I seem to enjoy playing the Jedi characters, even though I think their stories are boring compared to the Trooper/Bounty Hunter and Smuggler/Agent. I just enjoy how they play. That being the case, and with Tohru's main character Ra'r'tee stuck in the mid-20 levels for several months now and in need of a levelling partner, I decided to roll up my first Jedi tank and see how fast I could level him to 26. Answer, two weeks. I took greater care than normal to save all his outfits to be documented here. I think I may have gone a little overboard.

I had more fun than usual making up his backstory. Tohru has a way of making a person feel creative; I've been trying to create backstories for these characters that are more interesting than the usual stuff. Celmak's roleplayed a lot more reserved than my usual characters; there's still a lot of soldiering in there along with the cosmic Jedi stuff.

Celmak, the story goes, actually started out his career as a Lieutenant in the Republic military, and at one fateful point was assigned to support a group of Jedi including Jahnn and a young Ra'r'tee herself. During a critical battle, Celmak imposed himself between Ra'r'tee and an incoming Sith, and wound up with a smashed spine, cracked skull, amputated right hand, and half his face missing. Comatose, medically speaking he was a lost cause.

On Ra'r'tee's insistance, however, the Jedi took up the cause of Celmak's recovery. Cybernetic implants replaced the damaged areas of his nervous system, and Jedi healing saw to the restoration of his remaining body. The healers reconstructed his mind as best they could, but bits of what Celmak used to know and used to be were lost. In return, though, they discovered the infirmed soldier was developing a strong affinity to both the Force, and his Jedi savior's presence.

Now, more than a year later, Celmak has completed his apprentice's training and been awarded the title of Jedi Knight. His path has taken him back to Ra'r'tee, and the two are now travelling together.

So Celmak's played a little differently than my other, more happy-go-lucky Jedi. He's made severe sacrifices and experienced severe loss, and that weighs on him. He's likely to be more grim, more about getting the job done and less about having a good time along the way. I think that's another reason teaming him up with Tohru's Ra'r'tee works: she can help him lighten up.

Last Updated 2013-12-14: 8 new images of the Valiant Jedi Body Armor added.

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PADAWAN UNDERTUNIC

For the first time, I was smart enough to take some shots of my character in his starting outfit before I had to sell it off to make room in inventory. It looks like a gym outfit or something. Seems like it'd be very comfy, though.

This is from when Celmak was still training on Tython. A good look at Celmak's cybernetics (you can see where the Sith's saber must have caught him right in the jaw there).

Celmak reacts to being asked if he can get FM with that stuff. Then he lightsabered the guy to pieces. Okay maybe not.

Celmak tries out his Jedi Practice Blade, better known as the Force Nerf Bat. As someone who still has vague memories of bring trained to operate heavy assault artillery, he's not so sure this weapon is practical.

A nice shot from Celmak's arrival on Tython, meeting one of the resident Masters. Please note that the outfit this NPC is wearing -- brown robes with hood down -- is not actually available for players to wear anywhere in this game. Thanks a pantload, devs! You merciless teases.

BANTHA HIDE VEST

Sometimes I wonder if the devs aren't actually having a laugh at the players' expense, when I see outfits like this. Not exactly what I envision a dashing heroic Jedi Knight wearing into battle. But the stats were good and it kept him alive, so there's that.

Though I do admit I could picture a student taking to wear this kind of simple, durable outfit several months into their tenure on Tython, as they adapt to the climate and geography. It just looks like overalls, is the thing. And overalls just aren't heroic.

Celmak tries to find a dignified way to swing a nerf bat while wearing overalls. He fails.

GAMORREAN BANTHA HIDE VEST

Mercifully, Celmak's next outfit, dropped from an unlucky Flesh Raider, was much more suitable. This semi-pseudo-samurai armor works well for a Jedi in combat training, I think. It's not too complicated, but it's not silly or impractical looking, either.

Celmak immediately feels more at home, finally back in armor (even if it is just simple leather armor instead of ceramic hyperplast like he used to wear). Apparently Gamorreans are wizards at leather-tanning, because this outfit and the previous were ostensibly made from the same material and yet have widely different armor ratings...

Celmak has turned in his Jedi Practice Blade for a Tythonian Training Lightsaber, which is a little bit fatter and therefore does more Nerf-based damage to a given target. When pressed with the question of how a rounded "blade" with no sharp edges could slash through a target, Celmak's teachers suddenly remembered they had somewhere they urgently needed to be and fled while the Benny Hill theme played.

Celmak meets Satele Shan, Grand Master of the Jedi Order and red-hot MILF who simply does not look like she's in her late-40s. Celmak, happily, is an uncharacteristically civil character I play, and so made no comments to that effect. But as a red-blooded veteran you know he had to be thinking it.

Seriously, I've enjoyed the little snippets we're given of Satele a lot in this game. They managed to hint at great depth of character despite having no storyline that directly focussed on her, and create a character that was both complex and relatable. I suspect Jennifer Hale's talented voicework had a lot to do with that.

APPENTICE'S VEST

As Celmak progresses through his studies on Tython, he's rewarded with another silly-looking outfit to wear. He wonders if this is secretly some sort of Jedi conditioning, preparing him to face any situation no matter how humiliating. Okay, it's really not that bad an outfit. But a Jedi's clothes, it's not.

While this outfit doesn't really hold up against the more advanced robes and jackets and armor that the game has to offer, I do admit that it would look awesome as a cosplay or something. Lots of intricate parts to work with and lots of opportunities for some creative needlework.

I have my doubts about whether that explanation would justify this outfit's existance to Celmak, however.

Celmak is summoned to the Jedi Council chambers, and is assigned to Master Orgus Din for the last phase of his training as a Padawan. The Jedi Knight gets a much warmer welcome from the Council than the Consular does. It's kind of comical just how closed-minded this collection of the greatest minds in the Republic is...

Note that two Council members are just phoning it in, and Satele is for some reason so tiny that you can't see her sitting in her chair (this is a common bug in the game, actually; you can still see Kira looking down in the seat at the tiny two-inch Satele).

Celmak meets with the local Twi'lek population, trying to win their favor. In this shot he's presumably explaining the benefits of annuities over traditional stocks or CDs. The Twi'leks, already comfortable with their investment portfolios, are unimpressed.

A nice shot of Celmak, who can even make an outfit with a tight metalic purple undershirt look good. The fact of the matter is that he (and I) finds the whiney Twi'leks with over-entitlement issues to be severely trying, but he perseveres.

Lacking anything better to do while the Twi'leks come slowly to grips with the idea that the whole frelling universe doesn't revolve around them and their petty little problems, Celmak decides to just help Master Din install a BluRay player in T7.

ASPIRING KNIGHT'S VEST

Pretty much the coolest-looking outfit a Jedi can earn while on Tython. I lament, again, that there is no modifiable version of it out there. But I thought it was cool how it's so similar to what Orgus Din wears; you wind up looking a lot like your teacher.

Celmak approves of his new outfit. Even the thick cumbersome welder's gloves with TV remotes hotglued onto the wrists.

Not even this rockin' outfit, though, can make a man weilding a Jedi Baseball Bat look cool. Celmak seems to be wondering why he even bothers.

Happily, events conspire in such a way as to help us resolve this dilemma. Celmak rescues his teacher from a mentally unbalanced tentacle-monster, and in return Master Orgus is so overcome with gratitude (he's seen enough hentai to know where this was going, clearly) that he just gives Celmak the remaining parts needed to build his own lightsaber.

And Celmak enters the Forge. It's actually a pretty cool moment; the player's worked hard to get to this point and claim his first lightsaber, and the devs clearly knew it. The scene has a lot of drama and power, but doesn't drag on or make you want to skip through it. It's a nice little pat on the back for completing the very first milestone in the game.

It's said, though, that all Jedi craft their sabers at this Forge, and that just doesn't fly: according to the opening scene of this game, Tython -- the planet this Forge is on -- was lost to history until just a few years ago. How were the Jedi making lightsabers here if they didn't even know where the planet was?

Celmak prepares himself for the task of assembling his first Jedi weapon.

One thing about this Forge, though, is that the player's character is never shown to actually use the thing while building his lightsaber. He just stands in front of the glowing blue table and assembles all the parts himself. Why does he even need to be here..?

And the assembly continues. It's a neat scene, watching the bits come together and kind of weld themselves into place.

Until the hideous Expanded Universe declared otherwise, I personally assumed that lightsabers were a mundane technology, not something only a Jedi could make. It was just that only a Jedi would have any practical use for the gizmo. It's why the infantry of our Armed Forces aren't issued broadswords along with their automatic rifles: there's no reason to.

And Celmak's lightsaber is complete. His first task for the weapon: knock down that hornet's nest up in the ceiling of the cavern. He succeeds with heroic aplomb.

That's better; the pose becomes much more dynamic when he's holding a real weapon in his hands. The blue suits this outfit really well, I thought. Usually I acquire a yellow or green crystal as soon as possible, but blue really is the ideal color for the fledgling Jedi's ensamble.

Even Celmak's cybernetics seem to fit perfectly with the outfit. Seriously: why won't they give us a modifiable version of this outfit..?

Either way, Celmak's trials are finally completed (after only one and a half days of playtime!), and he's now a full-fledged Jedi Knight!

GARNIK INFANTRY ARMOR

At this point, for fun I took Celmak to the Trooper's starting planet Ord Mantell and bought him a basic soldier's outfit so I could see what he might have looked like back when he was still a Republic officer. I keep it around to wear for roleplay events or group meetings. His commission was never retired, after all; he probably still has his Republic rank (and pension, too)...

Still the dutiful officer, Celmak does recall a few things from his life as a soldier.

EESSELES TROOPER'S BODY ARMOR

This was a drop from the Esseles flashpoint... even though there wasn't a single Trooper in our group. As previously stated, sometimes it really does seem like the Devs are taking little digs at us players. In any event, I thought it would at least be appropriate given Celmak's background. It's in Havok Squad colors, though, and I kind of like the idea of him being made an honorary member of the Republic's star unit after his sacrifice for Ra'r'tee.

ECHANI HEAVY CHESTGUARD

Another favorite outfit design of mine, often referred to as the "Jedi Hoodie." This one was purchased off the galactic market when Celmak started his mission on Coruscant; his Aspiring Knight's Vest, while cool-looking, just wasn't offering the necessary protection any longer.

I've loved this outfit ever since I first used it on my first Jedi Knight more than a year ago, now. This Heavy Armor variant has a lot less brown in it, and to my surprise just that one change does indeed make it seem like it's more heavily padded.

Celmak has also acquired a Fusion-Core Lightsaber from the Esseles flashpoint, and a purple saber crystal from another Jedi Master. The whole look comes together very well, I think.

Celmak meets up with an acquaitence from Tython, the Jedi apprentice Kira. The two team up to take down some terrorists in the local spaceport, Kira demonstrating both her extensive ability to bluff and her inability to deliver a punchline properly.

HEAVY THERMAL CHESTGUARD

Another purchase made when the previous Echani Heavy Chestguard was starting to pale against the damage Celmak was sustaining in fights. It's clearly just a brown-ified recolor of that previous outfit, but it had a suitable charm to it, I thought.

It's a very useful outfit, but I wasn't able to use it for long...

BATTLE EXPULSOR'S CHESTGUARD

Pretty much immedaitely after I blew a few thousand credits on a new chestpeice for Celmak, he received this outfit as a quest reward. It's a fully-modifiable outfit and while it's a very simple Jedi outfit, I thought it was fitting for what is a very simple Jedi.

Note how similar it is to the outfit worn by the Jedi who first greeted Celmak on Tython, but with the hood up. Hood-up outfits bug me, honestly. I agonized over what hair style and color to give my character when I designed him; I don't want those choices covered up...

Nice dashing shot of Celmak swinging his lightsaber. I still love how the purple sabers go with just about any outfit... but I have to admit that a blue saber would have matched up with this particular robe even better.

VALOROUS PEACEKEEPER'S CHESTGUARD

Ah, here we are. This outfit was Celmak's staple for the majority of the Coruscant questline, a quest reward for a Heroic mission early on the planet. It's the same basic design as the previous, just with more interesting colors. This outfit suits Celmak a lot more than the standard-issue Jedi colors, I think.

This outfit has a unique blend of light and dark colors. It's like he's wearing a typical Jedi's tunic and trousers, but a different robe/coat over it.

Also at this point I discovered a handy way around the "hood always up" issue: I bought a mod-able headpiece that doesn't cover up too much of his head, but still forces the hood to disappear. I can make the headpiece visible or invisible as the mood takes me, now. It helps that the headpiece doesn't look like a cutesy tiara, which is a sin many of the Heavy Armor circlets in the game do commit. It looks like it could be part of his cybernetics, so it's very unintrusive when it's visible.

And Celmak's finally starting to come together as a character. He completed Coruscant, Taris, and Nar Shadaa wearing this outfit and looking awesome.

Celmak teams up with a fellow Jedi and fellow soldier to take down the Locust on Taris. The three of them share a silent moment of preparation before storming the gangster's facility.

Note the new hair style and color on the Jedi Consular. Wow, that looks pretty. It's too bad that only the vanilla human appearance can use them. Why not Chiss or Cyborgs or Mirilan or any of the other humanoid appearances..?

Celmak and Kira, also in a new outfit off the galactic market, meet a contact on Nar Shadaa. They probably kicked back a beer or two at the bar there before leaving. Kira is many things, but a good influence will never be one of them.

An older shot of neophyte Jedi Celmak working on a new Kerbos ship design. The weight-to-fuel ratio rules consistently baffle him.

INDIGNATION CHESTGUARD

And as Jedi Celmak heads to Tatooine to continue his mission and meet up with Ra'r'tee, I decided it was time to blow some more credits and get him a new outfit. Update 2.1 ("Customization") had just released, and my principle Artificer had already learned how to craft some basic dye kits. Put these facts together, and Celmak is now sporting a cool white Heavy Armor robe.

Ostensibly the robe was dyed white because Celmak, remembering his commando's survival training, knows that wearing white in a desert will keep you cooler (also that white and yellow are standard Republic military colors, too). Really, though, I'm doing it so his outfit will compliment Ra'r'tee's lovely white and gold dress/robes. Celmak will soon be travelling with the kind Jedi Sage full time; he's still trying to figure out this whole Jedi thing, and I see him emulating Ra'r'tee, whom he likely imagines to be the ideal Jedi example.

And to my relief, Celmak's purple saber looks as great with his white outfit as Ra'r'tee's saber does with her own. The new color-dying system really works great. Too bad all the most useful dye colors are nearly impossible to get...

With the hood down (and presumably tucked underneath his coat), Celmak's ready for a lightsaber duel or really intense staring contest.

His outfit's pretty much complete now; taking Tohru's advice and designing a richer background for the character really did lead to a much more unique look for him. And now... off to Tatooine!

VALIANT JEDI BODY ARMOR

As I finally discovered the collections/unlocks system in the game, suddenly many new possibilities open up for my characters. Celmak reaps the benefits, coupling a white/bright orange dye kit with the Valiant Jedi Body armor to produce a new look that still maintains the military and white-robed themes.

Celmak and Kira try out their new armor at the station. A violent argument breaks out over who looks better in the new outfit.

An establishing shot of the new ensamb. The white robe and silver-and-gold armor looks like he's wearing Havok Squad light infantry armor under a white Jedi robe. Perfect.

The "Valiant" armor is based on the outfits worn by the Jedi in the "Sacking of Coruscant" cutscene. Visually, it's a lot more versatile than I first expected. And somehow it meshes really well with the rugged hair and asymetrical cybernetics.

Speaking of cybernetics, poor 'Mak's original five-fingered prosthetic hand finally failed and he was forced to seek out a more durable replacement. Unfortunately, with supply lines on the Outer Rim being what they are and finances being restricted, the only available replacement model that offered the material and tensile strength necessary for someone in his line of work isn't quite as attractive as his previous one. It's an adjustment period Celmak does not relish going through.

Celmak contemplates the implications of using a urinal with a right hand capable of sheering flesh with a gesture. Ruminations on the proper adjustments to his "wiping" style are also explored...

The gloves set that provides this unique bionic right hand is the "Series 505 Cybernatic Hand," and I thought it was a really inspired addition to the appearance options the game provides. It really suits Celmak's little origin story of a trooper maimed by a Sith and then restored by the Jedi. It stands to reason he lost a few bits of flesh and bone going up against a lightsaber-swinging crazy person, poor guy.

It's not all depressing developments for our soldier-cum-Jedi Knight, though, as his continued studies of the arcane prototechnologies practiced by the Jedi have led to the creation of a new lightsaber with a superior ionized plasma power source: the Volatile Derelict Lightsaber, also known as the "plasma saber."

An unlocked collection lightsaber with an unlocked collection silver-blue color crystal, this saber really is perfect for Celmak. Headcanon is that the unique power source and construction result in a more durable device that doesn't require periodic recharges like a normal saber. The gasious/plasma effect at the base of the blade is just byproduct of the system.

Result: perfect weapon appearance for a white-themed Paladin-esque Jedi Knight.

Celmak and Kira receive a holocall from Grandmaster Satele Shan, the one who approved his induction into the Jedi Order and his partnership with Consular Ra'r'tee, against objections from more conservative elements. Celmak's desire to reconnect with his rescuer is still paramount, but he's wlling to postpone his mission on Satele's behalf. For a while.

The flashpoint mission is quickly completed, and Celmak finds himself on Tatooine at last, meeting Ra'r'tee for the first time since their mission together years ago. It's an awkward reunion, made more awkward by the stiff expressions the game sticks the characters with.

The pair is stuck for words. Kira looks on, ready to break the silence before it becomes more awkward. There's no worry, though. The two up-and-coming Jedi quickly take to each other and are pleased with how well their personal styles compliment each other's.

Their newly-forged partnership is quickly put to the test, as the foursome stumbles into a Czerka assasination squad accosting a hapless SIS informant. The three Jedi and complimenting lizard-man make short work of the corporate goons, and then receive a threatening holo-message from an exceedingly stupid Czerka executive.

But there's lots to do in Mos Espa. Forewarned of his arrival, Ra'r'tee has already selected one of her prized tauntauns for Celmak's use on the desert planet. And so Celmak meets Nestle!

Tauntauns are useful to Jedi because they can't be tracked by heat and electronic sensors like a speeder can. Also, on planets like Tatooine with so much dust, speeders demand far too much maintenance time and quickly become unreliable.

None of these facts warm Celmak to the idea of having to trust this big cranky beast. Grumpy Nestle is equally unsure of her new rider.

Ra'r'tee knows that rider and mount need time to acquaint, and so summons her own favorite tauntaun Cadbury for some laps around the town. They start out slowly to let the tauntauns adjust to the heat, as well as to let Nestle adjust to carrying this unwelcome creature on her back.

[I run with the idea that tauntauns have mutliple layers to their fur coats, like an otter or beaver, that trap a layer of warm air between the tauntaun's body and the severe cold of their native planet. This also means, however, that a tauntaun can be comfortably, safely adapted to warmer climates simply by shaving off the huskier, shaggier outer coat and leaving only the thinner and more wirey lower layer. Hence, tauntauns on Tatooine.]

[That's my story and I'm sticking to it.]

But Ra'r'tee's had enough of Celmak and Nestle's complaints, and pushes Cadbury to full stride. Too stubborn to be outdone, Nestle follows hot on their heels. Celmak holds on for dear life.

Somehow, miraculously, the ride concludes without Celmak or Nestle coming to blows, though the young Jedi has adopted a gruff attitude to the whole process. Celmak stands firm on his belief that a saddle-beast is simply no replacement for a nice, reliable, inanimate speeder.

And yet, Ra'r'tee notices him thoughtlessly scratching behind Nestle's ears when he thinks she's not looking, and Nestle purs happily despite herself.

Like a good Jedi, Ra'r'tee suppresses her laughter.

Celmak and Ra'r'tee confront Gromick in his underground workshop on Tatooine, unaware that they're about to be conscripted into moisture-vaporator repair duty.

I don't know why, but I really like this simple image of the two of them. These two character just fit together so well, in my head.

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