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Author Topic: A Question about Star Wars Planets  (Read 7384 times)
Darth_Arkanus
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« on: August 04, 2013, 08:47:15 AM »

Hi there,

I'm hoping I can pick everyone's brains a bit here about Star Wars Planets.

I'm looking to write the backstory to my Sith persona, but I'm struggling to think of a planet (in either era) to have as Arkanus' homeworld. I can tell you that Arkanus is human, like Palpatine, so that should hopefully narrow the choices down a bit at least.

I'm bowing to the much greater collective knowledge here......

.....help me saberforum. You're my only hope!
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« Reply #1 on: August 04, 2013, 09:09:39 AM »

There are a good number of human planets in the Star Wars universe. Really it just comes down to a matter of personal choice. I choose to have my character's home world as Telos for no particular reason really. I didn't know of a lot of people who choose that planet before, so that's the one I went with. There are many others though, including Dantooine, Tatooine, Alderaan, Bespin, Nar Shaddaa, Coruscant, Corellia, Naboo, Bakura, etc.

Maybe this will help give you some ideas as well:
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Human
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Rina Ascura
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« Reply #2 on: August 04, 2013, 03:44:14 PM »

Human worlds in Star Wars come in three flavors. Three are "Very Special": Corellia, Mandalore and Hapes. Each has a detailed culture and ethnic traditions that sets them apart, with which anyone can familiarize themselves in the Expanded Universe. Several others, such as Alderaan, Naboo etc. are "Special": they have one or two major cultural quirks each (for Alderaan it's pacifism, for Naboo it's the strange political system), but otherwise are more or less integrated into the cosmopolitan Galactic culture. And the rest of the lot are "Generic": they have little or no details on what sets their peoples apart from other Humans. An example of a "Generic" human planet is Stewjon, Obi-Wan's home planet which is perfectly average in everything else. Choose whatever floats your boat: pick up one with a canonical detailed culture, with a "single quirk" culture, or maybe pick a generic one and make up its traditions all by yourself. I, for example, identify myself with the Corellian culture.
« Last Edit: August 04, 2013, 03:49:37 PM by Rina Ascura » Logged

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BenPass
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« Reply #3 on: August 04, 2013, 04:06:45 PM »

I, personally, like choosing a planet with very little known about it so that I can play freely with the background without trampling on established canon. Take a planet like Tiems for example....the only really knowledge about it is one ground battle between the Rebellion and the Empire. Old Republic era? I choose Hathrox III...a bit of a city planet nowhere near as large or important as Coruscant or Nar Shaddaa, and gets wiped out in a cataclysm. Makes for some room for storytelling if you ask me.
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Darth_Arkanus
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« Reply #4 on: August 04, 2013, 08:25:29 PM »

Actually I'd like a planet whose culture follows a sort of feudal Japanese theme, if one exists. Naboo would seem to have the clothing aspect down, but I'm open to suggestions.
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« Reply #5 on: August 04, 2013, 09:29:23 PM »

I cannot recall any directly based on feudal Japan. The closest thing that comes to mind is the Chiss, but they resemble Imperial era Japan and they are not humans but rather near-humans.
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Darth_Arkanus
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« Reply #6 on: August 04, 2013, 09:40:19 PM »

I cannot recall any directly based on feudal Japan. The closest thing that comes to mind is the Chiss, but they resemble Imperial era Japan and they are not humans but rather near-humans.

hmm, thanks. What about Naboo? That planet already produced one Sith Lord. Is it too obvious?
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Venom "Durance of Hate"
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Dominix LE "Acolyte of Vengeance"
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« Reply #7 on: August 05, 2013, 03:54:31 AM »

hmm, thanks. What about Naboo? That planet already produced one Sith Lord. Is it too obvious?

I personally like Naboo, but if you're fine with near-humans, the Chiss are about my favorite species in the Star Wars universe. Probably just because I like the color blue a LOT, but . . .
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Waxman
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« Reply #8 on: August 11, 2013, 03:01:14 AM »

I like to pair planet selection with character persona's.

For example, a character raised on Telos, Corellia, or Coruscant probably is better talking with people in a public and open setting than someone raised on Naboo, Dantooine, or some of the more rural planets.

Obviously, your mileage may vary as Tatooine is pretty rural and scarce but I'd imagine you need to be a bit tough to survive there given the chaotic nature of it such as Sand People, gangs, etc.

When I design a character, regardless of race, I try to keep in mind where they come from to give me a better idea in how they interact with the world / galaxy.
For example, If a Rodian was raised on a planet where they are the minority compared to some Ithorians, then they probably developed some skills where they are better interacting with Ithorians than they are with other Rodians or humans.  This is just a thought.
Another example is that one of my characters I'm writing a large story for was raised on Dantooine.  Because of this he get's a bit uncomfortable in closed-in spaces and has difficulty interacting with large groups and people in general.  He's also generally mesmerized by technology and doesn't know how to fly a ship.

I always feel these are interesting qualities and limitations to keep in mind to aid in future character development and interaction.  Perhaps a character may refer to flying through the city of Coruscant like that of the canyons of Dantooine or that the wind blowing reminds him/her of their home, stuff like that.
This in turn can allow your character to learn new things they may not have otherwise considered, regardless of affiliation be it Sith or Jedi.  A character raised as a slave may know nothing but being subservient to others.  The idea of freedom is, as it sounds, just an idea.  How would a slave know what freedom is if they haven't ever experienced it?
Maybe the character grew up on a planet with an ever-lasting civil war so being in an area without it leads to PTSD episodes or paranoia or something unsettling.

I don't know, maybe I'm looking too much into stuff like this, but I feel it helps in justifying certain character decisions, actions, and interactions.  Smiley
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Darth_Arkanus
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« Reply #9 on: August 11, 2013, 08:18:13 AM »


I don't know, maybe I'm looking too much into stuff like this, but I feel it helps in justifying certain character decisions, actions, and interactions.  Smiley

Not at all....I like this approach!

Arkanus, as I've thus far written him was advantaged and rich, but always tormented and searching for something that he didn't know what it was. He was also different, and could do things nobody else could (use the Force). He hid this because he knew it was "forbidden" but still he got nagged in his dreams.

His personality is rational, at times, but often angry. His status does nothing to change his feeling of anger or of there being more to life than the gilded halls of his home. Frankly, he's BORED too.

I've not really looked into his interpersonal skills or how he interacts with others, both his own age and older. Of course, by the time he leaves home to apprentice for Darth Sidious none of this really matters any more; wouldn't you agree?
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« Reply #10 on: August 11, 2013, 06:12:09 PM »

Not at all....I like this approach!

Arkanus, as I've thus far written him was advantaged and rich, but always tormented and searching for something that he didn't know what it was. He was also different, and could do things nobody else could (use the Force). He hid this because he knew it was "forbidden" but still he got nagged in his dreams.

His personality is rational, at times, but often angry. His status does nothing to change his feeling of anger or of there being more to life than the gilded halls of his home. Frankly, he's BORED too.

I've not really looked into his interpersonal skills or how he interacts with others, both his own age and older. Of course, by the time he leaves home to apprentice for Darth Sidious none of this really matters any more; wouldn't you agree?

I disagree with the last part because once he does apprentice for Darth Sidious, the dark lord can use those interpersonal skills to his advantage in order to further "break" and influence Arkanus just as Sidious used Anakin's life circumstance to his advantage in justifying many questionable deaths.
Maybe Sidious will use Arkanus' discomfort of living a privileged life to his advantage to do things he wouldn't normally do?

I suppose after a while a character may leave their past life behind and grow and be a general "jack of all trades", but one of the problems that I have with Jedi / Sith rank is that its assumed that once people reach a certain threshold then they are immediately good at everything, or in other words, they follow a "cookie-cut" pattern.
For example, all Sith are heartless and terrible, wear black and face masks, and generally hate life.  Jedi are idealistic, spiritual, constantly going over revelations of the code, and are good at everything and can pull it off with ease.

I had a character I was rp'ing with in the past who was a Jedi Master who did things very conservatively but, for the first time in his life, drank something other than water.  Another character took him to a pub and got him some blue milk and eventually Corellian ale.  Needless to say, although it may not have had anything to do with the grand scheme of events or plotlines, it was a fun time and helped my character in trying new things and keeping an open mind.  Something as small as that can almost be a gateway to something much bigger like my character learning a new fighting style or way of looking at a situation.  It also, comically, allowed my character to try all sorts of ale's until he realized what kind of physiological effect it had on his mind and body, much to the amusement of his friend.

I mean, look at Darth Vader.  The stuff from his past surely shouldn't be affecting him now that he's the a dark apprentice under Sidious right?  Except that it does end up affecting him and ultimately plays a part in the grand scheme of things.

I suppose a final example is that there could be some similarities Arkanus and Sidious share in common.  For example. Sidious, to my knowledge, was born and raised on Naboo, so he has a background surrounded in wealth, knowledge, and personal gain.  He knows how to influence people due to his grand stature and charming personality, something that isn't expected of the stereotyped "gruff and hard sith".
Arkanus probably has a similar upbringing, so personal mind games can occur as they are in conflict with one another as a result of their personalities.  There's things they share in common, but because of that it also helps them know each others weaknesses and loopholes as well as strengths.

Again, just a thought.  Smiley
« Last Edit: August 11, 2013, 06:15:10 PM by Waxman » Logged

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Darth_Arkanus
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« Reply #11 on: August 11, 2013, 09:16:49 PM »

I disagree with the last part because once he does apprentice for Darth Sidious, the dark lord can use those interpersonal skills to his advantage in order to further "break" and influence Arkanus just as Sidious used Anakin's life circumstance to his advantage in justifying many questionable deaths.
Maybe Sidious will use Arkanus' discomfort of living a privileged life to his advantage to do things he wouldn't normally do?

I suppose after a while a character may leave their past life behind and grow and be a general "jack of all trades", but one of the problems that I have with Jedi / Sith rank is that its assumed that once people reach a certain threshold then they are immediately good at everything, or in other words, they follow a "cookie-cut" pattern.
For example, all Sith are heartless and terrible, wear black and face masks, and generally hate life.  Jedi are idealistic, spiritual, constantly going over revelations of the code, and are good at everything and can pull it off with ease.

I had a character I was rp'ing with in the past who was a Jedi Master who did things very conservatively but, for the first time in his life, drank something other than water.  Another character took him to a pub and got him some blue milk and eventually Corellian ale.  Needless to say, although it may not have had anything to do with the grand scheme of events or plotlines, it was a fun time and helped my character in trying new things and keeping an open mind.  Something as small as that can almost be a gateway to something much bigger like my character learning a new fighting style or way of looking at a situation.  It also, comically, allowed my character to try all sorts of ale's until he realized what kind of physiological effect it had on his mind and body, much to the amusement of his friend.

I mean, look at Darth Vader.  The stuff from his past surely shouldn't be affecting him now that he's the a dark apprentice under Sidious right?  Except that it does end up affecting him and ultimately plays a part in the grand scheme of things.

I suppose a final example is that there could be some similarities Arkanus and Sidious share in common.  For example. Sidious, to my knowledge, was born and raised on Naboo, so he has a background surrounded in wealth, knowledge, and personal gain.  He knows how to influence people due to his grand stature and charming personality, something that isn't expected of the stereotyped "gruff and hard sith".
Arkanus probably has a similar upbringing, so personal mind games can occur as they are in conflict with one another as a result of their personalities.  There's things they share in common, but because of that it also helps them know each others weaknesses and loopholes as well as strengths.

Again, just a thought.  Smiley

I do like the way you think. I deliberately chose Naboo because of Sidious' background & because that is where he met his Master, Plageuis. I've drawn deliberate parallels but would take him in a different direction, perhaps, eere i RPing him; which i can't because it conflicts with cannon & how the mods are guiding the games here.
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Venom "Durance of Hate"
Scorpion "Durance of Rage"
Dominix LE "Acolyte of Vengeance"
Phantasm LE "Twins of Tyranny"
Gladius "Acolyte of Agony"

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« Reply #12 on: September 28, 2013, 07:06:03 AM »

Actually I'd like a planet whose culture follows a sort of feudal Japanese theme, if one exists. Naboo would seem to have the clothing aspect down, but I'm open to suggestions.

Alderaan is pretty close, and since it blow'd up, Corellia is the closest to that.
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