agent vs trooper RP

[Valceanu]

Here's the thing... i really enjoyed playing my Sniper all the way through his story... he is also my main empire side at least. But this is not about the class story itself as much as the choices presented... its about how easy it was to find motivations for all of his actions. A pseudo-military type my agent was fully dedicated to the empire (or what he believed would make the empire greater). He killed anyone who perceived as a threat (or future threat) to the empire... and when he did make light side choices they were completely justifiable based on his character. For instance, he was not big on killing civilians but didnt hesitate to make the hard choices if they were advantageous (even if that meant that civilians would die). Conversely he didnt just kill everyone... if he thought a person could be turned or even forced to work for the empire then he would do that if it was for the greater good of the empire. He wasnt keen on certain aspects of imperial society like the "no alien" policy, among others which is why he became The Hand of Jadus as a tool of reform... and it goes on and on and on... and the thing is that imperial planetary arcs play into this type of character build-up really well.

 

Now, on the other side of the spectrum i have my trooper which im currently going through the story on. Also a military figure he is a stern guy... doesnt take to trechery and executes traitors to the republic without batting an eyelash... but also tries to foster the good will of the people towards the Republic. Hes dark sided but not a heartless bastard in a broad sense... unless folks actually deserve it. However, a lot of the decisions i seem to be making throughout the story and the planetary arcs especially seem to be really bad for being "in character"... a lot of choices seem to be LS: save the puppies, DS: kill the puppies... i dont get that feeling that im making the hard choices in the best interest of The Republic as a soldier should imho.

 

Anyone else had trouble getting "in character" or is it just me?

Edited March 10, 2017 by Valceanu

[SteveTheCynic]

Now, on the other side of the spectrum i have my trooper which im currently going through the story on. Also a military figure he is a stern guy... doesnt take to trechery and executes traitors to the republic without batting an eyelash... but also tries to foster the good will of the people towards the Republic. Hes dark sided but not a heartless bastard in a broad sense... unless folks actually deserve it. However, a lot of the decisions i seem to be making throughout the story and the planetary arcs especially seem to be really bad for being "in character"... a lot of choices seem to be LS: save the puppies, DS: kill the puppies... i dont get that feeling that im making the hard choices in the best interest of The Republic as a soldier should imho.

 

Anyone else had trouble getting "in character" or is it just me?

Wait until you get into the A-77 mission. That'll change your assessment of the LS/DS thing.

[perotta]

Nope, it's not only you. Half the time I had trouble choosing between LS and DS not because it was hard and meaningful choice but because I thought both choices were pretty stupid and didn't fit any interpretation of the Trooper or because one was really stupid and the other was really plain and 'kick the puppy'-style.

 

Now, A-77 mission does present you with a meaningful choice (it wasn't hard for me, because I wasn't really invested, but it should be for your Trooper). Thing is, A-77 mission appears mid-Chapter 3. It's pretty late to have a good opportunity to RP.

 

To be fair, it's not the only storyline with the problem, though I consider it the worst of all. The Knight can get pretty bad as well. If you want to RP anything but the detached save-the-puppy monk or the arrogant eat-the-puppy jerk you'll have to navigate dialogue choices rather carefully. In my opinion the Agent and the Warrior have the most freedom to choose and remain "in-character" even if you don't stick to one side or the other.

[SteveTheCynic]

To be fair, it's not the only storyline with the problem, though I consider it the worst of all. The Knight can get pretty bad as well. If you want to RP anything but the detached save-the-puppy monk or the arrogant eat-the-puppy jerk you'll have to navigate dialogue choices rather carefully. In my opinion the Agent and the Warrior have the most freedom to choose and remain "in-character" even if you don't stick to one side or the other.

Bounty Hunter isn't bad either.

[Mithros]

I sort of agree.

 

Rather than so much "FOR THE REPUBLIC!!!!" I would have liked to have seen a lot more "The Republic has issues, but the Empire must be stopped" options.

 

There are a few times that you get to argue philosophy, but even then the story choices can be suspect.

 

 

Take the early mission with the cyborg guy. Those three people might be killer cyborgs waiting to strike. Garza wants you to just kill them because hey, a psychopathic mad scientist said it so it must be true, right?

 

You can decide early on that you won't follow that order just talking to Jorgan before you even get to the door, but then you are immediately thrown back into a "maybe I will, maybe I won't" mindset if you pay attention to what you say... The girl basically talks you out of doing something that you may have already decided not to do.

 

Where is the sensible option, though? Where is the "Let's get a doctor down here to check them out"?

 

You just defeated the guy. You have samples of his tech laying all over the place. Someone could figure it out.

 

 

 

Another thing is the team itself, or the building thereof.

 

 

 

You mean to tell me that there was not a single demolitions expert in the entire Republic army that could meet operational requirements?

That the Republic had to force someone previously dishonorably discharged back into service?

And Tanno Vik was absolutely forced. I do not remember ever asking him if he wanted back in, just showing up and telling him that he was back in.

 

Same with Yuun. I think that Vik's criminal background is overplayed, but I hate Yuun.

 

And again, if his mission on Hoth is so critical, and my mission to destroy the Gauntlet is so critical, why him? There is not one other capable tech specialist in the entire army?

 

 

I shouldn't have to earn my teammates. It's the army. They give you teammates and that how it is.

When I was in the Navy I never had to go any place and do anything to get people into my work center. The Navy had people that handled that.

 

It may be anticlimactic to just have Garza send people out to you, but that is how it works in the military.

 

Here's how I write chapter 2:

 

 

Garza: We have learned that the Empire is developing some sort of super-weapon. Intelligence says that some of the work was done on Balmorra, so we need you to go there, meet your contact, and find out what you can".

 

So you do this and that and the other, discover that the weapon system is code-named Gauntlet, that it is a space-based platform, and that leads point you towards Hoth for more info.

 

At the end you meet Tanno Vik in your hangar, freshly recruited to Havoc... He may be something of a malcontent, but he is a soldier and not a conscript.

 

You report your info, Garza tells you that she will pass the info to intelligence, but in the meantime we have a crisis on Quesh so you take that detour.

 

When you get to Hoth it plays out similarly to Balmorra.

The leads have sent you here, you follow them where they take you and nail down the details, find out that there was a Gauntlet prototype lost in the last war or whatever so you recover the plans from a wreck, and then at the end you have your final recruit waiting for you back at the base.

 

 

None of this running around to "earn" a teammate.

That might work for the independent contractors, but for people that are part of an organization it should feel, well, more organized.

 

At one point Garza says something to the effect of "Here. Take this money and go buy some better gear". Not those exact words, and the reward no longer even includes any credits, but think about that.

Your commander thinks that you might need some better gear, but rather than give you the gear that you need, she just gives you cash?

 

Sometimes in the military you might need to go outside the normal channels for something, but a lot of authorization and paperwork are required to make that happen.

The division officer doesn't just give you $500 to go and buy what you think you want.