What if we let on that we knew he was checking us out, and he popped a knockout gas cannister? What if we did nothing, played dumb, and both walked out of the cantina? We'd have the two guys outside to worry about as well as the guy in the bar behind us. Make a dash for the back, and give the guy a potential free shot at our backs? And who's to say that there isn't another pair of goons waiting out back?
After all the bounty hunters and pirates that Niil has had coming after him, he wasn't very keen on strolling into an ambush/snatch and grab attempt when he knew it was about to unfold. So, he decided to throw a monkey wrench into the works and hopefully gain some time to react. If the guy is truly innocent (ie not a bounty hunter, Impy spy, criminal or some other sort of baddie), then Niil made a boo-boo. At least the guy will wake up from it, albeit with a wee headache.
I feel the need to step in here.
There is no emotion, there is peace.
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.
There is no passion, there is serenity.
There is no chaos, there is harmony.
There is no death, there is the Force.
Your justifications are all hypothetical, and based on assumptions. Here are some other hypothetical situations:
What if he was a member of the local constabulary, eyeing up some strange looking newcomers?
What if he was a friend of Jeremy Wilton looking to protect him?
What if he really liked heavy blaster pistols and was checking yours out?
What if you looked like someone he knew?
What if he wasn't watching you at all, and was just making eyes at the barkeep?
What if he was playing Candy Asteroid Crush on his in-helmet display?
What if he is an alien and an oxygen-rich environment is toxic?
What if he was a reporter doing a story?
What if he was security for the cantina?
Maybe Jeremy owes him money?
What if he was an agent of the rebels looking to make covert contact?
The reactions of the guys outside were suspicious, I grant you, though you had no information beyond that they recognized you and appear to have not wanted you to be aware of them. But you had no idea what the reason for their reaction was.
That might justify pulling a gun on the guy inside, maybe. But just walking up and pulling the trigger where there was no clear and present threat was, even by a generous interpretation, contrary to the Jedi code. Stun bolts are not passive. He did not fall gently asleep. You shocked his nervous system and made him loose consciousness from neural overload, effectively rebooting his brain. The fact you spared his life meant you did not get a warning about Dark Side points (and a chance to change your action), but the world Niil plays in would see it as an unprovoked hostile act.
Bottom line: there were any number of possible responses to the situation. You chose a non-lethal, but violent one.
I'm not telling you this was a mistake - I do not do that. My games are open-world, and you're free to do as you wish. But I agree with Ken that it seems significantly out of character given your past play style.
Again, I'm not judging, just explaining what I and perhaps others saw. You guys are free to make whatever choices you want - perhaps the stress of being hunted is getting to Niil? He has a dark history with bounty hunters and Imperial agents, after all, and recently had a very close brush with an Imperial Jedi hunter. The proximity of the Empire and the recent pirate attack might have made him particularly paranoid? Whatever the motivation, the decision to fire (like every decision you guys make in my games) will have consequences.
It's not a problem, Darren. I'm only writing this because your reply to Ken's question seemed to suggest that Darren the player thought Niil the character's actions were justified. Niil doesn't have to justify his actions, but I'm explaining this to you because few NPC's in the game world would agree with that assessment, so I don't want you to be surprised, angry or frustrated when the consequences of that action start to play out.
That's not a threat or foreshadowing, and it's not punishment. Every action you guys take has an organic impact on the world like a stone tossed into a pond, and so there are repercussions.
