Shadowtroopers were stormtrooper-Dark Jedi hybrid soldiers in the world of Star Wars, created by the Dark Jedi Desann and Imperial Admiral Galak Fyyar. Similar to the Reborn soldiers, Desann used the magical blue Force
"fountain" of the Valley of the Jedi to imbue stormtroopers with Force powers.
The Shadowtroopers
had two special
peculiarities, which distinct them from other basic stormtroopers. First,
Shadowtroopers were armed with lightsabers. This concept can be known for many
of us. We have seen many concept arts and pictures where the planned
Shadowtroopers wielded lightsaber in their right hand, and had a shield in the
left. But the Lucas team later rejected the idea, because they wanted only the
Jedi and Sith to be able to use the lightsaber as their special and historic
weapon. There were plans and even action figures, that depicted stormtroopers
having a lightsaber, like the McQuarrie concept art trooper, but that was only
a curiosity, nice stuff, but not authentic. But anyway, this old idea was the
origin of the concept that gave us a special stormtrooper arm which can wield
a lightsaber. Of course, they are not virtuous like a Jedi, who mastered many
skills since they were Padawans, and learned many forms from the Holocrons or
from their Master. They are medium fencers, and quite robotic, like Grievous,
who was not a Jedi, but learned much from Dooku. But he got advantage often
from his robotic 4 handed extremely fast propeller-like saber move, which
Shadowtrooper could not do. Also, a very important difference that
Shadowtroopers do not look at their lightsaber as a cultic and historic (almost
a saint) weapon, like Jedi or Sith do. They used it just like a weapon, nothing
more. They did not have a crystal ceremony, did not travel to the cave to
find and collect their own crystal, which resonated on their skills and soul,
just got a synthetic Sith crystal, put in their saber, and used it.
The other special peculiarity was their
armor. Shadow armor also had limited optical stealth capabilities. But keep in
mind, these Shadowtroopers are totally different than the
Shadow Stormtroopers. I have also written an article about them, you can read it on
CustomStarWars. Only the cloaking ability is common. It is an important
feature, because the enemy are afraid more if the hunter cannot be seen. We
fear if we know that someone is watching in the nearby, waiting the moment to
attack us, but we do not know from where and when. The prey often panic in
these situations. Just remember the Predator movies. But many video games have
unseen enemies. So attacking from the shadows not only
makes the prey fear,
but gives advantage for the attacker. No one can block a strike which is not
expected. So the Shadowtrooper can strike first. And if that is a mortal blow,
the enemy can not fight back, since he died. This is a very good method to
correct their poor or medium fighting technique.
Strike first, unexpected,
finish the fight quickly. But this is not as perfect, as it seems, because a
translucent bluish silhouette was visible when the trooper moved. Water, or
rain also ruins their cover. So they often stand still in a place, and wait
for the prey. It can be a bit boring to wait for Kyle Katarn for weeks
standing in a place in the jungle, or other area. Especially if that bastard
reloads a previously saved game after knowing the positions of the
Shadowtrooper, isn't it?
Their artificial empowering of the Force
(in the Valley of the Jedi) enabled them to use the basics of Force Grip and
Force lightning, but not to a very high standard. But since the game doesn't
want to destroy the gamer once and for all, it is plenty enough to slower his
advance, and to injure him occasionally. So these Shadowtroopers is dedicated
to this,
and of course to entertain the gamer. This is way you won't find 5 of
them in a room. If the game would wanted to kill you, you'd found 5
Shadowtroopers and 5 reborns in a room, but you'll find 1 in each rooms. Or
let's say 2. It is not too real, since if the AI would have killed you, you'd
met an army of enemies in a single room, and that would be an early game over.
But Jedi Outcast want us to feel good, not to kill soon.
Shadowtroopers
often used the Strong
Style of lightsaber combat. (In game, that was the red style.) This allowed
them to put up better fights against the player. First of all, beacuse of the
stealth mode. Obviously, that was their plan, while cloaked waiting for the
prey, as it gets there in front of the Shadowtrooper, he suddenly stroke a
large against the prey. The second reason is their lack of saberskills,
sending some large strikes may find an enemy, and if it is successful, it can
be a mortal blow if the strong style was used.
Unlike the Reborn warriors,
shadowtroopers did not taunt their enemies, preferring instead to remain quiet
and concentrate on physical combat. The shadowtroopers were not the most
competent duelists, possessing less skill than a Reborn or a Sith, so they did
not laughed at him, or taunted him, because they had to focus on what they do.
The project behind the shadowtroopers was
based at the abandoned Imperial listening outpost on Kejim and Fyyar's
flagship, Doomgiver. Desann had experimented with imbuing Empire Youths, who
had little potential in the Force, with dark side powers. Their armor and the
crystal were also developed and upgraded there. The
armor was made from
cortosis. Cortosis ore was a very rare, brittle, fibrous material whose
conductive properties caused lightsabers to temporarily short out upon
contact, although the wielder could solve this problem by turning the blade
back on after a few seconds. This effect made cortosis a useful material for
anti-lightsaber melee weapons, though with repeated strikes, a lightsaber
could still cut through it. Cortosis, due to its heat and energy resistant
properties, was also resistant to blaster fire. A crystal was built in the
armor. It was an Artusian crystal. The Artusian crystal was embedded in the
armor's chest plate to enhance the power granted from the valley. Artusian
crystals were a substance found and mined on Artus Prime. They were the
primary component in Admiral Galak Fyyar's plan to infuse Force powers into
Human subjects with little Force-sensitivity. Initial attempts to do this in
Kejim Outpost were unsuccessful, but the goal was finally achieved after the
crystals themselves were infused with the power of the Valley of the Jedi. A
small Artusian crystal was a vital part of the Shadowtrooper armor. In Star
Wars: Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, a defeated shadowtrooper would drop an
Artusian crystal on the ground, which could temporarily raise Kyle Katarn's
Force energy if we collect these crystals.
Shadowtroopers were first deployed in the
Cairn Installation against Kyle Katarn. Several others were stationed on
Doomgiver to protect the ship. The majority of shadowtroopers were dispatched
to Yavin 4 with Desann for the assault on Luke Skywalker's Academy.
Here you can see
2
front pictures and 2 back pictures from the character, both from Jedi Outcast
multiplayer, and from Jedi Academy. From JA, you can also see Maren Galek
alias the Starkiller's skin. The pictures were sent in by Darth Stryker, too.
Custom Shadowtrooper figure front
Custom Shadowtrooper figure side
Custom Shadowtrooper figure back
Thank you for your attention, come back to CustomStarWars!
written by: Norbert Rostas 2014. 01. 13. the figure was made
years before
