what you're doing.

He wants to help her. He's wanted to from the start. Sa'har's I'm not sure I -want- to leave, speaking to that I'm not sure I can leave a job unfinished that Tyr is so, so painfully familiar with experiencing. Maybe he's got fleece over his eyes because of his own complicated feelings about working in unseen ways, but he does believe her.

ALSO THIS GIRL. NEARLY GIVIN ME A HEART ATTACK. GIRL I LIKED YOU DON'T SCARE ME LIKE THAT. Anyway. I love her. I love. Again, one of the most hilarious dialogue wheels you could give this man is I'm no traitor (lie, you've been once since you were in your late twenties, and you're like, what 46ish? It's been a long time since Hutta, agent) / I don't work with traitors (another lie, you're still kissing Theron Shan [Tyr. argues that doesn't count which is the only reason this is the option I went with] / and [Attack]

And then I won't be normal about him taking option 2 and dropping "I'd like to believe I've always been fighting for something greater."

I'm fine. I'm sure I'm fine. [Girl who is constantly plagued by the emotional agonies of maining a double agent.]

ANYWAY. Or perhaps also on that note. Krovos getting a little sharp about his misplaced priorities. Nothing comes of it. Yet. But it's enough to keep my brain stew going and bubbling about the weight of it all.

And it's just. so very Tyr to throw himself in the line of fire trying to keep people he meant to keep out of overcomplicating situations safe.

And I am, overall, just a sucker for the way this update brings it back to... I guess grass roots, you could say. Grounding the story in what's actually happening to places like Ord Mantell, brushing with some of the consequences on people in general - the Hidden Chain stealing supplies, possibly moving people, even, or at least their allies might be - sells the big story in the end, I think. Otherwise, the big, vague prophetic 'the fate of the galaxy sets on your shoulder' doesn't really settle as much. This might be what you're fighting for, or it might be what you're costing along the way. And I just like having that connective tissue that is 'they're here for supplies;' they're rebuilding and moving forward with plans after Ruhnuk, and Malgus's threat that all things will still unfold according to a plan is still lingering around.

[Also, Rass people. The flirts. wtf I love it. They're adorable.]

And I really am just. Such a hopeless sucker for scenes like this. A little slice of just being people in between all the galactic turmoil and heroics.

So, I've still got a fair amount of things to be chewing on! Once I'm through this last week of finals stuff, I'll expect I'll hop on TrooperTyr and go. redamage my emotions further and play it pubside and have a whole other whirlwind of emotions about how he handles it too dlfknsadlkf;sld. For now, time to pop some screenshots into the queue! ^.^

OH. ALSO. Kessing's Landing is fucking beautiful.

#dot talk #swtor spoilers #swtor 7.4 #spoilers #swtor chains in the dark

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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Star Wars Movie and TV Release Date Calendar

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

The future of Star Wars is secure. The end of the Skywalker Saga didn’t mean the end of the story of the galaxy far, far away. It just meant countless new possibilities, both on the big and small screens. In fact, Disney has already announced more than a dozen live-action and animated projects that explore other corners of the Star Wars universe, from adventures starring the brave X-wing pilots and clone troopers on the front lines of countless wars to tales of bounty hunters and even the Sith. And plenty more in between!

This post is where we’ll keep track of all the upcoming Star Wars movie and TV releases as they’re announced and release dates are set. Hit the links in each entry to read articles that tell you more about what you need to know about all these new Star Wars adventures!

Stream your Star Wars favorites right here!

First up are the movies but scroll down for TV release dates…

Upcoming Star Wars Movies

Rogue Squadron

December 22, 2023

Director: Patty Jenkins

Disney confirmed during an Investors Day presentation in Dec. 2020 that the first Star Wars movie to follow The Rise of Skywalker is Rogue Squadron, a movie that “will introduce a new generation of starfighter pilots as they earn their wings and risk their lives in a boundary-pushing, high-speed thrill-ride, and move the saga into the future era of the galaxy.”

Wonder Woman‘s Patty Jenkins will direct, making her the first woman to helm a Star Wars movie. We’re very excited about this!

Read more about The Bad Batch here.

Obi-Wan Kenobi

2022

Director: Deborah Chow

Writer: Hossein Amini, Joby Harold

Starring: Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Moses Ingram, Joel Edgerton, Bonnie Piesse, Kumail Nanjiani, Indira Varma, Rupert Friend, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Sung Kang, Simone Kessell, and Benny Safdie

Ewan McGregor is finally returning to the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi in a series set between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. The Jedi Master has settled into his life as an exile on Tatooine, where he’s watching over Luke Skywalker from afar. Will his next adventure take him off-world or is he going to have to protect a defenseless village from raiders Toshiro Mifune style?

Here’s what we know about the plot: “The series begins 10 years after the dramatic events of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith where he faced his greatest defeat, the downfall and corruption of his best friend and Jedi apprentice, Anakin Skywalker turned evil Sith Lord Darth Vader.”

Hayden Christensen is returning to play Vader, which is very exciting!

Andor

2022

Writer: Tony Gilroy

Starring: Diego Luna, Alan Tudyk, Genevieve O’Reilly, Stellan Skarsgard, Denise Gough, Kyle Stoller

There’s a Rogue One spinoff series starring Rebel secret agent Cassian Andor coming to Disney+! According to the press release, “The rousing spy thriller will explore tales filled with espionage and daring missions to restore hope to a galaxy in the grip of a ruthless Empire.” This sounds very good.

This series was set to film in early 2020, but Covid-19 pandemic delayed the show. It finally wrapped filming in August 2021.

The Acolyte

TBA

Executive Producer & Writer: Leslye Headland

Russian Doll co-creator Leslye Headland is developing a new series called The Acolyte, which is set during the High Republic era, a time period that predates even The Phantom Menace. The series is said to be “female-centric” and seems to be a darker Star Wars story than what we’re used to seeing on screen.

Lucasfilm describes the show as “a mystery-thriller that will take the audience into a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging dark side powers in the final days of the High Republic era.” Sounds intriguing!

We have some theories as to what the show could be about here.

Ahsoka

TBA

Executive Producers: Jon Favreau & Dave Filoni

Writer: Dave Filoni

Starring: Rosario Dawson

Described as a limited series that continues the story of Ahsoka Tano after the events of The Mandalorian season 2 episode “The Jedi,” Ahsoka will likely bring the beloved hero one step closer to finding her missing Jedi friend Ezra Bridger and taking down Grand Admiral Thrawn once and for all.

Rangers of the New Republic

TBA

Executive Producers: Jon Favreau & Dave Filoni

We don’t know anything about this show except that it’s set within The Mandalorian timeline and will “intersect with future stories and culminate into a climactic story event.” It sounds like Star Wars may be on its way to having its first big TV crossover.

That said, recent reports suggest this show’s been put on hold due to the dismissal of Gina Carano, who was said to star on the show as Republic marshal Cara Dune. At the very least, it’ll likely be a while before we finally see this one.

Lando

TBA

Writer: Justin Simien

The smoothest scoundrel in the galaxy is finally getting his own event series on Disney+. It’s currently unclear whether this series will follow the younger Lando played by Donald Glover or the original one played by Billy Dee Williams. Maybe it’ll star both?!

A Droid Story

TBA

This animated TV movie will follow C-3PO and R2-D2 as well as introduce a new hero to the Star Wars galaxy. That’s all we know at the moment!

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

The post Star Wars Movie and TV Release Date Calendar appeared first on Den of Geek.

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#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

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oolathurman · 6 years

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what's your favorite swtor storyline?

hmmmm good question! :o For me, how comfortable I feel playing that class does play into how much I will like the storyline. Probably not the best way to judge a story’s writing, but if I have a hard time enjoying playing a certain class, then I’m going to largely ignore it as much as possible.

For that reason, I’m not going to count the Bounty Hunter or Trooper storylines, because I cannot remember a thing from them. I just? Could not play them enough to remember anything other than “Mako’s adoptive dad was slaughtered by a wannabe Mandalorian” and “Garza was an asshole to civilians.”

Anyway, replay-ability is a huge factor to me too tbh. I’m also taking into consideration how I played my characters thru the storylines. Here’s how I’d rank them:

LS! Sith Warrior

LS! Jedi Consular

Imperial Agent

Smuggler

Sith Inquisitor

Jedi Knight

LS!SW is undoubtedly my favorite. Especially if you play as an alien. I just really love the idea of playing a minority character who challenges their oppressors and overcomes their challenges, in their own lifetime. The LS!SW, not just a pragmatic LS Sith but a completely LS!SW, is merciful and compassionate in their own sithy way, and proves to not be the stereotype of a Sith that people expect. Also, I really just love Vette and will protect her with everything I have. :’D

Now the Jedi Consular is second, for reasons that are going under a cut because this post got a lot longer than I would’ve expected.

LS!JC is not a choice people would expect. People tend to find the Jedi Consular as the most boring character or class, which I can understand. The VAs don’t sound as passionate as say the Sith classes, which makes sense since the Jedi aren’t “supposed to be emotional.” But to me, the LS!JC is the story of a Jedi who does everything in their power (and beyond that) to save others. It’s a story of compassion, of trying to understand others, of working with people who, although may not agree entirely with your point of view, agrees with enough of it to work towards a common goal. The Jedi Consular storyline also gives us the most insight to the state of the rest of the galaxy at large. Where the Sith storylines and the IA storyline focus on the state of their own faction, the Empire, where the Jedi Knight storyline is focused on the Republic's failures, the Jedi Consular actually looks at the rest of the galaxy as it plunges into war, and tries to do something about it and succeeds.

The Imperial Agent is next because the writing is much more captivating than most of the other storylines. Where the Sith Warrior storyline sticks to what seems like a very classic Sith’s story (a rise to power, betrayal from their master, and the death of their master), the Imperial Agent storyline has a lot more twists and turns. Where’s the story going next? Who knows! Also, the idea of a canonically trans character in Star Wars? You don’t really see that, ever. Even if swtor isn’t canon to the rest of the star wars story anymore, it’s still canon to swtor dammit. That trans character is so incredible, and honestly I love him to bits. From an in-character perspective, yes he’s the worst, but he’s not the worst because he’s trans, he’s the worst because he’s manipulative and cold and holy shit i love him SO MUCH y’all.

Out of all the stories, the Smuggler is undoubtedly the most light hearted of the bunch. Just tell me you can’t imagine the Smuggler running around the galaxy to the tune of the Benny Hill theme song. And frankly, that’s why I like it so much. The world could use a little light-heartedness, and the Smuggler storyline provides that.

Not gonna lie, I do like the Sith Inquisitor storyline, but I’m not sure how Star Wars it feels to me. I do love the idea of a nobody, a slave, coming to power and overthrowing a Dark Council member, and frankly the idea of a nobody rising to power through their own will alone is incredibly appealing to me. It’s why this part of the Sith Inquisitor’s storyline is part of or related to the backstory to literally all my Sith. But the story felt more of a Generally Middle Earth Like Fantasy to me than a Space Fantasy, and I guess that, though I love playing heal sage/sorcs, that might be part of why I don’t like it as much. Also, Thanaton was so much more??? Annoying???? Than Baras was? Thanaton felt like a Powerful Man Throwing A Temper Tantrum versus Baras’ Powerful Man Scheming And Actually Plotting Against You. (I still can’t get over the mental image of Thanaton on a grade school playground going “YOU DIDN’T DO IT THIS WAY, SO IT DOESN’T COUNT!!!!!”)

And finally, the Jedi Knight. I know a lot of people really like the Jedi Knight storyline, but frankly, it honestly just felt like I was cleaning up the Republic’s messes the entire time. Though I do appreciate seeing a darker side to the Republic, on how desperate they were to defeat the Empire, it felt like I was babysitting the Republic the entire time.

#swtor #asks #long post #Anonymous

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ramajmedia · 5 years

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Star Wars Resistance: 10 Things That Need To Happen Before It Ends

Star Wars Resistance released an intriguing trailer for its second season, along with confirmation that this will be the final season for the show. While Resistance has had its critics, it's been a fun and upbeat show that's further fleshed out the galaxy during the sequel trilogy era. Most of the first season took place in the months leading up to The Force Awakens, and eventually caught up with the events of the film towards the end of the season.

The second season will take place during The Last Jedi, and even dive into the time prior to The Rise of Skywalker, with the epic series finale reportedly leading into the events of the final Skywalker saga film before its December release.

Before the final season airs, let's explore Star Wars Resistance: 10 Things That Need To Happen Before It Ends.

RELATED: 5 Reasons Star Wars Resistance Is Already Better Than Rebels (And 5 Why It Never Will Be)

10 Tam Makes Her Final Choice

Arguably the most shocking event in the first season was the protagonist Tam leaving her friends and joining the First Order. A season's worth of deceiving and undervaluing Tam--and some manipulation from the First Order--culminated in her final decision. With this being the final season, audiences will be given a definitive answer to whether Tam remains loyal to the First Order or if her ultimate loyalty shifts back to her friends aboard the Colossus.

Once Tam realizes the First Order doesn't value her and is just manipulating her for their own gain--or once she is more exposed to the kinds of atrocities the First Order commits--Tam will likely return to Yeager, Kaz, and her other friends. Agent Tierny can certainly be persuasive, though, so all bets are off until the series finale.

9 Crossover With Events From The Last Jedi

One of the best moments in Resistance so far was when it intersected with a major moment from The Force Awakens. Kaz watched a recording of General Hux's fascistic speech, followed by Starkiller Base's destruction of Hosnian Prime, the same planet where Kaz grew up and where his family still resided. It was a powerful and uncharacteristically dark moment for the series and it actually improved The Force Awakens as audiences now had an emotional connection to Hosnian Prime and its people.

With Resistance now taking place at the same time as The Last Jedi, it should also find ways to smartly intersect with major events from the film. The best crossover would probably be for Kaz and his friends to be among the allies Leia and the Resistance contact prior to the Battle of Crait. Maybe we'll even see the Colossus try to make it to Crait in time. At the very least, Kaz and company should hear about what happened on Crait, and have the hope it inspired be used to strengthen their fight against the First Order.

8 A Space Battle With Kylo Ren

Easily the most exciting thing about Resistance's new trailer is the appearance of Kylo Ren, who unlike General Hux and Captain Phasma, hasn't previously appeared in the show. None of Resistance's protagonists stand a chance against Kylo Ren if they come face-to-face with him. They might stand a chance in a space battle, though. Kaz is a gifted pilot, as are Jarek Yeager, Torra Doza, and the rest of the Aces.

RELATED: Star Wars: 20 Crazy Things Kylo Ren Did Before Episode VII

Audiences know from The Last Jedi that Kylo Ren is quite the pilot as well, and it would be incredible to watch him duke it out in space against the pilots of the Colossus. This is a viable way that the protagonists can confront Kylo Ren and the First Order while managing to survive and maybe even win the fight.

7 A New Home For The Colossus

The Colossus being a mobile space station made it possible to escape the First Order. The new trailer teased that the Colossus is facing many issues as it travels through space, though. Just as Castilon was its home for many years, the Colossus needs to find a new planet to call home.

This could definitely serve as an essential piece of the series finale, with Kaz and his friends bolstered by the fact that defeating the First Order means making their new home safe for everyone. Finding such a place will be an ongoing storyline throughout the season, one that might have parallels to the Ghost crew trying to find a suitable base for Phoenix Squadron in the second season of Star Wars Rebels.

6 Eila Connects Further With The Force

Eila and Kel escaped the massacre led by Kylo Ren on their home planet of Tehar. They found refuge on the Colossus, with help from the likes of Neeku and Kaz. One of the most intriguing elements of these children is it appeared that Eila was Force-sensitive. Eila had dreams that foretold the future--often having the same dream repeatedly--and the dreams always came true. It sounds like a Force vision, and being a Force-sensitive child could explain why Kylo Ren wanted to wipe out her village, and why the First Order cared so much about finishing the job by locating Eila and Kel.

The new trailer shows Eila and Kel looking at mysterious symbols and an artifact that a new characters says is "a power source from an ancient time." Whatever happens on that planet could confirm that Eila is Force-sensitive and allow her to become more attuned to her abilities.

5 Joining Up With The Rest Of The Resistance

While those aboard the Colossus have their own battles to fight, they need to join up with the larger Resistance by the end of the season. They cannot outrun and outfight the First Order on their own forever. The First Order can only be defeated with all pieces of the Resistance united, including Kaz and everyone on the Colossus.

RELATED: Star Wars: 10 Things The Comics Added To The Canon

Fans deserve to see Kaz reunite with Poe Dameron and BB-8, both of whom were instrumental in Kaz joining the Resistance and in his growth as a leader and spy. Poe, BB-8, and the larger Resistance can help Kaz and his friends. Then in The Rise of Skywalker, Kaz and company can return the favor by helping in the final battle against the First Order, which hopefully means some cameos, probably similar to the Rebels cameos in Rogue One.

4 A Larger Role For The Aces

The Aces are gifted pilots who defend the Colossus, escort important shipments, and participate in the station's races. They were heavily promoted and marketed before the first season, generating much of the excitement around the show. Only Torra Doza and Hype Fazon received much focus, though, making the hype--pun intended--a disappointment.

This season needs to give all the Aces a larger role. Fortunately the new trailer did tease this with a few different shots. It shouldn't be hard considering how important the Aces will be in defending the Colossus against the First Order. Maybe the Aces will even have a chance to go up against Kylo Ren in his TIE Silencer.

3 Kix The Clone Trooper Appearance

Thanks to the appearance of the legendary pirate known as the Crimson Corsair in the Resistance trailer, there's actually a chance fans could see the clone trooper Kix from The Clone Wars. The Crimson Corsair appeared in the trailer after a mention of bounty hunters hired to find Kaz. On a job when the Crimson Corsair thought he would find kyber crystals that once belonged to Count Dooku, he found the clone trooper Kix in frozen stasis.

Due to this, Kix was still alive and ended up joining the Crimson Corsair's crew. This means there's a chance Kix will accompany him in the hunt for Kaz. He would be the first Clone Wars character to appear in Resistance, and would ensure that at least one clone trooper has appeared in all three of the animated Star Wars shows that Dave Filoni helped create.

2 The Defeat Of Agent Tierny And Commander Pyre

Audiences will have to wait until The Rise of Skywalker to see if the Resistance can defeat the likes of Supreme Leader Kylo Ren, General Hux, and the First Order. Agent Tierny and Commander Pyre--the show's main First Order antagonists--will need to be dealt with before the end of the Resistance, though.

A victory against Tierny and Pyre is quite likely and will prove the First Order is vulnerable, thereby providing the Resistance with further momentum and hope as they continue their fight in The Rise of Skywalker. The bigger question is whether Tam will still be with the First Order and go down with Tierny and Pyre, or if she'll rejoin her friends from the Colossus and choose the Resistance.

1 A Mentor's Sacrifice

Every generation of Star Wars features characters who serve as mentors, with the mentors ultimately making sacrifices that save those they love and to pass the torch to the next generation. Resistance should follow that tradition, with Kaz's mentor Jarek Yeager and Torra's mentor--and father--Captain Doza making sacrifices to save the Colossus and defeat the First Order.

Both Yeager and Captain Doza made sacrifices in the first season for these very reasons, but with this being the final season, they can step up their game and make even more memorable and powerful sacrifices.

NEXT: Why Star Wars Resistance Was Cancelled After Only Two Seasons

What do you hope to see in the second and final season of Star Wars Resistance? Let us know in the comments!

source https://screenrant.com/star-wars-resistance-10-things-need-happen-ends/

#screenrant

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netmaddy-blog · 7 years

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Review: Legendary "A Marvel Deck Building Game"

New Post has been published on https://netmaddy.com/review-legendary-a-marvel-deck-building-game/

Review: Legendary "A Marvel Deck Building Game"

Deck-building game is a fast-growing genre that is gaining more and more fans around the world. You start out with a lame deck consisting of a few basic cards and then all options are open. It’s up to you to find the best combos of cards, add them to your deck and gradually build a “machine” that works better than other players’. It all started with Dominion, then came Thunderstone, Ascension, Nightfall… and now Legendary! But Legendary is much more than a simple deck-building game. Read on to find what’s different about it.

The game’s storyline is quite compelling thanks to the Marvel license. Here are all your favorite guys: the good ones like Wolverine, Spiderman, Hulk, Captain America, Iron-Man and much more, and the bad ones: Dr. Doom, Magneto, Loki and Red Skul. One of the evil Masterminds decided to bring horror to the city, by trying to accomplish a scheme and recruiting many villains to help him do just that. You have the difficult task to stop him by recruiting the best superheroes out there and fighting the villains and the Mastermind himself. However, you are not alone. Your fellow players are on your side trying to do just the same as you. Players don’t take the role of superheroes. Instead, heroes are available for any player to add them to his deck from a common pool. So, is this a co-operative game? Up to one point yes. You all try to defeat the bad guys but one of you is going to do better than others. By defeating villains or fighting the Mastermind, players earn victory points and at the end of the game, the player with the most victory points is the winner.

This is a game for 1-5 players each player starting with the same deck of basic Hero cards, 8 S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents, and 4 S.H.I.E.L.D. Troopers. During set-up, which by the way takes some time, you choose a Mastermind to fight at random. Each Mastermind comes together with 4 Mastermind tactics cards, placed underneath the Mastermind on a special place on the board. Then you choose a Scheme card at random too. On the Scheme card there-there are details about how the Mastermind operates which influences the way the villain deck is formed.

Then you get to build the villain deck which consists of the following types of cards:

“Scheme twist” cards. A Scheme Twist card represents the Scheme moving forward towards victory for the evil Mastermind. Every Scheme works in a different way, with its Scheme Twists doing a specific thing related to that Scheme. The number of “Scheme twist” cards in the Villain deck depends on the Mastermind card. “Master Strike” cards. A Master Strike card represents the evil Mastermind coming down to get their hands dirty and smash the Heroes themselves. Each Mastermind card has its own specific Master Strike effect. 5 of these identical cards are added to the villain deck. Villain groups. Each group consists of eight villains that work together. The number of groups added depends on the number of players. Henchmen groups. Henchmen are weaker Villains where each group consists of ten identical cards. The number of groups added depends on the number of players. Bystanders. These are innocent citizens that turn out to be at the wrong place, the wrong time. Villains snatch them and carry them with them. When you defeat a Villain who has captured a bystander, you get an extra victory point for rescuing the poor guy/girl. After the Villain deck, you build the Hero Deck. There are fifteen different heroes and you get to choose five of them (six when playing with 6 players). For each hero, there are 14 corresponding cards (1 rare, 3 uncommon, 5 of one common, and 5 of another common).

ll decks are shuffled and put face down on their special reserved places on the board. 5 cards are flipped from the Hero deck and put one next to the other into the 5 Hero Spaces in the HQ. Players shuffle their decks too and draw 6 cards. A starting player is chosen and players take turns in clockwise order.

Each player on his turn does 3 things:

Play the top card of the Villain Deck. The villain makes a spectacular appearance in the city through the… sewers!! There are 5 spaces (places in the city) through which villains move: Sewers, Bank, Rooftops, Streets and the Bridge. Each time a new villain enters a city space, if there is already someone there, he gets pushed one space to the left, towards the bridge. This may cause a chain reaction when a new villain appears. But be careful, if a villain is pushed left of the bridge, which is the final fifth space on the board, he forever escapes the city. If a certain number of villains, depending on the chosen scheme, manage to escape, then evil wins and all players lose. Play cards from their hand, using them to recruit and fight. Each hero card has special symbols and text describing his abilities. A hero may provide gold which is used to recruit more heroes and/or attack points used to fight Villains. They also usually have a superpower ability that requires a hero of the same hero class having played this turn in order to activate it. Super powers can have many different effects such as drawing more cards, adding more attack points, getting rid of wounds or basic heroes and much more. Whenever a player defeats a villain he puts him on his personal Victory Pile. Discard his hand and draw six new cards The game is over when players defeat the Mastermind four times or if the Mastermind wins. Then players add the victory points they earned during the game.

I wouldn’t like to overextend with the rules of the game and for example explain what “Scheme twist” and “Master Strike” cards do, as these details are not essential to the review itself. Now it’s time for the actual review:

Components:

The components of the game are only a game board and cards. The game board is very functional with plenty of room for all individual groups of cards. On the right, we can see the Hero deck and Villain Deck. On the bottom of the board, there is the HQ (Headquarters) with 5 spaces on which heroes that are revealed from the hero deck, are placed. Just above it, there are the different parts of the city where villains appear. On the left side, there is a space for the Mastermind and the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents deck. On the top, there are spaces for the Scheme card, the escaped villains, Wounds deck and Bystanders deck. Finally a big space for cards that get KO’d (knocked out) for the game. These are permanently removed from the game. The board is big and has plenty of space for everything, even a very helpful textbox on the top-left corner about how to set up the game according to the number of players.

The artwork of the board and the cards is awesome. The images are original artwork, not found in any comic, drawn with detail and imagination. All 14 cards of each hero, from the common to the rare version has the same artwork which is an issue that some people find not very appealing. I wasn’t much bothered by that although I admit that it would be a mostly welcomed update to the game if different versions of heroes had different art and it would make the cards more easily recognizable. 8/10The gameboard!

Gameplay:

What is there not to like in Legendary? It is deck-building, which is one of the newest and most popular genres, it’s highly thematic and it’s also unique in that it’s both cooperative (with players cooperating to beat the Mastermind) and competitive (with players competing to earn the most victory points). This combination matches a lot of Marvel storylines and makes the game appealing to fans of co-op games and gamers who like games with a single winner (like me!!). Devin Low has designed this game effectively, combining the latest trends in gaming, flavored by characters that almost everybody is familiar with, Marvel superheroes.

The pace of the game is really fast. There is always something happening and during other players turns, you can study your cards, planning your next turn or just watch the action. New villains appear every turn and some of them may trigger chain-reactions of events by pushing one or more villains to escape from the city.

Luck plays its little part in the game, regarding what heroes and villains will be revealed and whether you will manage to get enough heroes of a specific class to make your deck work. This is a big difference from games like Dominion or Thunderstone in which all cards are available to all players to buy. In Legendary you can only buy one of the five heroes at HQ so if no one fits your agenda or they are very expensive then your plans are delayed and you can do nothing about it. Nevertheless, a strategy is the dominant element in the game as you decide what heroes to buy and what villains to fight.

A little issue with gameplay I noticed is that players that play first usually do better than players playing after them as they get to choose first the best available (and affordable) heroes which make them having a head start against other players. I have to play many more games to decide if statistically, this problem appears often enough to make it a real issue. Other than that gameplay is smooth and balanced and I have to admit very enjoyably.

Another con for the game is the amount of time required for setting up and break down. You have to pick a Mastermind (OK, that’s easy), to find his four tactics cards and pick a Scheme. Then you must build the Villain Deck: Add Master Strike cards, random Village and Henchmen groups and Bystanders. Then pick 5 Heroes. Shuffle all these decks. It’s true that set-up is not so boring as you are excited about the game that will follow. But what with break-down when the game is over? You have to sort out all the different cards, put them in piles and back to their box. This is a somewhat dull process but I guess it couldn’t be avoided. The randomness of the decks is what makes the gameplay so exciting. 9/10

Learning Curve:

Legendary is not a difficult game to learn, especially if you have played another deck-building game like Dominion or Thunderstone before. The most difficult thing to learn at first are the various cards of the villain deck, except the actual villains, that is Master Strike and Scheme Twist cards and their effects or what to do when a villain escapes. In case you never played a deck-building game before things will be a little harder. In any case, the best way to teach this game is to explain the very basic rules and learn the rest of it while playing the game. 7/10

Theme:

This is a game where the theme is evident wherever you look. It seems that it has been designed in a way that players could actually feel that they are hunting down an evil Mastermind. There are many elements that enhance this feeling such as:

The spaces through which villains move are not just spaces on the board but represent actual places in the city: the bank, the sewers, etc. These places are also drawn on the board The fact that villains capture Bystanders is also very realistic. Of course, villains should do something really mean to justify their role. Masterminds have an agenda, a “Scheme”. That scheme isn’t just written in the text but also gets actually executed using “Scheme twist” cards. The Mastermind also doesn’t stand aside watching the villains do all the dirty work but he makes impressive appearances with “Master Strike” events. The fact that the evil Mastermind can win the game. Yes, sometimes evil wins! I like very much the elaborate detail in which the game has been designed regarding its theme. I wish more games were like that. 10/10

Replayability:

Due to the randomness of the villain and hero decks and the different Masterminds and schemes, there are endless combinations of setups which guarantee great replayability. Players also have the chance to adjust the difficulty of the game by choosing easier/harder Masterminds, altering their strength, choosing an easier/harder scheme, adding extra Scheme Twist cards or choosing easier/tougher Villain groups. Two expansions have already been published for the game, introducing new Heroes, Masterminds, Villains and Schemes. I think I’d never say no to a game of Legendary!. 9/10

Fun:

It’s intriguing to be able to co-operate with other players against a common threat and at the same time try to stab them on the back to be able to get the most victory points. Legendary is as fun a deck-building game can be. I had a great time playing it. 7/10

Pros:

you play with Marvel heroes and villains nice artwork excellently designed gameplay, ideally-applied theme you cooperate with your friends but the winner is one great replayability, dozens of different setups Cons:

time-consuming setup and break-down Recommended especially for deck-building genre fans, Marvel Universe fans

Similar Games: Dominion, Thunderstone

According to my scoring system, scoring categories have different weights. Components have 15% weight, Gameplay 40%, Learning curve 5%, Theme 5%, Replayability 25%, Fun 10%. According to this system and the above scoring in each category, overall weighted scoring of the game is:

Overall: 8.6

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