Star Wars: The Old Republic - Relating to A Sith

Every year during my Holiday hiatus from social media - Twitch and YouTube - I grind a game. Every year it is a different game. Last year it was Elder Scrolls Online. The year before, it was Destiny 2.

This year it was Star Wars: The Old Republic. Released on December 20, 2011, I am very late to this game but what a gem it has been. I can’t believe I waited so long to play.

It started with their holiday event. It’s a much easier and less grindy event than ESO and Destiny 2, which surprised me. All I had to do was throw snowballs at overheated gift droids and hug Wookie's. Who doesn’t like hugging the Wookie's?!

It was fun and from there, I started playing my 8 characters again - 4 on the republic/Jedi side and 4 on the imperial/Sith side. I am still very much a noob but by grinding the 8 different stories, I am getting to know the game and that’s always a good thing.

I am getting to know the lore too. I grew up on Star Wars, yet I never really became a huge fan. I still don’t consider myself more than a casual fan of the franchise but I have seen every single movie and watched every series on Disney Plus, including Andor.

While I am still at the beginning of each of the 8 characters’ journeys - I finally completed chapter 1 for 4 of them and there are 3 chapters in the base game - I am starting to develop a few favorites. Now I do love the Jedi. Who, in my generation, hasn’t at one point or another, wanted to wield a lightsaber as a Jedi knight at some point in their lives?

Well, maybe some but I don’t personally know any.

However, I am surprised at how much I have enjoyed playing as my Sith Inquisitor.

Before I get into her story I first want to point out that, like other Bioware games I have played, i.e., Mass Effect and Dragon Age, no matter what side you are on, you can choose to go light or dark.

You can also choose male or female - another staple of Bioware games. They aren’t the only gaming company to have this but it’s nice to see it in a Star Wars game as most Star Wars games are centered around one character.

Well, there is the other Bioware release, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic but I haven’t played that one yet.

Anywho, back to Swtor.

So my Sith Inquisitor’s story is pretty interesting. She was a slave. She wasn’t even part of the imperial or Sith order. She was enslaved as a child with her family and that is her upbringing. Until it is discovered that she has a connection to the force.

The story starts off with her arriving as an apprentice to a Sith Lord. Throughout the first chapter at least, other Sith make remarks to her about her insignificance due to the fact that she was a slave and that she will be nothing more than that.

This hits home for me because obviously, while I was never a slave, it’s the premise that she is judged based on something that really doesn’t and shouldn’t define her as a person.

And I will add that she discovers, she has an ancestor who was a Sith so there is a legacy there.

I was judged my whole life because of my mother. That old saying from the Bible, “The sins of the father, shall be visited upon the son.” It goes something like that. Basically, that’s how I was treated my whole life by my father’s side of the family.

In their eyes, because they hated my mother, she was a whore. So therefore, to them, I was a whore and will never be anything more than that.

This makes me relate to my Sith Inquisitor - whose name is Shenney. I know what it feels like to rise up and those around you still see you as unworthy. It helps me get through her story better. I love being able to relate to the characters I play in these games.

Another one I have found myself relating to is also on the imperial side. They definitely made the Sith side more interesting because, unlike the Jedi, the stories are more complex. But again, I am only through the first chapter on two of each side so take that as you will.

So yes, another is my bounty hunter. I made her a Twi’lek called Halei and oh boy does that add to the story. Making my bounty hunter an alien (I didn’t actually know the Imperials have a problem with aliens. I should have known but I didn’t), certainly adds some dialogue to the story I wouldn’t have gotten had I made her a human.

She definitely experiences some racism/xenophobia from some on the imperial side and how she handles those situations - or rather, how I handle those situations - is very intriguing to me. While I haven’t experienced racism or xenophobia, I have experienced enough adversity, such as sexism and classism, to empathize with her. She gets judged solely based on her appearance before anyone knows her, and most of them don’t care to know her.

I have experienced that more times than I care to talk about, especially within my own family, which cuts deeper.

It goes back to how they judged me solely based on who my mother is and don’t take any time or care to know who I am, or even try to see me as a person with my own thoughts and dreams.

These are just two characters that I love playing in Swtor but I will definitely write about others as I get to know their stories more.

Something that I have learned about myself while playing Swtor is that I really enjoy playing characters with traumatic/complicated histories.

It’s not cookie-cutter and they are messy. It’s not just black and white, light and dark. It’s complicated. Like me. Like all of us really.

Those are the characters I love to play.

Thanks so much for reading!!