Timeline Dissection Update
The Timeline series is a wonderful source of information on the history preceding Star Wars: The Old Republic. Over the last year we carefully analyzed the first seven videos, breaking them down to learn as much as we can about the circumstances that shaped the galaxy. Continuing this series, we now take a closer look at the eighth, ninth, and tenth entry in this fan favorite.
Entry seven relates the events that occur just before and during KOTOR. Revan and Malak had not yet completely fallen to the dark side. They defeated the Mandalorians at Malachor V, destroying the entire Mandalorian fleet as well as ending countless Republic and Jedi lives in the process. The only reason Revan and Malak were involved in the war, however, was because they defied direct orders from the Jedi Council not to get involved. A brief look at the Star Wars history as a whole reveals Jedi constantly finding problems with their orders from the council, and it would not be surprising to see Jedi classes encounter similar situations in which players will also question given orders.
The Jedi Council, seeing the major role Revan and Malak played in defeating the Mandalorians after defying their orders, questioned whether or not they made the right decision in not getting involved. However, they were not aware of how close Revan and Malak already were to falling completely to the dark side, and of how much the dark side had played a role in the victory. The council did not feel the presence of the darkness, and this speaks to the elusiveness of the dark side that Jedi need to watch. This is likely to be another factor in the class stories of both factions, the secrecy of the Sith's plans, and the uncovering of those secrets by the Republic classes.
After the Mandalorians transmitted their unconditional surrender to the Republic, they fled into the deep Unknown Regions of space. Sensing something greater behind the whole war, Revan and Malak decided to follow the remaining Mandalorians. This path led them to discover the planet of Dromund Kaas and the reborn Sith order. Revan and Malak landed on the planet and were eventually led to the presence of the Emperor of the Sith. Gnost Dural explains that it is unknown what transpired when the two Jedi met the Emperor. However, it is assumed this meeting is what led them to return to Republic space as servants of the Emperor.
The secrets of what occurred on Dromund Kaas could turn out to be something major in the storylines. This will probably be more of a world arc than individual class stories, since it is something that affected everyone, though clues relating to Revan and Malak's journey will most likely will not be exclusive to any one particular arc.
Swearing their allegiance to the Sith was considered to be the final act in their descent into true darkness. Revan and Malak were then sent by their new master to recover the Star Forge, a massive station capable of constructing fleets of starships in very little time, as part of the preparations for an invasion by the Sith into Republic space. This pleased the emperor greatly since, if successful, it would allow him to enact his revenge centuries ahead of schedule.
However, Gnost goes on to explain how Revan and Malak began having visions of building their own Sith Empire. In true Sith fashion, they decide to turn on their master in order to use the power of the Star Forge to try and destroy the Republic themselves. It might be obvious at this point, but betrayal and turning on Sith lords will likely be major themes in both the Sith Warrior and Sith Inquisitor stories. It would be quite interesting to see a Sith player with their own master, deciding when and where the perfect time is to strike.
Continuing this tradition, Malak then found the perfect time to strike down Revan. A Jedi strike team led by Bastila Shan lured Revan and Malak into a trap where they boarded Revan's ship to confront him. In the battle Malak saw his chance and fired on Revans ship. As we saw in the "kill the captain/save the captain" flashpoint, players will also have the ability to make decisions on this scale.
Thinking Revan dead, Malak went on to lead the new Sith order across the galaxy. He was unaware, however, that both Bastila and Revan survived. Bastila saved Revan, who was in a coma, forging a deep bond through the Force between them. The Jedi Council then made the decision to erase Revan's memories and retrain him as a Jedi.
Revan, along with Bastila, confronted Malak on the Star Forge and defeated him. After destroying the massive starship factory, Revan returned to the Republic, redeemed and celebrated as a hero. Redemption is another common theme in the Star Wars universe. It's difficult to predict how this would play out in TOR, but there could be multiple opportunities for players and NPCs to be redeemed (the same goes for falling after a life of light side living). Receiving a sudden burst of light or dark side points tends to push you into grey, but enough points could mean a full redemption or fall for players.
After defeating Malak, Revan glimpsed visions from his past. In these visions he remembered a lurking menace worse than what the Republic had dealt with before: the true Sith. He said goodbye to Bastila, took his assassin droid HK-47 and set off for the Unknown Regions to find the Emperor. Gnost noted that no one knows what happened after Revan left since he never returned. In the video shown at PAX '10 we see a complex that Revan supposedly built, which is now guarded by HK-47. Following Revan's path and discovering what happened is most likely a major plot that all players will be involved. The architecture in his fortress also bears a striking resemblance to the inside of the Star Forge, which leads to more suspicion to what he did after he disappeared.
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Posted 12/5/2010 6:19:32 AM- View User Profile
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Posted 11/28/2010 4:47:38 AM- View User Profile
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Posted 11/26/2010 10:00:20 AMNice read DH :)
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Posted 11/25/2010 11:32:20 PMGreat work DH, as always.
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Posted 11/25/2010 5:22:05 PM- View User Profile
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Posted 11/25/2010 11:47:28 AM- View User Profile
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Posted 11/25/2010 4:56:25 AM1. For my eventual Sith Warrior or Inquisitor, making a side deal with a Sith spirit, mitigating betrayal.
2. For my Smuggler main, an act that would relieve his conscience or haunt it.
3. For any class, something totally self-sacrificing for comrades.
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Posted 11/25/2010 4:07:13 AMOne thing I don't like is the fact that BioWare doesn't mention the Jedi Exile very much. I mean, during the last battle at Malachor V, according to the story, Revan gave the order to activate the Mass Shadow Generator. The weapon was created by Bao-Dur, and activated in turn by the Jedi Exile (the only known person to leave Revan's side and return to the Order after those events). Even if these things happened behind the scenes, it would have been nice to acknowledge them.
Oh well... at least the next timeline focuses on the Emperor. Hopefully we will get a name as well.
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Posted 11/25/2010 4:00:04 AM- View User Profile
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Posted 11/25/2010 2:20:03 AM- View User Profile
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Posted 11/24/2010 11:02:46 PM- View User Profile
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Posted 11/25/2010 12:18:23 AM