The Less Able of the Old Republic

[Breidr]

I normal don't look into this as far as settings go, but with it surfacing in my circles, I wanted to dig into Star Wars and see what's out there.

 

Living a life with Cerebral Palsy has been, different to say the least. I am fortunate to be high functioning regardless and love my life and my hobbies. I've done everything from Medieval Martial Combat to Civil War reenacting. I spend a lot of time in my youth before this online as I could not keep up with the other kids my age, but much of that has faded.

 

I wanted to dig into this segment of the universe because I thought it just might be fun to know. I applaud Bioware for certain things, most notably one of my favorite characters, Joker from Mass Effect. Despite being different he flies a huge starship, and it's just plain cool. My conditions kept me from service, so it was refreshing to see him where he's at. I even went so far as to buy his hat.

 

Things that I've seen touched on by Star Wars mostly cover artificial limbs. Smaller items such as corrective lenses and even blindness can seem to be compensated for. I couldn't get much deeper than that, however. Is there anything, even remotely, covering of neurological disorders, or muscles and reflexes in general?

 

I'm curious to know if there are any troopers, mercenaries, Jedi and the like that contend with these problems. In my mind, it could make for an interesting character.

[nuclearmind]

I normal don't look into this as far as settings go, but with it surfacing in my circles, I wanted to dig into Star Wars and see what's out there.

 

Living a life with Cerebral Palsy has been, different to say the least. I am fortunate to be high functioning regardless and love my life and my hobbies. I've done everything from Medieval Martial Combat to Civil War reenacting. I spend a lot of time in my youth before this online as I could not keep up with the other kids my age, but much of that has faded.

 

I wanted to dig into this segment of the universe because I thought it just might be fun to know. I applaud Bioware for certain things, most notably one of my favorite characters, Joker from Mass Effect. Despite being different he flies a huge starship, and it's just plain cool. My conditions kept me from service, so it was refreshing to see him where he's at. I even went so far as to buy his hat.

 

Things that I've seen touched on by Star Wars mostly cover artificial limbs. Smaller items such as corrective lenses and even blindness can seem to be compensated for. I couldn't get much deeper than that, however. Is there anything, even remotely, covering of neurological disorders, or muscles and reflexes in general?

 

I'm curious to know if there are any troopers, mercenaries, Jedi and the like that contend with these problems. In my mind, it could make for an interesting character.

 

Hmmm. I can't think of many diseases but I can think of some parasites. Mngll Mngll I believe it is spelled basically invades you, enslaves you, then breaks you down. The Katana Fleet caught either a disease or parasite- can't remember which. They all went insane and warped out. Then Ysanne Isard made an anti-human disease that was downright nasty. But it didn't infect the brain til stage three.

 

Really there hasn't been much medical stuff in Star Wars. Bacta and Kolto seem to be almost "cure alls", even for Ysanne's disease. And not much else has been touched on THAT I CAN THINK OF- I could always be wrong.

[Breidr]

Thanks for the heads up! I'm looking into medical stuff now. Was thinking of trying a healing class since I may roll a Commando or Mercenary.

[BrianDavion]

I imagine a lot of these genetic conditions may well be cured in the SW universe.

[Xilizhra]

May I say that Joker frustrates me, due to two scenes in ME2 that demonstrate precisely why the military doesn't take people with brittle bone disease? Specifically, Joker's inability to evacuate the Normandy on his own, and the near disaster that comes from his having to rescue the second Normandy from the Collectors.

[SithKoriandr]

Well, they can break you down psychologically with no hope to recover. Consular see's this with the President of Balmorra and Smuggler on Hoth with a force sensitive beat into submission that it caused him to be highly dependent mentally.

[nuclearmind]

Here is one of the parasites I was talking about. Read up if you wish. Just... Make sure you have an empty ish stomach. I am very Squamish about this kind of stuff, not sure about others.

[FlameYOL]

May I say that Joker frustrates me, due to two scenes in ME2 that demonstrate precisely why the military doesn't take people with brittle bone disease? Specifically, Joker's inability to evacuate the Normandy on his own, and the near disaster that comes from his having to rescue the second Normandy from the Collectors.

 

Well He's The Only Pilot In The Galaxy Good Enough To Handle THe Normandy So I Can Forgive Him For His Bone Disease.

[Cedia]

This is a very interesting topic, thank you.

 

I'm disabled with fibromyalgia and CFS, and I think my BH is the most "me" because of the headcanon I've established for her. (Not to mention that she thinks both the Rebublic and Empire are just a bunch of wackos. "Hokey religions" and all that...)

 

In the established lore, Mandalorians basically live in their armor. After I made my Merc an armormech I started thinking about this a lot. Could it be possible that a person has some sort of degenerative condition but designs and makes a suit of armor and/or weapons that not only makes up for their disability but also gives them a keen edge over any competition?

 

Anyway, this is the case for my character, and though her physical weakness has been taken care of by her tech, I imagine that she still doubts herself a lot because she feels that maybe she's a phony. But then Torian comes along and tells her that although she may not be physically better than any other hunter, she's definitely more courageous, and that's what's important.

[JourrnoRush]

May I say that Joker frustrates me, due to two scenes in ME2 that demonstrate precisely why the military doesn't take people with brittle bone disease? Specifically, Joker's inability to evacuate the Normandy on his own, and the near disaster that comes from his having to rescue the second Normandy from the Collectors.

 

Brittle bone disease is quite the extreme and evacuating the Normandy expecting only the pilot to be left probably wasn't expected. Cut Joker some slack, he is the best human pilot <3

 

Time to put on my grad focus / veteran experience hat on:

To comment on "precisely why the military doesn't take people with bone disease" I would argue its because they don't want to spend money on them. They have plenty of jobs for people who can't do anything. Why do you think we keep pregnant women in, HIV + individuals in, and people with PTSD. They have a purpose. BUT if you have something wrong with you before joining, you aren't good enough.

 

The military has MANY jobs that people should be allowed to do. It comes down to money compared to liability. This why we have deployable/non deployable status.

 

Did you know that 2/3 of active duty are overweight or obese? Over 32,000 are on some type of ADHD medication. More moral waivers are granted over medical ones. I'd rather have the kid with controlled diabetes than the ex convict serving IMO.

 

Joker can serve in my military, maybe not fly the Normandy, but he can serve his purpose <3

 

Where am I?

Edited November 17, 2015 by JourrnoRush

[Spetulhu]

To comment on "precisely why the military doesn't take people with bone disease" I would argue its because they don't want to spend money on them.

 

This, really. Soldiers will get hurt on the job so they should be at least basically healthy. There's plenty of injuries just during basic training. Treating injuries costs money, if the soldier has some condition there could be severe complications that cost even more.

 

Still, Star Wars has the Force and advanced cybernetics/medical technology. Jedi can heal a lot of conditions and doctors with the right equipment can handle a lot too. A cyborg character could have taken implants just for improvements but it could also be that he's had his body rebuilt after severe combat trauma, an industrial accident or to compensate for some illness. And not all needs be machine limbs etc - I'm sure Star Wars technology could be used to replace damaged nerves too.

[PopeShizzle]

If you're looking at the Star Wars franchise as a whole, Darth Maul comes immediately to mind. In the Clone Wars animated series, it's discovered that Obi-Wan Kenobi slicing him in half didn't actually kill him. A significant part of the final couple seasons deal with his overcoming his problems and return to ******ery.

[Breidr]

Maul lives! I'm going to have to go watch this. The armor concept is an interesting one, as I've used the concept before in City of Heroes and Mr. Tony Stark has done the same.

[GabbyMe]

Did you know that 2/3 of active duty are overweight or obese? Over 32,000 are on some type of ADHD medication. More moral waivers are granted over medical ones. I'd rather have the kid with controlled diabetes than the ex convict serving IMO.

 

There's a reason they don't allow Type I Diabetics in the military. I AM one, have been for 20 years... was diagnosed when I was 7. 1) We're expensive as high hell. Tricare covers EVERYTHING for me, precondition included. My husband joined nearly 4 years ago. And they didn't even bat an eyelash. My test strips, glucagon, and the two different types of insulin I take are expensive. I guess this wouldn't be an issue, but... it's still expensive.

 

2) My blood glucose levels are controlled. My a1c are around 5.5 to 6. But when I go low... I'm irritable, I can't think straight. It happens when I get stressed out. The lower I am, the worse it gets. 3) High blood glucose knocks us out. DKA isn't fun. 4) It's (the diabetes) caused by an auto-immune disorder. The hangar my husband works in is GROSS. I'd be getting sick all the time

 

I included Type I's only because Type II is straight forward. Type I is not. Most people don't understand that it's caused by an incurable, hereditary autoimmune disorder that attacks the pancreas. I imagine in the Star Wars universe it's already cured.

 

To the OP; everyone else already listed all the people I could think of. Just think of something amazing! I'm sure you can do it It's your mind in a universe where most anything is possible.

[JourrnoRush]

There's a reason they don't allow Type I Diabetics in the military. I AM one, have been for 20 years... was diagnosed when I was 7. 1) We're expensive as high hell. Tricare covers EVERYTHING for me, precondition included. My husband joined nearly 4 years ago. And they didn't even bat an eyelash. My test strips, glucagon, and the two different types of insulin I take are expensive. I guess this wouldn't be an issue, but... it's still expensive.

 

2) My blood glucose levels are controlled. My a1c are around 5.5 to 6. But when I go low... I'm irritable, I can't think straight. It happens when I get stressed out. The lower I am, the worse it gets. 3) High blood glucose knocks us out. DKA isn't fun. 4) It's (the diabetes) caused by an auto-immune disorder. The hangar my husband works in is GROSS. I'd be getting sick all the time

 

I included Type I's only because Type II is straight forward. Type I is not. Most people don't understand that it's caused by an incurable, hereditary autoimmune disorder that attacks the pancreas. I imagine in the Star Wars universe it's already cured.

 

To the OP; everyone else already listed all the people I could think of. Just think of something amazing! I'm sure you can do it It's your mind in a universe where most anything is possible.

 

My argument wasn't saying that people shouldn't be in with Type I diabetes or explaining why they shouldn't. I was saying that they should since there a plethora of service members who are non-deployable but stay in and contribute nothing. I am NOT saying not deploying makes you worthless, I'm saying not deploying and costing command money and resources makes you worthless to the mission. Say a 2-4 year probation since most enlistments end in that amount of time anyways. This is what the USPHS does with its all officer corps and it is a very selective/successful organization.

 

My concern are the hundreds of people who are literally worthless in the military. I'm talking false recruitment, obese, lazy workers who contribute nothing to the mission but collect a paycheck and I GUARANTEE they claim all types of BS from the VA. I saw it working four years as an HM.

 

I deployed with a fat kid, I don't know how he deployed but they got his *** out there. He was lazy, disrespectful, and did everything he could to get out of deployment. This was during the drawdown in 2012, so we had a string of cuts early deployment. Guess who went first? Yup, he did and he was in the process for getting kicked out for failing too many BCAs. I got home 8 months later. Guess who was still going through processing and fatter than ever? He was and still collecting E-5 pay with dependents. But someone with diabetes who has it controlled, probably more fit, and wants to serve is a no go? It's disgusting.

 

The system has too black and white of rules for letting people in. The fluctuation of regulations between wars is also pitiful. I can understand some medical issues, but when you have turds that are healthy (at first) but worthless, I'd rather spend more on a diabetic who would at least contribute to the mission.

 

So yeah, I'd take a Joker any day OP lol

[Audoucet]

Thank you very much for explaining us thoroughly why we can't do anything. We didn't know.

 

Back to the subject, I think that the problem you are describing are actually in large parts covered by artificial limbs. For example, I have a neurologic handicap, and I'm actually using Dragon NaturallySpeaking because I can't even use a keyboard. My spinal spinal cord doesn't sound strong enough signals, to my muscles. But with artificial limb, the problem could be circumvented.

 

I'm thinking about Grievous. We know that he is half machine, even 90% I think, but it's not only mechanical, I know that his neural system is augmented with software. He suffered a lot of cerebral update, to alleviate the consequences of his accident. For example, they enhanced his equilibrium.

 

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Grievous#Transformation

[Shayddow]

There are many cases of different sorts of conditions, both in EU literature and in SWTOR.

There are some things Jedi healing helps, other conditions that other types of cures are sought.

I.e. early tython quest you have to collect manka cat fangs for a cure>, the "disease" that the JC has to contend with that his/her master has, womp rat fever on tatooine, and of course, ye olde Rakghoul plague.

 

The Sith seem to function on using technology on conditions or injuries that are the result of warfare rather than inherited types of conditions, as the society seems to frown on what it deems "weakness" of any sort - but that is part of their ideology.

This later is manifest in EU when Darth Bane seeks a cure for his condition and eventually has to find Caleb - as Jedi would not / could not probably cure his condition.

[Breidr]

I've dug up some information on power armor that seems interesting. Most suits employ servomotors to "enhance" the wearers strength. It stands to reason that I could also use this to correct "deficiencies."

 

If I were to incorporate power armor into a character, which classes would be likely to use it? Bounty Hunter is the obvious one that springs to mind, but it also mentions soldiers, mercenaries. and adventurers using power armor. Would it been seen in other classes as well?

[Audoucet]

I've dug up some information on power armor that seems interesting. Most suits employ servomotors to "enhance" the wearers strength. It stands to reason that I could also use this to correct "deficiencies."

 

If I were to incorporate power armor into a character, which classes would be likely to use it? Bounty Hunter is the obvious one that springs to mind, but it also mentions soldiers, mercenaries. and adventurers using power armor. Would it been seen in other classes as well?

 

Sith warrior !

[Breidr]

Not sure the sith academy would tolerate weakness, but an interesting class prospect to be sure. It seems a lot of Sith are disabled, Vader being the most obvious.

[Audoucet]

Not sure the sith academy would tolerate weakness, but an interesting class prospect to be sure. It seems a lot of Sith are disabled, Vader being the most obvious.

 

A long time ago, you had little pieces of background, when you chose the race of your character. And the background of the cyborg Warrior, was actually that you discovered your Force Sensitivity on the operation table, after a grave injury.

 

I don't think that Sith are so much about physical weakness, if you have great power in the Force. I don't think it would be far fetched, to imagine a warrior or Inquisitor with a big genetic disability, but too much powerful in the Dark Side to be ignored, thus using a power armor.

Edited November 20, 2015 by Audoucet

[Breidr]

Good to know. A cyborg marauder does sound like fun.

 

I'll be doing some searching to see if I can find the old racial backgrounds, just for the sake of reading them because Star Wars is cool.

[Audoucet]

I just found a few : http://www.swtorstrategies.com/2011/03/swtor-class-background-sheets.html

 

But I don't even think this function made it out of beta.