KOTOR 3 is only free to play if you pirate the game.
I used to get caught up on the fee issue for the game too. Except that I realized that the monthly fee is roughly the same as the cost of going to a couple movies a month. Except that I get significantly more enjoyment out of the game.
Imagine playing KOTOR and starting the game off as a Soldier. You play through the game until completion, and it takes you 30 hours to beat the game. Now you load up the game as a Scout, and you realize that you are starting off in a different part of the galaxy, with a different story that runs parallel to the one that you ran as the Soldier. It might overlap in some places, but for the most part it's another 30 hours of unique game play. Now, load up the game as a Scoundrel, and realize that the same holds true for this class.
And after a bit of time, a content update comes out, extending the stories and providing more to do.
Pirate the..... Wait, I meant that if you buy the game, that is a one-time fee. ex.- You buy Warcraft 3 and World of Warcraft. You pay one time for Warcraft 3, but not only do you buy WoW, you have to pay if you play. MMO's are not free to play (once per month) But Warcraft is. Unless possibly if you play Multiplayer on Battle.Net. Besides, who says that K3 couldn't have multiple unique paths as described in paragraph 3. I hate having to explain this all the time.