#vakell

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I’ve missed Vakell. I need to get him to level 70.

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Pro/Con for Dating Vakell

Pros: He loves to give gifts to people. You would think he only gives practical items (weapons, armor, etc) and he does that, but he also likes picking out pretty jewelry or even furnishings for your ship or home.

Cons: He lavishes attention on you when he’s with you, but when he’s not in your presence, he’s not good at keeping up with you. Working with the Sunstalkers is busy and draining, and while he keeps on top of work-related messages, he can be bad at remembering to respond to holos, write letters, or give calls. If you send him something he’ll try to reply, but initiating conversations is hard.

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♪

Certain characters of mine get associated with particular bands somehow. I mentally associated my Tatooine bounty hunter Vakell (tag here on main blog ; tag on OC blog ) with The Eagles, so if I’m doing anything with him I’ll queue stuff up.

There’s a particular verse from Doolin-Dalton that I think fits a man from Tatooine well:

Well, the towns lay out across the dusty plains Like graveyards filled with tombstones, waitin' for the names And a man could use his back, or use his brains But some just went stir crazy, Lord, 'cause nothin' ever changed 

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Vakell, odds

1.)Which classes can recruit your character? Are there any otherrequirements for recruitment (alignment, for instance), and is iteasier or harder for specific classes? (Assume a more complexrecruitment system than the game currently has.)

Vakellcan be hired on for members of any faction and any alignment. He canbe recruited on Tatooine in a questline that introduces the PC to theSunstalkers mercenary group. If the Sunstalkers are helped, theyprovide help in return; Vakell and NPC Sunstalkers will be availableto accompany PCs on local quests such as “The Thing Czerka Found”.Vakell himself will agree to be hired to travel the galaxy.

3.)Which other existing companions does this character have notableinteractions with? If unromanced, do they enter relationships withother companions? Are they mutually exclusive with any othercompanions?

Vakellwill show respect for and have positive interactions with companionswho like helping others and caring about populations others mightnot; Mako, Elara Dorne, Doc, Vette, Bowdaar. He can't stand Kaliyo,and has nothing in common with heavy Imperial patriots like Pierce,Malavai Quinn, or Temple.

5.)Doesthis character use any unique companion abilities? (For examples ofunique abilities already ingame: Nadia’s Wild Energy AoE, Tharan’sDeploy Holiday stun.)

Vakellgenerally uses ion animations like a Trooper as opposed to the flameanimations of a traditional Bounty Hunter.

7.)What are some notable points in this character’s questline?

Allof Vakell's personal quests involve going back to Tatooine to do morefor the Sunstalkers. One quest involves defending the compoundagainst an assault by hostile forces. One quest is rescuing one ofthe higher-ups from a job that went bad. His last quest brings the PCto the compound for a celebration of another year of good fortune andadding new space.

9.)Do they have specific reactions with class storylines or the endgamestoryline?

Vakellgenerally encourages helping the weak and cooperating with others.During the events of SoR, he will remind the PC that he's worked forboth sides and offer to reach out to his best contacts on the otherside.

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Taleris Vakell is the leader of the Tatooine-based mercenary group the Sunstalkers. The Sunstalkers are one of the groups that operates in Republic space under their strict laws. He also runs the Sunstalkers Foundation, an organization that gives jobs to impoverished Tatooinian youth and trains them in skills they can use to earn a living. He’s not a fan of the Empire and doesn’t like to take contracts that help them fight the Republic. Helping advance Sith infighting, on the other hand...

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Vakell, odds 1-11

1.) A happy memory

The credits for the Senate Job, as they’d started calling it, were nice enough. But when Taleris Vakell looked over the plot of land that they’d purchased with it, he felt a swell of major pride in himself and the rest of his kin. With the money they had, no one would starve or sell their children again. And with space like this, they’d have room to grow. Room to build something. It was a good place to start off.

3.) Something they’re proud of

Establishing the side of the Sunstalkers that is an organization that can start employing local youths and giving them real opportunities. Defeating bounties earns him a name and credits. But helping those kids is going to go beyond just himself and leave something bigger behind.

5.) A memory of someone close

Caidun Vakell is his cousin, but usually Taleris treats the boy like a son or a nephew. It was flattering when the boy wanted to join the Sunstalkers and emulate their successes. Kid needed work on the guns, but his skill with melee weapons was excellent. But that didn’t stop him from worrying every time the boy went out. How would he explain it to the family if he got a 17 year old killed?

7.) Something painful

He hadn’t ever expected to find one of the missing member of the Vakell clan in the Empire. Certainly not as a Sith. When he realized who she was, he sent her a message that would tell her a bit about who she was and where she came from. After all, he wanted to bring her back into the fold ; family mattered more than political affiliation.

But it stung when he didn’t hear back from her. Maybe she didn’t believe him, maybe she didn’t trust him. Or maybe it would just take time.

9.) A memory of their lover

Taleris’ first relationship was with a bartender at the place he worked as a bouncer. He was infatuated with the older man in the way that teenagers are, and it lasted for a few months before he realized that his future was in the stars and not on the ground.

11.) Hardship

He might be successful now, but he never forgets his roots as a harscrabble youth. The times when there wasn’t a lot of food and the bellies hurt. The times when his parents and siblings and him all lived in a single bedroom for years. When he wasn’t even a teenager, and his cousins had to sell one of their children to the Hutts.

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A couple people asked for some Vakell screenshots, so here you go!

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belatedly whispers VAKELL

1. The color of their eyes.

Dark brown.

2. How old they are.

Early 40s.

3. One strange thing/quirk/defining characteristic of their body or physical appearance.

The old model of mechanical hand and the scars under his eyes.

4. One strange thing/quirk/defining characteristic of their personality.

He’s what’s colloquially referred to as a “soft touch” for the downtrodden and oppressed. He’ll give people a second chance, but that’s the last one he’ll give you - betray him after a second chance, or threaten what’s his, and you’re done.

5. How their parents met.

His father, a mechanic, came to the cantina to watch her sing, bringing whatever trinkets he could save up for to court her with. She saved up money from performing and when she had enough, they got married and bought a little shop in Anchorhead where they repair speeders.

6. Who their first love was, and why they loved them

A Twi’lek medic named Lehariel, who helped him through adjusting to the prosthesis. Her compassion and desire to aid others selflessly really moved him. She wanted to stay on Tatooine and keep helping people, and couldn’t bear to love someone who would travel so much. While not part of the Sunstalkers Foundation, she handles a lot of their medical needs in her clinic.

7. How/why I came up with the concept for them

I wanted a take on the “tough guy with a heart of gold”, and so a bounty hunter who used his money to help poor people get the skills to get better was really appealing.

8. Who they eventually end up with

As of yet, nobody. He’s still available, ladies ;)

9. Their favorite animal.

He has a healthy respect for the rills.