Kreia is a character and party member in Obsidian Entertainment's Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords. She is a blind Force-sensitive who forms a "bond" with the player character, the Jedi Exile, through the Force. Kreia sets herself up as the Exile's mentor, and rejects the divide of the light and dark side of the Force, as well as the predestination the Force entails. By the game's end, it is revealed she is the Sith Lord Darth Traya and is planning on destroying the Force, and she becomes the final boss of The Sith Lords. Kreia makes no more appearances in Star Wars fiction, though a miniature by Wizards of the Coast was released in August 2008, and she appears as an obtainable character in Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes.
Written by Chris Avellone, the character was created as a sounding board for the game's theme of the role of the Jedi and the nature of the Force, and was heavily influenced by Planescape: Torments Ravel Puzzlewell. She served both to test the player and to act as a mouthpiece for any questions Avellone thought should be asked about the Star Wars universe. Sara Kestelman voiced the character, with Kreia's casting being considered the most important of all the characters. Her name references Princess Leia of the original Star Wars trilogy, while her character design draws both on Palpatine's hood and Obi-Wan Kenobi's robes.
She was positively received, and is often pointed to as the highlight of The Sith Lords. Praise went to the questions and dialogue she provided, as well as her voice acting. The character has appeared in numerous "top lists", often commending her as a Star Wars character. Attention was drawn to one moment where Kreia lectures about the dangers of charity. Despite this, Avellone felt he failed in creating a "sympathetic" Sith Lord, though he has called her one of his favorite characters in the game.
Conception and creation
The first draft of the game placed a figurehead similar to Kreia as the leader of matriarchs ruling the Handmaiden's world, which the player was sent to free. This draft was made before Obsidian had played the first game, and after they had played it the draft was discarded. However, some of Kreia's characteristics were salvaged, though little else was.
In the game proper, Kreia was written by Chris Avellone, who was also lead designer of The Sith Lords and created most of the party. Avellone was initially unsure about working on Star Wars but after beginning became more "excited" about it. Avellone decided to attempt to create a sympathetic Sith Lord. The character was highly influenced by Ravel Puzzlewell, a Planescape: Torment character which Avellone also wrote, and was intended to tell stories with her he had been unable to do in Torment. Avellone felt it would be "cool" to be in a party with Ravel. Despite Ravel's influence, the Star Wars setting and its elements resulted in Kreia changing heavily.
A multi-page biography was created for narrative reference, art and audio. When making characters, Avellone prefers to focus on their role in the story, their name, their visual signature (discussed with the concept artist), and in Kreia's case the character's ability to serve as his voice. Her name is inspired by Princess Leia of the original Star Wars films, and serves a similar role as ally, but Kreia has darker past demonstrated by a harsher prefix. Her visuals, meanwhile, combine elements of both "the wise mentor" like Obi-Wan's robes and dark side elements like Palpatine's hood. Brian Menze, lead concept artist and modeller for the characters, designed Kreia.
Narratively, Kreia had several roles in The Sith Lords, acting as a party member, a foil, and a "sounding board" for the theme of the game, which concerned the Jedi's role and the Force's nature in a living galaxy. As an extension of Avellone's voice, Kreia became his way of expressing all his problems with the Force. Despite her view of the Force, it was important to avoid causing continuity problems with the rest of the Star Wars series, and her views were presented within the context of the original Force in the Star Wars world. Kreia is intended to test the player on the basic philosophical issues of the Star Wars universe. She is rude and dismissive to everyone but the player character, something intended to help make the player feel special.