SWTOR blogging challenge - Day 2

When did you start playing

I am so tired today that I feel physically nauseated. I got an email late last night that really frustrated me and I was so stressed that it took me awhile to get to sleep. So then even though I got more sleep than I had the night before, I was still absolutely exhausted this morning.

We got access to the first round of beta testing, so we were pretty excited to go in and check things out. At the time we were still subscribing to World of Warcraft, but we let our subscription lapse there when we started playing SWTOR. We actually went to Disney World during our vacation that Christmas, and we took the computer along so that on some of our non-park days we could play!

I've been playing off and on since then.

SWTOR blogging challenge - Day 1

Your first character

During the beta I played a rattataki Intelligence Agent. However, all that remains of her is a screenshot of her at the helm of her ship - apparently I got through Dromund Kaas. I do remember being amused by the fact that the first companion you get as an Agent is also a rattataki! We were twinsies ;D

When the game actually started, I created a Knight. For a long time, she was my highest-level character; just this weekend, my Agent (not the same one!) passed her during the Thanksgiving 2XP event.

I didn't develop a whole lot of story around her, but my headcanon was that she was this wealthy socialite who didn't really want to be a Jedi, but when she was found to be Force sensitive, her parents kind of pushed her into it, and promised her if she was a good little youngling, they would give her a ronto filly of her very own when she became a padawan, and then when she was knighted they would get her the latest Czerka speeder. Sparkly purple, of course - it's her signature color.

It helped that she had an affinity for lightsaber combat. She wasn't shy about letting others know (or find out) how good she was, either. It was that, combined with always having the most elegant robes - always classy, of course, never anything in bad taste - that earned her the name Princesstabbity from her age-mates.

SWTOR 30 Day Jedi Challenge - End

So I totally haven't finished the 30 days, BUT it's now moving on to just moving on from one planet to the next. And in all fairness, I haven't thought about ANY of that from a RP standpoint. Coruscant, maybe, because Arri shows up in Vacy's story in that one, but all I really know is that she's coming back to Coruscant at that point. I really don't have any headcanons for any of this, sooo I'd just be kind of slapping things together and pretending it mattered.

Which it doesn't. I'm sorry, Arri. You deserve a better writer than me.

OTOH I may have a go at this one sometime soon.

SWTOR 30 Day Jedi Challenge - Ship

• Day 17 - Ship: How does your Jedi like their personal starship? Did they give it a name? Any interesting little quirks? A gizka infestation, maybe? Do they do the piloting or does someone else handle that? Are they prone to crash-landings? Does your ship see a lot of battle or diplomatic missions? Is it well-equipped for either one? Does your Jedi ever detect a hint of Alderaanian nectar in the air?

 I feel like I didn't get much of a weekend. I spent so much of it grading! At least I got it done.

*sigh* And I kind of don't feel like finishing the rest of these. I'm just kind of making things up on the fly and I feel like I'm not doing a good job and I'm just wasting my time. You know? Like I don't have anything special in mind for any of this. What's the point? *another sigh*

I missed another day, too. Last night we had D&D and I'd also been lectured about the way I structure my lessons. I'm trying not to be frustrated and/or terrified. I feel like it's my neck on the chopping block.

Arri does her own piloting, for the most part. She learned while she was on Vornu. Starting out, she was very tentative. But over time and with practice she became more confident.

SWTOR 30 Day Jedi Challenge - Mounts

• Day 16 - Mounts: It’s a big, inconvenient galaxy. A Jedi like yours can’t do their job without their own speeder. What kind of mount does your Jedi have? Do they only have the one? If not, which do they prefer? Are they happy with their speeder or in the market for a new one? How did they acquire their speeders? Do they maintain them personally or assign the task to a companion? Maybe they pay a service? Or maybe your Jedi could stand to take a few lessons in how to fly a speeder?

These are getting harder and harder because the recent ones have been about gear, and Arri just hasn't been that concerned with special items. She does a pretty good job of not forming attachments, and that means things as well as people. But at the same time, good stewardship is important, so she did a fair amount of research before purchasing a speeder - used, of course - but a model that had a reputation for durability and safety.

SWTOR 30 Day Jedi Challenge - Armor

• Day 15 - Armor: How much and what kind of armor does your Jedi wear? Include a picture if you want! Is it distinctive in any way? Does it have any sentimental value or is it some kind of precious relic? The Order prefers function to form and traditionally Jedi are outfitted modestly, in unremarkable plain brown robes. How strictly does your Jedi adhere to this custom? Do they think it’s idiotic? Do they dress for fashion at the expense of function? What kinds of nicks and quirks does their armor have to give it character — does it have that one clasp that always catches, that seal that has to be jiggled just right?

Since she's often taking the brunt of the damage in most combat situations, Bel'arria wears heavy armor, for as much protection as possible. She avoids wearing her robes while on a mission as she learned early on that doing so often meant having to request new ones. Instead, she keeps her robes neatly folded in the locker on her ship.

Her armor is the sort used by common mercenaries. It's better than what's issued to low-level military grunts, but not as good as what the elite units have. She is careful to keep it well-maintained, so that while in some places the finish is scratched or the paint has flaked off, it fits with snug perfection.

• Day 14 - Weapons: A Jedi is never unarmed; describe your Jedi’s preferred weapons. Do they have a favorite lightsaber or are they more adept with the Force? Is their lightsaber (or lightsabers) unique? Does it have its own history? Do they have any other weapons — holdout blasters or hidden knives, for emergency situations? Anything they use just for special occasions, like an exotic lightwhip or a secret stash of frag grenades?

Well, I missed yesterday. Oops! I'm starting to feel better, though.

Arri's saber is pretty basic. It's not anything special to her, just a tool. But at the same time it's a reminder of the responsibilities she has accepted.

Even though it is warped and battered past the point of use, Arri kept the hilt of the saber that she crafted at the end of her training as a padawan. It's important to her because it's the first time she really felt proud of something she achieved.

The crystal that focuses the beam, however, is particularly special to her. It was crafted by Arimand Surik, and he gave it to her after she made her first saber. As she has continued to learn and progress in her skills, he occasionally retools the crystal, adding facets that enhance its intensity. Arri can't explain why, but whenever she ignites her saber she feels a sense of comfort, of rightness, that she doesn't get from any other weapon.