Strategy:

We’ll Always Have Taris

By Danny Chihdo

Star Wars®: Knights of the Old Republic™, the insanely addictive and painstakingly designed Xbox roleplaying game from BioWare and the fine folks at LucasArts, takes you to some of the most intriguing locations in the Star Wars galaxy. But since the game takes place 4000 years before the era of the films, even the ones you think you know (like Tatooine, desert backwater childhood home of two Skywalkers; or Kashyyyk, Chewbacca’s homeworld) are strange and new. So just imagine how strange the really new planets are.

You’ll be spending a lot of time on one such brand new world: Taris, a fading “galactic jewel” that, like the galactic capital Coruscant, is covered by a planet-wide city—except this planet-wide city is under occupation by the evil Sith (yeah, I’m enough of a Star Wars geek to point out that Coruscant was also under Sith occupation of a sort during the original trilogy, but that didn’t last long). Taris was created exclusively for Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic—in fact, it’s your starting point. This is where you’ll figure out the kind of character you’re going to be, and learn that you have a destiny greater than the one you expected: a destiny rich in the ways of the Force, flashy lightsabers, and intrigue aplenty.

Let’s take a closer look at this strange new (old) world, shall we? (Spoilers ahead!)

New aliens—4,000 B.C. (pre-Chewie).

Know Your Tarisians
Taris is a city under military occupation, but the Tarisians are doing their best to maintain a normal life under Sith control.

The Sith
The Sith are everywhere, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re talking about a Vader on every corner. Most are Sith troopers, who are soldiers working for pay like any other, just doing a job. Still, the forces of darkness are paying them; so at this point it’s not wise to hassle them too much. Even if you’re not a Jedi, you do start out working for the Republic, so don’t toss your name around too much. To get past the Sith, your best option is forged authorization papers or stolen armor.

Davik
You’ll hear this name a lot on Taris, and with good reason. He’s the top crime lord on the planet, and depending on how “dark side” or “light side” you want to be, you might end up fighting his people or collecting the cruel, unfair bounties Davik puts on anyone who owes him money. By the time you leave Taris, you’re sure to get at least one super-cool thing from Davik—his ship, the Ebon Hawk.

These creepy creatures are called rakghouls.

Bastila
Okay, technically Bastila’s not Tarisian, but you will meet her there. Eventually she’ll join your party, but when you get to Taris, Bastila is missing. Finding the Jedi Knight is your primary goal on Taris, and drives pretty much everything else. Bastila is a gifted yet somewhat arrogant Jedi, whose Battle Meditation skill is crucial to winning the war against the Sith. Want a hint on where to find her? Look for the swoop races.

Bendak Starkiller
Starkiller is the retired champion of the popular gladiatorial duels that are a popular entertainment both topside and in the lower city. He retired because he no longer wanted to fight in non-lethal battles. If you beat all the other duelists, Starkiller will accept your challenge as long as it’s to the death. After you win, you get to keep his stuff, of course, which includes a sweet upgradeable blaster pistol.

So much to explore …

Places to Go, People to Save
Of course, there’s plenty to do on Taris. Just a few of the quests and mini-games include:

Pazaak
Believe it or not, BioWare has created a nifty little collectible card game for Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic that is almost as addictive as the roleplaying side. Look in the Cantina on Taris for Garouk, who can teach you the game and sell you a deck, and Niklos, from whom you can win money by playing Pazaak.

Swoop Races/Saving Bastila
The search for Bastila leads to the underground swoop races, sort of like pod-races but on a drag strip. The prize for the championship? One captured Jedi Knight with her own cage and exercise wheel.

Cure the Rakghoul Disease
This is one of the best ways to affect your light side/dark side points early on. If you do everything you can to help the afflicted and stop the disease, light side, here you come. If you hold on to the cure and sell it to Davik, you’ll get lots of credits—and a few dark side points, too.

The Promised Land
I admit I almost missed this one somehow. When you get to the refugee-filled undercity (you’ll need Sith armor or forged papers, remember) you’ll meet an old man who wants you to find his apprentice. The apprentice is dead, but return his journal to the old dude and he’ll take the information and lead his people to a “paradise” deep within the core of Taris. As it happens, they’ll be really glad they went.