Beyleigh and Meyleigh

or

Mispronunciation Blues

So Team Rogue has shifted. When she read* my post about Livy and Manerva, Scooter asked if it would be better to create rogues of another race and re-role our fledgling Forsaken to something else. She also said that after thinking about it, she thought Manerva should be more magical than a rogue. I agreed that it might be better to follow our respective character fantasies. So Livy and Manerva became a Priest and a Mage, respectively, and we rolled two human female rogues.

Meyleigh and Beyleigh Spinoza
[IPA: ˈmeɪliː & ˈbeɪliː ɛspɪˈnoʊsə]

Simply known as Meyleigh and Beyleigh in-game. The names themselves are currently slightly more interesting than the histories of these intrepid sisters. Scooter came up with "Baylee" first and hunted down an acceptable spelling that hadn't been taken. Interestingly enough, the Urban Dictionary describes Baylee as "an incredibly hot female, typically with beautiful brunette hair. Loves animals and books. . . Has a great smile and round eyes."

Meyleigh's name is based on a common mispronunciation of the term melee, generally construed in MMORPGs to be the distance at which combatants can strike each other with swords, maces, etc. Since I was having a hard time coming up with a good plant-related name, Scooter suggested a departure from my habit. While I like the name, I have a hard saying it out loud. "Spinoza"—with various alternate spellings—is a common Hispanic surname indicating a family association with the hawthorn plant.

More later. . .

*Scooter proofreads almost all my articles before I post them, for which I am very grateful. However, any mistakes are mine and mine alone (unless otherwise noted).

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Livy and Manerva

OR

The Risks of RP

Meet Livy and Manerva [IPA: ˈlɪviː & məˈnɜːrvə], a pair of Forsaken Rogues. I don't really have much to say about these two yet. Manerva (derived from the Roman goddess of wisdom and war) is Scooter's character, with lively eyes and a mischievous grin. Livy (may be sort of short for Olivia, and yet includes "Ivy": a creeping vine, fitting for the name of a stealth class) stands behind her, a more bitter—perhaps vengeful—twin. I hope to have something more fleshed out (heh) for them in the near future, but we barely made level 5 last night.

Part of my problem is that we kinda fell into these characters by default. As Scooter and I were discussing starting new characters, we quickly decided on Horde because we already have two Alliance duos. Since I wanted a Rogue, Tauren were right out, and I was reluctant to start another Blood Elf pair, since their starting area hasn't really changed since BC. We've already started Goblin characters (and I strongly dislike the result of the Goblin starting story). Scooter already has a Troll hunter, and expressed no interest in repeating the starting zone.

That leaves the Orcs and the Forsaken (called "Undead" in the character creation screen; is that because new players were confused as to what Forsaken are?). We could have gone with Orcs, but Scooter didn't really express interest in them either. Plus, her Troll and my Tauren (solo characters) are already in the Barrens, likely following the same questlines that any Orcs would.

So there I was, staring at the character creation screen, reviewing Forsaken models. And there are almost twice as many "Features" choices for Male Forsaken—including several with no jaw. I thought it would be cool to have a jawless female zombie. Many of the female Features, I guess, are supposed be protruding facial bones. But they end up looking like budding horns, like SWTOR's Zabraks. Despite the relative lack of choices, I still prefer the female Forsaken models to the males; hence Livy and not Georg.

Perhaps this risk in "RP" isn't much of a risk. No one is throwing virtual rocks at me or disrupting my RParty in Club 37. But it does touch on the fantasy side of why people roleplay. It's a powerful thing to step into the shoes of a character. But if the fit isn't quite right, it will obviously affect the enjoyment you might get out of the experience.

Class Fantasy

Herein lies the other side of my dilemma. Stormsage fills my core fantasy of the Shaman as a "battle mage": up close and personal, but with the fury of the elements infusing every blow. Sedgeweaver is the mighty Tauren Hunter, with a powerful beast companion by his side and respect for his worthy prey; more comfortable under a wide open sky than stuck in the social confines of a city. Bernolf is the shapeshifting Druid, ferocious and versatile in battle (though less so with the recent changes), in tune with the pulse of life in the wild world.

I don't actively RP in any game, but I usually have a strong sense of who my characters are. And I often make in-game decisions based on how I think characters would react to situations, even if that knowledge is the mind of other toons of mine. For example, I avoided (and urged Scooter to, as well) an entire questline in Stonetalon that involved the Alliance teaming up temporarily with the Grimtotem, because I knew—though there is no reason Bernolf or Leilue would—that they were dishonorable traitors to the Tauren and that it was dishonorable for the local Dwarf captain to form an alliance with them.

I love the Forsaken in general, but I am ambivalent about what happened to their plot line after Wrath of the Lich King. The story of the self-willed victims of the Undead Plague, trying to survive in the ruins of their former kingdom and against a world innately hostile to their very existence, was a compelling one. Then came the Wrath Gate and the betrayal of Putress and Varimathras. The Forsaken became even more distrusted by the living races. But then Sylvanas doubled down and started raising her own new citizens rather than just recovering the victims of the Scourge; not to mention her expansionist conquest of Southshore and Gilneas. Having been away from the game for a while, I hadn't realized that Sylvanas is now the Warchief of the Horde and somewhat allied with Stormwind's King Varian, as seen in the Legion opening cinematic. (BTW, if Dalaran is now over the Broken Isles, what is the "capital city" of Northrend?)

I have a strong class fantasy about a swashbuckling sort of honorable anti-hero that I'm not sure Livy fulfills. Then again, I'm not sure changing Livy to an Orc would solve that. I think Forsaken would lean toward Assassination, given their propensity for murder. (On the other hand, so too are the rest of the WoW races.) Am I going to come to appreciate Livy as a Swashbuckling Outlaw, or would I be better off changing her to another race and creating a Forsaken Shadow Priest or something?
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July Activities

Wow, another month come and gone with me only posting once. It seems like I write too many of these posts. July was a busy month, and since my return with Scooter to Azeroth, it seems I have spent every spare moment playing in the World of Warcraft rather than bothering to blog about it. Blaugust is upon us, as well. Belghast has declared this to be a much more casual year, and that suits me just fine. I don't know if I'll be posting daily but I figured I'd at least start the month off right. [Correction: it's taken me two days to write this.]

After over a month of playing on battle.net, I finally sent out friend invites to folks on my suggested list; like Scarybooster, Tententacles, Scopique, and Belghast, himself. Scooter and I have two pairs of Alliance characters above level 40, and I have a Tauren hunter just over 20. Already feeling the altoholic urge to start a Rogue Outlaw. (I've loved the "Highwayman" concept of sword and pistol combat for years.)

Chuslum Sedgeweaver

[IPA: tʃʌsləm sɛdʒwiːvɜːr] (His given name means "bull" in the Nez Perce language, according to my research. Sedgeweaver, as he is known in-game, is the surname of my Aurin Spellslinger in Wildstar, and is an invented occupational surname meaning "basket maker.")

The calf of a long line of renowned Tauren basket makers, young Chuslum felt the call of the Tauren Great Hunt. In his twentieth season of adventure, Sedgeweaver journeyed into Night Elf lands on a spirit quest. There, in the Ruins of Mathystra, he encountered the Ghost Saber, Dushka, who agreed to guide him on the Hunt.

I started Sedgeweaver on Argent Dawn, about midway through July while on a business trip. He's about 21 now, and I took him up to the north end of Darkshore to tame one of my favorites on my Dwarf Hunter (my first WoW character). I named her Dushka [IPA: duʃkə], which is Russian for "little spirit" (or a whole lot of other things, apparently).

Leilue and Bernolf Lovell

[IPA: liːluː & bɜːrnɒlf lʌvəl] (Bernolf is an invented name using Germanic roots to mean "bear-wolf". Lovell is an English surname meaning "little wolf." You'll have to ask Scooter how she came up with Leilue; however, as pronounced, it could be taken to mean "wolf meadow." Do you see a pattern here?)

Meanwhile, the Lovells, keepers of the old ways, were caught up in the events surrounding the destruction of Gilneas. After using their druidic powers to help rescue many Gilneans from the devastation of the Cataclysm and the ensuing Forsaken invasion, Leilue and Bernolf found a welcoming community among the Night Elves, occupying an apartment in the Craftmen's Terrace of Darnassus. They developed quite a reputation for generosity and ferocity with the Night Elves in the ruined Darkshore and the embattled Ashenvale, going on the offensive with the Darnassian armies in the Stonetalon Mountains and driving the Horde back into the Barrens. Now sojourning in Feralas, the Lovells have played a part in the Night Elf campaign against Cho'gall, an Ogre devotee of the Twilight Hammer. As it turns out, several Gilneans are in the area, directing skirmishes against the Naga on Sardor Isle and the Gordunni Ogres throughout the mainland rainforest. Like many of their fellow Gilneans, Loo and Bernie long for the opportunity to return and restore their homeland.

Leilue and Bernolf are 41 and exalted with Darnassus. They have a few things left to do in Feralas before moving on to the Thousand Needles. Soffe and Stormsage are also 41 and ready to move on to Eastern Plaguelands.
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CSI: Kharanos — Stormsage & Sprizzleboom

I went ahead and created a dorf shammy on Wednesday and leveled him up enough to get to Kharanos and join Scooter's numlock, Soffe.

Cruachán Stormsage

[IPA*: kɾˠuəxɑn stɔɹmseɪdʒ] (His given name, apparently, is Irish for little mountain. In game, he is simply Stormsage.)

This Wildhammer dwarf grew up in the now ruined town of Dun Modr, helping to defend the Thandol Span in the days prior to the Second War between the Horde and the Alliance. After the Fall of of Grim Batol, he spent time in the Hinterlands near Aerie Peak, learning to commune with the spirits of nature and the elements and to gain their trust, and their assistance in times of crisis. He was in Coldridge Valley visiting relatives in Anvilmar when a cataclysmic earthquake disturbed the geological stability of the region and upset the spirits of the elements. He worked to soothe the spirits in the valley before making his way to Kharanos. Once in the dwarven town, he made the acquaintance of a gnome conjurer named Soffe.

Soffe Sprizzleboom

[IPA: soʊ̯fi spɹɪzlbum] (In game, she's Soffe, a variation on the Greek word for wisdom.)

A proud member of the Sprizzleboom family (manufacturers of "deceptively distinctive demolition devices"), Soffe became involved with a group of mages who, believing they could use the power of the burning Legion against itself, developed spells and rituals to bind demons to do their bidding. Unfortunately, Soffe was caught in the radiation blast that trapped and doomed most of the population of Gnomeregan. Soffe learned to survive in the ruined former capital, avoiding leper gnomes and scrounging for food. Eventually, she and a few others were rescued by members of S.A.F.E., after which she made it to the surface of New Tinkertown. Departing western Dun Morogh with another survivor, the gnome medic Ptahmose Spinsprocket; she met the dwarf shaman Stormsage in the Thunderbrew Distillery, and together, they traveled to Loch Modan to assist the clean-up efforts at the newly emptied reservoir. Ptahmose elected to remain in Kharanos, supporting the Mountaineers in their efforts against the Frostmane trolls.

Both Soffe and Stormsage are about level 18 after their weekend adventures, currently settled at the Farstrider Lodge overlooking the ruined Loch Modan.

*I spent way too much time figuring out the IPA notation for these names.

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ARPil Badge

Another busy week, with me taking a class at work and my daughter preparing to move back home from the college dorm tomorrow (I helped her move a bunch of crap today). So I haven't had a chance to feature the ARPil badge that Pizza Maid and Ravanel Griffon prepared for those of us that participated in PM's 30 Days project. I only got about halfway through the the questions, but I feel like I got a decent mix of superficial and deeper ones out of the way.

I've said it before, but while I have been enjoying my return stint in SWTOR—now going on more than a year—I don't feel as much attachment to my characters as I have with other MMOs. There's just less opportunity to develop a unique story when I am running through BioWare's. I think of SWTOR as a slightly more interactive movie. I mean I love the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but I am not attached to Captain America or Iron Man either. Not the way I am to Samantha Hawthorn or Rowanblaze. This ARPil helped me think a little bit more about Morrenia and her background and motivations, but I still feel like she is more BioWare's character than my own.

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ARPil Day of Favorites!

[OOC] This was more of an exercise in Wookiepedia research than anything, since I had never thought of any favorites for Morrenia (or any other character). And many of the items are my own favorites, transposed to Morrenia. Feel free to guess which ones.

[IC] Before we begin, I must include an erratum regarding a previous question. I was reminded (with a quick zap of force lightning) that, when asked about surrogate family, I forgot to mention someone near and dear to me: Glember, who always has my back in a fight. She was with me on Korriban even before Vette. We helped each other make it through the trials and then had many more adventures together. She'll always be my favorite. Anyway, on to the others.

Favorite color: Maroon

Favorite outfit: The battle robe you see in the holo image to the right.

Favorite song: Run Kessel Run

Favorite flower: Rominaria

Favorite time of year: Autumn; crisp mornings, brilliant foliage

Favorite holiday: Naboo's Festival of Glad Arrival

Favorite comfort food: Shaak Pot Roast

Favorite hot drink: Caf

Favorite ice cream flavor: Juna Berry

Favorite vice: Lieutenant Pierce

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ARPil: Trust Issues

Is there anyone in your extended family with whom you are particularly close? Cousins, Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents, etc. Do you have anyone whom you consider practically a blood relative?
At one time, my parents lived close to family, in Theed. I played with my cousins, attended family gathering, what have you. However, I doubt of us were close with our parents, or their parents for that matter. Then, since the day I was selected for Sith training, I haven't seen any of my family for years. Others I might consider a blood relative? I am very loyal to the faithful members of my crew. Jaesa is like the dark child I never had. And Vette is a like a sister, though we are on different social strata. My closest surrogate sister, though, is Glember, who always has my back in a fight. She was with me on Korriban even before Vette. We helped each other make it through the trials and then have had many more adventures together.

Whom do you trust?
It is difficult to trust anyone. A member of my aforementioned crew betrayed me to my former master, Baras, and have not forgiven, nor forgotten. I considered my other crew members to be loyal in their various roles; however, I have been unable to locate any of them since my time in carbon-freeze. If Lana Beniko could find me, why weren't any of them with her? Surely they should been far easier to locate. . .

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Four More ARPil Questions

Once again, I've fallen behind my own schedule. [EDIT: It's even worse, since this was supposed to be finished and posted yesterday.] I was out of the house for most of the day [Sunday]. So here are four six ARPil interview questions for Morrenia. They are grouped a little differently than Pizza Maid's list. Jumping around thematically might be OK when taking the questions one day at a time, but I feel they should be somewhat more cohesive when I am answering more than one in a post.

Name one scar you have, and tell us where it came from. If you don’t have any, is there a reason?
Scars are for people who aren't fast enough to get out of the way. (I wonder what Silverleaf, with his Nexu claw scars, would have to say about that.)

How do you smell? Do you wear perfume? (OK, I know this sounds funny in the second person, the original questions are asked in the third person about my character.)
The impertinence! Oh, all right. I do wear perfume, a blend of Algaran zwil and rominaria extract from Naboo.

What would your cutie mark be?
I had to look up these "marks" on the holonet. What sort of creature places a tattoo on their arse? It's not as if I going to expose that area to anyone but my most intimate companions. Though I suppose if I have to pick something: crossed lightsabers, black core with a yellow corona, like my own.

How vain are you? Do you find yourself attractive?
I suppose I consider myself attractive, though I haven't really put thought into that in years. I certainly have had no shortage of bed partners. And some may say my cosmetic routine indicates vanity, though it is mostly habit at this point. (I do consider Morrenia attractive. After all, I "created" her. I generally try to use the customization tools available to make my characters aesthetically pleasing to me, regardless of gender or species.)

What’s your ranking on the Kinsey Scale?
Another one I had to look up. Republic scientists have such strange fields of study. I guess I would say I am about a 2.5. Pleasure is pleasure, and I am open to almost any new experience. (Like several of my characters, Morrenia is an unrepentant flirt. Given their history from the Interlude and Shadow of Revan, she is currently involved with Lana Beniko.)

What might your character’s ideal romantic partner be?
Someone with a lust for life, who doesn't mind my own bloodlust. They would be completely devoted to me and yet able to speak their mind. A man (or woman) of action, who will have my back in my frequent battles. (In short, Lieutenant Pierce.)

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ARPil and Other Business

Well, this week certainly has been interesting (not really). I returned from a lengthy business trip last Saturday, and fully expected to have a post or two up this week. But it didn't happen. Honestly, I barely even played video games; as Scooter's schedule has also been funky this week, and we've chosen to do other things with our limited time together.

So I may try to cram two question a day into the second half of ARPil. Meanwhile. Belghast was asking the other day on Twitter about what happened to Developer Appreciation Week this year. I had completely forgotten about the event, what with my being out of town and preoccupied with work. Normally, I've aimed to promote it towards the end of March, perhaps pushing into April, but upon consultation with the gamer formerly known as Scarybooster, who originated the idea in 2010, we decided to encourage people to participate from 24 April through the end of the month.

In the meantime, on with the ARPil questions. I decided to make Darth Morrenia, the Empire's Wrath, my subject for ARPil. Like Pizza Maid, I will answer in character.

What are your most prominent physical features?
I am admittedly petite and slight of frame, not exactly what one might expect of a Warrior of the Sith. All the better to surprise any opponent. As my connection to the Dark Side of the Force has become strengthened, my green eyes have turned the characteristic Sith yellow. And while not a physical feature, per se, I am never in public without wearing traditional Naboo-style cosmetics.

Describe your relationship with your mother or your father, or both. Was it good? Bad? Were you spoiled rotten, ignored? Do you still get along now, or no?
I was raised among the nobility of Naboo, so I guess you could say I was spoiled. I certainly had all my material wants satisfied. My parents doted on me when they were around. But they had many social commitments, and much of my upbringing was conducted by governesses and other servants of the household. My parents brushed shoulders with the leaders of the planet, and I was involved in the Legislative Youth Program. However, I was deemed too volatile for leadership. I was in my early twenties when I was approached by representatives of Overseer Tremel of the Order of the Sith. Since I began my training, I have not returned to Naboo, nor communicated with my parents other than to reassure them of my well-being.

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30 Days of ARPil

Yes I am already behind. A few days ago, Ravanel Griffon suggested that I participate in a blogging event being "sponsored" by Pizza Maid, wherein you take one original character and answer questions about them (Pizza Maid is doing it in character), filling in background information along the way. I'm highly in favor of developing backstory for player characters, even if you're not really much into RP in the actual games you play.

My problem is that I am sort of between characters. While I really enjoy playing Star Wars: The Old Republic, so much of the story is being told by the developers that I don't have the strong connection to them that I have had in the past with my characters from The Secret World, Star Trek Online, and even World of Warcraft. Maybe I'm lying to myself, these are some pretty in-depth blurbs.

So mostly with this post, I am promoting the event and the idea. Along with my busy schedule for the first third of the month, I think my participation will be spotty. I need to decide on a character, preferably one I have not written too extensively about. But I plan to have an answer to yesterday's and today's questions by the end of the evening. We'll see how it goes from there.

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The Venetian Chronicles

A fellow Secret Worlder going by the name Yuuko Shirakawa is soliciting In-Character interviews for her. Since I have a Twitter account for LoneStarBelle, I offered to participate. The transcript of the interview follows. You can find other interviews and other examples of Yuuko's TSW-related fictional work at Xencraft's Pastebin.

The Venetian Chronicles: Dr. Samantha Hawthorn

Yuuko: (fumbling with the camera before mounting it on a tripod. Before adjusting the focus on the camera and clearing her throat) This is Council envoy Yuuko Shirakawa, agent of the Dragon, and historian for the archives in Dublin, Ireland. As part of the Chronicles initiative, I am interviewing active agents from the 21st century so that future generations may better understand the context in which events are taking place. This session is being recorded on 03-30-2016 in Greenfield Ireland, at the Green residence.

Yuuko: Could you please state your full name, date of birth, affiliation and rank.

Dr. Hawthorn: Samantha Jayne Hawthorn, PhD. I am sometimes known as “LoneStarBelle,” but you can call me Sam. Let’s just say I was in my late 20s when I was recruited into the Illuminati, where I currently hold the rank of Visionary, though that really only means KG doesn’t mess with me anymore.

Yukko: Can you tell us about your family?

Sam: We’re not super close, especially since I moved to New York. My mom lives in the Hill Country region of Texas; Dad passed away a few years ago. I have an older brother and sister, both of whom live in Dallas with their families.

Yuuko: Where did you grow up?

Sam: Since my dad was in the U.S. Army, we moved around quite a bit when I was a kid. But mostly Texas, with a chunk of my teenage years based in Germany.

Yuuko: How would you describe your childhood?

Sam: Well, I was quite a tomboy. I loved comic books, hunting and camping, going to the shooting range with my dad. It wasn’t until I was older that I became interested in History, which is what my degrees are in.

Yuuko: How were you first introduced to the secret world?

Sam: I started having strange dreams, and discovered I had a power I had never heard of before. It wasn’t long before I got a visit from a fast-talking huckster, who turned out to be a representative of the Illuminati.

Yuuko: Did you have any contact (either directly or indirectly) with your society before your powers awakened?

Sam: No. Ironically, I wrote my dissertation on the Templar Order. At least, the Templars acknowledged by history. I was actually really upset when I discovered they are still operating and failed to contact me before the Illuminati.

Yuuko: Does anima sensitivity run in your family or are you the only one to develop powers?

Sam: As far as I know, I am the only one. Certainly no one in my immediate family has any apparent connection to the Secret World.

Yuuko: Can you tell us what a normal day looks like for you?

Sam: I’m actually semi-retired from fieldwork. I was originally recruited into Documents Acquisition, collecting rare tomes and parchments where they are in hazard zones, or sometimes simply if the Organization has an interest in them. However, now I spend more time in the Archives, cataloguing, researching. Boring stuff I suppose, but I love it.

Yuuko: Has your work for your society ever brought you into contact with anyone who would be considered historically significant (world leaders, celebrities, scientist and engineers.)

Sam: I can’t say that my *work* has ever put me in the same room with anyone famous. But Lumies do throw great parties, if you know what I mean.

Yuuko: Have you ever seen an event reported in the media and known that it was a lie and if so can you tell us what really happened?

Sam: Let’s just say that Daesh didn’t manage to destroy everything of significance in Palmyra.

Yuuko: What was the last event you can remember that shook both the secret world and the mundane equally?

Sam: Events in the Secret World spillover into the mundane with alarming regularity. It’s a testament to the abilities of the Societies that most of it is played off in the press as terrorism or natural disaster, or contained outright, with the general public unaware anything has happened.

Yuuko: Have you ever participated in an event considered historically important to the mundane world and if so was it on behalf of your society

Sam: That depends on what you mean by historically significant. Despite my background, I tend to work with people trying to make sure events that might be worthy of inclusion in a history book don’t occur.

Yuuko: Thank you for taking the time to speak with us, Dr. Hawthorn.

Sam: Thank you for the invitation. Ireland is lovely this time of year.

-End of file-

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Companions of the Fallen Empire

Now, even though I still haven't gotten any KotFE storytime in, and despite the annoyances I described yesterday, I was gratified by many of the changes I did see. Contrary to the impression some people had that companion conversations might no longer be available after the jump due to insufficient Affection/Influence, they've been tied to story stages rather than affection. Scooter was able to complete all of the previously unfinished conversations with Glember's crew. I still need to finish with a couple of Silverleaf's people, but Morrenia was good to go before Yavin. Along those lines, with the retirement of gift fragments, all of the gifts previously available for purchase with said fragments have had their prices slashed and give beaucoup Influence, enabling me to jump ahead on various companions. My only dilemma now is who to have join Morrenia on her adventures, since I don't need Pierce tanking for her. (I know, I'll have new companions). It's also cool that gear previously tied to a given companion is now available for anyone, including my PCs. Strangely, everyone lost their pants in the deal, and of course, those characters whose gear didn't affect their appearance dropped everything. Now if only they would establish a vendor where we could get all the unique companion gear we dumped along the way. EDIT: As pointed out by Ravanel in the comment section, the devs have sent all the original companion costumes in today's mail.

Digging deeper into Companion Influence, I love that it increases regardless of the choices I make on the "BioWheel." Huzzah! Negative affection was a constant constraint, as I've noted in the past. BioWare seems to have come to the realization that MMO players will compromise their roleplaying if there is a metagame that encourages such compromise. Way back at launch, I assessed that the Light/Dark choices might be affected not only by the devs' collective values, but also the apparent limitations of LS/DS gear. Morally gray characters were left in the cold. In just one example, I never found relics that weren't tied to one alignment or the other until I arrived on Rishi.

During the development process, the folks at BioWare (at least the decision makers) fretted about how the choices players made would affect their companions' affection, but never considered how the companions' personalities or actions might affect the players' affection. In one famous example, during beta, many Warriors justifiably decided to toss Quinn out an airlock, only to find to their dismay that they'd lost their only healer. Rather than make Quinn less essential, they just made him impossible to dump/kill.

Two KotFE innovations that will enrich PvE-RP answer the two sides of this coin. Because every companion can fill any combat role, the player is not obligated by combat mechanics to keep a certain companion available at all times. Conversely, because Influence is always a net gain, whether the companion approves of player decisions or not, the players are free to make the choices they envision their character making without worrying about the meta-game of companion affection.

BioWare made much of the "Fourth Pillar" of Story, then hobbled the players' ability to participate fully in the storytelling through ill-conceived game mechanics. I'm happy and hoping that these changes to the mechanics will enable our stories to be properly told.

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Bad Romance

As is my habit while commuting to work, I was thinking this morning about MMOs, and SWTOR in particular. Consider yourself warned: SPOILERS abound below if you have not been through the Warrior story. However, given that it's been almost four years since launch, I make no apologies for spoilers of the original class stories.

A few days ago, I finally finished the companion conversation series with Malavai Quinn on my female Sith Warrior. Not long after picking up Lt. Pierce on Taris, I decided he was a much better match for the lusty, action-oriented Morrenia than the proper, priggish Quinn, and tried to romance him. Doing research, I got mixed information as to whether that was even possible. The official site says no, but a few wikis say yes.
I convinced Scooter (on her Sorceror, Glember) to run with Talos Drellig (her healer) so I could have Pierce out as our Tank. His conversation preferences were a natural fit with how I wanted Morrenia's personality and character to develop, and I also lavished him with gifts to maximum affection. (I did hit max with Vette first, though only coincidentally.) Unfortunately, the most romance Morrenia ever got with Pierce was a single tryst. There is never a declaration of undying love or marriage or anything.

Meanwhile, Quinn, the old stick-in-the-mud, apparently tries to pull rank and run the Fury strictly by the book. This irritates both Vette and Pierce, and I essentially told them both to ignore him—that the ship was mine, not his—getting bonus points from both. And then, Quinn goes from prig to prick (never go full prick), betraying Morrenia at the behest of Darth Baras. I'd been romancing him (in case Pierce did not work out), but this made me just hate him.

My heart just wasn't in the romance after that. I attempted to continue on; but, in a sense, I was just leading him on in order to increase his affection. When it came right down to it, I snubbed Quinn, costing me 116 affection. But I got the achievement for completing the conversation series (which comes with stat buffs) and I was able to make it up to him through a hefty gift.

I really wish they'd made Pierce actually romanceable. As far as I know, while three classes have two potential romances for the male character (Warrior, Agent, and Smuggler), none have more than one for the female version. Partly because of the romance angle, SWTOR is the first MMORPG in which I have more male characters than females—some created specifically to romance the female companions. The later expansions introduced two more companions to romance. And included same-sex romance, to boot. So I guess they've covered all their bases?

While I still find Corso to be the most annoying companion (although I dismissed Skadge—the last Bounty Hunter companion—immediately; he's too much of a brute), I don't dislike him the way I do Quinn. I know I am not alone in wishing I could have killed Quinn on the spot, or even once the crisis was over. After all, in the movies and other fiction, Sith Lords have killed people for far less egregious transgressions. There have been those on the forums who've made cogent arguments for why the Sith Warrior would keep Quinn around, and also why BioWare removed the possibility of killing companions. But the meta-game reason (that he is the Warrior's healer) will be obviated by the upcoming KotFE expansion, when all companions will be able to serve any trinity role. All that's left is for the Warrior to finally say:

"Hey, Quinn, remember that time you totally betrayed me? He's yours, Pierce. Do with him what you will."

"With pleasure, M'Lord." *crunch*

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. If you are reading this post through RSS or Atom feed—especially more than a couple hours after publication—I encourage you to visit the actual page, as I often make refinements after the fact. The mobile version also loses some of the original character of the piece due to simplified formatting.

Blaugust the 28th: Captain Albarossa

Albarossa

Sith Pureblood, Gunslinger
"Sorry about the mess."

His name comes from an Italian wine grape cultivar, and means "Red Dawn." It kind of sounds like a good name for a pirate. And Albarossa is decidedly Dark.

Captain Naqis Albarossa is a free trader who family is from the planet Ziost. Unlike many of his species, Albarossa is not force sensitive, and his parents were also free traders, piloting the XS Freighter Apex Fynock. There were more credits in semi-licit arms deals, and Albarossa was among the best until a deal went south on Ord Mantell. Double-crossed by a thief name Skavak, who stole the Fynock along with its cargo of small arms and explosives, Albarossa was stranded on the civil war-torn world with a price on his head from the crime boss Rogun the Butcher, the owner of the stolen merchandise. Scrounging tickets to Coruscant with the help of the Mantellian mercenary Corso Riggs, Albarossa managed to reacquire the Fynock, even though Skavak continued to elude him.

I had issues with my first smuggler that I have documented elsewhere. With Albarossa, I decided to make him Darker, more brutal, and that has helped. He is definitely type to shoot first. To avoid lost affection with the overgrown boy scout Corso, I have run through Nar Shaddaa before Taris, and picked up my wookiee companion, Bowdaar, a.s.a.p. Unfortunately, this means the story missions on Taris are grey and give almost n points, 12x or otherwise.
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If you're interested in joining the madness (Vloggers are welcome, too!), Belghast has a set of rules for qualifying for any prizes at the end. Your second stop should be the Blaugust Nook, where Bel is keeping track of everything and community members are sharing encouragement and ideas.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. If you are reading this post through RSS or Atom feed—especially more than a couple hours after publication—I encourage you to visit the actual page, as I often make refinements after the fact. The mobile version also loses some of the original character of the piece due to simplified formatting.

Blaugust the 13th: How Do We Define Our Characters?

Time to jump into the wayback machine! This has been sitting in my drafts for a year and a half (hey! that is way back in Internet Time); and, in fact, I am not sure why I never posted it. For context, you might want to read this, and this, and this. Long story short: Allods was introducing paid class switching at the time, and various blogging folk were debating the wisdom of introducing that option in, say, WoW. My feelings on the matter haven't really changed since that debate, and some of my Lore/Roleplaying justifications for the possibility are below.

Perhaps with the news of WoW's upcoming Legion expansion still ringing in our ears, this sort of discussion becomes relevant again. Will the promised new features and features-to-be-retired bring people back who will then stay for longer? Who can say? Insta-90s don't seem to have ruined the game as much as garrisons or grounding the players did. And lots of other games have begun to offer a boost to the old maximum level when a new expansion launches.

As I said on my own related post, when I switched my priest from Shadow to Discipline, the backstory reasoning and process was fairly involved. In game though, I simply went to a trainer, paid some gold, and got my talent points reset. Then came dual specs, which I disapproved of at the time. But other players had clamored for it. After a while, I bought the dual spec, too.

I had a stable of alts, of every class, more than one of each. But I don't think that the way I would approach those characters is the way everyone has to approach their own. From an RP perspective, I could certainly see how being a warrior, for example, might be just a job someone fell into. A reformed warlock who took some time out to study the arcane. A warrior who felt the call of the light—or the shadow—set down the sword and board for vestments and staff. And aren't Death Knights, at least from a lore perspective, converted from many other classes? There are plenty of RP justifications for changing class.

The new DKs aren't really converted from classes; the players were wiped out and remade as DKs.
~~Klepsacovic

That the current Death Knights were "forced" into the class is not relevant to why I brought it up. From an RP perspective (which I feel this is) it's as valid a reason for the conversion as the voluntary examples I described above. I am sure none of the Forsaken "chose" be undead. What we choose as players doesn't have to be what the characters would have chosen for themselves.

In WoW lore, classes are not jobs, nor are they skills or anything that you simply acquire and hoard. A Class is a character's path in life (much more permanent and rigid). This can be seen through for instance the fact that every class is tied to an organization in the lore (or if said organization has ceased to exist feels like they are the spiritual successor of it), and you could not simply jump out of those organizations either and in cases when it happened the characters felt so traumatised that they felt the need to get back in it whatever the cost (Tirion Fordring), further signalling that the choice of class is much more defining in WoW's lore than simply that of a job. Examples of organizations include for instance Cenarion Circle, Ravenholdt, Sentinels, Knights of the Silver Hand, Ebon Blade, any of the regular fighting forces for Warriors (Human Warriors end up fraternizing with the City Guard for instance in the old Class quests), SI:7 etc.

Further, characters that have changed class lorewise like Teron Gorefiend, many of the Forsaken and Death Knights, Arthas, Illidan, etc. have only done so under circumstances where they either were resurrected from the dead, became possessed (Arthas) or changed their character so much that it could be classified as the character before the change was very different from the one after (Illidan consuming the skill of Gul'dan would come to mind as his change of character was very visible after him becoming a full demon).
~~Cloak Of Thoughts (edited for typos)

I respect the Lore of WoW more than most, but I also think that applying the traits of iconic figures like Tirion Fordring to entire player classes is a mistake. A class in WoW to me is certainly more just a job, but more like a career than a "path in life." And some characters would be more devoted to their career than others. As I recall, Paladins were Priests and Warriors who decided they could be more effective combining the power of the Light with martial prowess, and formed the Knights of the Silver Hand under the auspices of Archbishop Alonsus Faol. The original Warlocks were corrupted Orc Shaman. And Illidan Stormrage was a Mage before he became a Demon Hunter, who then became an actual demon. Furthermore, characters like Illidan and Arthas demonstrated that their fall was far less drastic than Cloak portrays in the above quote. As early as the Culling of Stratholme, Arthas revealed the personal corruption that led to his downfall. And Illidan made multiple deals with devils before his final transformation.

In the time since I first composed this post, Final Fantasy: A Realm Reborn has become a pretty popular game that has supposedly obviated the need for alts by enabling multi-classing as a matter of course. In fact, you have to level two or more "jobs" up in order to even access some of the more advanced jobs, and crafting professions are jobs just like any combat class. In fact, I think Belalafel has just about every job in the game.

Every change they make to a game that makes it more convenient for the players is both the result of many requests by players, and met with declarations of ruin by some other portion of players. And yet, despite having lost tons of subscribers (including me), WOW is still going stronger than every other MMO in the Western market. If they were to offer the opportunity for players to change the class of a character, I'm sure the move would be met with hostility in some quarters, and rejoicing in others.

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If you're interested in joining the madness (Vloggers are welcome, too!), Belghast has a set of rules for qualifying for any prizes at the end. Your second stop should be the Blaugust Nook, where Bel is keeping track of everything and community members are sharing encouragement and ideas.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. If you are reading this post through RSS or Atom feed—especially more than a couple hours after publication—I encourage you to visit the actual page, as I often make refinements after the fact. The mobile version also loses some of the original character of the piece due to simplified formatting.

Blaugust the Tenth: A Companionable Discourse

Hagu commented on Syp's recent Bounty Hunter post

If, sometime in the future, you could pick five companions, who would they be?

It's an interesting question—partly because everyone's answer would be so different. Hagu, for instance, clearly has favorites that I would leave on a cold rock as far from the bright center of the universe as I could. Of course, Hagu is perfectly entitled to those opinions. And I am sure some people's preferences coincide not only with their personal playstyle (e.g., I tend to prefer healing companions) as well as how the companion meshes or doesn't mesh with the player's story and Light/Dark choices. I haven't actually met all the companions but I definitely have my preferences. And in light of players' uncertainty regarding the future of our companions, this list may become a poignant one.

A Band of Brothers (and Sisters):

Kira Carsen (Melee DPS, Jedi Knight) — Between her sass and her looks (OK, so I'm being a bit superficial), Kira is at the top of my list. Things are heating up between Kira and Zarzamora (my very grey Jedi). She's got some Dark baggage, but she doesn't let it drag her down, while not blindly following Jedi orthodoxy either. She presses ever forward, and makes Zarzamora want to be a better man.

Elara Dorne (Healer, Republic Trooper) — Ah, Elara, so by-the-book, trying to prove yourself to the Republic. You have nothing to prove to me. Too bad they don't have SSM possibilities in the vanilla game, else Achillea would be all over you. I may role a male trooper just so I can romance you properly.

Aric Jorgan (Ranged DPS, Trooper) — Jorgan can be a bit stiff, but he's passionate about tracking down the defectors in the Trooper Story, making him almost as personally involved as Mako is in the Hunter one. I could imagine us being friends.

Khem Val (Melee Tank, Sith Inquisitor) — I'll admit Khem didn't appeal to me on my first run through of the Inquisitor story. But I did feel bad when he went off to pout when Tollkirche picked up Andronikos on Tatooine. I have come to appreciate him while going through the Inquisitor story again, both on my own and vicariously through Scooter. His tanky-ness fits the Sorceror mechanic better than the Assassin anyway. And who wouldn't want a fiercely loyal, Force-eating bodyguard out front, taking the hits.

Lieutenant Pierce (Ranged Tank, Sith Warrior) — Just as he is an effective foil for the wet-blanket Malavai Quinn, Pierce would complement by-the-book Jorgan and Dorne. On the other hand, being Special Forces, he might just fit in perfectly with Havoc squad. Even though he's a "Hulk" (Body Type 3), Pierce is definitely the Dwarf of my little band: hard hitting and hard drinking.

I'm a little surprised at myself that I didn't pick any of the Agent companions as must haves. But the truth is I only have really strong feelings about one of them, and they are not positive, as you'll see below. For various reasons, I also ended up with a balanced little group. Freeing me to fill any role I choose for myself. If only we could all adventure together.

One of the minor problems with SWTOR vs. BioWare's SRPGS is that you can really only have one companion with you at a time; something especially ridiculous when the Trooper rallies Havoc to battle, and there's only one other squad member there. The companions never really play off of each other, and the only way to gain their affection is through gifts rather than organic gameplay.

If only I had a bigger ship:

M1-4X (Ranged Tank, Trooper) — Forex just barely missed the cut, and mostly because I realized that he'd make the third companion from the Trooper Story. But his unabashed patriotism (that thankfully does not devolve into jingoistic bravado) and enthusiastic loyalty make him an amusing character. (A little like Buzz Lightyear before he realizes he's a toy.)

Raina Temple (Ranged DPS, Imperial Agent) — The only companion I have at max affection, Agent Versteckt married Temple, who was a breath of fresh air after the some of the others. She was his exclusive companion after he picked her up on Hoth.  I just wish it had been sooner, since their romance felt rushed.


Mako (Healer, Bounty Hunter) — Ah spunky little Mako. I like Mako, but it's a little weird to romance her since she seems really young, especially compared to the basso voce male Hunter.

Vette (Ranged DPS, Warrior) — Vette's fun, too, though I have to run with Quinn since he's the healer for my partnership with Scooter's Inquisitor.

Gault Rennow (Ranged DPS, Hunter) — No one's quicker with a funny quip than Gault, plus he's one of the "Halloween store" aliens from the (One and Only!) Cantina.

Talos Drellik (Healer, Inquisitor) — Another companion I picked up on Hoth (Inquisitor) that I wish had come much sooner. I think it's funny that Drellik is always a bit surprised that we've won a fight.

Vector Hylas (Melee DPS, Agent) — Vector is just a little weird. But I liked his companion story, and he was the first companion that I noticed using Force-ish abilities (Assassin/Shadow) while never explicitly using the Force.

Where's the nearest airlock?

Kaliyo Djannis (Ranged Tank, Agent) — I praised the RP aspect of  SWTOR at the time for evoking such strong opinion of the anarchist Rattataki. However, eventually she was just too grating, and I longed for a another companion. One I didn't get until Vector joined me on Alderaan.

Corso Riggs (Ranged Tank, Smuggler) — I cannot stand this overgrown boyscout. And Nar Shadaa (where I pick up Bowdaar) cannot come soon enough.

I'm beginning to see a pattern here, because I'm not overly fond of T7-01, who is also a Ranged Tank for the Knight. I don't hate him (it?) but it's difficult to read his droid code on the fly, and that quickly becomes annoying. I dropped him from my away team as soon as Kira came along (the earliest of the second companions), so I never developed the extreme dislike of him that I have for the other two. I haven't made it through all the stories, but even of the ones I have, none of the rest of the companions have made much of an impression. I wish they came sooner, partly so I could be sure to have a companion that fills the role I need, but also so I could get to know them better.

Having all those companions makes sense in a single-player like Dragon Age, where you have multiple companions filling out your party and playing off of each other during conversations. But in SWTOR, some of them only seem there to have one of each role, I can't imagine getting really attached to any of the final two companions, even the ones that are romancible. And I did romance Temple on my Agent, but only because Kaliyo annoyed me so much.

How about you? If you have played SWTOR, how would you fill your roster of companions? Let me know in the comments below, or link to your own post if you choose.

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If you're interested in joining the madness (Vloggers are welcome, too!), Belghast has a set of rules for qualifying for any prizes at the end. Your second stop should be the Blaugust Nook, where Bel is keeping track of everything and community members are sharing encouragement and ideas.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. If you are reading this post through RSS or Atom feed—especially more than a couple hours after publication—I encourage you to visit the actual page, as I often make refinements after the fact. The mobile version also loses some of the original character of the piece due to simplified formatting.

All the Galaxy's a Stage (Part the Second)

So I ended up with far fewer characters on this second round than I had thought (here's the first round if you're just joining us). I've been shuffling some characters around, and now I'll need to make at least one more post. After dwelling on the females in the first part, I shamefully failed to mention that my (as of now) highest characters, Tollkirsche and Versteckt, are Male Body 2, the stud—I so want to name all the body types now. Let's see:

Females:
Type 1 - the Waif
Type 2 - the Sport
Type 3 - the Amazon
Type 4 - the Hourglass

Males:
Type 1 - the Wimp
Type 2 - the Stud
Type 3 - the Hulk
Type 4 - Fluffy

Silverleaf

Rattataki, Bounty Hunter (Powertech)
"I made a pile of bodies, then I walked over it."

Named for several different plants. The Texas Silverleaf is perhaps the most apropos, given here I personally live and my SWTOR legacy.

Xuxuy Tesig is a Rattataki warrior and champion gladiator who spent time as a mercenary before being discovered and recruited by the bounty hunter Braden into a team trying to get into the Mandalorian Great Hunt. Claiming that all the best hunters had nicknames, Braden's dataslicer, Mako, gave Tesig the appellation "Silverleaf." His facial scar is the result of an almost disastrous fight with a nexu in The Cauldron on Rattatak. The nexu's hide now decorates Silverleaf's quarters on his pirated D5-Mantis, dubbed the Wayfarer—again by Mako.

I started Silverleaf to run with Scooter's Agent, Ginie, which she had to start the other evening while an incomplete download prevented playing anything but a new character. Partly because we are only following the stories, I have quickly become attached to this very new character.

Weiden

Human, Bounty Hunter (Mercenary)
"If at first you don't succeed, reload."

German = Willows, also the the name of a town I visited several times while staying in Germany a few years ago.

One of my original characters, Weiden has been on hiatus—stuck on Balmorra—for ages. I loved the idea of the skull facepaint on his dark skin. I'd thought to pick him back up when I got to the right place in the story with Silverleaf, but Scooter likes him better, plus it would create different group dynamic since Scooter's Agent, is a healing Operative.

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If you're interested in joining the madness (Vloggers are welcome, too!), Belghast has a set of rules for qualifying for any prizes at the end. Your second stop should be the Blaugust Nook, where Bel is keeping track of everything and community members are sharing encouragement and ideas.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. If you are reading this post through RSS or Atom feed—especially more than a couple hours after publication—I encourage you to visit the actual page, as I often make refinements after the fact. The mobile version also loses some of the original character of the piece due to simplified formatting.