Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Hey guys,

So, as far as my best friend is concerned with regards to SWTOR, I am a massive douche.

We rolled on Bloodworthy (EU) and I pushed and pushed him to go Sith, not just because some friends of mine were rolling it, but also because running around as a Sith Agent appealed to my secret inner-fascist fetishist. At any rate, he and I had a massive argument on the subject as he wanted to be a Jedi Consular 'n' I had said at one point that I was O.K. with playing Jedi.

In the end he gave in and we rolled Sith... he had said it would be a colourless and depressing existence and he was sorta right, I do often wish we'd gone Republic. Perhaps what proves him right the most is the fact that the Sith-Republic ratio on the server is about 6-1. Yep. Warzones often get abandoned because the Republic can't muster enough players and as a result I am *always* playing Huttball.

So I was wondering, what factions did you pick? Why? Are Sith going to be the dominant force here? Why is that? And on your servers, do Sith have a population advantage as bad as on mine?

Personally I think it's because we denziens of the internet are just bitter at the world and want to feed that side of us that we'd never express in day-to-day life... you know what I mean... It's the same reason why you play Imperial Guard or Chaos Space Marines ;P

I'm playing both factions, as I usually do in games that have more than one. It prevents "tunnel vision" that usually results in players of both factions thinking of the other as douches or having an unfair advantage or winning all the PvP matches. Furthermore, the stories of the various classes are really cool, so you're basically only gimping yourself when playing a single faction, not to mention that you're missing out on some very cool zones.

I will admit that my Empire characters are of a notably higher level than my Republic ones. I enjoy playing them all, but it's a mood thing which I want to play more at any given moment. For my defense, I've always been more fond of the Imperial side even in P&P RPGs and single player games. I think it's a mixture of "evil always has the cooler uniforms" and the bitterness you mentioned.

Anyways, so far I have, from highest to lowest level ...
- female human Agent (wiki)
- female human Sith Warrior (wiki)
- female twi'lek Smuggler
- female mirialan Jedi Knight
- female human Bounty Hunter
- male human Trooper

The only two classes I have no interest in playing are Inquisitor and Consular, if only because both are Sith/Jedi and I already have a character like that.

The only class I've dedicated any time to is the Imperial Agent, because the story is fantastic and I love how the Sniper AC plays.

If a Republic class allowed me to do what the Agent gets to, then I'd probably give it a shot.

Yeah, I used to do roleplay on Second Life (I stayed away from the kinky crap) and I started out as and remained for about a year and a half an Imperial (this was Legacy era) Officer. British accent + awesome uniform = win. As is beating aliens in the street.

At any rate, that was what I expected when I rolled agent: You see them wearing Imperial uniforms, strutting about like they own the place and exacting Imperial justice, seemed pretty win to me. I'm at level 29 with my female Chiss agent and I've rather gone off it... switched to a light side Inquisitor.

I think it's cool you're playing both sides and I'd do the same if it weren't my intent to get settled into some endgame; although I can't afford to do raids at the moment due to University work, it'd be pretty nice to get into regular instancing/pvp, though I have no idea what endgame is like yet.

And I definitely agree that it's not worth rolling the force user opposites; much too similar. I guess that if I were to play a smuggler I'd just go for brawler as my agent is a sniper.

With regards to the factions' perception of one another... I wouldn't call the Republic on my server douches, nor noobs... it's reminding me a lot of how WoW used to be before cross-realm PvP when (on my server at least) Horde were the minority. We used to get much shorter BG queues than the allies and thus (in theory at least) accrued much more pvp experience, got our gear quicker, yaddy yaddy yadda. It seems to me that we Sith get our arses whooped regularly by the Republic in Warzones because, although there aren't many of them, they get matches quicker than us. Though this could just be a tendency on my part to regard the small faction as elite.

At least Hutt Ball exists, it's very sensible; the excess of Sith players can simply kill each other, still get our pvp fix and ofc our tokens. Keeps the queues down


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Feeling dumb for not putting 'both' on the poll.

Consider it 'what is your *main* faction?'

Henners91 wrote:British accent + awesome uniform = win.

Grand Moff Ricus Kilran = best NPC of the whole game.

DAT ACCENT

Henners91 wrote:I guess that if I were to play a smuggler I'd just go for brawler as my agent is a sniper.

I think it's not as bad for the Agent/Smuggler comparison. It's purely a matter of "gut feeling", but both Sith/Jedi classes belong to an Order, have a lightsaber, and wave their hands a bit. Duh. With a Sniper compared to a Gunslinger, on the other hand, their story and faction allegiance is so different that they feel like wholly distinctive characters. One is a government marksman taking out enemies of the state from afar, the other is part neutral fortune hunter, part greedy cowboy. With the Sniper, you usually stay in cover and snipe, snipe, snipe. With a Scoundrel, there really is that certain "pull" to jump in close and kick people's balls (literally!). Also, you get that cool "BLAM" sound when discharging your blaster pistol point-blank, Commissar-style.

That said, I've gone "Scoundrel" for my Smuggler as well. Heals are pretty awesome for helping your team in PvE/PvP and you get a cool shotgun to blast people's heads off their shoulders, not to mention the cloaking field generator, though I have to say that I rarely use it at all (except when defending in PvP). When engaging an opponent, I usually run straight at him guns blazing, then kick him in the balls to stun him, then pistol-whip him, then pull my shotgun and blast a round of shrapnel directly into his brain. It just looks so hilariously awesome.

Also, whereas the Agent's story may be the coolest, the Smuggler story is easily the most funny thing of the entire game.

Republic Trooper: "We're fighting for peace here!"
Smuggler: "... aaaand credits! Don't forget the credits!"

Smuggler: "Whatever you say, Cap'n Crazy."
Old Guy: "Insolence! I'M A COLONEL!"



Though it has some pretty epic moments as well, but I don't want to spoil them now.

Henners91 wrote:With regards to the factions' perception of one another... I wouldn't call the Republic on my server douches, nor noobs...

Oh yeah, I didn't want to blankly accuse everyone, it's just something I keep noticing in the chat. Regardless of what game you play, the vocal majority always thinks itself superior and/or that the other side has an unfair advantage.

Henners91 wrote:At least Hutt Ball exists, it's very sensible; the excess of Sith players can simply kill each other, still get our pvp fix and ofc our tokens. Keeps the queues down

Bwah, I wish I could opt-out of that one, it's gotten boring pretty quick. I want to play more Voidstar!

Nerivant: High Five @ Sniper gameplay

I don't have it but i plan too.
Gonna play Sith Empire...

I'm sick of Hutt Ball too... and Alderaan gets one-sided far too quickly.

Voidstar is probably my favourite, though for some reason I've taken up an irrational dislike toward Darth Marr. He just sounds sort of err, weak and whiney getting us to do all his work

Kilram was a dude. Shame I only did that instance once.

@purplefood

Go for whatever feels coolest. I wouldn't reroll on my server just 'cos of the pop imbalance (though on past MMOs, I have always gone for the one with least players; I'd have done that on SWTOR were the info available), but I do hope you're ready for grey aesthetics, bland metal and lots of 'evil' dialogue.



Automatically Appended Next Post:
Though Light Side Inquisitor is proving good on the dialogue front as, despite the OTT Sith Lords going 'MUAHAHA I CRUSH KITTENS FOR FUN!' you can sort of rise above it and 'be the better man' so to speak; after all, you're just a slave being forced into it all, right? Trying to do some good from the inside of a machine that would destroy you if it knew of your true (good) intentions..

Henners91 wrote:I'm sick of Hutt Ball too... and Alderaan gets one-sided far too quickly.

Voidstar is probably my favourite, though for some reason I've taken up an irrational dislike toward Darth Marr. He just sounds sort of err, weak and whiney getting us to do all his work

Kilram was a dude. Shame I only did that instance once.

@purplefood

Go for whatever feels coolest. I wouldn't reroll on my server just 'cos of the pop imbalance (though on past MMOs, I have always gone for the one with least players; I'd have done that on SWTOR were the info available), but I do hope you're ready for grey aesthetics, bland metal and lots of 'evil' dialogue.

As i was following it i decided the Sith looked coolest and i really wanted to be an Agent...
My other choice was a Republic Smuggler or Trooper...
I can do evil...

Well being a Sith Lord fed by hate has the same appeal to me as, say, running around my Campus yelling BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE. But having to maintain, amid really dystopian and grey environments, this 'evil' attitude, oppressing the downtrodden, etc.. I find it difficult at times on a game I am ostensibly playing to relax

One of the harder choices: Betraying a group you'll come upon named 'The Revanites'... Made me feel like crud when I took the dark side option at the end of their quest line I can tell you!

Fortunately the majority of dark side things tend to involve disgusting aliens that I will gladly blam in the face. Like Palpatine, any good Imperial has to be a human supremacist

Heh, it's certainly a bit "easier" with the Agent, as there you have that "it's all for the state" cause/excuse going on. With my Sith, I always try to keep in mind that they really work mostly for themselves, fed by their personal ambition, hatred and rage.

The Dark Side corrupts, and personally I cannot imagine a Lightside Sith just like I cannot imagine a Darkside Jedi - both would be killed or kicked out of their Order the moment their weakness/corruption were discovered. The Korriban Academy in particular is a real nasty place; for me as a roleplayer I just had to recognize the consequence of what it means to have studied there. You either manage to run away, you get killed, or you become evil.
The game really lets you get away easy with a lot of "silly" choices (such as making stupid comments and annoying your superiors as a lowly Sith Acolyte, lol) - but I recognize that a lot of people like this freedom without fear of consequences, so I guess it's just a matter of personal preferences and interpretation of the setting.

At least I've started to "balance" the sadistic personality of my Sith with the naive altruism of my young mirialan Jedi Padawan now. In the game's plot she'd already be a Knight, but I think I will continue RP'ing her as a young Padawan - for the moment, playing an Ahsoka-type of character just feels way more fun than the seriousness of a veteran Jedi. You can be good but still somewhat brash.

All in all, I think I have a good mix of personalities throughout my characters now. Each of them has a different mindset concerning their morality, allegiance, humour, ego and affability, which fits perfectly to both their class as well as the choices I make throughout the game's ques- err, missions, and of course to the way how they come across in RP.

Henners91 wrote:Well being a Sith Lord fed by hate has the same appeal to me as, say, running around my Campus yelling BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE. But having to maintain, amid really dystopian and grey environments, this 'evil' attitude, oppressing the downtrodden, etc.. I find it difficult at times on a game I am ostensibly playing to relax

One of the harder choices: Betraying a group you'll come upon named 'The Revanites'... Made me feel like crud when I took the dark side option at the end of their quest line I can tell you!

Fortunately the majority of dark side things tend to involve disgusting aliens that I will gladly blam in the face. Like Palpatine, any good Imperial has to be a human supremacist

Luckily I tend to act ever so slightly sociopathic on any kind of RPGs...

Lynata wrote:Heh, it's certainly a bit "easier" with the Agent, as there you have that "it's all for the state" cause/excuse going on. With my Sith, I always try to keep in mind that they really work mostly for themselves, fed by their personal ambition, hatred and rage.

The Dark Side corrupts, and personally I cannot imagine a Lightside Sith just like I cannot imagine a Darkside Jedi - both would be killed or kicked out of their Order the moment their weakness/corruption were discovered. The Korriban Academy in particular is a real nasty place; for me as a roleplayer I just had to recognize the consequence of what it means to have studied there. You either manage to run away, you get killed, or you become evil.
The game really lets you get away easy with a lot of "silly" choices (such as making stupid comments and annoying your superiors as a lowly Sith Acolyte, lol) - but I recognize that a lot of people like this freedom without fear of consequences, so I guess it's just a matter of personal preferences and interpretation of the setting.

At least I've started to "balance" the sadistic personality of my Sith with the naive altruism of my young mirialan Jedi Padawan now. In the game's plot she'd already be a Knight, but I think I will continue RP'ing her as a young Padawan - for the moment, playing an Ahsoka-type of character just feels way more fun than the seriousness of a veteran Jedi. You can be good but still somewhat brash.

All in all, I think I have a good mix of personalities throughout my characters now. Each of them has a different mindset concerning their morality, allegiance, humour, ego and affability, which fits perfectly to both their class as well as the choices I make throughout the game's ques- err, missions, and of course to the way how they come across in RP.

Well I'll certainly concede that the Sith Instructors have the patience of saints: You can say to Overseer Harkun, or hell, on Dromund Kaas a full-fledged Darth, comments like 'I will kill you' or 'Lol Sith teachings suck' and they always let it slide 'this time'...

But with the whole Dark Jedi/Light Sith... there are precedents for the former (Kyle Katarn? Jedi Academy?); although one would expect expulsion from the order as that seems to be the fate of most grey Jedi. I am unsure as to whether one must muster emotion to call upon the dark side, I imagine that is probably the case. Having never RP'd as a Jedi on SWTOR, I don't know if they're short on manpower and thus more tolerant or what, but Jedi have used the Dark Side to combat the enemy in the past. It is quite the conundrum though.

I haven't played as a Sith Warrior but a LS Inquisitor is perfectly possible. You're a slave who's forced to learn the force under pain of death; the ways in which you accrue your light side points at the academy are usually covert (like helping out that Jedi prisoner) and most dialogue options do force you to say things like that you're honouring the Sith Code, etc. I am simply playing it that it's all a deception on my part and that I can't run to the Jedi order because they wouldn't take me (he's too old!) so I just sabotage it all from within. Plus, one can be a believer in the dark side and remain a good person; to be of the dark side is to acknowledge that it is from emotion that your strength flows: A good person can feel anger and not let it rule him, he can also be motivated by passion, love, etc. This is why Grey/Dark Jedi (despite being outside the order) are, in my opinion, perfectly acceptable characters for acting in the name of 'good'. When I accrue light side points I say it's merely from acting along the character's own moral principles, but he still stems his strength from all the usual Sith sources. I guess that the Jedi would (rightly) say that invites corruption, though, from the Dark Side.

They've made an effort to make it 'supportable' at least for the Sith, to follow the alternate path, however. I point again to the Revanites (saying that Revan drew on both light/dark and that's what made him strong; in short, applying the Sith ethos of acquiring strength to not being narrowminded in the sources of your power) and, on Dromund Kaas, the tomb of that Sith Lord you come upon wherein a hologram of him tells you about how he was shunned for realising that the Sith could draw upon the light side just as much as the Dark Side.

I guess the Sith are more liberating for roleplay because at the end of the day, they're not only a more 'liberal' organisation than the Jedi but they also are determined to acquire knowledge; their only motive is the further acquisition of power; why is the light side not a valid route for this? It's just a philosophy.

Peace is a lie, there is only passion.
Through passion, I gain strength.
Through strength, I gain power.
Through power, I gain victory.
Through victory, my chains are broken.

Not really a limiting code that (if I've recited that correctly I am impressed and immediately enrolling as a Sith at some kooky RP club somewhere)


Automatically Appended Next Post:
In short, I think a light-aligned Sith can still believe that he's acquiring power and fulfilling the ethos he learned at the Academy.

purplefood wrote:

Henners91 wrote:Well being a Sith Lord fed by hate has the same appeal to me as, say, running around my Campus yelling BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE. But having to maintain, amid really dystopian and grey environments, this 'evil' attitude, oppressing the downtrodden, etc.. I find it difficult at times on a game I am ostensibly playing to relax

One of the harder choices: Betraying a group you'll come upon named 'The Revanites'... Made me feel like crud when I took the dark side option at the end of their quest line I can tell you!

Fortunately the majority of dark side things tend to involve disgusting aliens that I will gladly blam in the face. Like Palpatine, any good Imperial has to be a human supremacist

Luckily I tend to act ever so slightly sociopathic on any kind of RPGs...

It's not just RPG's mate...

Soladrin wrote:

purplefood wrote:

Henners91 wrote:Well being a Sith Lord fed by hate has the same appeal to me as, say, running around my Campus yelling BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE. But having to maintain, amid really dystopian and grey environments, this 'evil' attitude, oppressing the downtrodden, etc.. I find it difficult at times on a game I am ostensibly playing to relax

One of the harder choices: Betraying a group you'll come upon named 'The Revanites'... Made me feel like crud when I took the dark side option at the end of their quest line I can tell you!

Fortunately the majority of dark side things tend to involve disgusting aliens that I will gladly blam in the face. Like Palpatine, any good Imperial has to be a human supremacist

Luckily I tend to act ever so slightly sociopathic on any kind of RPGs...

It's not just RPG's mate...

So you say my continental compadre...

Henners91 wrote:But with the whole Dark Jedi/Light Sith... there are precedents for the former (Kyle Katarn? Jedi Academy?); although one would expect expulsion from the order as that seems to be the fate of most grey Jedi.

Well, the Jedi don't tolerate Darksiders or even Greysiders in their Order at all - Kyle Katarn successfully redeemed himself; if he had not, he would have to face his former friends. This is something that a lot of Darksiders go through, however, it is possible to come back from the other side, it's not a one way street. Though going from Dark to Light is, of course, way more difficult than vice versa.

Henners91 wrote:I am unsure as to whether one must muster emotion to call upon the dark side, I imagine that is probably the case.

It's less that there is a requirement to muster emotion, it's more that emotion directly affects the way how one interacts with the Force. You have this in real life, too - when you're angry, your body is able to unleash much more force than when being calm; it's a biological thing about adrenaline and narrow focus, anger and hate literally give you strength. With the disadvantage that you lose a measure of control over yourself. And that's exactly how the Dark Side works as well, only that it happens to taint you in a way that such outbursts continue to affect your mind even after your anger subsided.

The Jedi way, on the other hand, is all about control of emotion, about focus without rage, meditation over fervor. In a way, a Sith is to a Jedi like what a professional boxer is to a kung-fu practicioner.

Henners91 wrote:Having never RP'd as a Jedi on SWTOR, I don't know if they're short on manpower and thus more tolerant or what, but Jedi have used the Dark Side to combat the enemy in the past.

The Dark Side always lurks in the background, and everyone can fall. This is the danger in it: Many goodhearted people were simply lured into becoming Darksiders because they gave in to their feelings of attachment and were unable to take a step back, instead becoming so involved that they'd do anything to "help". This is how the Sith Empire came to be in the first place - it was founded by Jedi who became Darksiders whilst entangled in a war to protect the Republic.

Henners91 wrote:You're a slave who's forced to learn the force under pain of death [...]

Oh yeah, but you don't just learn - you also kill. The game doesn't show it, but Academy training lasts many months or even years during which you are forced to engage in all kinds of evil and diabolical activities, up to and including betrayal and murder for personal gain. Over time, you simply become tainted by association. At first you hate your teachers, then you hate yourself, and at some point you simply give in and gain strength out of this hate, beginning to notice that it empowers you, that it can "set you free" as the Sith Code promised. Then your transformation is complete and you may ascend.

As I said, it's a matter of interpretation, but personally I cannot fathom at all how anyone could preserve a pure heart when being raised in an environment that works even more insidious than a Taliban training camp. When you don't perform with a ruthlessness that pleases your masters, you get killed or punished until you either do it right or wash out. Compassion is a weakness, and the Sith don't tolerate weaknesses of any kind.

Henners91 wrote:I point again to the Revanites (saying that Revan drew on both light/dark and that's what made him strong; in short, applying the Sith ethos of acquiring strength to not being narrowminded in the sources of your power) and, on Dromund Kaas, the tomb of that Sith Lord you come upon wherein a hologram of him tells you about how he was shunned for realising that the Sith could draw upon the light side just as much as the Dark Side.

Revan isn't exactly a good example, though. What the Revanites simply "got wrong" is that Revan wasn't a Sith who used the Light Side - Revan was an atoning Ex-Sith Jedi affiliate who had experience with the Dark Side due to his past. Just like that hologram sounds much more like a Greysider than a Dark one.

You can draw upon the "happy medium" between Dark and Light, but neither Jedi nor Sith do it, and both regard it as wrong, not supporting it with their teachings nor their indoctrination. Being a Greysider - like the Imperial Knights, for example - is simply something completely different and imho doesn't really have a place in either of the two aforementioned organizations.

Henners91 wrote:I guess the Sith are more liberating for roleplay because at the end of the day, they're not only a more 'liberal' organisation than the Jedi but they also are determined to acquire knowledge; their only motive is the further acquisition of power; why is the light side not a valid route for this? It's just a philosophy.

Both the Jedi as well as the Sith are all about philosophy, it's like a religion to them - which is why, for example, the Inquisitors are so interested in rooting out the heretical Revanites.

Thing is, when you grow up knowing that hate makes you strong, why would you go to the Light Side? It's the same "trap" that has a lot of Jedi-roleplayers think that emotions are perfectly fine and there's nothing wrong with stuff like love as it would have to be a good thing.

Ultimately, I'm not even sure if Sith are really more liberating ... I think both Jedi as well as Sith are really hard to "get right" because few truly understand and stick to the Codes of both organizations. A lot of roleplayers just think they can get away with what they want, reducing the Sith to cackling cliche overlords bullying everyone, or playing their Jedi like some kind of mercenary with a lightsaber. It's a real challenge to replicate the mindset you've seen in the movies or novels, however.

Lynata wrote:

Henners91 wrote:British accent + awesome uniform = win.

Grand Moff Ricus Kilran = best NPC of the whole game.

DAT ACCENT

That's fascinating.

Glory to the Empire!

More thoughts.

Yes, the IA starts off as an operative/assassin for the Empire. The interesting thing is how it all plays out in the end.

In my opinion, it's one of the most well-done stories, both in planning and writing. I don't think any other have the level of choice that it gives you.


PvP-wise, I think that the Empire is ahead in numbers of my server, but the Republic has more distinguished names, if that makes sense. Huttball is still the most common WZ, but it's a pretty good mix now. I haven't had time to play much recently, but I know we've got a few Battlemasters floating around; they're not fun to run into.

Oh no, the Republic are currently outnumbered here.

Still we can kill the Sith easily.

Do note that I am not really a Star Wars fan so I know nothing of the lore and such.

Mainly bough because its Bioware, and am enjoying it so far.

EDIT: There shall be be no mercy from the awesome Chaos Gods when you are found. I couldn't care less about the Imperial Guard lol.

MrDwhitey wrote:

Lynata wrote:

Henners91 wrote:British accent + awesome uniform = win.

Grand Moff Ricus Kilran = best NPC of the whole game.

DAT ACCENT

That's fascinating.

Glory to the Empire!

That's the other reason i want to play Sith.
If i close my eyes i can imagine i'm part of the British Empire...

You'd best open your eyes or Kilran is gonna pimp slap you.

Glory to the Empire!

On a side note, you going EU or US servers, Purple? I'm only curious, as frankly I'm jumping ship when GW2 comes out.

MrDwhitey wrote:You'd best open your eyes or Kilran is gonna pimp slap you.

Glory to the Empire!

On a side note, you going EU or US servers, Purple? I'm only curious, as frankly I'm jumping ship when GW2 comes out.

Probably going EU but it depends.
I was thinking about getting GW2 but i only have room for 1 MMO in my life and i want that MMO to have robots, lightsabers, laser guns and space ships in...

purplefood wrote:i only have room for 1 MMO in my life and i want that MMO to have robots, lightsabers, laser guns and space ships in...

That's some fantastic reasoning.

I pulled the same thing on my D&D group to convince them to try a SW PnP game.

Nerivant wrote:

Yes, the IA starts off as an operative/assassin for the Empire. The interesting thing is how it all plays out in the end.

Spoiler:

You can go pro-Sith, joining with Jadus and becoming his personal assassin. Empire be damned.
You can go pro-Empire and rebuild Imperial Intelligence. Victory for the common man.
You can break away from both, doing jobs for the Empire, but ultimately free from allegiances and restrictions.
Or, you can betray the Empire and work as an actual double agent for the Republic's SIS.

Oh, and you might be sitting on enough data and information to go anywhere, get anything, and force anyone to do anything you want. The Black Codex is a powerful weapon.

Is it possible to get the without losing dark side points? I've been RP'ing myself as a fervent Imperial zealot who detests the Sith for making us weak through disunity.

Henners91 wrote:

Nerivant wrote:

Yes, the IA starts off as an operative/assassin for the Empire. The interesting thing is how it all plays out in the end.

Spoiler:

You can go pro-Sith, joining with Jadus and becoming his personal assassin. Empire be damned.
You can go pro-Empire and rebuild Imperial Intelligence. Victory for the common man.
You can break away from both, doing jobs for the Empire, but ultimately free from allegiances and restrictions.
Or, you can betray the Empire and work as an actual double agent for the Republic's SIS.

Oh, and you might be sitting on enough data and information to go anywhere, get anything, and force anyone to do anything you want. The Black Codex is a powerful weapon.

Is it possible to get the

Spoiler:

'victory for the common man ending'

without losing dark side points? I've been RP'ing myself as a fervent Imperial zealot who detests the Sith for making us weak through disunity.

Maybe. I'm really not sure; I've only gone through the story once, but it seems like there are some bits where you'd have to get your hands dirty.

I have level 20+ characters on both factions, but I greatly prefer Empire. I HATE the Republic starting planets.