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How Stuff Works: Vibroblade

March 7, 2011July 28, 2020Soeren Kamper

Vibroblades are the galaxy’s main cutting weapon of choice. Though they come in many different shapes and sizes, ranging from knives to longer swords, vibroblades are all equipped with a compact ultrasonic generator in the hilt. This causes the blade to vibrate at enormous speeds, thus giving the weapon its name. Because of this ultrasonic vibration, even the slightest glancing blow become a gaping wound. It could be fitted with cortosis weave, allowing it to parry the blows of lightsabers and energy swords. As it is quieter than a blaster, the vibroblade is popular among assassins, but it can also be easily carried as a secondary weapon for close-range fighting. In the past these weapons were often minted containing a weave of the rare material cortosis, which allowed blade to parry even lightsaber strikes, a property that made the vibroblade a weapon of choice among Sith assassins. However, this practice…

Know your Lore: Lonna Vash

February 27, 2011July 28, 2020Soeren Kamper

Lonna Vash was a Jedi Master and member of the Jedi Council during the Mandalorian Wars and the Jedi Civil War. She was one of the Masters who banished the Jedi Exile from the Jedi Order. Lonna Vash’s role was bigger in the original vision of the developers, Obsidian Entertainment, but like many other incomplete things it had to be cut because of the forced premature release of the game. She was planned to be found by the player on M4-78, a planet populated by droids, where she came searching for the Exile with her Padawan, Kaah Ohtok. The corresponding conversation the Exile has with Vash was even recorded and put in the game file, but, like the incomplete planet, was never used in the actual game. However, as Vash was a Council member shown in an important cut scene, the developers placed her dead body on also-incomplete Korriban to…

Know your Lore: Zez-Kai Ell

February 20, 2011July 28, 2020Soeren Kamper2 Comments

Zez-Kai Ell was a male Human Jedi Master and member of the Jedi High Council during the Mandalorian Wars. He wielded a violet double-bladed lightsaber and fought with double-bladed variants of Ataru, Shien, Niman, and Juyo. He had also mastered the advanced Force forms. He was also close friends with fellow Jedi Master and Council member Kavar. Zez-Kai Ell was more thoughtful and introspective than many of his fellow Masters, and was quick to point out that the Council’s inaction led to Revan’s fall—even going as far to say that blame was not solely on the Jedi who left to fight, but on the Council as well. After the Jedi Civil War, he no longer considered himself a Jedi, claiming to have left the Order in disgust with both the Jedi Order and himself. Indeed, when the Exile met him, he appeared to have fallen into a brooding depression, displaying…

The Great Hyperspace War

February 11, 2011July 26, 2020Soeren Kamper

Over the millennia, the Galactic Republic has faced no greater threat to its existence than the brutal invasion instigated by Sith Lord Naga Sadow. It was a time in history when the original Sith Empire had reached the height of its power, and the Republic was poorly prepared for a conflict of such magnitude. Master Gnost-Dural looks back at the Great Hyperspace War and identifies the controversial decision that drove the Sith into exile and set the stage for the Empire’s campaign of vengeance against the Republic. BTC 1347 – When two hyperspace explorers stumbled onto the remote world of Korriban, they never could have guessed the chain of events they were setting into motion. Over the previous centuries, the Sith Empire had grown in size and strength, and Korriban was the very heart of its dominion. The reigning Sith Lord, Marka Ragnos, had just died, sparking a brutal power…

Sith are evil?

February 9, 2011July 28, 2020Soeren Kamper

On the official forums, Lead Writer for Star Wars: The Old Republic Daniel Erickson confronts the continuous question about the Sith philosophy – Are these guys evil or not? According to Mr. Erickson there is no doubt that Sith are in fact evil: “We can get into endless philosophical discussions about whether anything is actually evil or actually good but if we are speaking from our modern, western view on the concept of evil then the Sith clearly qualify.” However this does not meen that the Sith themselves look at it this way. The Sith see the republic as weak, without strong leadership and basically a bunch of mindless lemmings. Daniel Erickson also states that role players that chooses the Sith faction, has plenty of options to play as ambivalent or even helpful, should they choose to do so. Here is his post: Hey Folks, First of all, let me say that…

Know your lore: Tulak Hord

January 30, 2011July 28, 2020Soeren Kamper

Tulak Hord was a Dark Lord of the Sith that ruled sometime during the early Sith Empire, after the use of lightsabers became prevalent. Hord wore a claustrophobic black mask, making him a fear-inspiring sight. There is some disagreement as to when precisely Tulak Hord lived. Kreia seems to imply he was an ancient Dark Lord from the first Sith Empire, yet she also calls him a lightsaber master, and it is widely believed by fans that the Sith did not use such weapons until they re-established contact with the Jedi and the Republic after the Great Hyperspace War. It is unknown how Hord died, but his power was so considerable that a burial chamber was built in his honor in the Valley of the Dark Lords on Korriban. In later years, both Revan and the Jedi Exile visited his tomb, though the entrance was blocked and the tomb looted…

Know your Lore: King Adas

January 23, 2011July 26, 2020Soeren Kamper

Adas was an ancient Sith warlord who lived circa 28,000 BBY, long before the exiled Dark Jedi of the Hundred Year Darkness conquered his species. He used his knowledge of the dark side of the Force to conquer and subjugate his homeworld, which he ruled as king.Adas, in holocron form, first appeared in a brief vignette featured in the 1996 sourcebook, Tales of the Jedi Companion, written by George R. Strayton. His role and biography was later expanded in 2006’s Evil Never Dies: The Sith Dynasties, written by Abel G. Peña. In that article Adas is identified to have been a member of the Sith species, and to have had interactions with the Rakata introduced in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Adas’s character would later further be used and expounded upon in 2007’s Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force by Ryder Windham. Korriban, Adas’s world….

Faction lore: Czerka Corporation

January 17, 2011July 28, 2020Soeren Kamper2 Comments

Czerka Corporation, founded as Czerka Mining and Industrial, was a galaxy-spanning business. It controlled interests on Korriban, Kashyyyk, Taris, Tatooine, Telos IV, and countless other planets. In Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II—The Sith Lords, although not the primary villain, Czerka is presented as an amoral entity; not only they are allied with the Sith but frequently use underground means for their ends, such as stealing from rivals, having financial motivation for everything, using violence and slavery, hiring mercenaries, smuggling of weapons, etc. They will often ask the player some jobs which are generally “dirty.” In general, Czerka are the secondary villains, and the player follows the Czerka quests if he chooses the dark side options. However, that doesn’t mean that Czerka is a representative of the Dark Side or her employees are inherently evil: the Tatooine quests are the…

Know your lore: Loppak Slusk

January 16, 2011July 27, 2020Soeren Kamper

Loppak Slusk was a male Quarren crime boss on Citadel Station representing the Exchange, an intergalacitc crime syndicate. Instructed by G0-T0, the Nar Shaddaa crime boss, Slusk came to Citadel Station over Telos to try and integrate the Exchange into the new Telos. Making an alliance with the Czerka Corporation brought the attention of the Jedi Exile, a Jedi who happened to have a bounty on her head. When Slusk tried to collect the bounty, the Exile resisted, and Slusk’s operations almost came to an end. He appeared in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords Biography Around 3,951 BBY, Slusk was instructed by his boss, the Exchange crimelord Goto, to start a new Exchange cell on Citadel Station. After the planet Telos was bombarded by the Sith Empire, the massive Citadel Station had been constructed to serve as a home for displaced Telosians as well…

Faction lore: The Exchange

January 10, 2011July 28, 2020Soeren Kamper1 Comment

The Exchange was a criminal organization active around 4,000 BBY, and possibly the most powerful of its time, that dealt in spice smuggling, extortion, weapon trafficking, slave trading, and bounty hunting. The organization was active on many planets and employed notorious bounty hunters such as Calo Nord. During the First Jedi Purge, they posted a huge bounty on live Jedi, large enough to purchase an entire planet. 300 years later, during the Cold War, the Exchange was engaged in a galaxy spanning crime war with the Hutt Cartel centring on Nar Shaddaa. History The organization was active on many planets and employed notorious bounty hunters such as Calo Nord. Some branch heads included Davik Kang, the crime lord of the planet Taris, Loppak Slusk of Telos IV, and Goto of Nar Shaddaa. The Exchange was an extremely powerful criminal organization that operated throughout much of the Outer Rim Territories. The…

Know your Legends: Davik Kang

January 9, 2011July 27, 2020Soeren Kamper1 Comment

Davik Kang was head of the Exchange on Taris, an intergalactic criminal organization, during the Jedi Civil War. His headquarters were in the Upper City of Taris. Kang employed dozens of mercenaries and enforcers to keep Taris under his unofficial control, most notably the former Mandalorian Canderous Ordo and the bounty hunter Calo Nord. Davik collected the stuffed heads of ferocious creatures hunted and killed by Nord, but his most prized possession was his smuggling vessel, the Ebon Hawk. Davik resented the Sith presence on Taris because their planet-wide blockade had halted his his inter-galactic operations, but he knew well enough to avoid bothering them. After rescuing Bastila Shan from the Black Vulkars, Revan (whose identity was secret) was approached by Canderous, who offered Revan the chance to leave Taris, provided he could retrieve the necessary planetary launch codes from a nearby Sith military base. Revan agreed to steal the…

How Stuff Works: The Star Forge

December 29, 2010July 24, 2020Soeren Kamper2 Comments

The Star Forge was a dark side artifact that was created by the Infinite Empire of the Rakata in 30,000 BBY, five thousand years before the rise of the Galactic Republic. A giant automated shipyard, the Star Forge drew energy, heat, and matter from a nearby star which, when combined with the power of the dark side, was capable of creating an endless supply of ships, droids, and other war material. It was constructed through the use of slaves from many subject worlds including, but not necessarily limited to, Corellia, Coruscant, Dantooine, Drall, Duro, Kashyyyk, Korriban, Manaan, Selonia, Sleheyron, Tatooine, and Ziost. It fed on the Force, drawing particularly from the cruel Rakata, corrupting it into an artifact of the dark side, and often times its user as well, which is why Darth Revan limited his contact with the Star Forge, lest it control him as it did the Rakata….

Know your Lore: Ajunta Pall

December 27, 2010July 26, 2020Soeren Kamper

Ajunta Pall was a Dark Jedi, and later one of the first Sith Lords following the Hundred Year Darkness. His spirit was redeemed by the Jedi Knight Revan during the Jedi Civil War. Ajunta Pall’s tomb is one of the side-quests available in the Korriban segment of the video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. In the game, he recognizes the player character’s true identity. The main character can either help him become one with the Force (for “light-side points”), fight him and destroy his spirit (for “dark-side points”), or fail to take him to the light and let his spirit fade away. The statue of Ajunta Pall seen in his tomb is identical with the one seen in the destroyed Jedi Enclave on Dantooine in Knights of the Old Republic II, which could mean that Ajunta Pall was once a highly respected Jedi Master; however, this has…

Know your legends: Marka Ragnos

December 20, 2010July 28, 2020Soeren Kamper5 Comments

Marka Ragnos was a half-breed Dark Lord of the Sith who was immensely powerful, both physically and in the Force. He defeated Simus in combat, proving himself worthy of the mantle of Dark Lord. The tomb of Ragnos on Korriban appears in the games Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy. However, the tombs in each game are dissimilar to the other. This was likely for reasons of game structure, rather than a suggestion of the tombs being at different locations. The same phenomenon is seen with the Valley of the Dark Lords as a whole. Another theory is that his tomb underwent a renovation after being desecrated by Revan and his followers. While a figure of importance in Sith history, Marka Ragnos has actually never appeared in a story in which he was alive, much like another influential Sith Lord, Freedon Nadd….

How Stuff Works: The Star Wars galaxy

December 12, 2010July 27, 2020Soeren Kamper

Among fans, the Galaxy is referred to as the Star Wars Galaxy or the Galaxy far, far away, or the GFFA for short. The Galaxy was said to contain a “type 3” civilization (in the Kardashev scale — whereas Earth is home to a “type 0.7” civilization). This scale takes into account the level of integration and civilization between peoples (albeit this integration also involves different species, rather than just racial variations of only one sentient species, as it is on a sole planet), which in essence form one single “galactic civilization”, given the political unification (despite the few separatisms) and the integration of the worlds in spite of the considerable distances (with effective means of transportation).Nothing connects the Galaxy with ours (Milky Way). However if we are to consider the crossover between Star Wars and E.T., we can infer the following: the Brodo Asogi leader, Senator Grebleips sent an expedition…

How Stuff Works: Lightsabers

December 6, 2010July 28, 2020Soeren Kamper20 Comments

The lightsaber (less formally, the laser sword) was more than just the distinctive weapon of the Jedi, it was a segment of the order’s history and its ultimate symbol for millennia. There could be no Jedi without a lightsaber and no lightsaber without a Jedi in the eyes of galactic denizens. Over the years, it came to be associated with gallantry and elegance otherwise lost in an age of blasters. Jedi traditionally constructed their own lightsaber as part of their training. To carry a lightsaber was an example of incredible skill and confidence, dexterity and attuning to the Force. Since its plasma blade was essentially weightless, the weapon produced a gyroscopic effect, and so it was very difficult to handle safely. Yet this made the weapon ideal for force-sensitive users who’s ability to predict the various energy pulsations through the force allowed him or her to compensate for them. They…

Playable Species of SW:TOR Miraluka

November 21, 2010July 22, 2020Soeren Kamper

The Miraluka were a Near-Human,Force-Sensetive species. Their language was Miralukese, although some, like Visas Marr, preferred Basic. They differed from Humans in that they lacked pupils or irises, instead bearing only vestigial white orbs (or in some cases, such as Visas Marr, empty sockets), and perceived the environment around them through the Force instead of regular vision. This vision was so strong that if a Miralukan looked upon a Jedi or Sith they could “see” the Force radiation off them. For moral reasons, Miraluka hid the appearance of their eyes by wearing a headband, a mask, or similar concealing headwear. As a Force-using species, Miraluka were often quite shocked if shown life not connected to the Force. The Miraluka that lived on Katarr were strong enough that even they felt the Battle of Malachor, though it is possible that they felt not only that battle. History Their adopted homeworld…

Know your lore: Freedon Nadd

November 15, 2010July 28, 2020Soeren Kamper2 Comments

Freedon Nadd was an ancient Jedi apprentice. He later fell to the dark side of the Force and apprenticed himself to Naga Sadow, an ancient Dark Lord of the Sith. Freedon Nadd claimed the rank of Dark Lord by murdering his Master, and crowned himself as the King of Onderon. After his physical death, Nadd’s spirit attempted to resurrect himself and have revenge on the Jedi. Nadd was completely destroyed on Yavin 4 by Exar Kun, the would-be Dark Lord. Freedon Nadd was the first Dark Lord of the Sith after the fall of the Old Sith Empire. Biography Freedon Nadd as seen in Vodo Siosk Baas’s Holocron Ambitious Jedi Freedon Nadd was a Jedi student trained at the Jedi Temple on Ossus around 4,400 BBY. He was amazingly open and willing to touch the Force, which may have inevitably led him down the dark path. While strong in the…

Know your lore: Darth Bandon

November 4, 2010July 26, 2020Soeren Kamper2 Comments

Darth Bandon was a male Human Sith Lord, and the first known apprentice of Darth Malak during the Jedi Civil War. Once a Jedi Knight, he eventually became one of the the Sith Empire’s most dangerous hunters. Biography Though trained in his early life as a Jedi, Bandon was never at peace with the ideas inherent in the Jedi Code. He lusted for power and influence, and the peaceful ideals of the Jedi way angered him, as he felt that he was never in control of his destiny and that his life would be ruled by the Jedi Code. Longing for independence, Bandon relied heavily on his emotions, especially the rage that flowed through him, and, as a result, fled the Jedi Order to join the Sith Academy on Korriban as the Sith, under the command of Darth Revan and Malak, rose to power. Bandon completely embraced the dark side…

Playable Species of SW:TOR – Sith Pureblood

October 20, 2010July 26, 2020Soeren Kamper2 Comments

Yesterday we reported about Daniel Erickson clarification about the Sith Pure-bloods. We also promised to look deeper into this race, so here you go: The Sith were a species of red-skinned humanoids that evolved on Korriban. They also had tentacle “beards” and all pure blooded Sith were almost always left-handed, and thus their signature weapon, the lanvarok, was adapted purely for left-handed use. Society and Culture Though they engaged in supposedly primitive practices such as sentient sacrifice, held a strong caste system, and were in an almost constant state of war, their civilization was quite sophisticated; they saw these acts not as cruel or barbaric, but simply basic aspects of existence. Their caste system included a meek and lowly slave class, a skilled and intelligent engineer class, the priestly Kissai class, and the warlike Massassi class. In later years, the offspring of Sith and the exiled Dark Jedi formed another class, from which…