Time for another installation in my award-winning self-help series of essays entitled, “Know Your Role”, where I, TD-0013, try to help you be the bestest darn Imperial Trooper you can be when roleplaying. Put on your helmets, kiddies… Class is in session..
Know Your Role – Lesson Two: Cannons ARE canon
There I am, in the Mos Eisley cantina looking to get a quick entertainer buff and perhaps a little RP in the process when I’m sent a ‘/tell’ (/tells are IMs in Star Wars Galaxies) from a complete stranger who feels the need to try and correct ME on how to be stormtrooper. Bear in mind that I’m in full trooper kit, and carrying one of the Sandtrooper’s weapons, the T-21 Light Repeater Blaster. The /tell goes something like this:
L33T Arr’Pee-ur says to you: “You shouldn’t have that weapon in here”
You reply to L33T Arr’Pee-ur: “Umm… What?”
L33T Arr’Pee-ur says to you: “Stormtroopers wouldn’t carry a T-21 into the Mos Eisley cantina. You shouldn’t have that weapon.”
You reply to L33T Arr’Pee-ur: Are you serious?
L33T Arr’Pee-ur says to you: “Only Shocktroopers carry T-21s. I used to play a stormtrooper, and I was in the US Army. Stormtroopers wouldn’t bring such a huge rifle into such a small place.”
You reply to L33T Arr’Pee-ur: Have you even SEEN the fucking movies???
As you can easily see by the fervor of my replies, I was ready to scream at the sheer and complete idiocy of such a statement. Now, in this moment of shock and poor judgment, I tried explaining who I was in order to establish my base of expertise on the subject. I say that this was done in poor judgment because let’s be honest here; this douche bag wasn’t going to listen anyhow, and 10 to 1 says that busting the balls of the Imperial players is how he gets his jollies. I shouldn’t have bothered, but whatever… I did.
Let’s take a look at a couple key things here:
1) L33T claims he used to play a stormtrooper. Now, my first question is, ‘Then why aren’t you anymore, if you’re such a fount of knowledge on the subject?’, but to, be fair, perhaps he simply got bored with constantly being harassed by every no-dick dimwit who gets their jollies off by giving Imperials shit, and now he’s making himself feel much more important by passing on this fine, upstanding tradition himself. Point is, he’s not a stormtrooper, OR an Imperial, so his opinion on the matter means very little to me in the first place. I don’t go around and try to tell Jedi RPers that they should be stealing babies, mind-raping everyone around them, or better yet, they shouldn’t even BE there because Palpy and the Man in Black made damned sure they weren’t. I don’t tell them any of this…at least not to people I don’t know, and not in a manner to dictate how they play their game. I live and let live, regardless of how retarded it might seem. I’m an Imperial, and I’m a Stormtrooper. I know the role, and I play that one role, and yes, I am a fount of information on the subject, thanks. Comes with doing it for ten years.
2) L33T says he was in the US Army, and judging on when and how this information was vomited out at me, it’s plain to see that he’s trying to use it as a way of establishing his credibility on the subject. Sad fact is, it doesn’t, because the Imperial forces are NOT the United States Armed Forces. Yeah…That subject yet again. I see so many cases of people basing their Stormtrooper Roleplaying off of factual military forces and it’s silly. I will admit that a healthy knowledge of military protocol, military bearing, radio discipline, and attention to detail are all phenomenally useful in pulling off a convincing service member, regardless of the army, fictional or not, but that’s where it should end. Now, I believe the point he was trying to make by stating this is that in the real military, generally the guy with the BAR doesn’t lead the charge inside a small building. The weapon’s too cumbersome to use effectively inside cramped quarters, and oft times, he will either stay outside to watch the door, or he’ll sling the big bastard over his shoulder and pull out something smaller, such as a handgun, when he enters the building. This makes absolute sense, of course. That’s how it’s done…. In the REAL world. In SWG, there is no option for me to sling the weapon over my shoulder, and if I show up with an E-11 and when a fight breaks out, I pull out the more powerful T-21, then I’ll get hate/tells about that too, so fuck it, I carry the T-21. Also something to bear in mind – The Mos Eisley cantina is anything but a small, cramped place. It’s actually pretty big inside, so this weapon wouldn’t be cumbersome inside its walls anyhow. Thanks for your service to our country, and thanks for calling…and remember, the end with the hole in it gets pointed at the enemy.
3) Another nugget that L33T brought up was that only Shocktroopers carry them. First and foremost, when he says “Shocktroopers”, he means it in the literal sense and is referring to a class of Armor in SWG that has never been in any of the films either. I don’t have a huge issue with that because it gets Imperial in Imperial gear, so whatever it takes. Plus I tend to give SWG a –lot- of leeway when it comes to what would or wouldn’t be canon. I’m guessing LFL gave them the thumbs up to take a few liberties with it in order to give players more content and stuff to do. It’s their universe and I’m just there to play in it. Bottom line is, Shocktroopers didn’t exist in the films and therefore, they certainly weren’t the only troops allowed to carry the T-21. I, being a Sandtrooper, carry the T-21, because it’s an iconic and Star Warsy weapon that Sandtroopers carried on Tatooine. Duh.
The BlasTech T-21 Light Repeater Blaster is seen in only a few scenes in the first film, “A New Hope”, and it’s carried by Imperial Sandtroopers who are stationed on Tatooine, and in particular, Mos Eisley. I’ve never seen the weapon carried by anyone else in any other film from the series…ever. This makes me think “well, the Sandtroopers are the only ones in the films carrying them, so obviously, this is a weapon that Sandtroopers would carry.” Silly me. It’s a canon weapon being carried by a canon Stormtrooper in the middle of the exact location that they are seen carrying them in the films. What the fuck was I thinking?
I’ll stop carrying the T-21 when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers.
You ignorant simp.
Now, if you’re RPing a trooper in SWG, here are the correct weapons you should be carrying when RPing:
BlasTechE-11 -
These are the standard Imperial issue weapon of all canon and classic Stormtroopers. (Loot and craftable - easy to obtain)
DLT-19 Blaster Rifle -
A standard issue heavy blaster rifle in the Imperial Military. Not only do Sandtroopers carry these in ANH, but this is the weapon the drug smuggler carries on the Death Star until he hands it over to the Fleabitten Dog in the detention center. (Recently introduced to SWG as a reward item for completing the “Deathtrooper” content added to Dathomir. Hard to get, but well worth it.)
SE-14 Combat Pistol -
True, we don’t see Stormtroopers use these in any of the films, but the visual dictionary has a photo of a trooper brandishing one, so that’s good enough for me. A nice handgun for roughing up Rebel and/or criminal scum. (Loot and craftable - easy to obtain)
BlasTech T-21 Light Repeating Blaster -
The subject of this post, so you should already know enough about it. (Loot and Craftable – Easy to obtain)
There we go. You now are armed with the knowledge of the proper weapons your Trooper should be carrying when RPing in SWG. Note that I keep mentioning RPing? That’s because when the shit hits the fan, you use your most powerful weapon to blast the tar out of the enemy, canon be damned. But when you’re RPin’, you need to know your weapons…
…and once you know your weapons, you know your role.
Next time: “L33T Smuggler spits in the troopers face” and other asinine, unrealistic behavior.
