The Consular game in SWTOR gets off to a perfect start in its prologue. The opening as with all of SWTOR's openings, is sublime and very Star Wars-y. "A long time ago in a Galaxy far, far away..." followed by a scrolling introduction and finally, a shuttle flying ominously towards a planet.Your character, however you imagine them, is a Jedi Padawan at the tail-end of their training. You're part of a new generation of Jedi that's come of age during the stalemate between the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire. If you remember what happened to the Jedi Temple during the sacking of Coruscant:
Ouch! Until his name was established I always knew Master Ven Zallow as "Hot Jedi".
The Jedi had to relocate to Tython (handily discovered by Bastilla's descendant Satelle Shan), reconnecting with their heritage and rebuilding their numbers with an eye towards the inevitable resumption of their conflict with the Sith.
From the very outset, you are established as being extremely strong in the Force. This is Bioware's way of explaining why you're allowed to go running around fighting and going on dangerous missions when you've yet get your first lightsaber. You're able to get a bit haughty which matches up with the prodigy aspect nicely. The dialogue system generally offers you three options: Nice, Nasty and Neutral. The Nasty options for the Consular are very much in the vein of "Don't you know who I am?". It makes sense for the most gifted person in the room to be aloof and contemptuous. When said Nasty options allow for Darkside points, it definitely feels like crossing a line in a way your special snowflake jedi can justify to himself.
The story of your time on Tython begins with the recovery of several artefacts of the ancient precursors to the Jedi. You see, the interesting thing about Tython is that it's the good guys' version of Korriban only more so. Just as the Sith Order originated on that dusty rocky world made famous by Tales of the Jedi, Tython is the origin of the Jedi. But remember, the Jedi predate the Sith. Actually, Tython and the people who discovered the Force there predate the Jedi.
These ancient Force-Users had a conflict of their own between those who wanted to commune with the Force and those who embraced its dark side. One of the artefacts you're searching for is a holocron of the ancient Master Rajivari, a Dark-sider who amassed his own following and tried to destroy his fellows. Needless to say, he failed and the victors went on to found the Jedi Order. Now his teachings have corrupted a Twilek from a nearby illegal settlement who stumbled on the Holocron.
The nice thing about the Rajivari drama is that he is not a sith. In this game, your character's alignment (the Dark-Light axis) is distinct from your affiliation (Republic vs. Imperial). A Dark Side Jedi is not interchangeable with a Dark Side Sith. If your character falls, they don't suddenly apply for a visa to emigrate to Dormmund Kaas. Learning about Rajivari's history is a nice primer on what Dark Jedi can be and how distinct they are from the Sith.
As you progress through Tython, you begin to accumulate various resources namely: force powers, your companion Qyzen Fes and at long last, your lightsaber. I have to say, playing through those first ten levels, I got so used to being a Padawan and having to use a vibroblade that actually receiving a lightsaber feels like a well-earned moment.
Qyzen Fes is effectively introduced. We meet and interact with him several times before he joins us. He's not my favourite companion character in the game but he's far from the worst and does what he's supposed to: draw fire away from the squishy Consular. I will say that I like his interactions with Yuon Par (your character's mentor).
Nalen Roloch is the Twilek who gets corrupted by Rajivari's holocron. He's an interesting choice of villain for the Consular given that themes of the class. It is worth pointing out that one of the recurring plot elements in the Star Wars Expanded Universe is corruption via exposure to heretical teachings. The confrontation with Nalen at story's end is a definite 'graduation day' in that I could swear that there is a shift in the writing and voice acting for the Consular.
Tython itself is beautiful. The designers have done a superlative job creating a landscape that's beautiful but wild. The various ruins are nicely realized as well: an entire civilization covered with millennia of arboreal growth to contrast with the sands of Korriban.
But it's time to venture out of the cocoon of the Jedi Temple and get to the second half of the prologue...
