Welcome to the second week of "The Lore of TOR!" This weeks subject has been a hot topic ever since the announcements of the Bounty Hunter and the Smuggler for their respective factions. Many people will question the decision to limit each class to its faction, thinking that they should both be neutral, but I have a different view on it. While it is true both are generally neutral parties, we have to think about the class' restrictions in context to the current time period.

First we'll look at the Bounty Hunter. He's a killer for hire, a jack of all trades, trying to earn as many credits as he possibly can. At this point in time, the Sith Empire has come out of hiding and opened hostilities with the Republic. They've probably got a HUGE stockpile of credits on them to spend as they wish! Now, if the Republic had the credits to spend, I'm sure they would hire some bounty hunters to take out their enemies; unfortunately, they don't have a cent to spare! Coruscant was utterly destroyed by the Sith. The Republic needs every credit it has to rebuild their crown jewel city. They can't even afford to rebuild the Jedi Temple, mech less hire the expensive services of a Bounty Hunter. Now, the Empire on the other hand, has plenty of credits with which to spend on these guys. At this point in time, they're the ones with the power and the money, so of course any sane bounty hunter would throw in their lot with the Empire. Now smugglers on the other hand may be just what the Republic is looking for...

Which brings us to the Smuggler class and their allegiance to the Republic. Smugglers by nature are a carefree fun-loving bunch who just want to get their jobs done and make enough to scrape by. They don't like rules and they don't like being reigned in. They also had a bit of a rough patch with the Empire during this time period. The Sith are the ones that coerced the Mandalorians into forming up the blockade to the Republic. Blockades tend to disrupt the smugglers' business, what with not letting them get by. Disrupting a certain groups business is definitely not the way to earn their trust or their services. The Republic on the other hand needs all the smugglers they can get their hands on. They are in desperate need of supplies from all corners of the galaxy to rebuild the worlds that the Sith have demolished in their campaign and who better to do that in a timely fashion than a good old fashioned smuggler? With all the nasty terms in the Treaty of Coruscant that the Sith made up, a few underhanded shipments couldn't hurt for the Republic.

So, as you can see, the reasoning behind the faction restrictions is fairly solid. The thing we have to remember is the context of the time period we are in and adjust our expectations accordingly. Now I know many people will argue with the reasons that I've come up with, and I encourage you to share your opinions in a comment. If you do so however, please keep it civil and I will see you next week with another "Lore of TOR" article!

Written by :

Brandon Chen