“Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall free me.”

How to explain the Sith Inquisitor?

I could tell you that the Sith Inquisitor is the Emperor Palpatine to the Sith Warrior’s Darth Vader, but that sells it short. The archetype is just inspiration. It’s not the destination, or the road we take to get there, but the guide. The Sith Inquisitor is Raistlin. The Sith Inquisitor is Lucifer. The Sith Inquisitor is Julius Caesar. The Sith Inquisitor is what you make him.

When we set out to build our game, we knew we needed more than one Sith class. The original trilogy only has two Sith in it, but they couldn’t be more different: the heavily armored brutal physicality of Darth Vader compared to the frail but immensely powerful Emperor Palpatine. When we extend our inspiration to Episodes I-III and The Clone Wars cartoons, Count Dooku, Darth Maul, and Asajj Ventress further expand our concept of what a Sith can be. Is a Sith a lithe quick fighter who uses the Force to enhance his/her physical combat prowess, a calculating deceiver adept at Lightsaber duels, or a master manipulator and amasser of dark side secrets? Does a Sith use one lightsaber, two Lightsabers, or a dual-bladed Lightsaber? Having multiple Sith classes allows us to embrace all of those Sith inspirations, instead of having one Sith class that was the jack-of-all-trades and the master of none.

But BioWare and LucasArts have always been about story, so it’s not just the Lightsabers and the Force powers that differentiate the two Sith classes. With two Sith classes, we have the opportunity to explore the Sith order from two very different perspectives, to develop a more complete picture of the Sith Empire at the time our game is set, and to present strikingly different character arcs and choices.

Whereas the Sith Warrior class is all about the martial side of the Sith, the Inquisitor is about the darkest of dark side secrets; everything that’s weird and unsettling and dangerous about the Force. The Inquisitor is about power not (solely) through brute force and intimidation, but through manipulation, corruption, and knowledge.

And where that other Sith class starts in a position of privilege, born to lead and prepared from childhood for training at the Academy on Korriban, the Sith Inquisitor begins the game as a slave, plucked from obscurity and toil in a highly stratified, unforgiving Empire because of his Force-sensitivity and sent to become a Sith or die.

The Inquisitor quickly learns that the opportunity the Sith promises if he passes his trials comes with its own set of rules and masters. The so-called freedom of the Sith is reined in by deep traditions and a society where the powerful do their utmost to keep their inferiors under control. Does the Inquisitor seek power within the traditions of the Sith, playing the game by the unspoken rules of the Lords of Korriban, or does he pursue personal power at the expense of the Empire? Perhaps he eschews both personal power and the Empire to follow the light in a society steeped in dark side temptations—easily the most difficult path of them all? The Sith Inquisitor is about the individual at odds with the community, and whether to ultimately embrace that community, transform it, or act in defiance of it.

But of course, these themes are, again, just starting places. Player choice ultimately determines how the story plays out. I will say that yes there are some freaky artifacts involved and maybe a Force ghost or two, and lots of opportunity to apply lightning in some very persuasive ways. But there are also opportunities for a more subtle approach: “Look the innocent flower, but be the serpent under it.” Manipulate, corrupt, and play Sith against Sith.

Congratulations, slave. You’ve won your freedom. Now what are you going to do with it?

Rebecca Harwick
Writer
 

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