Force Training
Force Training
The Star Wars roleplaying game allows Jedi and Force-using player characters. Only Force-sensitive characters can learn Force skills and powers.
Several character templates start the game with Force skills, including the alien student of the Force, failed Jedi, minor Jedi, quixotic Jedi, and young Jedi. Other Force-sensitive characters may learn Force skills and powers if a teacher is found.
Finding a Teacher
A character who wishes to learn one of the three Force skills (control, sense, or alter) must have a teacher. Characters who already have Force skills find them easier to master with a teacher to instruct them.
A character who begins the game with Jedi skills must have had a teacher before the game began. Whether or not the student can still contact the teacher is left to the discretion of the gamemaster. Perhaps the character mastered all the powers the teacher knew and moved on. Maybe the teacher was killed; maybe the student and teacher had a falling out; or perhaps it was just time to "move on." The teacher may have even turned to the dark side and watches the student from a distance, hoping to eventually lure the former pupil down the path of darkness.
Rise of the Empire Era
In the Rise of the Empire era, a teacher (a Jedi Master) is far more common than in later eras. This is not to say, however, that it is easy to be accepted as a Padawan (or student) to one of the Masters. The Jedi Order exerted far more control over their Padawans than is common in the later eras.
As a Padawan, the character will have to regularly report to his or her master and may often be called away on Jedi business. This can often cause great tension and frustration, which can in itself be a draw to abandon the stagnant Jedi and venture to find other ways—perhaps darker ways—of knowing the Force.
Rebellion Era
The Rebellion era is a universe where the Jedi have nearly been eradicated. Finding a teacher is a most difficult task. A character's search for a suitable Jedi teacher should be the focus of an epic quest, probably spanning several game adventures. The character must prove the commitment to becoming a Jedi even in the process of finding a teacher.
Once found, the teacher may not be quite what is expected. Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Luke are exceptions since almost all Jedi were hunted down by Darth Vader and the Emperor. A prospective teacher is likely to have never fully completed her Force training—someone who knows enough to begin instructing the character, but lacks a full understanding of the Jedi way.
The prospective Jedi character may have to turn to one of the other "ways of knowing the Force," such as the Tyia. Individuals who know these ways will often be isolated on a primitive world or hiding from the forces of the Empire.
No matter the circumstance, the quest for a Jedi teacher should not be an easy one. It should be filled with danger, designed to test the mettle of those who seek this powerful knowledge.
Gamemaster Control
When you gamemaster, you are expected to exercise firm control when it comes to Jedi characters. You can add whatever limitations you feel are necessary to maintain "game balance."
You're not even obligated to allow Jedi characters—you don't have to provide a teacher simply because a character wants to become a Jedi.
Other Forms of Learning
While teachers are the preferred means of mastering the Force, potential Jedi have other routes open to them. They may be able to find a Holocron, an extremely rare device used by Jedi to record lore and lessons.
Jedi also used datatapes, old-fashioned paper books, and many other means of recording their knowledge of the Force. While most of these items were destroyed during the reign of the Empire, a few objects were hidden away in secret retreats and on distant worlds, waiting to be accessed by new generations of Jedi. Luke Skywalker searched many worlds for documents containing lost Jedi lore; many of his lessons at the Jedi praxeum on Yavin IV were based on the information he gathered in his journeys.
(For your game, you are free to decide whether the use of a Holocron or text counts as "having a teacher." In some cases, the texts will be so detailed that they are fine substitutes for a living instructor; in other cases, the Jedi may need to seek out a living instructor to master the skills and powers the texts describe.)
Taking on Pupils
Jedi characters can instruct others in the ways of the Force. A character must have a Force skill of at least 3D to teach it, and the Jedi can only teach Force powers that she knows.
By tradition, a character studying with a master may not take on a pupil. A Jedi character will seldom take on more than one pupil at a time, but some instructors—such as Luke Skywalker—will accept several students at once.
A character should be wary of teaching anyone with Dark Side Points Jedi abilities—any time a character teaches such a person a Force skill or power, the teacher receives a Dark Side Point.
Jedi characters are also responsible for the actions of those they teach. If a Jedi's pupil turns to the dark side, the Jedi is morally obligated to resolve the situation if at all possible.
Source: REUP:150