Gamemastering Jedi

Jedi and Force-Using Characters

Jedi and Force-using characters are exceptionally powerful. While they can be a great challenge for an experienced player, a Jedi in the hands of an inexperienced or immature player can lead to problems.

The most typical problem is a player who insists on using the Force for everything—to the extent of completely overshadowing the other player characters. As a gamemaster, you have the right to limit Jedi in your game: more than one such character is generally excessive, and you can even rule that no Force-users will be allowed. You should also spend some time talking with the player to make sure that the responsibilities of playing a Jedi are understood.

Force-Users

It's well established that Force-users are very rare in the galaxy (especially during the Dark Times, Rebellion, and New Republic eras). Therefore, any Jedi character should be more than just a collection of game stats. The player should invest some time in developing a truly interesting background which justifies the character's knowledge of Force powers. Typically, such characters have only limited knowledge of the Force (since there are not many Jedi instructors). • During the time of the Republic, Force-users will likely have to be a Jedi Padawan. • During the time of the Empire, Jedi are haunted by the knowledge that the Empire places a priority on their capture and execution.

There is a fascinating adventure hook in the background of a Jedi character after the Rise of the Empire. Rumors of Jedi in hiding—or lost Jedi writings, artifacts, or lightsabers—are certainly powerful motivators in the game.

Jedi player characters may also be drawn by the presence of other Force-users: • Will the Jedi want to intercede to save a young Force-sensitive from the clutches of the Empire? • What happens if a Jedi encounters another novice Jedi character: will they become friends, comrades, rivals… or even mortal enemies?

The Dark Side

The dark side is perhaps the greatest threat a Jedi can face. It's always lurking in the shadows: a quick and easy temptation for an undisciplined Jedi filled with anger and frustration. The Jedi must be honorable and noble, since Force-users who act ambiguously are oft corrupted to the dark side.

You can use the temptation to embrace the dark side and the necessity to prevent evil from occurring as motivations for your adventures. However, you must be reasonable in using these elements. The player must strive for her Jedi to be honorable and noble. You should be reasonable in not abusing the Jedi's commitment to good by forcing characters along a predetermined path every step of the way. This will aggravate the players and ruin the fun for everyone.

A Jedi's commitment to stop evil should be the dramatic focus of an adventure, not a hassle. In short: the Jedi is committed to stop evil, but she shouldn't have to confront evil every time she goes out for a walk…

While the rules say that players should be warned whenever they are about to receive a Dark Side Point, it is the player's responsibility to live up to the spirit of the Jedi Code. A player who pushes to see how far she can go before being warned about receiving a Dark Side Point—who clearly is not living up to the spirit of the Jedi Code—may find that her character is given a Dark Side Point without a warning when the character commits evil.

The final determination of whether or not the Jedi deserves a Dark Side Point is up to the gamemaster. These rules are intended to encourage taking the role of a Jedi seriously—playing a Jedi is not a frivolous decision. On the other hand, the rules aren't intended to cause philosophical arguments in the middle of a game session.

As a rule of thumb: if the players have to spend a lot of time justifying why their actions aren't evil, chances are the actions are indeed evil. If the players don't like your decision—well, you're the gamemaster.

Responsible Use of Power

Inherent in the Jedi Code is the concept of responsibility for one's actions.

A Jedi who uses Force powers to coerce or control others is surely tending toward the dark side. But other, more subtle abuses of power also lead to the darkness—Jedi should never use their powers for fame, wealth, or power. A Jedi who constantly uses the Force for personal gain is on the path of corruption—perhaps more slowly than the Dark Jedi who chooses to serve evil, but she is on that path nonetheless.

True Jedi use their powers sparingly and only when necessary to fulfill the tenets of the Jedi Code. A Jedi who depends on Force powers is abusing them, which leads to folly.

Tremors in the Force

The Jedi who acts with restraint and thought may seldom be confronted by the dark side's minions. A Jedi who constantly uses the Force will create many tremors in the Force, making it very easy for the servants of the dark side to hunt her down.

Jedi in the Rise of the Empire era generally use the Force far more often due to the apparent safety in which they operate. Perhaps this was one of the reasons the Jedi Order plummeted into disaster, blind to the dark disturbances in the Force.

Premonitions, visions, and disturbances in the Force can be used to involve characters in a larger adventure. While players will not enjoy constantly being "haunted" by such events, the occasional vision can be used quite effectively to allude to future events or trigger truly important adventures.

Masters

A master (or teacher) is essential to a Jedi student's progress. Only after a Jedi has achieved a relatively high level of skill can the character rely on herself… and even Luke, despite a high level of experience, needed to study under Yoda to become a full-fledged Jedi Knight.

Masters do more than teach Force skills and powers—they instruct Padawans in the disciplines needed to maintain balance and adhere to the tenets of the light. A good master can help a young Padawan learn patience and responsibility, while a poor master may allow a student to slip to the dark side. Masters consumed by the dark side may be able to corrupt even the purest Jedi Padawans.

Limiting Powers

As noted, Jedi characters can only use powers they've been taught. Of course, they have to find someone to teach them each power.

This gives you a potent tool. The quest for a new teacher, new powers, and lost lore is a great motivator for Jedi adventures. This rule also allows you to limit the Force powers allowed in your game: if a Jedi can't find a teacher, there is no way to learn the power. Of course, your villains may be able to use these powers, but that's another matter…

Intuitive Powers

It is well-known that some beings can push themselves to feats of great strength or endurance in crisis situations. This is true of Jedi characters, who, when faced with an incredible challenge, may exhibit powers she hasn't learned.

At the gamemaster's discretion only, characters may temporarily be "granted" powers in exceptional circumstances. This reflects the Force's mystic and often unpredictable nature.

You may grant the power for "free," require the Jedi to spend a number of Character Points or Force Points to learn the power, or set other conditions you deem reasonable. You may grant a Jedi a power on a one-time basis to indicate the importance of a particular task, or you may "reward" characters who have performed exceptionally well by allowing them to "subconsciously" learn a new power.

Creating New Powers

While it is true that the greatest Jedi of the Galactic Republic created new Force powers, this was only accomplished with years of dedicated study and training.

You have the absolute right to prevent Jedi characters from trying to create new powers. To the best of current knowledge, the creation of new powers appears to be the province of highly-skilled Jedi such as Yoda and Luke Skywalker and beyond the ken of most Jedi students.

Option: Dramatic Force Use

Many characters in the Star Wars movies, novels, and comics have invoked Force powers seemingly beyond their reach. These individuals possessed great natural ability in the Force. During times of immense stress, when the lives of others hang in the balance, they were able to call on the Force, allowing it to flow through them to produce a certain effect not necessarily under their control.

As an optional rule, you may allow a character to use a Force power he does not know at a cost of 10 Character Points and one Force Point. The character must have witnessed use of that power beforehand and must be in the midst of a dramatic situation, usually the culmination of a series of adventures.

Even if the effect fails (since the character must still make the normal Force skill rolls), the Character Points and Force Points are lost. If the Jedi uses the power for selfish reasons, he automatically receives two Dark Side Points.

Option: Required Powers

Many Force powers require one or more prerequisites. This rule helps restrict the use of potentially game-imbalancing abilities, but it also requires additional fact-checking and record-keeping.

One option to replace this rule revolves around a learning difficulty. To learn any Force power, a character must succeed in a willpower roll against the power's learning difficulty. Failure means that the character must wait at least one month before making another attempt to acquire the power (or that he may never learn the power thereafter, at the gamemaster's discretion).

The character also loses the Character Points needed to obtain the power (or does not receive a new power if it was to be awarded "free" for improving or learning a skill), no matter whether he succeeds or fails in his learning attempt.

As a general rule, Force powers without prerequisites have a learning difficulty of 5. Increase that value by 5 for each prerequisite power.

Examples • Absorb/dissipate energy (no prerequisites): learning difficulty 5 • Combat sense (two prerequisites: danger sense and life detection): learning difficulty 15

Source: REUP:174