Welcome our newest Peacekeeper, Nolan.Sumar!

[Nolan.Sumar]

The application submitted by Nolan.Sumar is as follows:

[Clusterfact]

Excellent application, Nolan! I'm always a tad envious of people who have managed to have all sorts of unique experiences in the same amount of time that I haven't lol. I just have a couple questions if you don't mind.

You mention that you are a little reserved when first meeting people and I can understand completely as I also tend to shy away from people that I don't know very well, but you also said that you enjoy a healthy debate and public speaking. I was just wondering how you manage to overcome speaking in front of many people that you don't know.

We are currently closed for recruitment at the moment, so if your application is passed you will be put on a waiting list. Is this okay?

This lengthy and well thought-out application is one that I would recommend to be used for a sample application for future applicants! Good stuff all around! An officer will be around soon to review.

[Valtrics]

Great app!

I find it really impressive that you beat DAO on hardest difficulty, I can barely get passed regular difficulty.

Good Luck with everything.

[Lord Marvel]

Hello there Nolan, thank you for taking time and applying to Pax

Your application is outstanding, and leave little to ask about :D

But I always ask some questions, so here goes :D

Nolan.Sumar wrote:

What are your strengths and weaknesses?: I have a strong background in Bioware and other roleplaying games that involve many of the same elements (team combat, crafting, etc.) that will be involved in TOR. I started out playing pen and paper D&D and the Star Wars D20 role playing game when I was 10.

What classes did you enjoyed most while playing both D&D and SW D20? <RPG gamer here ^_^ >

Nolan.Sumar wrote:

My biggest weakness is that I've never played an MMORPG before.

Why did you never tried out any other MMO?
There are lots of really good titles out there, and at least one would probably fit your tasets so why?

Nolan.Sumar wrote:

Is there anything else you would like to include as to why we should accept you as an applicant to Pax Republica?: I marked N/A on employment because I just graduated from college with a B.S. in Philosophy and am currently taking a year off before attending law school. Other than that I have nothing to add.

Why taking a year break? Any specific reason? You don`t have to answer if it is personal

Thanks in advance for answers

[Nolan.Sumar]

Clusterfact wrote:

You mention that you are a little reserved when first meeting people and I can understand completely as I also tend to shy away from people that I don't know very well, but you also said that you enjoy a healthy debate and public speaking. I was just wondering how you manage to overcome speaking in front of many people that you don't know.

That's a great question Clusterfact, and one I actually get alot. I've found that "impersonal" situations, such as an interview, questionnaire, public debate, etc. don't feel as nerve racking to me as "personal" situations, such as joking around, hanging out, etc. I'm not sure exactly why this is. Maybe because I did lots of acting when I was younger, (no movies or anything big like that, just some classes for kids and school plays) and got used to and in fact loved the feel of performance that's involved in those more impersonal situations.

Clusterfact wrote:

We are currently closed for recruitment at the moment, so if your application is passed you will be put on a waiting list. Is this okay?

Yes. I'm in no particular hurry to find a guild. The game hasn't even been released yet!

[Nolan.Sumar]

Valtrics wrote:

Great app! I find it really impressive that you beat DAO on hardest difficulty, I can barely get passed regular difficulty. Good Luck with everything.

Mage + Arcane Warrior Specialization means you can use your magic attribute to both determine melee weapon damage and determine what armor you can wear. This means your mage can wear the best armor in the game. Plus, since in DAO, unlike D&D, all defensive spells stack with each other and with normal armor, and since the arcane warrior spec. gives you an ability to shift yourself into the fade, greatly boosting defense, you can cast half a dozen buffs on yourself that make you virtually invincible. Your DPS won't be as good as a real fighter, but you'll be able to take more hits.
Then in Awakening you place your second specialization in battlemage. This gives you an aura that drains the life of all the enemies around you, and also gives you a "stoicism" ability that causes any damage you take to regenerate your mana. Thus enemy hits you--> you gain mana--> mana powers aura that drains enemies health and heals you. As my brother put it, "why are the mobs hitting themselves"?
Plus, one of the weaknesses of the boss AI in that game (and in DA II) is that you can get them to follow your fighter around like a poppy dog by using taunt to maintain aggro while your ranged units kill it.

Lord Marvel wrote:

What classes did you enjoyed most while playing both D&D and SW D20? <RPG gamer here ^_^ >

In D&D I primarily played as an Elven Wizard. Magic missile and fire ball just can't be beat (in NWN 2 I used some NPC wizards casting magic missile + the Isaac's missile storm spells to kill a dragon!) I also believe at one point I played a cleric who had taken a vow of poverty and non violence (Feats contained in the Book of Exalted Deeds), and a Dwarven defender.
In SW d20 I played a Jedi Knight and my favorite feat was one that allowed you to absorb a blaster bolt (even if you didn't reflect it with your light saber). In my most recent run through of NWN 2 (which I think of as D&D b/c it operates under 3.5 rules) I decided to change things up, so I played an Aasmir monk. High saves in reflex,fort & will, high AC due to wisdom and dex, and monk spell resistance makes an almost untouchable tank, and I even had a sky high diplomacy score (if you've played the trial, I got Sand to say "wow, this guys so good, I think I'm actually learning a thing or two.")

Lord Marvel wrote:

Why did you never tried out any other MMO? There are lots of really good titles out there, and at least one would probably fit your tasets so why?

Being the mild perfectionist that I am (and also being someone who wants to get into law school), I've been very focused on school for the past four years, as well as a wide range of other extracurriculars, some mentioned in my application, and so haven't had a lot of time to play video games. Given the regular requirements of an MMORPG I figured I might not be able to make the time commitment. Additionally, I didn't have a very good computer, (only my black macbook), and so probably couldn't have played a lot of games even if I'd wanted to. Then, about a month and a half ago I graduated from college and built myself a brand new gaming rig as a present (something I'd been planing for sometime). Every since then I've been busy catching up on the sequels to the games I liked in high school (I'm actual not done...I'm barely 20 minutes into Fallout 3!!).
TOR was the first MMORPG I've stumbled upon since then, and it really piqued my interest. It seemed to have all the elements I'd liked in DAO and NWN, and the various trailers & etc. were very impressive. I was specifically attracted to the "story driven nature," which is what I've liked so much about past Bioware games. Plus, I'd played through so much fantasy recently that a switch back to a different setting seemed like a great idea.
This was particularly important vis-a-vis the classes. In many fantasy games you'll play a mage and it's kind of the same thing whatever game you happening to be playing: high DPS, AOE, no hit points, no armor (not that I don't enjoy that, but it's nice to have a change of pace). The character classes in TOR, while fitting into those standard old roles to a degree also diverge from them in a way that I find interesting. The Consular, for example, offers the opportunity for high DPS via telekinetics, while also offering the opportunity to use healing and defensive abilities to support the party, and also have some (probably quite limited) melee ability with a light saber.
I suppose more importantly, I hadn't ever really wanted to play a MMORPG before. I was satisfied with single player RPG games, a little RTS, etc. However, as I was playing through NWN 2 & DAO I realized how frustrating it can be to try to manage four characters all by yourself. Although it's possible, since the game has pausing, it slows down game play to a crawl. And I found that the artificial intelligence in those games for your party members just wasn't satisfactory. The games were very enjoyable, but they missed free flowing multiplayer tactical maneuvers. Similarly, I thought PVP would be fun because it would provide a greater tactical challenge (see my comment about some of the bosses in DAO above for contrast). Around the same time I came to these realizations I stumbled upon TOR, and it seemed like the perfect match. I suppose given more time I might have tried out another MMORPG, but given that I've found one that looks this great, why bother? (More specifically, since I take MMORPGS to be a pretty significant time commitment, I wouldn't want to play more than one at once).
Plus, I had heard of World of Warcraft and actually played a very small amount of that, as well as hearing about EverQuest, Eveonline, and some other games though I couldn't tell you any details about them. I've also had several friends who had played various MMORPGS, hence my limited familiarity with some of the terminology. I never really saw anything that made those games special in the way that I think TOR is.

Lord Marvel wrote:

Why taking a year break? Any specific reason? You don`t have to answer if it is personal

Couple of reasons: 1) The Law school application process, especially the LSAT, is quite involved, so I didn't want to go through it the fall of my senior year while taking classes. 2) I was kind of burned out from college, internships, etc. and needed a break. I wanted to integrate more low-stress activities into my routine so as to enter law school, a very high stress, competitive environment, a more balanced person. Hence building myself a computer and playing more video games, . I also plan to focus on my meditation practice, run more (with my new set of Vibram Five Fingers (the black ones, not that icky green color) purchased with my REI Dividend!), and do more low key hiking and camping (as opposed to backpacking, which can often be quite strenuous...especially when you get trapped in a snow storm!) I'd come to the conclusion that this would not only improve my law school experience but also probably allow me to perform better academically (studying all the time actually won't allow you to do as well as if you take breaks to have fun. Stress kills brain cells.) I may also get a part time job...we'll see how the year goes.

[Lord Marvel]

Thank you very much for answering and nice lengthy, detailed ones

Though I think that NWN 2 was partially made on 4th edition... since Warlock class was added than, also Tiefling was added to basic races... though they have removed Assimar completely in 4th ed... and if it`s 3.5ed... than I wish there would be also Genasi, those are cool :D

Still... Dwarfs RULEZ! :D

[Nolan.Sumar]

Lord Marvel wrote:

Thank you very much for answering and nice lengthy, detailed ones

What can I say? Philosophers are nothing if not verbose, .

[Clusterfact]

Nolan.Sumar wrote:

Lord Marvel wrote: Thank you very much for answering and nice lengthy, detailed ones What can I say? Philosophers are nothing if not verbose, .

Amen lol. Good stuff, Nolan.

[Lord Marvel]

Your application have been accepted, and so you are on our wait list now.

Please feel free to interact with our members, so that they can get to know you better

[Davi Jones]

Your app was really long so I'm going to pretend I read it, "That was great!" (which im sure it was :P). Congrats on the waitlist ^_^

[Aveyn Tamai]

Grats on the wait-listing!
Don't run off terrified but...I have a tad of a crush on your application. Another person that understands the ease of an arcane warrior in DA:O! You made me want to go replay the game and expacs again.

[Nolan.Sumar]

Aveyn Tamai wrote:

Grats on the wait-listing! Don't run off terrified but...I have a tad of a crush on your application. Another person that understands the ease of an arcane warrior in DA:O! You made me want to go replay the game and expacs again.

Let's just be glad DAO wasn't a MMORPG, because then the AW would have gotten nerfed in the first patch.

[Nolan.Sumar]

Lord Marvel wrote:

Your application have been accepted, and so you are on our wait list now. Please feel free to interact with our members, so that they can get to know you better

Thanks Marvel. Sounds good.

[Legendkiller456]

Congrats on being excepted