Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Geek Guide (Page 2: Building Character)
- July 25, 2003 16:10 PM PST
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The first batch of secrets to KOTOR is in the character creation. While KOTOR simplifies everything and lays it out so that it's easy to understand, here's a little more detail on what everything means.
The first decision you'll need to make is what class you want to use. Each of the three classes has its own strengths and weaknesses, as do the three Jedi classes you'll see later in the game. Here's a quick run-down of the three starting classes and the three Jedi classes.
Soldier: Made for doing damage, the Soldier is the best at using armor and weapons, and soldiers get to choose from more feats than the other classes as time goes on. This means that you'll have more chances to improve your soldier's inherent abilities and master more combat styles and attack moves than other classes. On the other hand, you don't get nearly as many skill points as other classes, so you'll rely on your party members to pick locks, repair things, and the like. If you pick a Soldier, you'll be an awesome fighter, but you won't be much else. Soldiers benefit most from high Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution, but take a moment to think about what sort of Soldier you want to be-you could take some Intelligence and get more Skill points or take Charisma to be better at speaking, but doing that will reduce your effectiveness in combat, which is what the Soldier was made for. Soldiers who want to specialize in melee combat should go for mostly Strength and Constitution and rely on heavy armor, while those who want to be blaster specialists should go high in Dexterity.
Scout: Scouts know a few things about survival. They're great at Repair and get a free Implant feat at the beginning of the game. They're also decent fighters (though not as good as a soldier) and have an average feat and skill progression, meaning that they get a decent mix of combat styles, attacks, and skills like Demolitions or Computer Use. If you like to fight but you also like doing things for yourself, you might like the Scout. Scouts benefit most from Dexterity (for shooting blasters and avoiding damage in light and medium armor) and Intelligence (for Skill points and using Intelligence-based skills). Constitution never hurts a Scout, either.
Scoundrel: The ultimate finesse class, the Scoundrel relies on his wit and stealth as much as his blaster. Scoundrels never get the kind of combat ability or Vitality points that Soldiers and Scouts get, but they trade those things for tons of skills. A Scoundrel can spike computers, repair machines, disable mines, and sneak around areas looking for a fight. Scoundrels also gain an innate Defense bonus just for being Scoundrels, and they have a chain of feats that lets them do extra damage against foes who aren't aware they're being attacked. If you want to be sneaky and slick, or if you just like manipulating people, you'll want to be a Scoundrel. Consider going high in Dexterity if you want to try to salvage some semblance of combat ability with blasters (and for more effectiveness with light armor), Intelligence for really going nuts with your skills and becoming a jack of all trades, and Charisma for being a true master of getting what you want in conversations.
Jedi Classes
Just as there are three base classes, there are also three Jedi classes, and they pretty much correspond to the starting classes in function. For example, the Jedi Guardian is the Jedi version of a Soldier, the Sentinel is the Jedi version of a Scout, and the Consular is the Jedi version of the Scoundrel. The big difference is the Force Point totals for each class; the Guardian gets more feats and Vitality but fewer Force Points, the Consular gets more Force Points and skills but fewer feats and Vitality, and the Sentinel is a mix of the two. The decision is simple: if you want to cut up fools with a lightsaber, be a Guardian. If you want to blow dudes around with the Force, be a Consular. If you want to do both, be a Sentinel.
No matter which classes you pick, you'll meet party members of each class in the game, and multiples of some. So if you're a big dumb soldier who couldn't slice his way through a loaf of bread, you can rely on your party members to do those things for you.
By the Numbers
One of the first things you do when making a character is to pick your stats. Each stat is represented by a number that ranges, typically, from 3 to 18, with 3 being almost crippled and 18 being the best you can get at the beginning. Those numbers are used to determine your stat bonuses, which are the numbers next to the stats. To figure out your bonuses, basically consider a 10 in a stat to be +0, and then add 1 point for every two stat points above that. For example, if you have Strength 12, you have a Strength bonus of +1. That bonus is the really important part, because that's the number that's added to rolls the computer makes to see if you succeed at a particular task.
Here's a hint: Your bonuses only go up on even-numbered stats (12-13 give you a +1 bonus, but 14 gives you +2). Try to set your stats to even numbers as much as possible to get the most out of your starting points.
Strength: Strength is used for attacking in melee combat (swords, knives, lightsabers). Your Strength bonus is added to your character's Base Attack Bonus for fighting up close. If you want to be good with swords and lightsabers, you want a high Strength. Dexterity: You use Dexterity for tons of things, including attacking with blasters and other ranged weapons. Your Dexterity bonus is also added to your Armor Class to represent your ability to dodge attacks, and it also affects your Reflex save to help you get out of the way of explosions and the like. Constitution: Your Constitution bonus is added to the number of Vitality Points you get each level, so high-Constitution characters will average more Vitality than others. It also affects your Fortitude saves, used for resisting the effects of poison and disease. Intelligence: Aside from the skills that use it, Intelligence is useful because you gain your Intelligence bonus in additional skill points every time you level. Intelligence is especially awesome for Scoundrels, who rely heavily on their skills. Wisdom: Mostly good for affecting your Will saves, which are used to help you resist fear and mind-control effects, Wisdom is also used to determine how many Force Points you get for every level of a Jedi class. High-Wisdom characters will be able to use the Force more often than the average person. Force powers used by high-Wisdom characters are also harder to resist. Charisma: Often seen as a safe stat to take points from, Charisma is used for social interaction, like those Persuasion options you see in conversations from time to time. Charisma also adds bonuses to certain Force powers and feats.
Note that when you raise some stats (through Implants, for example, or by raising your stats as you level), it has an immediate effect on your character's bonuses. For example, if you install an Implant that gives you +6 Constitution, you immediately add +3 Vitality for every level-a level 13 character will gain 39 Vitality points from that one Implant. Increasing Intelligence won't get you retroactive skill points, however, though it will increase your Intelligence bonus and get you extra skill points the next time you level.
The other side to the Stats thing is that some attacks, like sonic attacks, poison, and some Dark Side Force powers, can lower a character's stats temporarily. For example, a sonic grenade drops the victim's Dexterity, making him both easier to hit and less likely to hit you with a blaster. You won't altogether kill someone with stat-lowering attacks, but they might make those tough fights easier.
