((The RP XP with MJ #17))

“Hutta is wonderful this time of year if you don’t inhale too deeply,” the bounty hunter chuckled as he escorted the imperial agent past the palace of Nem’ro the Hutt.

Jenla smirked. “Why the hell did you bring me here, Boarsch? You know how much the Hutts nauseate me.”

Boarsch hid his amusement by pretending to look away from her, concentrating on some activity at the end of a side street. Since the attack against the Jedi and Sith two days ago, Jenla Ruf and Boarsch had been on the run, skirting the outer rim systems and playing hopscotch with the main merchant runs where the Empire and Republic often traded blows. They just arrived on Hutta to re-supply and get work done on the ship. Distant blaster fire marred an otherwise quiet day.

As they turned down a particularly putrid alley rank with the smell of waste, Jenla stopped and held up her hand. “I am not going down there.”

The bounty hunter kept walking as the agent unsteadily glanced back down the main road.

“Did you hear me, Boarsch? I’m not going down there.”

The bulky Mandalorian shrugged under his armored shoulders. “Suit yourself, darling. I’m sure a Chiss woman by herself wearing an Imperial uniform will be just fine standing on the corner all alone.”

Jenla scowled and glanced from side to side, then watched as Boarsch continued down the alley. In a few paces he’d have to turn at the end and vanish from her sight. Looking back toward the spaceport, she saw two Gamorreans with heavy weapons waddling toward them. “Wait. …Boarsch, wait!”

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((The RP XP With MJ #16))

Yulel sat on the floor of the cabin aboard the Regail and nervously stroked her lekku. She brought her head tails over the front of each shoulder so she could hold them as she sat on the floor and rocked like a pouting child.

“This ain’t fair, ya know.”

The armored trooper stood in the open doorway of the cabin. He stood alert, his rifle held at port-arms. He wore his helmet so Yulel didn’t know if he was looking at her, at the wall, at the floor….

“You got a name, flatfoot?”

The helmet moved slightly. The electronically-augmented voice came out. “The name’s Wex. Not that it’s any of your business, thief.”

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((The RP XP with MJ #15))

This is what some RPers do in beta before trying out a Flashpoint.

 
Veetha stood as she was commanded, in the rain and darkness of Dromund Kaas while her master went inside to report to a representative of the Dark Council.

The platform on which she waited was a circular speeder taxi pad a few hundred feet in the air above the rain washed streets of the Imperial Capitol. There were no guard rails, only the speeder taxi she and Lord Tagious brought here. Veetha stood soaked, in the middle of the pad, her shoulders hunched and her fists clenched. A squat maintenance droid and its human handler stood nearby, the droid buzzing and squawking as it worked over some inane droid task. The human leaned against a short stack of crates he had yet to move inside where it was dry. He stared at her from under the dripping bill of his cap.

Veetha felt his eyes upon her, felt his hatred of her alien presence, but also felt his lust at her female form made prominent by the rain pressing her robe down against her body. She didn’t look in his direction, didn’t acknowledge him. She only waited, still, her eyes locked on the distant door.

“Whatsa matter, Rattataki?” The human shouted to her through the downpour. Distant thunder echoed his question. “Afraid of a little rain?”
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((The RP XP with MJ #14))

I hope those of you relative to my time zone here in the U.S. had a spectacular Thanksgiving, and I hope those of you about to try Star Wars: The Old Republic for the first time ever during today’s launch of the Beta Stress Test Weekend have as much fun testing the game as I have.

Since I’ve been tied up with all kinds of holiday fun this week, not to mention all the holiday fun we’ll be experiencing in open–err, I mean ‘weekend‘–beta, I thought I’d make this week’s RP XP with MJ much, much shorter. In fact, I’m going to make it so short I’m not even going to write it.
I’ll be back next week with a very special edition of ((The RP XP with MJ)). Until then, good hunting out there in Betaland! And, if you see someone throw up a “LFG-RP” in General chat, it’s probably me. Come say ‘hi’… In character, of course.
Now, I’ll head out and let these guys take it from here. You’ve probably heard that RolePlayers “hear voices.” Well, sometimes we like to let ’em out. These guys, whom you might recognize, wanted to come out and say a few words about what they’re thankful for….
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@Saravi_ to @dawnsrose Ever tried to navigate the swtor Fan Art forum? So much hard work/talent, lost under new posts. There’s got to be a better way!

This is a good point. I have posted in that forum, and I read a couple of people’s work. But, my word, there is a ton of very good products in this forum. Is there truly a better way to organize it? Continue Reading »

((The RP XP with MJ – SPECIAL REPORT))

Behold, my very first RP in SWTOR. Thank you, Tyliana, whoever you were.

I’m a dedicated heavy RolePlayer. So, what do you think I wanted to test first upon setting foot in the world of Star Wars: The Old Republic?

Yup. Crafting.

Nah, just kidding. It’s RP! I was curious to check out the chat system, emotes, and the areas that could serve as backdrops for RP scenarios. I also wanted to see if it was possible to engage in RP-related PVP and how well RP adapted into the flash points or the scores of missions. Let’s take a look….

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((The RP XP with MJ #13))

Padawan Tarik sat next to the smuggler Yulel in the passenger compartment of the Regail. His eyes fell upon the Twi’lek spice runner with adoration beyond the simple recognition of her abilities and strength of survival. He dabbed at a scrape on the side of her face with a medicated pad but his eyes remained glazed on the unbroken beauty of her profile.

She glanced at him and he pulled away quickly, blushing and looking down at the Kolto salve tube in his other hand. She said, “You don’t think I should have brought this, do you? You think I should have left it.”

Yulel held up a clear crystal shaped like a chiseled tube no bigger than her little finger.

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((The RP XP with MJ #12))

Corporal Wex had been with Hazard Squad for a year, but he’d never seen such wanton destruction, such careless regard for civilian life. The Imperial freighter that wasted the area was either piloted by Kowakian monkey-lizards or the pilot and gunner didn’t care whether they hit his men, the Jedi, the civilians or even their own Sith brothers.

          He had ordered two of his surviving men to scour the rubble, debris and nearby alleys to look for the two Sith while he and the Jedi consular helped the local medics with some of the wounded.

          As more local security and emergency medical personnel showed up from the spaceport, Wex and the consular were able to pull away and re-join the hunt for the Sith.

          The Jedi Master, Kendris, stepped up to them as they stood by one of the enormous craters on the quad. Wex pulled on his helmet and adjusted the radio level as he pretended not to listen in.

          “My Padawan located the Twi’lek and is escorting her back to the Regail,” Kendris said.

          The Miraluka lifted her head and spoke softly. “I have contacted my enclave. They will be sending additional help for these people.”

          “They’re survivors. We need to find the Sith responsible for this, Consular Vu-don.”

          “I find it intriguing, Master Kendris, that vengeance permeates your thoughts. It keeps you from being mindful of the Force and clouds your judgment.”

          Kendris stepped in front of the Miraluka close enough to move her veil with his breath. “And what would you do? Hm? You would sit idly by and allow this to happen?”

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As I have shown in a previous article – Is “She” really a “She”? Female Gamers and Gender Bending in MMORPGs – 60 percent of MMO players have role-played. But, even among those who haven’t, I think most can say that they have happened upon that one gear set that really struck them as “perfect” for their character. Either it was perfectly menacing, evil, just, good, sweet, innocent or any one of a million different adjectives, but whatever it was that made it that way, it was perfect for their character.

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Request of the week  via twitter: @Astrates sent: @dawnsrose Games as art?

What is art? (From Wikipedia): Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items (often with symbolic significance) in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect. It encompasses a diverse range of human activities, creations, and modes of expression, including music, literature, film, photography, sculpture, and paintings. The meaning of art is explored in a branch of philosophy known as aesthetics, whereas disciplines such as anthropology, sociology and psychology analyze its relationship with humans and generations.[1]

So, by that definition I think games can truly be art, and even more so in this day and age where players seem to be craving more and more of an escape from the real world. A game will include almost every part of the modes of expression.

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