Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Part #17

Part 17: Ghosts of the Sand

Part 17: Ghosts of the Sand

Last time, we arrived on Tatooine in search of the next Star Map. In order to get out of Anchorhead, we had to accept a Czerka Corporation job that involves killing the nearby Sand People tribe to make them stop attacking Czerka's sandcrawlers. However, a conservationist suggested there may be a possibility to deal with the Sand People peacefully, but that would require a high-quality translation droid. We've got one now, albeit a slightly murderous one, so let's head out to the Dune Sea and see what we can do.

But first, let's talk to this Jawa by the gate.

Iziz, I am. Leader of the tribe that is mine. You are the same in kind, a leader that stands before your tribe? There are troubles that we have. The giants made of sand, they are horned ghosts that take us away.

I think we can just about figure out what Iziz is saying here, but let's ask HK-47 just in case.

So, Iziz, what do you want me to do?

There has been no help given by asking the great group that digs with machines. Now Iziz asks you.

That must mean he asked the Czerka Corporation and they weren't any help. Sounds about right.

Long have we scavenged, among you and those that came before. We have things you will like for this service.

People of the Sand in the sand. There is a place in the far south where they live. The approach holds great fighting. Bring the tribe from in to out and there will be payment in trade and thanks.

Sure, we'll keep an eye out.

Right, now we just need to present our hunting license to the gate guard.

I have proper authorization.

Well, let's see it. Come on.

You'll need it.

Thanks.

The Dune Sea looks big and open, but it really isn't. There are Czerka marker posts preventing you from going too far, and it's not a very long walk to the Sand People enclave either.

When you see Tanis, and I know you know him, tell him his wife hopes he enjoys the anniversary gift.

Who?

Well, he can do what he wants. He'll get what he deserves. I bought my own license just so I could see that he did.

But he's not smart.

Um, all right? What if he has a message for you?

Oh, I'll be long gone soon enough. The next shuttle to... anywhere, really. I've had it with cleaning up his messes, repairing his droids. If he lives, he can try and get by on his own. I doubt he'll last long with no one to listen to his lies.

I have to go.

I'm sure you do. Like I said, when you see him, tell him his wife Marlena says hello.

Right. Well. That was a stimulating conversation. It sounded like this Tanis likes cavorting with women that aren't his wife, and said wife now wants him dead. Would've been nice if she didn't accuse the first woman she sees of being "one of his playthings", but there you go.

That must be him.

He's handling the situation exactly as well as his wife expected.

I don't remember you from Fazza's club. You new to Anchorhead? Could you maybe help me get out of here?

Settle down, HK.

What a mighty hunter.

You know, now really isn't the time for a lecture. Of course, I might be more receptive after I'm rescued.

It just doesn't seem very sporting.

We could just leave you here, you know.

Of course.

What do you want me to do?

The wife put a kink in my battle droids. They're in some sort of discharge loop, and if I move from this spot, they're threatening to blow up. She knew I wouldn't know how to fix them. Could you try to do some repairs? They don't care if you move. It's just me who's stuck.

I take it back. Let's congratulate his wife.

Commentary: I say we blast the meatbag and save you the trouble, master.

HK-47 once again offering us what seems to be his solution for most problems. I do love Bastila's complete lack of patience for Tanis' idiocy, though.

Okay, fine. I'm not sure he deserves it, but then again I suppose it'd be pretty cruel to let him die here even if he is an idiot and a creep.

Just access each droid's repair interface. You'll have to do some tinkering, but be careful. One explosion I can survive. Any more than one and I'm dead. Oh, and ignore the message Marlena left in there. No way do I deserve this, I swear.

That's debatable. Well, since we promised to save Tanis' sorry ass against our better judgement, we should get cracking. There are four K-X12 battle droids and we need to fix them all, so might as well start from the first one aka K-X12A.

A special message from Marlena posted:

Having fun on the dunes, Tanis? I made sure you would. Here's the deal: Your precious droids have trapped you. They'll hold you until you die of thirst. Make a mistake while repairing them, they explode. Have a good death. My mother was right about you.

Nice. We can also look at the status of the droid group to find out more about the problems that need fixing. K-X12A's energy governor is out of alignment, but these technobabble descriptions of the problems don't matter one bit when it comes to fixing the droids.

If you have enough repair skill and parts, you can skip this whole thing by just activating auto-repair. We're a little short on parts and I want to show this off properly anyway, so we'll choose manual repair.

Oh no, it's a logic puzzle. I'm terrible at this kind of thing, even if the puzzle itself isn't all that difficult. Well, let's see.

Two of the above statements are false. Both Node 1 and Node 3 are reporting Node 2 failed, whereas Node 2 says Node 3 failed. Node 1 and 3 can't both be correct about Node 2 failing, because two of the statements are definitely false. That leaves Node 2 as the only one that can be reporting accurately. I kept completely overthinking the whole thing while I was playing, and eventually had to look up the answer. I'm as dumb as Tanis.

In any event, that disables the Slimeball Must Die subscript on K-X12A. Let's take a look at the next droid.

This one isn't too bad. You just need to identify the missing prime number, which of course is 7. The other options are either the number 1 or composite numbers.

Next up, we've got another math puzzle. 300 small pulses = 180 large pulses, so 100 small pulses must be 180/3 = 60 large pulses. If we've used 60 out of 180 large pulses, we're of course left with 120 large pulses.

Finally, we have this puzzle. I'll be honest - I had no fucking clue what I was supposed to do with this one. However, if you're not a moron like I am, it's actually a lot simpler than it appears. As it says up top, this is a descriptive number progression and the correct answer can be figured out by looking at the previous entry, namely how many of each number appear in it. 13-21-14 has three 1s, one 3, one 2, and one 4, i.e. 31-13-12-14. The final entry doesn't even matter, because you can already tell this option is the only one that can be correct.

So, Tanis is freed from his predicament and it only took some minor cheating.

I don't feel bad for demanding more money from this fucker.

[Persuade] You know the rescue was worth more.

What? Man, that's a hell of a persuade check. This is actually a Hard persuade check, and we currently have a 25% chance of passing those. I probably should've been putting even more points into Persuade all along, rather than going for the Repair skill for several levels. Here, we missed out on a thermal detonator.

I'm heading back to the shop... I hope she left the manuals for these things behind. Ungrateful little...

You really do meet lots of wonderful people in this job.

With Tanis once again free to do whatever it is he does, we'll continue on towards the east.

Well, that was expected to happen at some point.

The Sand People warriors attack with blaster rifles and gaffi sticks, but even this Elite Warrior isn't too difficult to dispatch.

That'll be our first set of Sand People clothing. If we wanted, we could just replace Bastila with T3 and march into the Sand People enclave right now since only non-droid party members require the disguise (which also doesn't fit on Wookiees), but we'll explore some more before we head over there.

Let's have a chat with the miners by the sandcrawler.

I doubt we could hold out on our own against another wave of them.

Alright, fellas. Who's first?

These warriors aren't very tough.

Another wave of Sand People will spawn as soon as we kill the last warrior.

Rinse and repeat.

Just this one final wave left.

Did the company send you? It's about time they drove these animals out!

Well you've got a lot of work ahead of you. Do you know about their enclave in the south? Don't even try to go near it. They've taken all the Czerka weapons that were supposed to protect our sandcrawlers. That place is a fortress. A death trap. You'll have to find some way to sneak into the place. Glad it's not my job.

I have to go.

Ah, the Jawas will salvage it eventually anyway. Then we can buy it back and start over. Heh. Makes sense to me.

Bastila levels up and learns Improved Energy Resistance, which gives the Energy Resistance shield to the entire party.

HK-47 levels up as well and gets a couple more points in Computer Use.

Those are desert wraids to the southeast, so let's go see if we can get some valuable wraid skull plates to sell.

Guess we'll have to deal with these guys first.

For some reason, we couldn't take the robes off the Sand People who attacked the sandcrawler, so we need to kill this group to get our second set.

Using Force Whirlwind on creatures is always a fun time.

The wraids also have the goofiest running animation ever. Look at them go!

Before we put on our Sand People disguises, there's one more point of interest to check out.

Gah! Why didn't anyone see that mine? Surely, Bastila has enough Awareness at this point.

Seems like someone is trapped underneath some debris, so let's get them out.

Why did we just stand there when the countdown started? We're supposed to have Jedi reflexes!

Oh, hey guys.

You can find this crew of Gamorreans hanging out at the hunting lodge. Talking to them doesn't affect this encounter in any way.

Gurke's crew was also apparently responsible for killing Sharina's husband, but I seem to have missed that line of dialogue with Sharina when we bought the wraid plate off her.

This is actually the wrong option to take here.

There is another (easier) Persuade check to tell them that you are a powerful Jedi and they might be biting off more than they can chew, but I just wasn't paying enough attention. Picking this one loses you the respect of the hunters at the lodge, as if that matters in any way. If you run into the Gamorreans later at the hunting lodge, you can change your mind and intimidate them to earn back the other hunters' respect in exchange for two dark side points.

Okay, we will leave you alone here. You count yourself lucky! Yeah, you real lucky. *snort*

And so, Gurke's crew wanders off without violence.

Had we intimidated them here, we'd have earned 200 XP. Their explosion trap deals 60 points of damage, which left us at very low health. If you're on the hardest difficulty, the trap deals 90 points of damage. I don't think it can actually kill you outright because you need to be alive for the cutscene, but I might be mistaken.

Like I said, the Dune Sea looks big and open but really isn't. It's actually very compact, as you can see here. While we haven't revealed the entire map, these are all the points of interest.

Okay then, now we can put on our disguises and enter the Sand People enclave. Don't talk to these guys, they'll see through the disguise and attack. You can loot the corpse in front of them, though. It's weird, though, I could've sworn there were mines on this path.

GAH

WHY

I genuinely have no idea why Bastila couldn't see the mines. Every other time I've played this, I've been able to see the mines from a mile away, and nobody in the party has had any more Awareness than they do now.

Oh, now we can see them. Maybe something was glitching out and the area transition to the Sand People territory fixed it.

The only things of real interest in this area are the Sand People enclave up ahead and the path to the Eastern Dune Sea to, well, the east. We've got some banthas here, but can't do anything with them.

I guess we can also loot some corpses. This is the only one that has anything decent.

I'll just enter the enclave here and mind my own business...

At least we got past the turrets outside, but somehow I get the feeling that was the easy part.

Well, that may be bad. Then again, I doubt we were ever going to be able to pose as Sand People for very long, so let's hope HK-47's language skills can bail us out.

HK will say this every time you ask him translates something, and I'll cut it out from here on out and just include the actual translations.

Translation: He is expressing disbelief... as am I... but his duty requires that he report to the Chieftain. Extrapolation: It would seem that we are at least worthy of curiosity, for the moment. I would much rather this get bloody, master, but it is your call.

You guys didn't need to remove our clothes, you know.

Somehow I feel like we should get straight to business here.

Translation: He requires proof of good faith. We must make a contribution to his people that shows we are not a threat. Shall I blast him now, master?

I like how the default option is "Offer him ten bucks to stop the attacks on those disrespecting the land of his people."

Translation: He wants moisture vaporators from the Czerka. If you deliver them, he will order that his people reduce their attacks on miners.

We were kind of asked to make him stop the attacks, but reducing them should do for now because we shouldn't argue with him at this point.

While we're here, let's ask about the Jawas.

Fine, we'll get back to that later.

For now, we'll simply do as he asks. This is probably the most communication anyone has managed with the Sand People... well, ever, to be honest, and we don't want to do anything to ruin things now we've gotten this far.

Translation: We are to be escorted outside. He will wait, but he doesn't believe we are coming back.

Okay then. Back to Anchorhead and the Czerka office.

No, we don't need any crazy suicide parts right now. We want moisture vaporators.

Maybe we shouldn't have told him that, considering our contract with Czerka.

Well, I have two of the finest vaporators that Czerka Corporation produces. Of course, they only produce one model right now. The price is 400 credits for the pair. I won't break them up. They function best when linked together.

We could easily afford that, but maybe we can haggle a bit regardless.

[Success] Well, I don't have much love for the company, not like little miss Protocol Officer over there. I'll lower the price to 200 credits, but that is it. Don't even ask again.

200 for the moisture vaporators sounds fine to me.

Fine, fine, I assume you'll be able to handle the deployment of them? They are surprisingly light. It's a pleasure doing business with you. Do come again.

That wasn't too bad. Back to the Dune Sea we go.

Good hunting out there.

We don't need HK-47 to tell us that.

Translation: He will take us before the Chieftain, as he was instructed to do.

This one I'm keeping in because somehow they managed to misspell "Unintelligible" here. How? I thought they just copy-pasted that line wherever appropriate.

Translation: He did not expect us to return, master. He wonders if we have brought the moisture vaporators.

For some reason, the game still gives you an option to attack the chieftain at this point. I guess it's there if you want to be an even bigger dick than usual on the dark side path.

Translation: The attacks will be reduced, and he will allow you to explore this enclave, but be warned that any lack of respect will result in death.

So don't loot any containers while you're in here. Also, I'm guessing him giving us his gaffi stick is some sort of an honor thing, maybe something that's customary for a chieftain to do when they need to show their gratitude. We're dirty outsiders so he probably didn't want to give us his Chieftain's Gaffi, but couldn't refuse either because that would be dishonorable.

You can still kill him even after you give him the vaporators!

Translation: He says that what you seek is far from here, in the Eastern Dune Sea. He will give you a map so you can find your way. Translation: His people found it, but didn't scavenge it because a krayt dragon took up residence in the excavation.

A krayt dragon? What is that? How do I pass it?

It's a very big and very mean lizard, and you probably don't.

Translation: The hunter is a Twi'lek. He will be in the Eastern Dune Sea somewhere.

Ask about captives.

Clarification: We must be more specific, master. They capture many organics.

Ask if he knows about the Jawas Iziz told us about.

Protocol: We should not keep him long. It is an insult to take too much of his time. Unless the plan is to blast him when you are done, of course.

Noted.

Protocol: This will be a very sensitive topic, master. You will want to be careful with your questions or risk offending him. Not that that is much of a worry.

Tell me the history of your clan.

Since we're here, we might as well learn something about the Sand People, right?

Ask if we could meet this Storyteller.

Translation: He says that you don't understand. They must never be told to someone who might say them incorrectly out of ignorance. Translation: To speak them in error is a blasphemy punishable by death. Only their greatest warriors are even permitted to listen to the tales.

How could I prove I am a worthy warrior?

Translation: He doesn't know, master. His peopIe usually kill outsiders. Since you are an outsider yourself, that would not suffice. Translation: The greatest challenge for a warrior is to face a krayt dragon, the largest predator on Tatooine. Fight one of those and bring back a dragon pearl. Disgust: I think he's making fun of you, master. He doesn't believe an outsider could do such a thing.

We'll see.

For now, we'll bid the chieftain farewell.

Excellent. We managed to stop or at least reduce the attacks, got the chieftain's gaffi so we have something to present to Czerka, and we can also free the Jawas. All of that without anyone except a couple of random Sand People patrols getting killed.

We can wander around the enclave now, but there isn't a whole lot to find. The Sand People don't particularly care for our presence and try their best to ignore us, and we absolutely do not want to steal their stuff.

We can, however, inform these Jawas they are free to go.

Iziz must have sent your coming. Are you a rescuer? You must be.

Iziz will wait by the walls of your city that open to the sand. He'll trade fair. Thank you.

Alright. That's everything we can do in the Sand People territory for now.

Next stop: Eastern Dune Sea.

The Eastern Dune Sea is another very compact area. It is implied this is supposed to actually be a fair distance away from the Sand People territory and Anchorhead.

The marker posts here are kind of irritating, because if you ever try to go between them the game will complain how there's nothing but endless desert past that point. Come on, I just wanted to take a quick shortcut.

This is sure to go well.

Note to self: Don't stroll into the krayt dragon cave like a moron.

Perhaps you are interested in the ways of the hunt? Will you help me? I have tracked a very special beast to its lair.

It is larger than the one my father felled a decade ago, and he is too far out of his territory and must be dealt with. I might not prevail alone, human, but I must try.

I'll help. Give me more information about how.

We must bait the great beast out of hiding and ambush him swiftly. There is no room to engage him in the lair, and his hide will repel blaster fire. I have placed mines around the mouth of the cave. We must coax him out, but this is the end of his season of hibernation. It will take much to rouse him. The food of a beast this size is almost exclusively banthas... and foolish hunters, if we are not careful. To lure him out we must lure his food to tempt him.

It may seem like he is isolated, but the range of his territory extends deep into settled areas. We must kill him for the safety of others, and blasters will not do the job. We must lead the banthas here using fodder like the Sand People do. Their warriors may carry some, or you could search the settlement. The spaceport merchant also had some. I'm not sure why.

Got it.

We are far from the weakened tribes around Anchorhead. The Sand People of this region are strong, fierce, and will think nothing of killing you. Be careful.

Of course it wasn't going to be that simple.

I mean, we did okay with the Sand People just now.

Look, I have your fodder.

Good. Now, there is a herd that moves out in the desert. Lead them here. Approach them with the fodder and lead them here.

I'll see what I can do.

I wish you luck against the Sand People. When you return, the dragon will fall. I wish it could be under more sporting circumstances, but we must do what the circumstances call for. I had hoped for a mirror of my father's expedition, but that will have to wait.

Right then, we've got our game plan. Come on, banthas, come get some nice food.

Let's get going, friends. You probably won't get devoured by a krayt dragon.

And here come the Sand People.

The two elites at the back start the fight by tossing an adhesive grenade and a poison grenade at Bastila and HK-47, freezing them in place and poisoning Bastila. Jerks.

Force Whirlwind still seems to work okay for us.

These guys are a bit more dangerous than the ones in the western Dune Sea, but grenades notwithstanding they're not too bad.

So, let's continue on with our bantha herd and hope no more Sand People decide to join the party.

Quickly, be ready. The banthas are in position and will soon stir our restless prey. I hope the mines do their job quickly.

Don't worry, I'm ready.

There it is, the great beast itself.

As the dragon approaches the banthas, it walks over several mines but keeps going.

Eventually, though, the mines are too much for even the mighty krayt dragon to withstand, and the beast falls.

I thank you for your aid, human. You have earned a share of the victory, such as it is.

I thank you for your help here today, human. I shall see you again, I am sure.

There it is, the fabled krayt dragon pearl. If we give this to the Sand People, we can hear the history of their people, but it can also be used as a lightsaber crystal.

With the krayt dragon gone, we are free to explore its lair. We can just about see the Star Map up ahead, but that is not the only thing of interest in the cave.

One of the bodies has a Jedi Master robe and... uh... a blaster rifle? That doesn't seem to add up. Maybe this Jedi Master just preferred blasters.

The Master robe offers an increased defense bonus (+3 over our current +2), so we'll put it on. I like the look of the Jedi Knight robe better, though.

This will go into our off-hand saber.

This will go into our main saber, I think. The Opila crystal provides a damage bonus of +3 and boosts critical hit damage by 2-12 points.

And here we are. Our second Star Map, and another step closer to the Star Forge!

The Star Map is an artifact of the dark side. The krayt dragon may have been drawn here by its dark power, only to be enslaved by it. Come. We should leave this place. There is nothing else for us here.

For completing a main quest, we receive a hefty 2000 XP. That is enough to level us up as well.

I don't recall those speeders being out there when we came in.

Oh, damn it. Well, Calo did always say he wanted to hunt a krayt dragon, but I think he's hunting something or someone else this time around.

You got lucky on Taris; the Sith attack saved you from a quick and gruesome death. But I promise you, the Sith won't be getting in my way this time!

I still say it's bullshit he survived that.

Let's make sure he doesn't survive this.

Calo has a lot of health, two powerful Mandalorian blasters, and he's currently refusing to get hit by our Force Whirlwind. Even though we've pumped ourselves full of stimulants, this fight can still be lethal.

Which is why I decided not to level up until the fight, as doing so refills our vitality points. I grab an extra WIS point, and put another skill point into Repair.

Heal unlocks at level 12, so we'll take that at the earliest opportunity. It's an improved version of Cure, and can also remove poison.

For our other power this level, we take Stun. Honestly, taking both the Stun and Force Push trees is kind of redundant and I probably should've taken Burst of Speed or something. I really like Stasis and Stasis Field, though.