Part 42: Dxun - The Tomb of Freedom Nads

We're coming up to my favourite sequences in the game now



What is it boy? Is Atton stuck in a well?



"Dree-deet reet dee dee doot doot."
"So Kavar is trying to reach me. I expected as much."
"Dweet-dee-dee. Deet-ree. Dwoo..."



Dxun/Onderon is a bit wacky in the sense that it's split up into two portions. You have to finish one planet after Onderon before you're allowed to go back. If you did Onderon last, then you just planet hop a bit and Kelborn will contact you again, but it doesn't make a whole lot of sense that way - the Exile's line is to the effect of, "But like, I totally just left. Now you want me to come right back? Bogus!"

My Exile is apparently a surfer dude.



We're back in mucky Dxun.





"But I don't know how good their offer is anymore."



"He wouldn't tell me anything. Just that he wanted to see you. He said it was urgent. But that doesn't matter now. This morning General Vaklu met with the Council of Lords and declared that the Queen was guilty of treason."



I like how they brought out most of your party members into this scene, but they forgot Bao-Dur and the droids

"So I came all this way for nothing?"
"I'm afraid so. I doubt that Queen Talia and her advisor will survive until nightfall."

Jesus is setting new standards for inappropriateness. "You mean I drove all this way to get the last Tickle Me Elmos you had in stock, and you already went and sold them all?"



"But Vaklu has new allies: Sith soldiers and their masters. The war has also driven the caged beasts in the streets mad. Bralor and I concur. She doesn't stand a chance."



"I sense there is something... stirring on the moon itself. Tell me, have your sensors picked up anything from Dxun?"



"Zuka's satellite relay has also picked up several shuttle launches with old Sith transmitter IDs. Some sort of staging base, perhaps."
"Those transmissions are the enemy. They are linked to the fate of Onderon. They must be stopped. Otherwise the Mandalorian is right - Master Kavar and Queen Talia won't survive this day."



Mandalore doesn't grasp the whole concept of KOTOR - you must always work in groups of 3. Running off to assault an entire Sith army? Take 3 people and leave everyone else on the ship. Let me know when it's done. Chop chop.





I don't know about you, but she looks really ominous right about now.



Can't leave that sort of thing to the lowly peons, can we?

"You... you are correct."



Let's see, who do we enjoy torturing the most...



He's been with us since the beginning after all. It's time for a promotion.



"You should send two others to go with the leader. Who else will accompany the expedition?"



We're also sending Mira and Visas.

Together they will form the Lightsaber Justice Squadron.



Kreia has a different little response for everyone you pick to send here. She disapproves of Atton and HK-47, but approves of Bao-Dur for some reason.

"Mandalorian warriors will go with you to find the enemy camp. Just let me know when you want to head out."
"I'm ready. They should head out now."







What mines?



Oh, those mines.

I think this was the original concept art for the minefield:



Looks a tad different.



"Someone skilled with a stealth field generator can get by it, but that's about it. But if they set off any of those mines, it'll still send the signal."



This is kind of where Bao-Dur would have came in handy. He would have whipped up some hack that disabled the sensor completely.





Instead, we're stuck with this. I think you're suppose to blow up the sensor with this demolition pack, but I think it bugged out. It doesn't even work for me as far as I can tell. We're going to have to do things manually.



The whole thing is a puzzle based on how many points you've pumped in your NPCs' skills.

You need a combination of Demolitions to get past the mines, Stealth to avoid the sensor, and Repair to disable the sensor. Fortunately Mira has the first 2.



Unfortunately she has next to nothing in Repair.



Here's a handy magic trick - we can pause the game, then swap out her Stealth Generator for a belt that boosts her Repair skill.



She'll destealth immediately, but if we're quick enough we can click on the sensor anyway.



Yay for game mechanics abuse.



Once we get through that, we can make the upcoming fights easier by turning off the power.



This is one of the bigger setpieces in the game - the Dxun temple.

It looks extremely... phallic.



I'm not even sure if this art was originally from this game, but hey.



Can't we just talk about this? What are we, animals?







It's the diary of the guy we just killed.

"The fool let cannoks through the perimeter. The Sith don't tolerate any failures. I'm the fifth captain to command this base camp."



So now we know what the temple really is - the tomb of the Sith Lord Freedon Nadd.

"We don't know why we're here. We sit and make sure that no beasts come into our camp and especially that they don't reach the tomb itself. A bleak assignment. This jungle feels similar to Korriban before it fell after the War. Everyone is on edge. Executions for infractions are commonplace here, 50% more than my previous command. There's a blood-thirstiness to the jungle. The beasts here continually assault our mined perimeter. We've had to replace the mine fields four times so far. We received more equipment and more men today. The equipment went straight inside the tomb. As usual, I have no idea what it contained."



This guy makes everything sound so dramatic.



Dear Diary,

Our station here on Dxun tis a dreary locale. Every day that I toil here only makes me further yearn for the arms of my beloved Lucille. Our rations run low, and our harsh taskmasters are but another weight to our burden. And then there are the beasts. Always there are the beasts.



"We're on full battle alert. Against what they won't say. A Sith Master said something about a "disturbance in the Force.""



"The only thing that could disrupt our Masters' plans would have to be a drop-ship invasion from the Onderon military. We will be prepared."



"Knock knock."
"Who's there?"
[Insert lightsaber through door.]



The front of the temple is covered by a giant army of Sith. I've never tried to Stealth through them all, but I'm sure it's possible.



Team Lightsaber Justice Squadron - go!





"You take the two on the left, I'll take these three on this side, and... oh fuck it. Just run around like idiots like usual. And get stuck in a wall or two while you're at it, the day's just not complete without that nonsense."





These are pretty sorry excuses for Sith Lords. I mean, they're using purple lightsabers instead of red ones. Major fashion faux pas.



Meanwhile, back at the camp...



They did a special camera angle for this 2 shot to set up the big reveal.





"I assure you, they won't know what hit them."



In KOTOR 1, Canderous told a war story about being a young Mandalorian and strapping onto the back of a Basilisk Droid, diving into the atmosphere during an invasion. He goes on for quite a while how awesome it feels, and the player can just respond with something like, "I want to ride a Basilisk now!"

So basically, this is a joke two games in the making.

"Yes, just like a new Mandalorian recruit proving themselves. Into the heart of a war, as well. Mandalore has given you a great honor."



"But she will get you to Iziz in one piece. Their fighters won't be able to stop that."



"Minor systems. Nothing you need concern yourself with. We've modified the interior to hold three people. It may be a little tight. You need to leave immediately. Iziz is in the grip of a civil war, so there'll be considerable resistance. They remember the last time Basilisk War Droids visited their planet."



The Basilisks Canderous described were different from these ones actually. They were originally suppose to look like this:



But Obsidian decided that looked too retarded:

quote:

The Basilisk war droid version presented in K2 was an intentional departure from the ones presented in Tales of the Jedi, and we are happy, because frankly, those look really stupid. This is much the same reason that many of the designs in K1 are a departure from the ship designs in TOJ, and with good reason. So yes, the Basilisk droid version was an intentional departure from the older models, and we take full responsibility. It is noteworthy that LucasArts and Lucasfilm agreed with our decision on the first pass, much as they agreed with the decisions made with K1's look.

I love Mandalorians.



For our party headed to Onderon, we must take Kreia with us, but we have one open slot to choose.

We're grabbing Mandalore of course. It's not even up for debate.



Off we go. This is the best cinematic in the game as far as I'm concerned.









Note we're not actually trying to attack the city, just trying to land in it. But we're firing on it anyway. I think Mandalore inside is just shooting the guns for fun.





I could totally see Mandalore and the Exile cranking up the AC/DC while divebombing the city, and Kreia looking on disapprovingly.



Lock up your daughter
Lock up your wife
Lock up your back door
And run for your life
The man is back in town







Mandalore and his barely restrained glee.



"I hope to build on that legacy."



Let's pull a George Lucas and cut away just when the good stuff is starting.



"I told Kelborn of your progress. The rest of your squad is already en route to Iziz. Also, Kex checked our sources for any information about this place."



I mentioned Visas Marr and Atton Rand being horrible names, but bar none the worse name in the game is Freedon Nadd. What the fuck were they thinking? It's bad enough the temple looks like cock and balls from afar, now we have a Sith Lord with a name that sounds like a sexual position.



"Some sort of fallen Jedi. He conquered Onderon long ago, and became their king. The royal line is directly descended from him. That part of Onderon history the citizens try to leave buried and forgotten."



Oh please, Freedon Nadd took over as the ruler of Onderon and then he eventually died there. Big whoop. Revan and Malak destroyed entire worlds.

"Is that all you know about this tomb?"



"The echoes of his life are still here. I feel secrets can be learned here."
"I've got a bad feeling about this place. Sith and ancient tombs are never a good combination."



So basically, he's not going to help. Great.



I'm digging these new uniforms and helmets the Sith have in this game.



In KOTOR 1 they just all seemed to be wearing those chrome uniforms that got old after like, the 5th dude.



Looks like in the background they're conducting some sort of ritual. Hrmm.





I gave Mira and Visas the 'Throw Lightsaber' skill, aka. the Kyle Katarn Special.

It's completely useless, since it doesn't do a lot of damage and uses way too much Force points. Oh, and since you threw your lightsaber away, you can't block blaster shots any more. But hey, it looks wicked cool, and that's what counts.



Ooh, a puzzle!





Hmm. Big Brain Academy: Sith Edition.



Well it's getting late, and I don't feel like actually solving it right now. If you can figure out the answer, you can post it below in spoilers or something.





On the other side of the temple, there's another of these puzzles.









I remember the answer to this one, but to be honest I never really understood the riddle because it's worded so poorly. Again, post in spoilers if you know.

 There is a chance that one or both of these riddles are trick questions.