/sign Come on, this is getting ridiculous, it should have been fixed forever ago.

They had it fixed for a while, but broke it again with an update. I used to wear it with my Dread Guard chestpiece.

Bump because I updated the OP.

... Oh, hell, why not, I want another apprentice. Signed. (No, I didn't kill her, not even on my fully-Dark Sided Inquisitor.)

I do agree that BioWare dropped the ball with the Dread Masters, and they had so much more potential to be deeper, more meaningful villains with a coherent goal and more significance to the plot. But I also don't want the Dread Masters operation to be anticlimactic.

In one of the books, it's mentioned that a previous Dark Council did learn what the Emperor's true goal was, and thus turned on him and tried overthrow him. It... well... didn't work out very well. But that's actually not a bad theory. I didn't consider that. Next to the Emperor's Wrath, the Emperor seemed to trust the Dread Masters the most out of anyone. Though it would beg the question as to why the Emperor's Wrath isn't in on this plan, whatever it is.

Hi everyone. I'm gonna be regularly updating this thread, hopefully, because now that they are really starting to pick up in the plot as the de facto overvillain for both sides (yes, even in ROTHC), we will likely begin learning more and more about them. If there is one thing BioWare is famous for besides plot, it's how well they flesh out their characters, villains included. Loghain was a very well-thought-out character, and if you've read the books, so was the Architect, and definitely Darth Malak in the original KOTOR. Then we have the Illusive Man, Saren Arterius (especially if you've read the books), and even the Reapers themselves - all given complex backstories that really explain why they did what they did. I wouldn't expect anything less for the Dread Masters, especially since we've been given some backstory on Darth Malgus and the Emperor. So far, here's what we've learned: Who are the Dread Masters? "We are the six. The Dread Masters." - Dread Master Raptus Advisers, Generals, and personal friends of the Emperor. They were incredibly loyal to him; though this loyalty did not extend to the Empire itself, as Imperial players learned the hard way. They are made up of Raptus, Bestia, Tyrans, Brontes, Calphayus, and Styrak - six in total, four men, two women. They are confirmed to be human, though what they look like under their masks isn't known. They are each powerful Sith in their own right, though their famous power of Force Horror came from the study of the 'Phobis Device.' As to what this is, nobody knows; all we know is that it has literally driven those exposed to it completely insane. Their Force Horror ability can only be used on a large scale if they used it in unison, working together, similar to Battle Meditation. With it, they caused mass panic in entire fleets' worth of enemy soldiers, causing them to surrender en masse even if they were winning, commit suicide, start fighting each other out of paranoia, you name it. They could rout entire Republic fleets without ever firing a shot. They were defeated by Jaric Kaeden (then a Jedi Knight), who then falsely leaked that they were dead. In reality, they were shipped to Belsavis. There they proved impossible to interrogate, and were kept in perpetual stasis due to them still possibly being useful prisoners of war. Very, very bad idea on the Republic's part as we can now see. They have found a way to prolong their lifespans far beyond the natural threshold, even by Star Wars standards in medical science. They are not, however, 'immortal' like the Emperor is. Their true final goal is not currently known. They seek power for themselves, but as to how they plan to acquire it, nobody is certain. The Dread Guard practically worships them. It's probably less that the Dread Masters are benevolent leaders, and more that they're completely and utterly brainwashed. They see themselves as a family unit of sorts, and have a very strong bond between one another. Their loyalty to one another is inseparable, and they do not fight amongst themselves like the Dark Council does. It is implied that their 'awakening' was what caused the prison riot in Belsavis. They, however, had nothing to do with what happened at the Eternity Vault; that was the Empire's fault for bombing the wrong building. Nice one, Imps. What is their objective? "Your victory here is insignificant. We are driven by a higher purpose." - Dread Master Raptus The Dread Masters are fully aware that they cannot hope to win a sustained war against the Empire or the Republic, and especially not both at once; they just don't have the numbers for it. To this end, they have attempted to start proxy wars against both sides, mostly by manipulating the Hutt Cartel; first by provoking Karagga the Unyielding into attacking both sides, and again on Darvannis by Styrak attempting to personally hijack the gathering mercenary army. They also attempted to use the Warstalkers, lead by Kephess, for this. The Dread Masters appear to be wanting to build up an army. Though they have their own personal elite honor guard, the Dread Guard, they are not numerous enough to be used as a substitute for an actual fighting force. They have attempted to gather everything from the Terror from Beyond to fight for them, to the HK-51's in Section X. They also appear to be wanting exotic technology, failing that; they tried to take everything from the Aurora Cannon to the Seeds of Rage. Whatever the case, they clearly want to wear down both sides of the war, and are doing a much better job of it than Malgus so far. WHY they want to, however, is not clear, yet. What about them, personally? Raptus: Appears to be the de facto 'leader' of the group, though they generally see themselves as equals. He had the most speaking lines out of the scene in the Belsavis prison, and the second most speaking lines in the post-Explosive Conflict cutscene. He was the one you had to talk to to initiate the dialogue in the Belsavis prison scene, and he was extremely cruel and sadistic, going into rather specific detail on what exactly was happening to Warden Graal as they all ganged up on him and shattered his mind. He was very proud and arrogant, as well. And he did offer quite a few compliments to the player who saved the Dread Masters on Belsavis... but don't buy any of it, obviously. Raptus is the one who is most likely to interact with people not associated with the Dread Masters. He's kind of the opposite of Tyrans in that sense; if the Dread Masters ever had to work with someone who wasn't a part of them while they were in the Empire, he was the one you were most likely going to be dealing with. He was also their primary recruiter when it came to the Dread Guard and the Dread Host, and fittingly enough, he's the one who tells the Inquisitor or the Warrior that they will become the new sixth Dread Master whether they want to or not. (psst- Bioware- I DO WANT TO.) Supposedly, he made some hardened Republic veterans commit suicide while the Dread Masters were in transit to Belsavis prison, just by talking. No fear powers or other psychic mindscrewing necessary. Styrak: According to the codex entry you receive for clearing Scum and Villainy, he was the Sith Alchemist in the Empire, even before becoming a Dread Master. He performed a lot of 'sadistic experiments' on both people and animals, in an attempt to bridge the gap between science and the Dark Side of the Force. He is also the most individualistic of the Dread Masters, and the one you are most likely to see outside of the company of the others, who generally stick together and are never that far away from the others. He is more than willing to strike out on his own to achieve the Dread Masters' goals, though he usually isn't gone for very long. He's also apparently one of the eldest of them. Bestia: One of the two female Dread Masters, the other being Brontes. Based on her voice, she's the younger of the two females, and she had the second most speaking lines out of the Belsavis prison scene, behind Raptus. She actually seemed rather friendly, if vain and somewhat arrogant; if you choose the 'It's an honor to meet the Dread Masters' dialogue choice, she simply responds 'Of course.' The codex suggests that she might actually be the most powerful out of the Dread Masters, and indeed, she was the one who first brought the Sith who would go on to become the Dread Masters to the attention of the Emperor, after she single-handedly put down a slave rebellion on Ziost (in that case, where's my date with the Emperor after I did the same thing on Korriban and Dromund Kaas)? She also sounds somewhat sarcastic; when Warden Graal came out, she responded with an almost purr-like "Warden Graal... how nice to see you." That said, she loses her cool a bit if you're playing a Sith: If you mouth off to the Dread Masters and then resist their fear abilities they use on you to teach you some manners, she suddenly bursts out with "Impossible!" Naturally, the only other person who successfully resisted their powers was Jaric Kaeden, who was the reason they were even in Belsavis' prison at all. Bestia took the (ambiguous) death of the Emperor very personally, perhaps indicating that she was the one who suggested the Dread Masters split off from the rest of the Empire, due to her no longer seeing a reason to stay loyal to the Empire if the one person worthy of the Dread Masters' loyalty was no longer around. Styrak's death only made her hatred for the Empire and the rest of the galaxy worse. She doesn't appear to have much of a goal beyond making people suffer, and just kind of seems to be along for the ride at this point. Jeez. Think maybe she's got a bit of a Bellatrix Lestrange complex for the Emperor? Calphayus: He had zero lines in the Belsavis prison scene, though he had a few in the post-Explosive Conflict scene, and he narrated a lot of what happened in Terror from Beyond. He appeared to be the mastermind of what happened on Asation, suggesting the Terror From Beyond was his idea. In reality, they were just after the Hypergate technology; the Terror From Beyond was just an added bonus. He is the 'prophet' of the Dread Masters, and is gifted in clairvoyance. That is, he can see the future, and the past. More info coming soon on him. Tyrans: He's not much of a talker when we first meet him; he's the one that starts the mind-breaking on Heart Rend, and potentially you if you're stupid enough to mouth off to them to their faces. Belsavis isn't the final boss fight of Dread Palace, you shouldn't try fighting them all at once by yourself, especially that early in the game! Indeed, his codex entry says he prefers to listen, rather than to speak. He's cold, calculating, and always analyzing everything and everyone around him. If you choose to spare Warden Graal, he actually questions if they've been in stasis so long that it's now kosher to show mercy to the Republic. His voice is one of the deepest out of all of them; in my opinion, only Calphayus sounds scarier. Tyrans is stated to be the 'strategist' of the Dread Masters, and particularly gets a kick out of turning people against one another. He can supposedly shatter alliances just with a few words, but whether or not this is true is anyone's guess. Fittingly, he's the 'puzzle boss' of the Dread Palace operation. His codex entry also says that he helped Brontes in designing the Dark Temple. Brontes: The other female member of the Dread Masters, who did have quite a few speaking lines in the post-Explosive Conflict scene. Kephess seemed to be her idea, based on how she seemed to be the most angry out of any of them during the cutscene. She has been confirmed to be the youngest of the Dread Masters, as well as the most intelligent of them as their resident scholar. She kind of reminds me of Darth Traya, from KOTOR 2. She seems to have gotten a different voice actress during the Dread Fortress operation, though that may be because their 'apparitions' sound different than they do while speaking in person, likely as a result of their powers; the same was the case for Calphayus, Tyrans, and Styrak, as I noticed. She's also a sort of 'mad scientist' like Styrak is, though unlike Styrak, she isn't a Sith Alchemist. She seems to be pretty big on cybernetics, including some modifications she's apparently made even to herself. If her dialogue during the operation is any indication, she's also one of the more idealistic members of the Dread Masters. She states that 'fear' is the one constant between all living organisms as it's one of the most primal emotions and instincts found in nature, and thus, it's the only thing that can ever truly unite the galaxy. Seems to be a rather twisted take on the 'utopia justifies the means' trope, but this could just be a result of the Dread Masters beginning to go insane due to Styrak's death, and the ramifications that had on their powers becoming destabilized, since they're supposed to be shared between six different people. She's also a regular contributor to the Sith Archives, and helped in designing the architecture of the Dark Temple, according to her codex entry. Predictions It wouldn't be a BioWare game without villains that are more fleshed out. I predict that we're going to be learning more about them in the next major content update, possibly learning about each of their individual backstories, what their true motivations are, and what they are really after. We might see attempts to humanize at least a few of them. Since these are six different people, each with somewhat differing personalities. Some of them might even be rather tragic characters. I imagine we'll learn what, exactly, the Emperor did to earn such loyalty from them, as well. Oricon Information (SPOILERS FOLLOW): As predicted, Styrak's death has had a very profound effect on them: Without a sixth Dread Master to help contain the effects of the Phobis Device, the Dread Masters themselves are starting to be affected by their own power. They will be needing a new Dread Master, and soon... They appear to want to terraform certain planets, including Dromund Kaas, Coruscant, and Nar Shaddaa. WHY they want to, however, still isn't clear. They are using some kind of machine to construct those golden "dread droid" things; possibly a reverse-engineered form of the Dread Seeds. A whole new form of technology, which they are now using to build an actual army alongside the Dread Guard/Host. Last Updated: 10/2/2013

Probably not an actual Dread Master (though we still know very little about Brontes, Tyrans, and Calphayus), but I could very easily see a defected Dread Guard.

I know this is just an April Fool's Day joke, but I seriously do want that mount.

With what happens with the Inquisitor at the end of his/her class story, you'd think the Emperor would want to talk to him/her at some point.

1. Hair with hoods. I realize this is NOT an easy fix due to clipping, but with my head/hair combination, when my hair suddenly disappears when a hood goes up, I look absolutely ridiculous with a gigantic cranium, that I just can't take seriously. I cringe every time my character looks up in a cinematic. If there is ANY way to fix this, please do so; it's gotten to the point where I refuse to wear a hood without a mask. 2. Lower mod-removal costs. I'm sorry, but it's exorbitant and breaks the bank every single time. 3. Another female companion for Inquisitors. I love Ashara, but... Dark Side romanceable female? Or maybe a way to make Ashara fully Dark Sided in a story update? Actually, the latter would be preferable to the former.

From my experience with Kallig's Countenance and the Inquisitor Black Hole/Campaign top, there was zero clipping. Actually, Kallig's Countence looked amazing with it, as if they were made for each other. That's one helmet/mask that works absolutely flawlessly with hoods.

I know it's not an easy fix, and it would be a clipping nightmare, but I hate being bald when I wear a hood, too. I've got the 'emo' haircut. With the face I chose, when I'm magically bald while wearing a hood, I've got a HUGE cranium that I just can't take seriously when my character looks up for whatever reason. It's hideous. I look AWFUL. And worse yet, I'm an Inquisitor, so it's not as simple as just throwing on a mask (Black Hole/Campaign mask just doesn't count). I know this isn't an easy fix, but really, it's EXTREMELY ugly.

The lag was the reason we kept wiping on Denova Hard Mode last night. I'd really like to know what's causing it.

Makes sense. Thanks.

I support this. I love Ashara, and she's most definitely a Jedi-in-name-only by the end of her romance arc, but she never gets much more Dark than gray. The Sith need a proper apprentice who is a bit more physically appealing than a Kaleesh. And if she's universal for Empire, I'm sure Agents and Bounty Hunters would appreciate an actual Force-using companion. (Temple doesn't count.)

I know, I know - Chiss Ascendency culture frowns on Force-using Chiss. I'm not sure why, but that's not the point right now. The Treaty of Csilla - the treaty that allowed the Ascendency to join the Empire without having been 'conquered' by them and remaining mostly autonomous - oddly enough doesn't compel the Ascendency to turn over their Force Sensitives. When the Empire began training aliens as Sith, mostly to make up for the losses suffered during the war, you'd think people like the Empire would have compelled the Ascendency to turn over their Force Sensitives the way they forced the Rattataki to. Is there a lore reason why there are no Chiss Sith in this time period?

Black Talon Hard Mode. Yadira Ban: "Facing a Sith in combat is my last trial before becoming a Jedi." Sith Inquisitor: "Your master sent you? Funny, my master tried to kill me, too." Best. Burn. Ever.

I think the Agent storyline ends before the Inquisitor and Warrior storyline. Either that, or the Inquisitor and Warrior finales happen after Jadus leaves, but before Zhorrid gets on the Council. On both of my characters, I looked around the Dark Council room at the end just to see who all was there. I didn't see either Jadus or Zhorrid there. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Signed. She has potential to be a high-tier Sith, but she needs a good backhand from either the Warrior or the Inquisitor once in a while. That said, as a male Inquisitor, I'd like her as a romanceable. She's more physically appealing than Ashara, but at the same time, her personality made it VERY hard for me to choose not to kill her.

That was Arho. I have him listed as confirmed dead. Either Jadus or Zhorrid is on the council, or neither. Hence why they're unconfirmed, I'm not sure which is canon.

Updated the first post.

You heard it here, folks. Everyone who does an April Fool's Joke is ripping off of Blizzard.

Also, can I just add that Super Star Wars just triggered my nostalgia like a ton of bricks?

Everyone is robosexual for SCORPIO.