PLAYER INFO
NAME: Jesse
AGE: 27
JOURNAL:![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
transmogrified
IM / EMAIL: jdmegalomaniac2
PLURK: stroopwafelling
RETURNING: Yes, currently playing Jacob Taylor
CHARACTER INFO
CHARACTER NAME: Count Dooku
CHARACTER AGE: Approximately 83
SERIES: Star Wars (Expanded Universe/’Legends’ Continuity)
CHRONOLOGY: After the novel ‘Dark Rendezvous,’ before the movie ‘Revenge of the Sith.’
CLASS: Villain
HOUSING: Solo housing in Maurtia Falls
BACKGROUND:
Wiki article here
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, life is filled with adventure, romance, clashes between good and evil, and deeply questionable dialogue. The universe is populated by hundreds of different sentient species, along with autonomous machines called 'droids', although humanity appears to be the most common and influential race. The Galaxy is united and peaceful under the guidance of the Galactic Republic, a democratic government so stable it doesn't even require a military for protection. Instead, peace is maintained by the Jedi Order, an ancient monastic order of diplomats, philosophers, and when necessary, laser-sword-swinging asskickers. The Jedi are governed by a Council and answer to the Galactic Senate, but are not officially part of the Republic’s government.
The Jedi derive their power from the Force, a quasi-mystical energy field generated by all living beings. The Force binds the Galaxy together, and some beings are born with the innate ability to access its power to achieve superhuman feats. The Jedi train these 'Force-sensitives' from a young age to learn the ways of the Force and to selflessly serve the Republic as Jedi Knights. The Force has its Dark Side as well, fueled by negative feelings such as anger and fear. The Dark Side offers great power, but at an inevitable emotional and moral cost which usually involves grandiose schemes to conquer the Galaxy with jackbooted legions. The Light side of the Force is served by the Jedi Order, while the Dark Side is commanded by the Dark Lords of the Sith.
For thousands of years the Jedi and the Sith clashed repeatedly, until the Sith were thought defeated forever and (relative) peace reigned throughout the Galaxy for centuries. Yet the Sith survived in secret, adopting a 'Rule of Two' to hide them from the Jedi. While the Sith employ other users of the Dark Side such as fallen Jedi, there are never more or less than two who truly hold the title of 'Darth' as a Sith Lord: one master, and one apprentice. Shrouded by the Rule of Two, the Sith have been manipulating galactic events for centuries, preparing for their revenge against the Jedi, a phantom menace that the Republic knows nothing about.
Enter Dooku. He was born to the ruling nobility of the planet Serenno, hereditary heir to the title of Count, enormous wealth, and the rulership of the planet itself. Because yes, this space-age democratic society still has enough of a feudal presence for Counts, Princesses and Queens to be major political players.
(I just need to emphasize this for a moment: he inherited a planet.)
His early years were stern and aloof. He was raised to be a Count, not a child: to rule, not to play. But those years ended soon. The Jedi came to Serenno, and found that the young heir was very strong in the Force. Dooku's parents did what was expected by galactic society, and gave their child up to be raised and trained by the Jedi Order without a fuss. Dooku totally never nurtured any secret resentment over this at all: feelings of loneliness and rejection would not be the behaviour expected of a Count. The Jedi renounced all material possessions in their service to the Force, and Dooku went from being heir to a planet to a relatively austere life of study and training.
Young Dooku quickly emerged as a star pupil within the Jedi Order. The Force was strong with him, and he was intelligent, ambitious, disciplined and driven. The structure of the Jedi Order, which emphasized self-denial and avoidance of emotional attachment for the sake of serving others, suited him quite nicely. Dooku's aversion to social matters was reinforced after he was betrayed by his friend, a human boy named Lorian Nod: insecure about his future, Lorian stole forbidden knowledge from the Jedi Archives and attempted to implicate Dooku when caught. The incident resulted in Nod being expelled from the Order and Dooku becoming perpetually leery of closeness with others.
Dooku was trained by none other than Grand Master Yoda himself: leader of the Jedi Council, a centuries-old diminutive green alien widely regarded as the wisest and most powerful Jedi in existence. (NOTE: Some sources name a human Jedi named Thame Carulean as Dooku's trainer, but since Dooku being Yoda's apprentice is mentioned far more often in canon, I have chosen to disregard that detail). Dooku and Yoda went on many adventures together and came to respect one another greatly, with Yoda often trying to curb the pride and ambition which were already showing through as Dooku's great weaknesses.
After completing the Jedi Trials, Dooku graduated from his training and gained the rank of Jedi Knight, which meant he was ready to undertake missions on behalf of the Jedi Order to guard peace and justice in the Republic. He took on a Padawan (apprentice) of his own at an unusually young age, and chose a gifted youth named Qui-Gon Jinn as his partner.
The two made a good team: both strong in the Force, idealistic and iconoclastic, both prepared to trust their own intuition over the frequently restrictive judgements of the Jedi Council. Yet where Dooku was emotionally cool and focused on material matters, Qui-Gon was a passionate spiritualist who followed the 'will of the Living Force', to the frequent exasperation of his Master. Three years into Qui-Gon's apprenticeship, the two had an encounter with Dooku's old 'friend' Lorian Nod, who had turned to piracy after his expulsion from the Jedi and ended up kidnapping a Republic Senator. Dooku's rage almost got the better of him while he was fighting Nod, but Qui-Gon was able to intervene and keep his Master from killing needlessly.
Once Qui-Gon became a Knight, Dooku was promoted to the rank of Jedi Master for successfully training an apprentice. His career from this point on was meteoric. Over the decades he served as a Jedi, Master Dooku came to be regarded as one of the most respected and accomplished Jedi of his time: a peerless swordsman, a wise scholar, a master orator, and an effective diplomat. He took on a new Padawan as well, an aggressive young woman named Komari Vosa. He was offered a seat on the Jedi Council, but declined for two reasons: the first, he preferred to continue working 'in the field' as a peacekeeper, second, because his disagreements with the way the Council did things were becoming more and more frequent.
Then came the skirmish at Galidraan, a pivotal moment in Dooku's career. The governor of the planet Galidraan appealed to the Jedi for aid against a supposed invasion by mercenary Mandalorians- a legendary warrior culture who had been ancient enemies of the Jedi. Dooku was given a Jedi task force and told to resolve the situation, despite his appeal for reinforcements. On Galidraan, Dooku's demand that the Mandalorians surrender was met with heavy firepower. The battle decimated both sides: the Mandalorians were almost completely wiped out, and eleven of the twenty Jedi lost their lives. The Mandalorian leader, Jango Fett, impressed Dooku by killing some Jedi with his bare hands. Dooku was disturbed by the savage violence displayed during the battle by his Padawan Komari Vosa, and by the fact that she had become completely infatuated with her Master. Dooku handled her crush and her volatile traits with his trademark delicacy and compassion by severing his bond with Komari Vosa and recommending that she be expelled from the Jedi Order.
Galidraan haunted Dooku. He later learned that he and the Jedi had been manipulated by the planet's governor, who had hired the Mandalorians to suppress his political enemies, then invoked Jedi assistance to destroy them so he wouldn't have to honour his deal with Jango Fett. Oh, and after Dooku turned Jango Fett over to his custody, the governor sold him into slavery. Dooku protested to the Jedi Council that the lives of Jedi had been wasted for petty political reasons by a common criminal. His frustrations only grew from there.
As his career advanced, Master Dooku became more and more aware that the Galactic Republic he and the other Jedi served so selflessly was not all it was cracked up to be. Corruption, stagnation, and incompetence were rife throughout the Senate and the governing bureaucracy. Criminal elements like pirates and bounty hunters flouted the law at will. Powerful corporate forces were amassing private armies of battle droids, unchallenged by the government. While the Core worlds of the Galaxy enjoyed peace and prosperity, the planets of the Outer Rim were often neglected and lawless, their problems ignored in favour of a cozy status quo dominated by special interests. For a Jedi as proud as Dooku, the situation was intolerable. He expected better from himself and the Jedi than to simply prop up a rotten system. He chafed at how the wise and powerful Jedi were subordinate to beings he regarded as petty, foolish and selfish.
The twelve years after Galidraan saw Dooku withdrawing more and more from the Jedi Order. Bitterness crept into him as he aged, as he saw the Galaxy he had spent a lifetime defending falling further into disorder and corruption. He stopped accepting missions from the Council, preferring to remain secluded in the Jedi Temple, studying ancient lore and prophecies predicting dark times ahead. During these studies, Dooku came to contemplate the Dark Side of the Force: whether it could be called upon and used as a tool without corrupting the user.
Dooku also began to question why he was spending his life in an Order that accomplished so little, when enormous wealth and power awaited his inheritance outside the confines of the Jedi. He spoke openly about his discontent with the Senate and the Council, but confided especially in his friend and fellow Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas, and a charismatic young Senator from the planet Naboo: Palpatine. A strong voice against corruption and a champion of the neglected Outer Rim systems, Palpatine seemed to understand more than anyone.
And then everything really went to shit. Palpatine's homeworld of Naboo was blockaded and attacked by the droid armies of the corporate Trade Federation, in a heavily-armed protest against the taxation of galactic trade routes. Qui-Gon, who was now a Jedi Master, responded alongside his Padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi. The two Jedi rescued Queen Amidala, elected monarch of Naboo (don't ask), and brought her to the Galactic capital of Coruscant to appeal to the Senate for justice. Paralyzed by bureaucratic bickering and the economic clout of the Trade Federation, the Senate heroically did nothing.
Furious, Queen Amidala proposed a vote of no confidence in the leadership of Supreme Chancellor Valorum, the political head of the Republic. By the time the voting was done, Senator Palpatine was now Chancellor Palpatine, democratic leader of the galaxy, and he promised aid for Naboo and reform in the Senate. Meanwhile Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon and Amidala returned to Naboo to oust the Trade Federation, only to be confronted by a figure from out of a myth, a nightmare thought to have been banished thousands of years ago: Darth Maul, a Sith Lord, strong in the Dark Side of the Force. Qui-Gon was killed fighting a threat the Jedi were convinced didn't exist. It was the final straw for Dooku.
In the aftermath of the Trade Federation's defeat at the Battle of Naboo, Master Dooku abruptly left the Jedi Order. It was an extraordinary event. Jedi usually served for life, especially Masters. Dooku became remembered as one of the 'Lost Twenty' Masters: the very few who, in thousands of years, had cast aside their connection to the Jedi. In keeping with his proud tradition of near-total emotional repression, he provided no explanation or farewell to his old friends and comrades aside from a public condemnation of the Senate's uselessness. After decades of exemplary service, Dooku returned to Serenno to claim his title of Count, his enormous family fortune, and his rulership of the planet.
(Again: he inherited a planet.)
Oh, I should mention the kid, too. While escaping from Naboo, Qui-Gon's ship had to land on the desert backwater world of Tatooine for repairs, where he met an extraordinary young boy with enormous potential in the Force: a boy supposedly conceived without a father. Convinced that the boy was a prophesied Chosen One destined to bring balance to the Force, Qui-Gon took him to the Jedi Council and insisted he be trained as a Jedi. While initially reluctant, the Council accepted young Anakin Skywalker into the Jedi to honour Qui-Gon's final wish. Pay attention to this kid, he's going to be important later.
Anyway, Count Dooku basically disappeared from the galactic scene for a decade or so after the Battle of Naboo. As far as anyone knew, he was enjoying a well-earned retirement. In reality, he was having lots of interesting talks with his friend Chancellor Palpatine, who eventually revealed himself to Dooku as the Dark Lord of the Sith: Darth Sidious. Everything that had transpired on Naboo had done so according to his design, the next step in the Sith Grand Plan to conquer the Galaxy and take revenge on the Jedi. Becoming Chancellor was just the beginning. Darth Maul had been defeated on Naboo by Obi-Wan Kenobi, leaving Sidious in need of a new apprentice, one with the wealth and political skill to serve the next stage of the Plan.
Sidious described a gleaming future to Dooku: the ineffective democracy of the Republic would be brushed away, replaced by a fascistic, miltarized New Order that would bring, well, order to a Galaxy badly in need of a stern guiding hand. Humans would take their rightful place as the dominant species over all other races. Wielders of the Force would no longer answer to politicians. Surviving Jedi would be re-organized into an iron-fisted fighting force, ruling over the less powerful. There would be no more corruption, no more incompetence, no more weakness, just pure authority.
It was embarrassingly easy to convince Dooku to overlook the little detail of Sidious' involvement in Qui-Gon's death in favour of the Sith's grand designs for the Galaxy. This was what Dooku had secretly wanted for a long time: a path toward forcing the Galaxy into adopting his wisdom, dispensing with the messy chaos of free will in favour of a more sensible order guided by the powerful. Not only that, but the revelation that the Republic's elected leader was its greatest enemy was the ultimate validation of every criticism Dooku had made over the years.
Count Dooku willingly knelt before the Dark Lord and pledged himself to the Sith Order. He cast aside seventy years of comradeship with the Jedi and joined their ancient enemies, adopting the title of Darth Tyranus. Together, the two Sith would transform the Galaxy.
Dooku's transformation was sealed with a sacrifice, namely the murder of his old Jedi friend, Master Sifo-Dyas. Palpatine had manipulated Sifo-Dyas into secretly ordering an army of cloned soldiers from the reclusive scientists of planet Kamino, for the defence of the Republic. Dooku cut the loose thread by killing his friend, and then erased Kamino's existence from the Jedi Archives for good measure, ensuring the clone army would remain hidden until the time was right. The Sith plan was to plunge the Galaxy into its first full-scale war in thousands of years, creating so much chaos and suffering that the Republic would willingly accept the dictatorship of the Sith as a promise of stability and security. Palpatine would ensure that liberty died to thunderous applause, and Dooku would help set the stage for his Master's ascension.
Meanwhile, Dooku's old apprentice Komari Vosa- remember her?- had taken her expulsion from the Order very well, by which I mean she had emerged as the supervillain leader of the Bando Gora death cult. The Bando Gora were a possible thorn in the Sith's side, and Dooku was tasked with ensuring their elimination. He was also ordered to find a soldier worthy of being cloned for the Republic's secret army, preferably someone good at killing Jedi. Dooku resolved both issues with a single stroke by putting a hefty bounty on Komari Vosa, and offering the person who defeated her the chance to be the template for an unstoppable army. It was the bounty hunter Jango Fett, Dooku's old opponent at Galidraan, who triumphed and became the source of the clone army's genetic material. As for Komari Vosa, Dooku executed his former Padawan without a word.
With the foundation for war laid, it was time to instigate a political crisis. Count Dooku, widely respected for his political integrity and his service as a Jedi, suddenly re-emerged into the public light calling for star systems to secede from the Republic. His message was clear and powerful: the Republic was too useless and corrupt to fix, and it was time to start over in a new Confederacy of Independent Systems. Tens of thousands of worlds rallied to Dooku's banner, especially from the neglected Outer Rim. Yet Dooku also allied with infamous corporate powers which were the primary sources of the Republic's corruption, such as the Trade Federation and its droid armies.
In public, Dooku and Palpatine positioned themselves as political enemies in the Separatist Crisis, both claiming the moral right: idealism versus stability. But behind the scenes, the two Sith conspired with one another to push the Galaxy towards war. Aware that the Jedi were keepers of the peace, not soldiers, the Republic Senate began to debate the creation of a galactic military to contain the Separatists, unaware that this military was already being created in the cloning vats of Kamino. Meanwhile, Dooku oversaw the construction of a secret droid army on the desert world of Geonosis. The insectoid Geonosians had never been fond of the Republic or Jedi, and became fierce participants in the new Separatist Alliance. They also began designing an 'ultimate weapon' with the power to destroy entire planets, which Sidious had a keen interest in. The stage was set: two political factions, each with an enormous army, clones versus droids.
A single assassination attempt was the spark the Sith needed. Dooku hired Jango Fett and his ally Zam Wessel to kill Senator (formerly Queen) Padme Amidala, a favour to secure the loyalty of the Trade Federation, whose leader Nute Gunray bore a heavy grudge against Amidala for the defeat at Naboo ten years ago. The failure of the assassination led to an investigation by Amidala's Jedi bodyguards: Qui-Gon's old Padawan, now Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi, and his highly gifted, headstrong apprentice Anakin Skywalker (told you he'd be important), prophecied Chosen One of the Force and a pet project of Chancellor Palpatine.
The trail led Obi-Wan to Kamino, where he discovered the clone army secretly arranged by Master Sifo-Dyas for the defence of the Republic, and then to Geonosis, where he discovered Dooku's droid army and the Separatist role in the attempts on Senator Amidala's life. Anakin, Obi-Wan and Padme all ended up captives of Dooku. Dooku kept up the pretence of the upstanding political activist as long as he could, trying to turn both Obi-Wan and Padme to his cause. But when they refused, he allowed the Geonosians to condemn them to death in a gladiatorial arena.
Then the Jedi showed up in force (no pun intended), led by Dooku's old friend Master Mace Windu, one of the Council's fiercest warriors. The rescue mission turned into a battle, and chaos ensued. Windu killed Jango Fett in the fighting, but Dooku unleashed a limitless number of droids on his former Jedi allies, surrounding them. The Jedi were saved by the arrival of Grand Master Yoda, Dooku's former teacher, at the head of the clone army. The discovery of the threat on Geonosis had led to the Senate voting Chancellor Palpatine emergency powers to deploy the secret clone army Obi-Wan had found on Kamino. The clones were dispatched to Geonosis in force to rescue the Jedi and the Senator, and to quash Dooku's rebellion. The attack of the clones was the beginning of a galactic conflagration.
Dooku fled, pursued by the Jedi. He was confronted in his private starship hangar by Obi-Wan and Anakin, by his apprentice's own apprentice and his replacement as the Jedi's golden boy. Drawing his red lightsaber, Dooku revealed himself as a Sith Lord who had fallen to the Dark Side of the Force. The duel was short and decisive: Count Dooku kicked their asses so hard I'm pretty sure you can see Obi-Wan coughing up his sphincter in freeze-frame. Dooku cut off Anakin's hand, destroyed his lightsaber, and disabled Obi-Wan. But then Yoda arrived to regulate. Dooku boasted that he had become more powerful than his old Master, but a few minutes later he was fleeing the scene, outmatched. The Republic mopped up on Geonosis while Dooku met Sidious on Coruscant, handing him the plans for the 'ultimate weapon' which would become the Death Star. Everything was proceeding as planned: war had begun.
The Clone Wars entered their full fury. The Galaxy had not seen this level of violence in thousands of years. The Jedi were transformed from peacekeepers to soldiers, given the rank of General in the clone army. Millions of troops clashed in thousands of different star systems. Dooku would spend the next three-ish years serving as the political head and public face of the Separatist Alliance, publicly opposing Palpatine while secretly doing his bidding, winning or losing battles as he was commanded, acting to prolong and intensify the chaos so Palpatine could justify expanding his political power further. Dooku served faithfully in hopes of seeing the Grand Plan of the Sith realized, putting aside the usual Sith duty of the apprentice to kill the master. He was assisted by many fearsome henchmen, notably the Dark Jedi assassin Asajj Ventress, the fearsome cyborg Jedi-killer General Grievous, and an assortment of fallen Jedi known as the Dark Acolytes, along with bounty hunters like Durge and Aurra Sing.
A full accounting of all the schemes and incidents Dooku was involved in during the Clone Wars is impossible. He quested after superweapons, sabotaged peace movements, invaded neutral planets, fomented divisions in the Jedi, courted alliance with the criminal Hutt cartels, persuaded more worlds to join the Separatists, betrayed Asajj Ventress' at Darth Sidious' command, duelled Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi on several more occasions, pantomimed a few plots against Palpatine, was captured by pirates in one humiliating incident, and wiped out a rival sect of Dark Side users known as the Nightsisters of Dathomir who had aided Asajj Ventress in seeking revenge against him after he betrayed her. He also bumped into his old friend Lorian Nod one more time, before bumping him off for good.
Dooku was also confronted by Grand Master Yoda once more on the planet of Vjun, and his old teacher came quite close to breaking through Dooku's darkness and convincing his former student to return to the Jedi Order. Yet Dooku rejected the offer at the last moment thanks to Palpatine's manipulations, ensuring that he would remain committed to the dark and bloody path that now defined his life.
Throughout the war, Dooku acted to conceal the great secrets that the conflict was based on: that the leaders of the two opposing factions were actually in league, and that the Dark Lord and the Republic Chancellor were one and the same, that the Sith had arranged the creation of both armies, and that the clones were intended to eventually turn on their Jedi commanders in a great purge. Yet when it seemed the Jedi might uncover the truth about Darth Sidious, Palpatine was forced to order the final act of the grim farce that was the Clone Wars.
Using secret hyperspace routes, the Separatist fleet would launch a massive attack on the galactic capital of Coruscant, led by Dooku and Grievous. They would kidnap Chancellor Palpatine and confront the Jedi one final time, killing Kenobi and turning Anakin Skywalker to the Dark Side. And then, after the Separatists were defeated and Dooku allowed himself to be 'captured,' the revenge of the Sith would at last unfold.
Dooku comes to Mask or Menace from just before this battle begins.
PERSONALITY:
Count Dooku is in many ways a 'classical' villain, very much in the mould of the old-fashioned serials which George Lucas drew upon when creating Star Wars. He displays many of the sterotypical villain traits expected of an operatic tale like Star Wars: ambition, arrogance, treachery, and a fondness for his own voice. But beyond those classical trappings lies a complex and twisted individual.
The Count is a fallen hero turned to wickedness by pride, frustration, and a Galactic level of unhealthy emotional repression. His parents taught him to deny his feelings for his aristocratic birthright of ruling others, and led by example by giving him up to the Jedi Order. The Jedi taught him to deny his feelings in order to serve others, and rewarded him for his discipline by recognizing his great talents as a Jedi Master. The Sith offered him the chance to cut loose for once in his life, to give in to rage and pride and act as he pleased. Yet the Sith also regard sentiment as weakness, and weakness is death, especially when one is engaged in massive political deception every minute of every day. And so, Dooku is as tightly-wound as a Sith Lord as he ever was as a Jedi, forced to play his emotional cards even closer to the chest than ever before.
Because of this, Dooku projects an air of calm, cold aloofness that almost never wavers. The Sith might draw their power from their passions, but Dooku might as well have ice water in his veins from the way he carries himself. He is consistently reserved and disciplined, showing little emotion and only a wry, taunting humour. His feelings have been forced down into a tiny little ball within him, an inexhaustible furnace of feeling that he can draw upon at will to fuel his Dark Side abilities. Picture an iceberg with a volcano at its center, and you may have an image of Dooku's emotional landscape.
Dooku was once a political idealist with high expectations that he saw repeatedly disappointed. Every instance of corruption and failure that he witnessed in his long career as a Jedi pushed him further towards disillusionment, then despair, then the Dark Side. Now, as a Sith, Dooku has completely abandoned his old idealism and embraced what he believes is the truth of the universe: we are all alone in the end, reacting to life's injustices with hatred and rage is the honest and correct response, and the only thing that truly matters in existence is power. He has become remorseless, treacherous, and wicked. He is still an exceptional warrior, politician, and philosopher, but now turns his skills towards the domination and manipulation of others. He thinks the worst of others and the best of himself, and is rarely proven wrong in his own twisted mind.
Beneath his genteel manners, Dooku has a very means-ends way of thinking, a cold and calculating mind that is well-suited to his position as warlord of the Separatist droid armies. He regards compassion as a weakness, and has banished it from his heart. He is ruthless in pursuit of his aims, and has come to view his personal advancement and the greater good of galactic stability to be one and the same. Dooku is a fencer with words and schemes as much as he is with his lightsaber, considering leverage and position as carefully as any bit of footwork would be in a duel. He is skilled at strategies which force his enemies to make hard choices, each of which will come at some cost to them and some benefit to him.
He lies like a fish drinks. The Count still remembers how to act like someone who values justice, however, and it is a well-crafted persona. He can be most persuasive, donning a smooth facade of a caring and considerate man to mask his complete disregard for all others. He rarely drops his cultured and courteous air, and conducts himself with style and dignity in all his dealings. The mask only drops when he is in private, in combat, or surrounded by those he has power over. Then the real Dooku shows through: anger, cruelty, and sneering contempt.
Dooku has always reacted strongly to betrayal, whether perceived or actual. The feeling of being betrayed by his parents and having his high ideals betrayed by the corruption and weakness of the Republic are part of what drove him to the Dark Side. He now refuses to cultivate any sort of genuine connection with other creatures beyond classing them as threats or assets. Dooku believes that anyone can be betrayed if they let their guard down, and that treachery is one of the most devastating of weapons.
Because of this, he has become quite skilled at betrayal himself, while retaining his hatred of it when targeted personally. He has no friends, no trusted allies, nothing that he cares for besides himself and his dream. Dooku is alone, but has convinced himself that this is a good thing: a man of greatness like himself has no need for petty and base considerations like friendships. Any secret regrets and doubts on his dark path are weaknesses, to be cast aside. He still acts as though he is cultured, reasonable, and willing to discuss things. But make no mistake: the heroic Jedi he once was is almost completely gone. Count Dooku has given himself over fully to his new life as Darth Tyranus, and to the Dark Side.
POWER:
Count Dooku is a Sith Lord, strong in the Dark Side of the Force. By harnessing his negative emotions, he can command the energy of the galaxy to achieve superhuman feats. His Dark Side powers can be loosely grouped under three umbrellas:
PHYSICAL - aided by the Dark Side, Dooku is far more physically capable than a man his age should be. His speed, agility, toughness, and reflexes are all superhuman, allowing him to perform acrobatics in combat and block incoming projectiles with his lightsaber (see FINAL NOTES).
TELEPATHIC - The Dark Side grants Dooku special insights into the thoughts and emotions of others. He can 'sense' whether another person is afflicted by doubt, or anger, for example, or even 'read' information from another person's mind. In canon, he demonstrates that he can use the Dark Side to ‘see’ opponents in combat even when he has been blinded and the opponents are invisible. He has accompanying training with guarding his own mind and feelings against intrusions from similarly-empowered beings, and has the ability to resist such psychic snooping. Force users are also capable of telepathic communication, sending their thoughts into the minds of others, although Dooku is not able to influence others with Mind Tricks the way a Jedi would. This power will have an accompanying permissions post. It is also generally limited to a single target: Dooku could not read the minds of an entire room at once, for instance.
TELEKINETIC - A strong Force User can use their power to affect the material world. Dooku is particularly adept at this aspect of the Force. He can move objects and people with his mind when they are within his sight, accompanied by demonstrative hand gestures, and is powerful enough to crush a metal staircase or collapse a rock ceiling with a few seconds of focus. He can also use this power on people directly, throwing them around or constricting their throats to choke them (a very popular Sith attack). He can also use the Force on his own body, jumping to greater heights or slowing a fall into a glide. Most dramatically, Count Dooku can generate lightning from his hands, a powerful projectile attack which inflicts great pain on one or more targets.
In canon, the Sith are shown as able to use their choking ability on targets over electronic communication, such as video transmissions or holograms. Dooku would thus be able to assault people over the Network using his power, if it was on a Video thread. This ability will not be employed without prior discussion with involved players.
CHARACTER SAMPLES
COMMUNITY POST (VOICE) SAMPLE:
VIDEO
[Count Dooku has been in-universe for a while now, long enough to move past the 'do you know who I am' stage of outrage at actually having to do his own shopping after a lifetime of rarefied treatment. This video post finds the Count in a more contemplative mood, standing in front of a bookshelf in his private residence's study. Because of course Dooku has a study. When he speaks, his voice is deep, resonant, and rich.]
I have been considering the role of emotion in the matters of power. ImPort abilities often seem tied to how we feel. Anger and fear can threaten our control, yet they can also spur greater displays of power.
In my Galaxy, there are two philosophies which have debated these issues for many thousands of years. One believes in the denial of passion. They insist upon tranquility and harmony. It is their belief that only a calm heart, without attachments, can attain true wisdom in serving others. They do not even allow themselves to fall in love...
[Dooku gestures as he talks, and his voice drops slightly, becoming a touch darker.]
The other side calls this a lie. It accepts passion as the truth of all living things, and draws power from it. It teaches that emotion can be embraced, and disciplined, and used to great effect.
I would be interested to know what my fellow imPorts think on this matter. Are our feelings to be repressed, or embraced? Which path do you believe will lead to greater fulfillment?
[Tell the Sith Lord about feelings, Network.]
LOGS POST (PROSE) SAMPLE:
Test-Drive thread
FINAL NOTES: Dooku will arrive in-game with his lightsaber. A lightsaber is a powerful melee weapon used by Jedi and Sith, a glowing energy sword capable of cutting most materials and deflecting energy materials- an elegant weapon, for a more civilized age.
NAME: Jesse
AGE: 27
JOURNAL:
transmogrifiedIM / EMAIL: jdmegalomaniac2
PLURK: stroopwafelling
RETURNING: Yes, currently playing Jacob Taylor
CHARACTER INFO
CHARACTER NAME: Count Dooku
CHARACTER AGE: Approximately 83
SERIES: Star Wars (Expanded Universe/’Legends’ Continuity)
CHRONOLOGY: After the novel ‘Dark Rendezvous,’ before the movie ‘Revenge of the Sith.’
CLASS: Villain
HOUSING: Solo housing in Maurtia Falls
BACKGROUND:
Wiki article here
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, life is filled with adventure, romance, clashes between good and evil, and deeply questionable dialogue. The universe is populated by hundreds of different sentient species, along with autonomous machines called 'droids', although humanity appears to be the most common and influential race. The Galaxy is united and peaceful under the guidance of the Galactic Republic, a democratic government so stable it doesn't even require a military for protection. Instead, peace is maintained by the Jedi Order, an ancient monastic order of diplomats, philosophers, and when necessary, laser-sword-swinging asskickers. The Jedi are governed by a Council and answer to the Galactic Senate, but are not officially part of the Republic’s government.
The Jedi derive their power from the Force, a quasi-mystical energy field generated by all living beings. The Force binds the Galaxy together, and some beings are born with the innate ability to access its power to achieve superhuman feats. The Jedi train these 'Force-sensitives' from a young age to learn the ways of the Force and to selflessly serve the Republic as Jedi Knights. The Force has its Dark Side as well, fueled by negative feelings such as anger and fear. The Dark Side offers great power, but at an inevitable emotional and moral cost which usually involves grandiose schemes to conquer the Galaxy with jackbooted legions. The Light side of the Force is served by the Jedi Order, while the Dark Side is commanded by the Dark Lords of the Sith.
For thousands of years the Jedi and the Sith clashed repeatedly, until the Sith were thought defeated forever and (relative) peace reigned throughout the Galaxy for centuries. Yet the Sith survived in secret, adopting a 'Rule of Two' to hide them from the Jedi. While the Sith employ other users of the Dark Side such as fallen Jedi, there are never more or less than two who truly hold the title of 'Darth' as a Sith Lord: one master, and one apprentice. Shrouded by the Rule of Two, the Sith have been manipulating galactic events for centuries, preparing for their revenge against the Jedi, a phantom menace that the Republic knows nothing about.
Enter Dooku. He was born to the ruling nobility of the planet Serenno, hereditary heir to the title of Count, enormous wealth, and the rulership of the planet itself. Because yes, this space-age democratic society still has enough of a feudal presence for Counts, Princesses and Queens to be major political players.
(I just need to emphasize this for a moment: he inherited a planet.)
His early years were stern and aloof. He was raised to be a Count, not a child: to rule, not to play. But those years ended soon. The Jedi came to Serenno, and found that the young heir was very strong in the Force. Dooku's parents did what was expected by galactic society, and gave their child up to be raised and trained by the Jedi Order without a fuss. Dooku totally never nurtured any secret resentment over this at all: feelings of loneliness and rejection would not be the behaviour expected of a Count. The Jedi renounced all material possessions in their service to the Force, and Dooku went from being heir to a planet to a relatively austere life of study and training.
Young Dooku quickly emerged as a star pupil within the Jedi Order. The Force was strong with him, and he was intelligent, ambitious, disciplined and driven. The structure of the Jedi Order, which emphasized self-denial and avoidance of emotional attachment for the sake of serving others, suited him quite nicely. Dooku's aversion to social matters was reinforced after he was betrayed by his friend, a human boy named Lorian Nod: insecure about his future, Lorian stole forbidden knowledge from the Jedi Archives and attempted to implicate Dooku when caught. The incident resulted in Nod being expelled from the Order and Dooku becoming perpetually leery of closeness with others.
Dooku was trained by none other than Grand Master Yoda himself: leader of the Jedi Council, a centuries-old diminutive green alien widely regarded as the wisest and most powerful Jedi in existence. (NOTE: Some sources name a human Jedi named Thame Carulean as Dooku's trainer, but since Dooku being Yoda's apprentice is mentioned far more often in canon, I have chosen to disregard that detail). Dooku and Yoda went on many adventures together and came to respect one another greatly, with Yoda often trying to curb the pride and ambition which were already showing through as Dooku's great weaknesses.
After completing the Jedi Trials, Dooku graduated from his training and gained the rank of Jedi Knight, which meant he was ready to undertake missions on behalf of the Jedi Order to guard peace and justice in the Republic. He took on a Padawan (apprentice) of his own at an unusually young age, and chose a gifted youth named Qui-Gon Jinn as his partner.
The two made a good team: both strong in the Force, idealistic and iconoclastic, both prepared to trust their own intuition over the frequently restrictive judgements of the Jedi Council. Yet where Dooku was emotionally cool and focused on material matters, Qui-Gon was a passionate spiritualist who followed the 'will of the Living Force', to the frequent exasperation of his Master. Three years into Qui-Gon's apprenticeship, the two had an encounter with Dooku's old 'friend' Lorian Nod, who had turned to piracy after his expulsion from the Jedi and ended up kidnapping a Republic Senator. Dooku's rage almost got the better of him while he was fighting Nod, but Qui-Gon was able to intervene and keep his Master from killing needlessly.
Once Qui-Gon became a Knight, Dooku was promoted to the rank of Jedi Master for successfully training an apprentice. His career from this point on was meteoric. Over the decades he served as a Jedi, Master Dooku came to be regarded as one of the most respected and accomplished Jedi of his time: a peerless swordsman, a wise scholar, a master orator, and an effective diplomat. He took on a new Padawan as well, an aggressive young woman named Komari Vosa. He was offered a seat on the Jedi Council, but declined for two reasons: the first, he preferred to continue working 'in the field' as a peacekeeper, second, because his disagreements with the way the Council did things were becoming more and more frequent.
Then came the skirmish at Galidraan, a pivotal moment in Dooku's career. The governor of the planet Galidraan appealed to the Jedi for aid against a supposed invasion by mercenary Mandalorians- a legendary warrior culture who had been ancient enemies of the Jedi. Dooku was given a Jedi task force and told to resolve the situation, despite his appeal for reinforcements. On Galidraan, Dooku's demand that the Mandalorians surrender was met with heavy firepower. The battle decimated both sides: the Mandalorians were almost completely wiped out, and eleven of the twenty Jedi lost their lives. The Mandalorian leader, Jango Fett, impressed Dooku by killing some Jedi with his bare hands. Dooku was disturbed by the savage violence displayed during the battle by his Padawan Komari Vosa, and by the fact that she had become completely infatuated with her Master. Dooku handled her crush and her volatile traits with his trademark delicacy and compassion by severing his bond with Komari Vosa and recommending that she be expelled from the Jedi Order.
Galidraan haunted Dooku. He later learned that he and the Jedi had been manipulated by the planet's governor, who had hired the Mandalorians to suppress his political enemies, then invoked Jedi assistance to destroy them so he wouldn't have to honour his deal with Jango Fett. Oh, and after Dooku turned Jango Fett over to his custody, the governor sold him into slavery. Dooku protested to the Jedi Council that the lives of Jedi had been wasted for petty political reasons by a common criminal. His frustrations only grew from there.
As his career advanced, Master Dooku became more and more aware that the Galactic Republic he and the other Jedi served so selflessly was not all it was cracked up to be. Corruption, stagnation, and incompetence were rife throughout the Senate and the governing bureaucracy. Criminal elements like pirates and bounty hunters flouted the law at will. Powerful corporate forces were amassing private armies of battle droids, unchallenged by the government. While the Core worlds of the Galaxy enjoyed peace and prosperity, the planets of the Outer Rim were often neglected and lawless, their problems ignored in favour of a cozy status quo dominated by special interests. For a Jedi as proud as Dooku, the situation was intolerable. He expected better from himself and the Jedi than to simply prop up a rotten system. He chafed at how the wise and powerful Jedi were subordinate to beings he regarded as petty, foolish and selfish.
The twelve years after Galidraan saw Dooku withdrawing more and more from the Jedi Order. Bitterness crept into him as he aged, as he saw the Galaxy he had spent a lifetime defending falling further into disorder and corruption. He stopped accepting missions from the Council, preferring to remain secluded in the Jedi Temple, studying ancient lore and prophecies predicting dark times ahead. During these studies, Dooku came to contemplate the Dark Side of the Force: whether it could be called upon and used as a tool without corrupting the user.
Dooku also began to question why he was spending his life in an Order that accomplished so little, when enormous wealth and power awaited his inheritance outside the confines of the Jedi. He spoke openly about his discontent with the Senate and the Council, but confided especially in his friend and fellow Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas, and a charismatic young Senator from the planet Naboo: Palpatine. A strong voice against corruption and a champion of the neglected Outer Rim systems, Palpatine seemed to understand more than anyone.
And then everything really went to shit. Palpatine's homeworld of Naboo was blockaded and attacked by the droid armies of the corporate Trade Federation, in a heavily-armed protest against the taxation of galactic trade routes. Qui-Gon, who was now a Jedi Master, responded alongside his Padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi. The two Jedi rescued Queen Amidala, elected monarch of Naboo (don't ask), and brought her to the Galactic capital of Coruscant to appeal to the Senate for justice. Paralyzed by bureaucratic bickering and the economic clout of the Trade Federation, the Senate heroically did nothing.
Furious, Queen Amidala proposed a vote of no confidence in the leadership of Supreme Chancellor Valorum, the political head of the Republic. By the time the voting was done, Senator Palpatine was now Chancellor Palpatine, democratic leader of the galaxy, and he promised aid for Naboo and reform in the Senate. Meanwhile Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon and Amidala returned to Naboo to oust the Trade Federation, only to be confronted by a figure from out of a myth, a nightmare thought to have been banished thousands of years ago: Darth Maul, a Sith Lord, strong in the Dark Side of the Force. Qui-Gon was killed fighting a threat the Jedi were convinced didn't exist. It was the final straw for Dooku.
In the aftermath of the Trade Federation's defeat at the Battle of Naboo, Master Dooku abruptly left the Jedi Order. It was an extraordinary event. Jedi usually served for life, especially Masters. Dooku became remembered as one of the 'Lost Twenty' Masters: the very few who, in thousands of years, had cast aside their connection to the Jedi. In keeping with his proud tradition of near-total emotional repression, he provided no explanation or farewell to his old friends and comrades aside from a public condemnation of the Senate's uselessness. After decades of exemplary service, Dooku returned to Serenno to claim his title of Count, his enormous family fortune, and his rulership of the planet.
(Again: he inherited a planet.)
Oh, I should mention the kid, too. While escaping from Naboo, Qui-Gon's ship had to land on the desert backwater world of Tatooine for repairs, where he met an extraordinary young boy with enormous potential in the Force: a boy supposedly conceived without a father. Convinced that the boy was a prophesied Chosen One destined to bring balance to the Force, Qui-Gon took him to the Jedi Council and insisted he be trained as a Jedi. While initially reluctant, the Council accepted young Anakin Skywalker into the Jedi to honour Qui-Gon's final wish. Pay attention to this kid, he's going to be important later.
Anyway, Count Dooku basically disappeared from the galactic scene for a decade or so after the Battle of Naboo. As far as anyone knew, he was enjoying a well-earned retirement. In reality, he was having lots of interesting talks with his friend Chancellor Palpatine, who eventually revealed himself to Dooku as the Dark Lord of the Sith: Darth Sidious. Everything that had transpired on Naboo had done so according to his design, the next step in the Sith Grand Plan to conquer the Galaxy and take revenge on the Jedi. Becoming Chancellor was just the beginning. Darth Maul had been defeated on Naboo by Obi-Wan Kenobi, leaving Sidious in need of a new apprentice, one with the wealth and political skill to serve the next stage of the Plan.
Sidious described a gleaming future to Dooku: the ineffective democracy of the Republic would be brushed away, replaced by a fascistic, miltarized New Order that would bring, well, order to a Galaxy badly in need of a stern guiding hand. Humans would take their rightful place as the dominant species over all other races. Wielders of the Force would no longer answer to politicians. Surviving Jedi would be re-organized into an iron-fisted fighting force, ruling over the less powerful. There would be no more corruption, no more incompetence, no more weakness, just pure authority.
It was embarrassingly easy to convince Dooku to overlook the little detail of Sidious' involvement in Qui-Gon's death in favour of the Sith's grand designs for the Galaxy. This was what Dooku had secretly wanted for a long time: a path toward forcing the Galaxy into adopting his wisdom, dispensing with the messy chaos of free will in favour of a more sensible order guided by the powerful. Not only that, but the revelation that the Republic's elected leader was its greatest enemy was the ultimate validation of every criticism Dooku had made over the years.
Count Dooku willingly knelt before the Dark Lord and pledged himself to the Sith Order. He cast aside seventy years of comradeship with the Jedi and joined their ancient enemies, adopting the title of Darth Tyranus. Together, the two Sith would transform the Galaxy.
Dooku's transformation was sealed with a sacrifice, namely the murder of his old Jedi friend, Master Sifo-Dyas. Palpatine had manipulated Sifo-Dyas into secretly ordering an army of cloned soldiers from the reclusive scientists of planet Kamino, for the defence of the Republic. Dooku cut the loose thread by killing his friend, and then erased Kamino's existence from the Jedi Archives for good measure, ensuring the clone army would remain hidden until the time was right. The Sith plan was to plunge the Galaxy into its first full-scale war in thousands of years, creating so much chaos and suffering that the Republic would willingly accept the dictatorship of the Sith as a promise of stability and security. Palpatine would ensure that liberty died to thunderous applause, and Dooku would help set the stage for his Master's ascension.
Meanwhile, Dooku's old apprentice Komari Vosa- remember her?- had taken her expulsion from the Order very well, by which I mean she had emerged as the supervillain leader of the Bando Gora death cult. The Bando Gora were a possible thorn in the Sith's side, and Dooku was tasked with ensuring their elimination. He was also ordered to find a soldier worthy of being cloned for the Republic's secret army, preferably someone good at killing Jedi. Dooku resolved both issues with a single stroke by putting a hefty bounty on Komari Vosa, and offering the person who defeated her the chance to be the template for an unstoppable army. It was the bounty hunter Jango Fett, Dooku's old opponent at Galidraan, who triumphed and became the source of the clone army's genetic material. As for Komari Vosa, Dooku executed his former Padawan without a word.
With the foundation for war laid, it was time to instigate a political crisis. Count Dooku, widely respected for his political integrity and his service as a Jedi, suddenly re-emerged into the public light calling for star systems to secede from the Republic. His message was clear and powerful: the Republic was too useless and corrupt to fix, and it was time to start over in a new Confederacy of Independent Systems. Tens of thousands of worlds rallied to Dooku's banner, especially from the neglected Outer Rim. Yet Dooku also allied with infamous corporate powers which were the primary sources of the Republic's corruption, such as the Trade Federation and its droid armies.
In public, Dooku and Palpatine positioned themselves as political enemies in the Separatist Crisis, both claiming the moral right: idealism versus stability. But behind the scenes, the two Sith conspired with one another to push the Galaxy towards war. Aware that the Jedi were keepers of the peace, not soldiers, the Republic Senate began to debate the creation of a galactic military to contain the Separatists, unaware that this military was already being created in the cloning vats of Kamino. Meanwhile, Dooku oversaw the construction of a secret droid army on the desert world of Geonosis. The insectoid Geonosians had never been fond of the Republic or Jedi, and became fierce participants in the new Separatist Alliance. They also began designing an 'ultimate weapon' with the power to destroy entire planets, which Sidious had a keen interest in. The stage was set: two political factions, each with an enormous army, clones versus droids.
A single assassination attempt was the spark the Sith needed. Dooku hired Jango Fett and his ally Zam Wessel to kill Senator (formerly Queen) Padme Amidala, a favour to secure the loyalty of the Trade Federation, whose leader Nute Gunray bore a heavy grudge against Amidala for the defeat at Naboo ten years ago. The failure of the assassination led to an investigation by Amidala's Jedi bodyguards: Qui-Gon's old Padawan, now Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi, and his highly gifted, headstrong apprentice Anakin Skywalker (told you he'd be important), prophecied Chosen One of the Force and a pet project of Chancellor Palpatine.
The trail led Obi-Wan to Kamino, where he discovered the clone army secretly arranged by Master Sifo-Dyas for the defence of the Republic, and then to Geonosis, where he discovered Dooku's droid army and the Separatist role in the attempts on Senator Amidala's life. Anakin, Obi-Wan and Padme all ended up captives of Dooku. Dooku kept up the pretence of the upstanding political activist as long as he could, trying to turn both Obi-Wan and Padme to his cause. But when they refused, he allowed the Geonosians to condemn them to death in a gladiatorial arena.
Then the Jedi showed up in force (no pun intended), led by Dooku's old friend Master Mace Windu, one of the Council's fiercest warriors. The rescue mission turned into a battle, and chaos ensued. Windu killed Jango Fett in the fighting, but Dooku unleashed a limitless number of droids on his former Jedi allies, surrounding them. The Jedi were saved by the arrival of Grand Master Yoda, Dooku's former teacher, at the head of the clone army. The discovery of the threat on Geonosis had led to the Senate voting Chancellor Palpatine emergency powers to deploy the secret clone army Obi-Wan had found on Kamino. The clones were dispatched to Geonosis in force to rescue the Jedi and the Senator, and to quash Dooku's rebellion. The attack of the clones was the beginning of a galactic conflagration.
Dooku fled, pursued by the Jedi. He was confronted in his private starship hangar by Obi-Wan and Anakin, by his apprentice's own apprentice and his replacement as the Jedi's golden boy. Drawing his red lightsaber, Dooku revealed himself as a Sith Lord who had fallen to the Dark Side of the Force. The duel was short and decisive: Count Dooku kicked their asses so hard I'm pretty sure you can see Obi-Wan coughing up his sphincter in freeze-frame. Dooku cut off Anakin's hand, destroyed his lightsaber, and disabled Obi-Wan. But then Yoda arrived to regulate. Dooku boasted that he had become more powerful than his old Master, but a few minutes later he was fleeing the scene, outmatched. The Republic mopped up on Geonosis while Dooku met Sidious on Coruscant, handing him the plans for the 'ultimate weapon' which would become the Death Star. Everything was proceeding as planned: war had begun.
The Clone Wars entered their full fury. The Galaxy had not seen this level of violence in thousands of years. The Jedi were transformed from peacekeepers to soldiers, given the rank of General in the clone army. Millions of troops clashed in thousands of different star systems. Dooku would spend the next three-ish years serving as the political head and public face of the Separatist Alliance, publicly opposing Palpatine while secretly doing his bidding, winning or losing battles as he was commanded, acting to prolong and intensify the chaos so Palpatine could justify expanding his political power further. Dooku served faithfully in hopes of seeing the Grand Plan of the Sith realized, putting aside the usual Sith duty of the apprentice to kill the master. He was assisted by many fearsome henchmen, notably the Dark Jedi assassin Asajj Ventress, the fearsome cyborg Jedi-killer General Grievous, and an assortment of fallen Jedi known as the Dark Acolytes, along with bounty hunters like Durge and Aurra Sing.
A full accounting of all the schemes and incidents Dooku was involved in during the Clone Wars is impossible. He quested after superweapons, sabotaged peace movements, invaded neutral planets, fomented divisions in the Jedi, courted alliance with the criminal Hutt cartels, persuaded more worlds to join the Separatists, betrayed Asajj Ventress' at Darth Sidious' command, duelled Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi on several more occasions, pantomimed a few plots against Palpatine, was captured by pirates in one humiliating incident, and wiped out a rival sect of Dark Side users known as the Nightsisters of Dathomir who had aided Asajj Ventress in seeking revenge against him after he betrayed her. He also bumped into his old friend Lorian Nod one more time, before bumping him off for good.
Dooku was also confronted by Grand Master Yoda once more on the planet of Vjun, and his old teacher came quite close to breaking through Dooku's darkness and convincing his former student to return to the Jedi Order. Yet Dooku rejected the offer at the last moment thanks to Palpatine's manipulations, ensuring that he would remain committed to the dark and bloody path that now defined his life.
Throughout the war, Dooku acted to conceal the great secrets that the conflict was based on: that the leaders of the two opposing factions were actually in league, and that the Dark Lord and the Republic Chancellor were one and the same, that the Sith had arranged the creation of both armies, and that the clones were intended to eventually turn on their Jedi commanders in a great purge. Yet when it seemed the Jedi might uncover the truth about Darth Sidious, Palpatine was forced to order the final act of the grim farce that was the Clone Wars.
Using secret hyperspace routes, the Separatist fleet would launch a massive attack on the galactic capital of Coruscant, led by Dooku and Grievous. They would kidnap Chancellor Palpatine and confront the Jedi one final time, killing Kenobi and turning Anakin Skywalker to the Dark Side. And then, after the Separatists were defeated and Dooku allowed himself to be 'captured,' the revenge of the Sith would at last unfold.
Dooku comes to Mask or Menace from just before this battle begins.
PERSONALITY:
Count Dooku is in many ways a 'classical' villain, very much in the mould of the old-fashioned serials which George Lucas drew upon when creating Star Wars. He displays many of the sterotypical villain traits expected of an operatic tale like Star Wars: ambition, arrogance, treachery, and a fondness for his own voice. But beyond those classical trappings lies a complex and twisted individual.
The Count is a fallen hero turned to wickedness by pride, frustration, and a Galactic level of unhealthy emotional repression. His parents taught him to deny his feelings for his aristocratic birthright of ruling others, and led by example by giving him up to the Jedi Order. The Jedi taught him to deny his feelings in order to serve others, and rewarded him for his discipline by recognizing his great talents as a Jedi Master. The Sith offered him the chance to cut loose for once in his life, to give in to rage and pride and act as he pleased. Yet the Sith also regard sentiment as weakness, and weakness is death, especially when one is engaged in massive political deception every minute of every day. And so, Dooku is as tightly-wound as a Sith Lord as he ever was as a Jedi, forced to play his emotional cards even closer to the chest than ever before.
Because of this, Dooku projects an air of calm, cold aloofness that almost never wavers. The Sith might draw their power from their passions, but Dooku might as well have ice water in his veins from the way he carries himself. He is consistently reserved and disciplined, showing little emotion and only a wry, taunting humour. His feelings have been forced down into a tiny little ball within him, an inexhaustible furnace of feeling that he can draw upon at will to fuel his Dark Side abilities. Picture an iceberg with a volcano at its center, and you may have an image of Dooku's emotional landscape.
Dooku was once a political idealist with high expectations that he saw repeatedly disappointed. Every instance of corruption and failure that he witnessed in his long career as a Jedi pushed him further towards disillusionment, then despair, then the Dark Side. Now, as a Sith, Dooku has completely abandoned his old idealism and embraced what he believes is the truth of the universe: we are all alone in the end, reacting to life's injustices with hatred and rage is the honest and correct response, and the only thing that truly matters in existence is power. He has become remorseless, treacherous, and wicked. He is still an exceptional warrior, politician, and philosopher, but now turns his skills towards the domination and manipulation of others. He thinks the worst of others and the best of himself, and is rarely proven wrong in his own twisted mind.
Beneath his genteel manners, Dooku has a very means-ends way of thinking, a cold and calculating mind that is well-suited to his position as warlord of the Separatist droid armies. He regards compassion as a weakness, and has banished it from his heart. He is ruthless in pursuit of his aims, and has come to view his personal advancement and the greater good of galactic stability to be one and the same. Dooku is a fencer with words and schemes as much as he is with his lightsaber, considering leverage and position as carefully as any bit of footwork would be in a duel. He is skilled at strategies which force his enemies to make hard choices, each of which will come at some cost to them and some benefit to him.
He lies like a fish drinks. The Count still remembers how to act like someone who values justice, however, and it is a well-crafted persona. He can be most persuasive, donning a smooth facade of a caring and considerate man to mask his complete disregard for all others. He rarely drops his cultured and courteous air, and conducts himself with style and dignity in all his dealings. The mask only drops when he is in private, in combat, or surrounded by those he has power over. Then the real Dooku shows through: anger, cruelty, and sneering contempt.
Dooku has always reacted strongly to betrayal, whether perceived or actual. The feeling of being betrayed by his parents and having his high ideals betrayed by the corruption and weakness of the Republic are part of what drove him to the Dark Side. He now refuses to cultivate any sort of genuine connection with other creatures beyond classing them as threats or assets. Dooku believes that anyone can be betrayed if they let their guard down, and that treachery is one of the most devastating of weapons.
Because of this, he has become quite skilled at betrayal himself, while retaining his hatred of it when targeted personally. He has no friends, no trusted allies, nothing that he cares for besides himself and his dream. Dooku is alone, but has convinced himself that this is a good thing: a man of greatness like himself has no need for petty and base considerations like friendships. Any secret regrets and doubts on his dark path are weaknesses, to be cast aside. He still acts as though he is cultured, reasonable, and willing to discuss things. But make no mistake: the heroic Jedi he once was is almost completely gone. Count Dooku has given himself over fully to his new life as Darth Tyranus, and to the Dark Side.
POWER:
Count Dooku is a Sith Lord, strong in the Dark Side of the Force. By harnessing his negative emotions, he can command the energy of the galaxy to achieve superhuman feats. His Dark Side powers can be loosely grouped under three umbrellas:
PHYSICAL - aided by the Dark Side, Dooku is far more physically capable than a man his age should be. His speed, agility, toughness, and reflexes are all superhuman, allowing him to perform acrobatics in combat and block incoming projectiles with his lightsaber (see FINAL NOTES).
TELEPATHIC - The Dark Side grants Dooku special insights into the thoughts and emotions of others. He can 'sense' whether another person is afflicted by doubt, or anger, for example, or even 'read' information from another person's mind. In canon, he demonstrates that he can use the Dark Side to ‘see’ opponents in combat even when he has been blinded and the opponents are invisible. He has accompanying training with guarding his own mind and feelings against intrusions from similarly-empowered beings, and has the ability to resist such psychic snooping. Force users are also capable of telepathic communication, sending their thoughts into the minds of others, although Dooku is not able to influence others with Mind Tricks the way a Jedi would. This power will have an accompanying permissions post. It is also generally limited to a single target: Dooku could not read the minds of an entire room at once, for instance.
TELEKINETIC - A strong Force User can use their power to affect the material world. Dooku is particularly adept at this aspect of the Force. He can move objects and people with his mind when they are within his sight, accompanied by demonstrative hand gestures, and is powerful enough to crush a metal staircase or collapse a rock ceiling with a few seconds of focus. He can also use this power on people directly, throwing them around or constricting their throats to choke them (a very popular Sith attack). He can also use the Force on his own body, jumping to greater heights or slowing a fall into a glide. Most dramatically, Count Dooku can generate lightning from his hands, a powerful projectile attack which inflicts great pain on one or more targets.
In canon, the Sith are shown as able to use their choking ability on targets over electronic communication, such as video transmissions or holograms. Dooku would thus be able to assault people over the Network using his power, if it was on a Video thread. This ability will not be employed without prior discussion with involved players.
CHARACTER SAMPLES
COMMUNITY POST (VOICE) SAMPLE:
VIDEO
[Count Dooku has been in-universe for a while now, long enough to move past the 'do you know who I am' stage of outrage at actually having to do his own shopping after a lifetime of rarefied treatment. This video post finds the Count in a more contemplative mood, standing in front of a bookshelf in his private residence's study. Because of course Dooku has a study. When he speaks, his voice is deep, resonant, and rich.]
I have been considering the role of emotion in the matters of power. ImPort abilities often seem tied to how we feel. Anger and fear can threaten our control, yet they can also spur greater displays of power.
In my Galaxy, there are two philosophies which have debated these issues for many thousands of years. One believes in the denial of passion. They insist upon tranquility and harmony. It is their belief that only a calm heart, without attachments, can attain true wisdom in serving others. They do not even allow themselves to fall in love...
[Dooku gestures as he talks, and his voice drops slightly, becoming a touch darker.]
The other side calls this a lie. It accepts passion as the truth of all living things, and draws power from it. It teaches that emotion can be embraced, and disciplined, and used to great effect.
I would be interested to know what my fellow imPorts think on this matter. Are our feelings to be repressed, or embraced? Which path do you believe will lead to greater fulfillment?
[Tell the Sith Lord about feelings, Network.]
LOGS POST (PROSE) SAMPLE:
Test-Drive thread
FINAL NOTES: Dooku will arrive in-game with his lightsaber. A lightsaber is a powerful melee weapon used by Jedi and Sith, a glowing energy sword capable of cutting most materials and deflecting energy materials- an elegant weapon, for a more civilized age.
