The Dark Side: Are The Cookies Worth It?

Our cookies are to die for.

For as long as I can remember Darth Vader has been my favorite Star Wars character. Maybe it was his voice and his presence, it might have been how intimidating he was or his disregard for human life as he Force Choked one Admiral after another. Whatever it was, I was captivated by him. And, from the moment he strolled onto the screen, making no notice of the Alliance and Imperial corpses scattered amongst the corridor, I knew he was my guy.

What does this have to do with anything? Well, because of Darth Vader I have wanted to play out a dark character in the Star Wars universe. Since the days of Star Wars Galaxies and the pain of the NGE, I have waited for another Star Wars MMO to fulfill that dream and make the choices of being a Dark Jedi feel meaningful. Now with SW:TOR around the proverbial corner, that dream may come to fruition. Many Star Wars fans know that the dark side has cookies but what I never stopped to ask myself was:

Are the cookies worth it?  Like cake, are they too a lie?

Following on the heels of the article done by Professor Walsh, I look to less of a lore standpoint and more of a game play implication. Let me clarify a few choices I have made for SW:TOR: I plan on playing a Republic character. I have my sights set on the Jedi Consular and though I most recently decided on the Shadow, I may revisit that choice and go Sage. I am very attracted to the Consular story and really love to see the information they are able to dig up about the Force and what secrets of the galaxy they can unearth.

What concerns me about playing the aforementioned dark side character is: how will that choice effect game play? More importantly the story?

Powah in ya face!

From a gameplay perspective, the choice to follow the dark side can only translate into one thing: UNLIMITED POWAH! Seriously though, pretty much exactly that. Giving into your hatred and unleashing a flurry of devastation on the face of the Sith opposition. What else would it be? What could it be?

On the flipside, more importantly to me, the dark side could offer wonderous varity to your story. Imagine something as small as lieing to the Council and having them believe you. A dark Consular seems they should be persuasive and sneaky and that’s how I want to play. I don’t want to be the confrontational brute that Vader could be, I want to manipulate and punish with the Force like he did.

Again, step into imaginary land: The Jedi Council has dispatched you to Planet X to check up on a Jedi Master and his padawan. The duo was sent to recover a Sith artifact and the Jedi Order may not have been the only ones privy to it’s existence. No contact has been made by either master or padawan and the Council is concerned for the missing pair.

After exploring some deep dark cave, where the relic was hidden, you reach the end where the padawan is alone. He is sitting there, knowing that the Council would send a help, he waited inside the cave for the Jedi to arrive. You initiate a conversation and your dialogue wheel pops up. Your choices are: Kill him or probe him for info. You interrogate the padawan to find out he has killed his master and is holding onto the relic. Two more options appear: Kill him or convince him to give up the relic. Again, you spare his life and convince him to give up the artifact. You can feel the power emanate from it and decide to keep it for yourself, it’s no wonder the Council wants it. You again have two more options: Kill him or take him to the Council.

I’ll stop the scenario there. I’ve crafted this in my head and have set it up for the perfect situation to build a dark side character. From the very get go, the padawan could have been slain and the artifact returned or kept. What is lost by doing that is the opportunity to lie to the Council while telling them the truth. Perhaps I’ve made it more complicated than it needs to be but I almost guarantee we see situations like this in our journey to max level.

Continuing on, you slay the Padawan and set back for Tython to report the findings. A fellow Jedi twisted by the dark side has been killed instead of being brought infront of the Council, a less than ideal path was followed and they are curious why. Give me a chance to explain Master, I sensed a taint in him like no other. He was a Jedi, I know, and I am expected to preserve life. However, a  Jedi that twisted by the dark side is a great threat. He had already slain his master and turned onto me. I had no choice. What you didn’t tell them was that he was willing to be captured. You slayed him because you felt the power of the relic and wanted it, you couldn’t have him tell the Council that it was in Jedi possession.

Imagine that kind of depth to the story, that possibility and how dynamic it could be. You’ve kept a very powerful idol, slain a fellow Jedi, lied to the Council and been given a stern warning for your actions (if not a tad more severe).

Only the cake is a lie.

If that kind of range and possibility is there for your story, I can assure you the cookies will be worth it.

It’s always fun to think about what you can gain by falling to the dark side but what’s at risk? What do you lose by following a path of self importance and personal gain? Do you lose the respect of your peers? What do you guys think? Is anyone else willing to destroy the Republic from within? I want to play a character who is sinister, manipulative, too smart for his own good and able to convince the Council otherwise. How dark do you plan on being?

A big thank you to Ion-Silental, from the official forums, for allowing me to use her drawings. If you haven’t seen her work… what are you waiting for?