Klustre Taschen the Sith knight

Context

The Old Republic is one of the Bioware Star Wars computer RPGs, this one with a not-so-successful MMO format. It is part of the Extended Universe, which is no longer considered canon since 2014.

Its strength is to offer eight distinctive story tracks (one per character class). Here is a version of the Sith Warrior “track”, covering the first 15-ish levels before class specialization kicks in. As such there are S P O I L E R S for Korriban.

Since this is a RPG, Klustre is but one possible version of the Sith Warrior, who is extensively customisable.

As often when we present “sample” video game Player Characters, the profile includes additional sections about the game universe.

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• This profile features a sample or customized Player Character. See our video games writeups FAQ for more.
• This profile features tabletop RPG mechanics about the video game’s gameplay. See our video games writeups FAQ for more.
• This profile features non-canon hypotheses about in-game events and mechanics. See our video games writeups FAQ for more.

Background

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Zabraks!

For those who aren’t Star Wars superfans, Zabraks  are the species of Darth Maul  in the prequels. The red-and-black bad guy with the dual-bladed lightsabre.

Zabraks are “near-Humans”. Which in practical terms means that they can be portrayed by Human actors with makeup and cosmetic prostheses. They have vestigial horns on their scalp, and little to no hair on the body or scalp.

Zabrak ethnicities have various horn patterns, and a much wider range of skin and eye colour than Humans do. For instance, though Darth Maul has bright red skin, many other Zabrak characters have beige skin. Zabraks also tend to be big on tattoos, with extensive abstract patterns across their face, head and body.

Cultures

Most Zabrak cultures tend to encourage single-mindedness, competitiveness and determination. It’s common for their traditions and education to emphasis the martial arts and melee weapons, if only to “build character”. This is why the Sith recruited Force-sensitive Zabraks as formidable fighters.

But beyond these specific cases, Zabraks are one of the pillar species of the Republic. They are fairly widespread, and have a tradition of exploration and pioneering.

Though prowess with melee weapons is the most traditional way, Zabrak competitiveness is in practice more likely to be encountered in other fields, such as business management.

Video

For atmosphere, the spiffy trailer for a “season” of the The Old Republic game.

Powers & Abilities

Klustre is one bad mama jama . She’s big, strong, and very much into competitive sports emphasising strength and speed.

She was a ranked champion in a traditional form of Zabrak fencing involving large swords (though she was stuck on a remote world and couldn’t compete further up). She played a sort of combat polo involving ferocious mounts. She regularly practices bodybuilding. And these are just the main ones.

Blade work

Klustre wields a sword pretty much as if it were an ax – or at least a falchion. But the lack of finesse and the rather… medieval style are deceptive. She hits like a truck, she has remarkable endurance, and of course she’s much faster than she looks.

Coming from Zabrak styles done with traditional melee weapons, she rapidly took up to the Shii-Cho form of lightsabre combat  (also known as Form One in the Jedi taxonomy). She is much better at Form One than most.

Seeing her guard can lure opponents into thinking they’re going to encounter a primitive Shii-Cho form executed with the usual so-so skill level. But when used by somebody who really knows what they’re doing and has Klustre’s physical power, Form One is plenty deadly.

At the Sith Academy, Ms. Taschen is also taught the basic Soresu techniques  (a.k.a. Form III). This is a more defensive form doesn’t match her temper. However, Form III training is important to defend against blaster  fire (and some less common attacks). This wasn’t covered by her years of Zabrak fencing practice.

Not just muscle

Klustre is also exceptionally strong in the Force, though she only discovered that late due to the lack of guidance and the abuse of recreational compounds. She primarily trained to use the Force to enhance her physical and martial power.

Meanwhile, in orbit above Korriban…

Examples include :

• Force jumps.
• Enhanced lightsabre fighting speed and coordination.
• Increased durability by deflecting attacks.
• “Force scream”, a sort of kiai that physically smashes the target and might well kill someone.

Ms. Taschen also has a basic business and technical education. Further, she is a connoisseur of various party-related products and practices such as liquors and recreational stimulants.

History – pre-game

(This History section is original rather than something covered in the game. It is only one of the possible, imaginary takes on the Sith Warrior Player Character.)

Klustre Taschen is the only child of a couple of wealthy Zabrak entrepreneurs. Originally plying their trade in the Outer Rim, her parents found themselves trapped behind Imperial lines. The planet they were on unexpectedly surrendered.

Most of their business being on the holonet, the Taschens continued to work – albeit with a lower profile. As they likely couldn’t return to the Republic without being killed by Imperial patrols, they moved to a remote world called Ord Mersin.

There, they’d be relatively free from scrutiny. Ord Mersin also had a tightly-knit Zabrak community, the descendants of a marginally successful colonisation attempt.

Their credits also gave them a lot of clout on Ord Mersin. The money let them live as lords of the land, buy all necessary discretion and import all sorts of luxury goods.

Life was excellent, if provincial. But as non-Humans, they knew their lives hanged by a thread. At any point, the Human-supremacist Empire could decide to confiscate everything and eliminate them. If not worse.

Playgirl

Klustre was raised to act in secrecy and hide her origins and wealth as much as possible. She was also taught a keen awareness that it could all end with the snap of the fingers of some petty cop or functionary.

As a result she was quite determined to enjoy herself as long as that was feasible.

This involved considerable amounts of drugs and liquor (albeit not enough to damage her health), tremendous amounts of sex, and expressing her typical Zabrak competitiveness in a number of sports. The latter included bodybuilding, two forms of Zabrak fencing, speeder bike racing and two sports evoking polo, albeit considerably more violent and dangerous.

By age 12 she knew that she was Force-sensitive. Though her power was considerable, the complete lack of Force experts on Ord Mersin greatly delayed this discovery.

Use the Force, Klustre

The Taschens knew that Force sensitivity made their daughter a big deal with the Empire. It was probably enough to compensate for being an alien. However, it all looked rather dangerous.

Klustre didn’t mind the danger. But her parents didn’t want to gamble the life of their daughter by handing her over to some crazy, bloodthirsty ancient religion.

Some years after the Treaty of Coruscant, the Empire stepped up its recruitment policies. Soon, all youths above a certain threshold of Force sensitivity would be shipped to the recently reestablished Sith Academy on Korriban.

Korriban was the homeworld of the Sith. It had long been held by the Republic, but was reclaimed by the Empire during the early stages of the Great Galactic War. It held many Sith secrets. And so, the Empire launched massive archaeological efforts to exploit the foreboding and deadly tombs of ancient Dark Lords of the Sith.

Even on remote Ord Mersin, the Empire would come looking sooner rather than later. Voluntarily checking in now seemed to be the safest choice, for extremely relative values of “safe”.

History

(In-game events start there. Though of course the specifics only represent one possible playthrough of the game.)

Though Klustre imagined the Academy as some sort of military boot camp, it was far worse than that.

Main shuttle port on Korriban.

It was filled with scheming psychopaths and fanatical murderers. One key feature was the numerous possibilities for students to betray and kill one another to facilitate their advancement against their rivals.

Home by the Sith

Ms. Taschen also quickly discovered that she had been singled out before she even arrived.

The traditionalist Overseer Tremel  of the Academy was staunchly opposed to the new recruitment policies. He considered that the new rabble would debase the Sith. In particular he was willing to go to any length to eliminate one Vemrin , the star of the current batch of apprentices.

Despite Tremel’s attempts at preventing his rise, Vemrin had become the favourite of Darth Baras . As such he could credibly influence the future of the Sith if he became the Dark Lord’s apprentice after graduation.

Games of death and deceit, part 1

Tremel noted that a new applicant was extremely strong in the Force. Though he cursed upon seeing it was an alien, he knew it was his last chance to stop Vemrin’s rise before it began.

Overseer Tremel.

Klustre was bewildered. She couldn’t understand what the nutbars at the Academy were saying when they ranted about “sensing her great potential”. Then Tremel told her that either Vemrin didn’t walk, or she wouldn’t. Soon everyone knew that they were the alpha rivals in the cohort. Even though Klustre had yet to do or even *say* anything.

Meanwhile Tremel rushed Klustre through the process. He exerted his influence to have her skip months of academic classes, and take the traditional trials in rapid succession. He was successful, in that Klustre proved during exercises that she could physically match Vemrin.

Games of death and deceit, part 2

During her not-quite-an-education at the Academy, Klustre was forced to kill many people in self-defense. She even had to outright murder rivals she was certain would kill her if she let them live.

Revolted, she steered away as much as she could from all the sick torture and carnage stuff. She went so far as to sabotage several Imperial operations she found too icky.

For her services, Klustre was also granted a slave. She now owned a Twi’lek  woman going by Vette.

Darth Baras

This rolling mess attracted the attention of Darth Baras. The annoyed Darth thought that Tremel was going too far with his crusade. Thus, Baras ordered Klustre to murder Tremel. Whether she succeeded or died in the attempt, the matter would be over.

To Tremel’s surprise, Klustre overcame him despite wielding but a training sword. She then spared his life by letting him fake his death and flee.

Darth Baras was impressed by a youth who could beat a veteran Sith in single combat to the death. He made Klustre his new minion, dismissing the furious Vemrin. Predictably, Vemrin attempted to kill Klustre while she was on the last leg of her trials. But the Zabrak killed him.

Always two there are

Strong in the Force and powerful in body, Ms. Taschen easily completed her accelerated trials. Judging her on strength alone, Darth Baras made her his Acolyte.

He told her to finish whatever training she deemed necessary at the Academy, then join him on the capital world Dromund Kaas so he could put her to work.

Description

Klustre is tall and powerfully built. She spends a lot of time at the gym chiseling her physique and musculature. If there is a Zabrak beauty salon in the area, she’ll also sport a fresh cornucure, though the nuance will be lost to non-Zabraks. She’s further had her curves surgically enhanced.

Darth Baras during the Cold War.

She has learned to copy the body language of other Sith apprentices to blend in. Thus she’ll puff her chest, widen her shoulder and lower her head to look more threatening, and come across as surly and hostile. She finds that tiresome and somewhat puerile. But given her dangerous situation she’d rather be safe than sorry.

To further blend in Ms. Taschen wears tough-looking clothing in blacks, reds and silvers.

The Female Sith Warrior is voiced by Natasha Little .

Personality

The decadent Klustre is self-centred and ruled by her passions. Therefore, channeling the Dark Side is easy to her.

The whole bit in the Sith Code  about being strong and freeing oneself from the chains sounds great to her. She interprets it to mean the chains of conventional morality.

Furthermore, her cultural taste for victory and competition makes many of the harsher aspects of the life of a Sith bearable or even enjoyable.

Not good at evil

Klustre could thus probably be a great Sith. However…

However, she has zero interest in killing anybody, making people suffer, conquering great power in an orgy of blood, betraying everyone and backstabbing their puppy, or any of that sick stuff.

Her only ambition is to get drunk, have sex, get high, have sex, enjoy a good workout or sparring match, and maybe have some more sex and uppers  on the side. This all requires money, but her parents have a lot of that. And they would much rather fund her carousing than see their daughter killed in some crazy religious war.

Other traits

Klustre has a number of annoying verbal tics. She blatantly overuses the words “seriously”, “literally” (used as a generic amplifier), “globally” (ditto) and “awesome”.

She also has a tendency to randomly exclaim “that’s what *she* said !” and “but that’s not a dildo !”. These are the punchlines of old saucy jokes… that are unknown outside of the Zabrak community on Ord Mersin.

Being a rich person in Imperial space she’s used to slavery. However, her business-centric parents have taught her that slaves are investments who should be well-treated to return the best value. For instance, Klustre finds the use of shock collars on slaves revolting. Globally.

Ride the Force Lightning

Ms. Taschen is uncomfortable with the unbridled “survival of the meanest” ethos at the Sith Academy. The constant death and backstabbing and machinations are making her miserable. She’s also a poor fit socially, whereas she’s been the queen of the party during her whole youth.

In her opinion, most everybody at the Sith Academy is a total psycho. They seriously need to get laid, see a therapist, take a chill pill and go jump into lava – the exact order is negotiable. How anybody can relish in evil and suffering rather than have a good time is beyond her.

However, her strength in the Force — something she was simply born with, much like her wealth — means that she’s riding the gravy train. It gives her a serious shot at acquiring lots of personal and political power.

Once she rises high enough, she could probably build a nifty fortune — greater than even her parents’ — and a personal fief then drop out. She’s heard about Dark Lords of the Sith  doing just that.

Spiffy private manor on a cool planet… harem… no, scratch that, harems with all the best-looking guys… exceptionally well-stocked cellar… safe zone from most Imperial laws… super-VIP at all the clubs and restaurants and everything… private gym for her and the harem dudes… that’d be so awesome. Seriously.

Consigliere

Klustre is sometimes dismissed as stupid. But this is a mistake. Crucially, she’s smart enough to understand that she isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed. She has the raw intelligence but doesn’t have a head for business, strategy, politics or some other practical and lucrative application of intellect.

Her parents have always warned about that shortcoming, and to have good advisors around her when making important choices. They mostly had business in mind, but the faithful Klustre took their advice to heart. She will usually consult trusted persons about what she may have overlooked.

At this point, it is Vette who fills this role. With her parents’ teachings, Klustre sees Vette more as a combination personal aide and consultant, with something of a personal sports coach thrown in.

Though legally Klustre owns Vette, Vette earns a percentage and is treated more like a junior associate. The main exception is that Vette cannot legally leave her “employer”. But in many ways, it is Vette rather than Klustre who takes the decisions and lays out the strategies.

Quotes

(Standing on a bar table in her boots and alcohol-soaked panties  among smashed glasses and pitchers, roaring drunk, brandishing a beer mug and flexing her other arm, rotating from left to right to make her breasts swing more or less in rhythm with the deafening dance music) “YEEEAAAAH PAAAHRRRRRHTYY !”

Sith instructor: “Now if one of your fellow student were to experience a tragic accident…”
Klustre (looks at him aghast for several seconds, mouth wide open, then finally): “… you shitting me ?”

Creepy Sith Instructor: “And thus you are again forged in blood. You grow from their deaths, as they were weak. You learn of the true strength of the Force.”
Klustre: “I don’t fight to kill. I don’t fight to learn. I fight to win.”

(Incomprehensible, drunken Zabrak sports hymn. It sounds more or less like like a hooligan soccer chant bellowed by a hoarse giant bloodthirsty otter.)

By Sébastien Andrivet.

Source of Character: Star Wars: The Old Republic MMORPG.

Helper(s): Darci.

Writeup completed on the 3^rd of October, 2017.