Strategy:

Tricks of the Jedi

By Danny Chihdo

Man, that’s a big galaxy! The level of detail in Star Wars®: Knights of the Old Republic™ can be a little overwhelming at first—make informed choices from the start with this handy guide to character construction. Before you become a Knight, you’ve got to become a hero.

Building Character(s)
Your first choice, of course, is deciding who you’re going to be—class, sex, appearance and (if you choose to build your character instead of going with defaults) skills, feats, and ability scores. Anyone familiar with the paper-based Star Wars RPG from Wizards of the Coast or BioWare’s previous PC roleplayers will be right at home here, though Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic’s take on the D20 system is modified for console play.

The Soldier
A combat specialist (with skills focusing on weapons, armor, and general mayhem), the soldier is probably the most easily accessible character to new players, especially those unfamiliar with Star Wars or roleplaying games in general. You can choose to focus on strength or dexterity—that is, melee fighting or ranged combat—or both. I’d recommend melee combat because you’ll soon have plenty of allies that can shoot the tail off a womp rat at 200 meters, and the same ability scores that make for a good swordsmanship naturally help prospective padawans.

Soldiers get to use cool weapons.

The soldier has the most vitality (i.e. hit points) of any basic class (10 per level), and soldiers get the fastest feat progression. Skill progression is the slowest of the initial three choices, however, so if you’re looking forward to a lot of computer slicing, lock-breaking, and stealthy moves, this isn’t the class for you.

Important Ability Scores
Strength and Dexterity affect your attack and defense scores and are of prime importance for soldiers. Wisdom will help you spot enemies and find loot, while a high Constitution will ensure you’re one tough sonuvablaster.

Skills
Every time you gain a level, you’ll get a set amount of skill points to distribute. Class skills cost one point per skill rank and “cross-class” skills (those outside your class’s usual areas of expertise) cost 2 points per rank. Skills also get bonuses from related ability scores. The soldier’s class skills are as follows: Demolitions (keyed to Intelligence), Awareness (Wisdom), and Treat Injury (Wisdom).

The Scoundrel
An undeniably cool choice, the scoundrel is your basic thief or rogue, with a dash of Han Solo thrown in. The scoundrel is the sharpshooter striking from the shadows, with the charm to talk his or her way out of any situation that gets too hairy. Scoundrels have the lowest vitality scores and slowest feat progression, but freighterloads of skill points and class skills balance the scales.

Scoundrels naturally find themselves with many opportunities for lawbreaking and shady activities, so if you choose this class, you may find your moral compass going a little wonky. Scoundrels who turn Jedi should be sure to balance their scandalous behavior with a good deed here and there, unless, of course, you want to head toward the Dark Side. And, thank the Force and the big brains at BioWare,  the Dark Side is still a valid choice.

Walking a fine line between good and evil.

Important Ability Scores
Dexterity is key for many of the Scoundrel’s class skills as well as their fighting abilities. For example, a scoundrel that is dexterous and sneaky enough to stay hidden in the shadows inflicts sneak attack damage on a successful hit, doing ever-increasing harm to enemies as she levels up. Wisdom is also key, since Scoundrels need to be able to find what they’re going to steal and break the lock when necessary. Charisma helps a freelance lawbender sweet-talk her way out of trouble.

Skills
The scoundrel’s class skills are as follows: Demolitions (Intelligence), Stealth (Dexterity), Awareness (Wisdom), Persuade (Charisma), and Security (Wisdom).

The Scout
Scouts are the middle ground and a solid choice for veterans or newcomers to the game. Vitality, skills, and feat progression are average. Playing a scout lets you optimize the rest of your party to enhance those areas you’re not focusing on. This class is also a good choice for players who want to feel out the world and adjust their character’s style along the way.

Scouts handle the behind the scenes work.

Important Ability Scores
High Dexterity lets a scout hang back and shoot while allies go into melee. Scouts can also innate uncanny Dodge ability to maintain a high defense when going into hand-to-hand combat. Many of the scout’s class skills are keyed to Intelligence, and if you want to be able to slice into computer systems or rebuild and program droids, be sure your brain’s as big as your brawn. A good Wisdom score will increase your chances of picking up goodies, spotting enemies before they spot you, and getting maximum use out of medpacs.

Skills
The scout’s class skills are as follows: Computer Use (Intelligence), Demolitions (Intelligence), Awareness (Wisdom), Repair (Intelligence), and Treat Injury (Wisdom).