Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords

"In one standard month the Republic will collapse. Not due to secession or war, but simply because it lacks the infrastructure to support itself."

- G0-T0 (circa 3,951 BBY)

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II &mdash; The Sith Lords is the sequel to Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, which was widely regarded as a major commercial and critical success. The original game, however, was developed by a different company, BioWare. According to the game's producers, the change of developers was primarily due to BioWare's occupation with other titles, such as Jade Empire and Dragon Age. BioWare is understood to have recommended Obsidian as an alternative developer, having worked with many of Obsidian's key members when they were part of the now-defunct Black Isle Studios. The Sith Lords was constructed using an updated version of the original Knights of the Old Republic Odyssey engine, which Obsidian obtained from BioWare.

The game takes place approximately five years after the conclusion of the first game, and focuses on a different set of characters. The conclusion of the first game varied depending on the choices of the player, with either the light side or dark side of the force emerging triumphant &mdash; at the beginning of The Sith Lords, players specify which of these outcomes they wish the sequel to follow. Regardless of how the original game ended, however, the beginning of The Sith Lords sees the Sith having almost completely destroyed the Jedi Order. The character whom the player takes control of is a Jedi Knight banished from the Order, and is thought to be one of the last remaining Jedi, known simply as the Exile or Jedi Exile.

Among the new characters who may join the main character are Kreia (who acts as a mentor to the main character), Mira (a bounty hunter), Hanharr (a banished Wookiee bounty hunter) and Atton Rand (an ex-Sith soldier from the Jedi Civil War). Several characters featured in the first game are also brought into this sequel, and a few can join the main character's party. Enemies include Darth Sion (a Sith Lord whose shattered body is held together only by "his hatred and the power of the Dark Side"). The new planets which the character may visit include Telos IV (the near-destroyed home of Carth Onasi, a character in the first game), the planet of Onderon, its jungle moon Dxun, and Peragus II. Korriban and Dantooine, which also appeared in the original KotOR, are also revisited. The Ebon Hawk, the ship used by the main character in the first game, once again makes an appearance.

Many players were disappointed by the ending of the game; however, on the PC version, intrepid fans could find several data files that collectively, constitute the Cut Ending to Knights of the Old Republic II. While many questions are still left unanswered, this does help clarify what could have happened to many of the members of your party (though it should be noted that the events in cut content are rarely what actually occurred in the continuity: if it was cut, it never happened).

Opening crawl
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...

Escape from Peragus
It is the year 3,951 BBY, five years after the Jedi Civil War, and four years after former Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Revan's departure to the Unknown Regions. Revan's ship, the Ebon Hawk, badly damaged, emerges in the Peragus system, with six passengers onboard: two droids that formerly belonged to Revan, T3-M4 and disassembled HK-47, two other droids, 3C-FD and an HK-50, and two Humans, the Jedi Exile, and an old woman named Kreia, both unconscious. T3-M4 manages to dock the ship into the Peragus Mining Facility, where the Exile is put into the medical bay and Kreia, mistaken for dead, into the morgue.

After awakening, the Exile finds Kreia, as well as a former Sith soldier by the name of Atton Rand locked in a prison cell. The three of them seem to be the only beings alive in the entire facility, which is covered with dead miners and crawling with assault-programmed mining droids, which apparently started "mining" Humans. Eventually, the Exile discovers that HK-50 was responsible for the damage done to the facility, and destroys the droid.

Meanwhile, another ship arrives at Peragus: the Harbinger, the Galactic Republic capital ship that was transporting the Exile to Telos before a series of events that resulted in them ending up in the facility. When the Exile, Kreia, and Atton &mdash; in an attempt to escape Peragus &mdash; board the Harbinger, they discover that the ship has been overrun by the Sith, led by Darth Sion. As Kreia approaches Sion, possibly in an attempt to distract him, the Exile and Atton escape through one of the ship's fuel pipes. Meanwhile, Sion severs Kreia's hand with his lightsaber, and the Exile discovers her newly formed Force bond with Kreia when she unexpectedly feels her pain. The Exile and Atton continue and meet up with T3-M4, and after reaching the hangar bay, board the Ebon Hawk. As they are trying to stop the Sith from boarding, Kreia catches up with them after escaping from Sion, despite the loss of her arm. As they try to escape the Peragus system, flying through an asteroid field surrounding the planet Peragus II, the Harbinger fires at one of the asteroids, which causes a sequence of explosions that completely destroys the mining facility.

Refuge on Telos
With the Peragus astrogation charts containing only the planet Telos, which is slowly recovering after Saul Karath's bombardment during the Jedi Civil War, the three have no choice but to board Citadel Station. There, they are immediately disarmed and detained by the Telos Security Force for the duration of the investigation of the destruction of the Peragus mining facility &mdash; not coincidentally, the main fuel supplier for Citadel Station, without which the station will not be able to maintain its orbit around Telos. During the investigation, a mysterious woman steals the Ebon Hawk with T3-M4 locked onboard. Chodo Habat, the leader of the Ithorian team responsible for the restoration efforts on Telos, offers the Exile to restore some of her lost connection with the Force, and provides a shuttle off Citadel Station in exchange for eliminating their rivals, Czerka Corporation. Despite Kreia's disapproval of an alliance with Chodo, the Exile accepts his offer, uncovers some details about Czerka's illegal business (certainly enough for the Telosian Council to drive them off the planet) and, together with her companions, flies to the surface of Telos. However, the Exile can join Czerka and sabotage the Ithorians for extra credits, dark side points, and a shuttle to Telos' surface.

On Telos, the shuttle is attacked and damaged by a Czerka air defense turret and crash-lands in a restoration zone, miraculously near a Zabrak named Bao-Dur who was a former lieutenant of the Mandalorian Wars and served under the Exile, whom he refuses to call anything but "General". He also designed the Mass Shadow Generator, which played a significant role in the Mandalorians' ultimate defeat in the Battle of Malachor V, and now works for the Ithorians. Fighting their way through Czerka mercenaries, the Exile and her companions reach an abandoned Republic military base, where Bao-Dur pinpoints a breach in the planetary defense system in the polar region as the most likely location of the Ebon Hawk. Having boarded a yet another shuttle (in the process discovering the base swarming with hostile droids), the Exile, Kreia, Atton and Bao-Dur head to the polar region of Telos.

Hidden Academy
Upon arrival, the shuttle once again crash-lands on a polar plateau as a result of being shot down by three HK-50 droids. After dealing with them, the Exile discovers what looks to be a Jedi Academy hidden within the plateau. When they enter it, the Exile's companions are locked in prison cells, and she is brought before Atris, one of the Jedi Masters (and, in fact, the only Jedi in the academy) who previously banished the Exile from the Jedi Order for fighting in the Mandalorian Wars. The Exile offers her help against the new Sith threat, which revealed itself on Peragus, by finding any Jedi who may have survived the purge after the Jedi Civil War. Impressed that the Exile holds no evil against her, Atris allows her to take back her ship (the Exile learns it was stolen by one of Atris' handmaidens) and frees her companions.

When the party assembles once again on the Ebon Hawk, T3-M4 "tells" the Exile that he downloaded a holorecord of her trial from Atris' archives. It turns out that the Jedi Masters in hiding are the Jedi Council members that exiled her, namely Zez-Kai Ell, Kavar, Vrook Lamar and Lonna Vash. This makes the Exile somewhat suspicious, but she nevertheless decides to find them, believing they may help her further restore her connection to the Force and know something about the new Sith threat.

Search for the Jedi Masters
During their subsequent adventures, the Exile finds the Jedi Masters: Zez-Kai Ell on Nar Shaddaa, Kavar on Onderon, Vrook Lamar on Dantooine, and Lonna Vash, killed by Darth Sion by the time she arrives, on Korriban. However, although the Masters seem to be compassionate for the Exile, they refuse to answer her questions until the Jedi Council is reassembled on Dantooine, in the ruins of the Jedi Enclave. While they know each other's location, they are apparently ignorant about Atris being on Telos and surprised to learn it from the Exile.

In the process, the Exile is joined by other resourceful allies, such as Visas Marr, a Miraluka Sith Apprentice and former servant of Sith Lord Darth Nihilus, Brianna, one of Atris' handmaidens, Mical, a historian and a Jedi student on Dantooine prior to the Mandalorian Wars, Mira, a bounty hunter, Hanharr, a Wookiee, G0-T0, a droid of one of the Exchange leaders on Nar Shaddaa, and Canderous Ordo, the new Mandalore, who is regrouping the scattered Mandalorian clans on Dxun, and HK-47, a damaged droid who was repaired by the Exile using parts from the HK-50 models that hunted her.

Rebuilding the Republic
The Exile learns much about her companions' past, learning that many of them were Force-sensitive, and training them in the ways of the Jedi. The Exile's apprentices would later restore the Jedi Order known as the Lost Jedi. Furthermore, she discovers that Kreia was Revan's first teacher, exiled by the Jedi and later by the Sith, and that Revan himself left the known space to fight the original Sith Empire, which, presumed to be defeated by the Republic, continued its existence beyond the Outer Rim.

When visiting Dantooine and Onderon, the Exile is caught in the middle of conflicts between the weakened Republic and two powers aiming to weaken it further—the Exchange and Onderon separatists, respectively. By G0-T0's request (and having no other choice if they needed to contact the Jedi Masters), she stabilizes the political situation on these planets, preventing them from being lost for the Republic, even though the resolution led to two bloody conflicts known as the First Battle of Dantooine and the Onderon Civil War.

Kreia's Fall
Finally, the three surviving Masters &mdash; Kavar, Vrook and Zez-Kai Ell &mdash; gather on Dantooine, in the rebuilt Jedi Enclave, thus restoring the Council. The Exile learns from the Masters that the Council did not cut them off from the Force (as Kreia led her to believe). She caused herself to become deaf to the Force after activating the Mass Shadow Generator on Malachor V and being unable to withstand the Wound in the Force that she created by doing this. However, if the Exile has followed the dark side, all of the masters will be killed on their own planets and there will be no one here. However, the Exile fails to persuade the Jedi Masters to unite with them against the Sith. The Jedi Masters explain that this new Sith threat, which caught them unprepared, fed on Force users, so that whenever Jedi gathered, they inevitably died, and everyone and everything around them shared the same fate. This was what happened on Katarr, Visas Marr's homeworld and the location of the previous Jedi Council. The Jedi Masters explain to the Exile that she, as they believe, will eventually cause the death of the Force, and they fear that she will lead the Sith to the Enclave. Therefore, the Jedi Masters refuse to accept her back into the Order and decide to separate her from the Force...this time, irrevocably.

The Exile submits to the punishment; but before they can begin, Kreia enters and, finally revealing that she is in truth the Sith Lord Traya, kills them using Force Drain &mdash; not because they are Jedi, but because of their attempt to harm the Exile after she was so benevolent to them. The Exile retains her connection to the Force, but is lying on the ground, lifeless, as Atris' handmaidens run into the Enclave and took Kreia to her mistress as a prisoner (If the Exile is male, Brianna will take Kreia to the academy). This leaves the Exile no choice but to return to the secret Telosian academy, as she believes that the Force bond between her and Kreia is fatal and, should Atris execute Kreia, she would die.

However, Atris does not execute Kreia. Even though Kreia reveals her Sith name, she shows how much she and Atris have in common &mdash; in fact, Atris has already, not realizing that fact, fallen to the dark side, studying the knowledge of Sith holocrons. When Atris lets her go, Kreia departs to Malachor V; when the Exile arrives, she finds only Atris, who reveals that Darth Nihilus is about to attack Telos, an event also orchestrated by Kreia, and believes that she is strong enough to face her. Realizing that Atris has been corrupted, the Exile fights and defeats her, but spares her life. (In an alternate ending, the Exile kills Atris if she has fallen to the dark side.)

Battle of Telos
The Exile arrives on Citadel Station to discover that the Battle of Telos has begun. By the collaborate efforts of the Exile and her companions, particularly Visas Marr, Canderous Ordo's Mandalorians, and the Republic fleet led by Admiral Carth Onasi, the Sith Troopers attacking Telos are defeated, and Nihilus vanquished, securing the future of Telos and the Republic. Carth Onasi arranges an appointment for the Exile, retells his story &mdash; the story of a Republic officer who met a mind-wiped Revan by accident on the Endar Spire &mdash; and asks them to find Revan and tell him that Carth is following his orders to keep the Republic safe. After meeting the Exile, Bastila Shan, who followed Carth to Telos, is convinced that there are worse things than Revan to lose in the galaxy, but in truth still longs for his return.

Return to Malachor V
The Exile leaves Telos, heading to Malachor V, where she finds the Trayus Academy and the two remaining Sith Lords &mdash; Darth Traya, the headmistress of the academy, and Darth Sion, with his will broken, manipulated by Traya. Although Sion, sustained by the Force, is nearly invincible, the Exile convinces him to give up fighting and die peacefully. Then she confronts Darth Traya, who explains her motivation: she tried to use her to create another wound in the Force, so powerful that it would destroy the Force itself, rendering the Jedi and the Sith alike powerless, thus eliminating the unknown threat. If this plan failed, and the Exile defeated Kreia, then whe would have proven herself worthy of fighting the threat alongside Revan.

Upon her defeat, Kreia remains benevolent to the Exile, answering her questions &mdash; most notably about the future of the Republic, the planets they visit, and her followers &mdash; and dies, mortally wounded by the Exile, in the Trayus Core, where her path down the dark side began. She also reveals that Revan came to Malachor earlier, after the Jedi Civil War, and left the Ebon Hawk and the droids before departing into the Unknown Regions to fight the "True Sith."

Meanwhile, Bao-Dur's remote powers up and reactivates the Mass Shadow Generator, despite G0-T0's attempts to stop him. As Malachor V collapses upon itself, the Ebon Hawk arrives in time to rescue the Exile. The ship leaves behind the remains of the planet and the scattered debris from ships crushed by the Generator in the final battle of the Mandalorian Wars and disappears into space.

New characters
{|-
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#

 * 1B-8D
 * 3C-FD
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A

 * Aaida
 * Adana
 * Terena Adare
 * Pato Ado
 * Ahrnell
 * Akkere
 * Anda
 * Ap'Sareb
 * Atris
 * Ayjae
 * Azkul
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B

 * B-4D4
 * B-4R5
 * B-5D8
 * Bahima
 * Bakkel
 * Bao-Dur
 * Bao-Dur's remote
 * Batono
 * Benok
 * Bik
 * Bostuco
 * Bralor
 * Brianna
 * valign=top|

C

 * C6-E3
 * C7-E3
 * C9-T9
 * Cahhmakt
 * Cede
 * The Champ
 * Opo Chano
 * Dergar Chester
 * Coorta
 * valign=top|

D

 * Dahnis
 * Daraala
 * Ov Darum
 * Dashel
 * Davrel
 * Dessicus (cut)
 * Dillan
 * Dendis Dobo
 * Samhan Dobo
 * Dopak
 * Lelin-Dor
 * Mebla Dule
 * valign=top|

E
{|-
 * Zez-Kai Ell
 * Talvon Esan
 * Esok
 * Jedi Exile
 * }
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F

 * Corrun Falt
 * Jonra Far
 * Fassa
 * Ferra
 * valign=top|

G

 * G0-T0
 * Geeda
 * Gegorran
 * Gelesi
 * Geredi
 * Gerevick
 * Geriel
 * Dhagon Ghent
 * Gormo
 * Dvakvar Grahrk (cut)
 * Dol Grenn
 * Guron
 * valign=top|

H

 * Chodo Habat
 * Hanharr
 * Harra
 * Doton Het
 * Hussef
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I

 * IT-31
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J

 * Jorran
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K
{|-
 * Kaalah-Nah
 * Kadron
 * Arren Kae
 * Kaevee (cut)
 * Kahranna
 * Kaul
 * Kavar
 * Kelborn
 * Kex
 * Kiph
 * Talia Kira
 * Kodin
 * Koobis
 * Kreia
 * Kumus
 * }
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L

 * Laane
 * Lasavvou
 * Soka Linu
 * Lootra
 * Jana Lorso
 * Luxa
 * Borna Lys
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M

 * M'sadaar
 * Maban
 * Margar
 * Marlo
 * Visas Marr
 * Matu
 * Mical
 * Mira
 * Berun Modrul
 * Moza
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N

 * Nadaa
 * Nahata
 * Nallek
 * Nebelish
 * Darth Nihilus
 * Nikko
 * Nikylitis
 * Nisotsa
 * Nodobo
 * Ossluk Noslee
 * Raxus Nuli
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O

 * Odis
 * Kaah Ohtok (cut)
 * Oondar
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P

 * Panar
 * Planore
 * Ponlar
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Q
{|-
 * Qimtiq
 * Quello
 * }
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R

 * Ralon
 * Ramana
 * Atton Rand
 * Batu Rem
 * Riiken
 * Rutum
 * valign=top|

S

 * S-0D3
 * S4-C8
 * Saedhe
 * Sakarie
 * Saquesh
 * Lupo Shar
 * Sien
 * Cariaga Sin
 * Darth Sion
 * Loppak Slusk
 * Modo So
 * Requel Sorm
 * Squik
 * Sullio
 * Suulru
 * Suyin
 * valign=top|

T

 * T1-N1
 * Taepalae
 * Tagren
 * Tarn
 * Xaset Terep
 * Terlyn
 * Tobin
 * Tolas
 * TT-32
 * Tien Tubb
 * Twik'gar
 * Twin Suns
 * valign=top|

V

 * Vaklu
 * Lonna Vash
 * Ratrin Vhek
 * Visquis
 * Vix
 * Vogga
 * Vossk
 * Vula
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X

 * Xaart
 * Xarga
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Y
{|-
 * Yima
 * Mimas Yoon
 * }
 * valign=top|

Z

 * Zherron
 * Azanti Zhug
 * Dezanti Zhug
 * Zuka

New creatures

 * Dekk fly
 * Flipdarter
 * Krek beetle
 * Laigrek
 * Maalraas
 * Zakkeg

New droid models

 * Fire suppression droid Mark I
 * Cleaning droid
 * Construction droid foreman
 * Construction droid Mark I
 * Construction droid Mark II
 * Environment droid Mark II
 * Excavator droid Mark I
 * Excavator droid Mark II
 * Goto guard droid
 * HK-50 protocol/assassin droid
 * HK-51 protocol/assassin droid (cut)
 * Mining droid Mark I
 * Mining droid Mark II
 * Tank droid Mark IV

New organizations

 * Jal Shey
 * Serroco
 * Red Eclipse
 * Zhug brothers
 * True Sith (distinctiveness disputed)

New planets

 * Althir
 * Dagary Minor
 * Dersonn III
 * Eres III
 * Hasaq
 * Iti Cluster
 * Katarr
 * M4-78 (cut)
 * Peragus II
 * Serroco

New vehicles and vessels

 * Citadel Station
 * Droid Yacht
 * |vehicle Forklift
 * Ravager
 * Republic freighter
 * Orbital shuttle

Crew

 * Director &mdash; Chris Avellone
 * Writers &mdash; Ferret Baudoin, Michael Chu, Tony Evans, Scott Everts, John Morgan, Kevin Saunders, David Maldonado

Trivia

 * In the Onderon throne room scene, if the player (as the Exile) sides with the Royalists (light side choice), General Vaklu is stunned to see the Exile alive. One of the possible responses is, "You'll find that I'm full of surprises," a reference to Luke Skywalker saying the same line during his duel with Darth Vader in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. Kreia's line, "He is too dangerous to leave alive," is similar to Mace Windu's line as he's about to kill Palpatine in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (although it should be noted that the video game was released earlier than the film). It also is reminiscent of what Palpatine said to Anakin after he killed Dooku: "He was too dangerous to be left alive." Before viewing the Exile's trial that T3 downloads from Atris, Kreia says, "We seem to have found it," a homage to Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope as they view the hologram of Princess Leia Organa.
 * If the Exile has Mira in her party and starts training her as a Jedi, Mira thanks her. One of the possible responses is, "You've taken your first step into a larger world," mirroring Obi-Wan Kenobi's line to Luke after Luke deflected blaster bolts from a training remote by using the Force in A New Hope.
 * Atton Rand says the recurring line "I have a bad feeling about this," featured in all six Star Wars movies and the first Knights of the Old Republic game.
 * Another reference to the movies (more specifically, to the dialogue of Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace) is Atton's line on Peragus said to a female Exile, "Are you an angel? Aw, I'm just kidding. That's the worst line I've ever used. Hope some poor kid doesn't start using it." While it is not normally encountered in the game, it can be unlocked after the player completes two play-throughs. Also on Peragus, the Exile has the option to say "Someone's got to save our skins", similar to what Princess Leia says to Han Solo while escaping the first Death Star in Episode IV. Another instance of continuity with the films also occurs on the Peragus level, in which the Exile tells a complaining Atton "Maybe you'd like it back in your cell?" This is a reference to Han Solo's line in A New Hope
 * After the player defeats Kreia, and the Exile asks her about the Mandalorians. Kreia goes far enough to mention Jango Fett's death at Geonosis, saying he was "too easily slain by a Jedi". She also vaguely refers to the rise of the Galactic Empire, when teaching the Exile about honing her skills, stating that using persuasion could result in "A Republic overthrown, and an Empire created."
 * When the Exile finds the sarcophagus of Ludo Kressh on Korriban, she finds a vision of Darth Revan wielding two lightsabers. In the first Knights of the Old Republic, Revan (when he is shown in flashbacks as a Sith Lord) only has one.
 * When G0-T0 offers the player his droid as a gift, his line is a reference to Luke Skywalker's line at the beginning of Return of the Jedi.
 * Goto/G0-T0's name is also a common programming expression (goto line x), a possible hint that the character is the droid, rather than the holographic projection of the man originally presented to the player.
 * After the player defeats Kreia for the second time, there is a conversation choice that says "there's still time to save you," to which Kreia responds "You already have." This exchange mirrors the final conversation between Luke and Darth Vader at the end of Return of the Jedi.
 * When the player is first captured by G0-T0, G0-T0 remarks how he was "expecting someone taller," mirroring both Anakin Skywalker's statement to Grievous in Revenge of the Sith, remarking how the general was 'shorter than he expected', and what Princess Leia says about Luke being "a little short for a stormtrooper". The former comment may be coincidence though, as KotOR II was released some time before Episode III.
 * Another line that is a reference to "Revenge of the Sith" is Kreia's comment about the dark and light sides of the Force: "One quickly learns that the Jedi code does not give all the answers. If you are to truly understand, then you will need the contrast, not adherence to a single idea." This line mirrors Palpatine's line to Anakin in Episode III: "If one is to truly understand the great mystery one must study all its aspects, not just the dogmatic, narrow view of the Jedi." Again, this could be a coincidence, but it may also mean that Episode III drew inspiration from KOTORII for some of the dialogue.