"Power of the Jedi" is a mighty fine book

[JPL]

A mighty fine book indeed. And it makes me want to buy more Star Wars books. That Ultimate Alien Anthology is calling to me, as is the Hero's Guide.

My favorite bit so far: the "duelling school" run by a dropout ex-Padawan during the Rebellion Era, where Force-sensitive students learn the barest rudiments of the Jedi tradition while hiding from the Empire. What a great setup for a campaign...and it doesn't put too much strain on continuity.

 

[JPL]

[If I'm the only one who posts to my own thread, eventually it becomes a blog.]

And that Force Warrior prestige class...that's nifty stuff. A combat-oriented kinda Jedi Shaolin, practitioner of a tradition that predates the standard lightsaber-wielding Jedi Knight.

I also think a former member of the Jedi Ag Corps would be a great character, especially in the Rebellion Era. A force-sensitive discovered by the Jedi Order as an infant who just didn't have what it takes to be chosen as a Padawan [just not all that strong in the Force], he ended up living a peaceful life as a farmer, the sole Ag Corps representitive on some backwater nerf-herding planet. When the Rebellion kicks in, he puts down the shovel and picks up a blaster, remembering childhood lessons about the Jedi Code.

 

[VorpalBunny]

Yeah, Power of the Jedi is really well done. However, the Hero's Guide is where it's at for the Star Wars RPG AFAIC.

Best Star Wars Book ever.

[Edit: Sorry to interrupt your blog... ]

 

[Tellerve]

Well I wouldn't want this to be a blog!

I don't have much to add as I don't have the book, but it does sound like some really great stuff. The idea of the jedi sparring campaign sounds very cool, and the force warrior as well.

Could you explain a bit more about what they are/do?

Tellerve

 

[JPL]

You have both interrupted my solitary musings. But I forgive you.

Force Warriors get boosted unarmed combat damage and various flavors of uncanny dodge, among other stuff, and have a limited range of Force skills. It would be an interesting choice for a Jedi character if you wanted a Darth Maul type of guy who combined martial arts with lightsaber work.

It would also be great for a dedicated martial artist --- a Teras Kasi practitioner, for example. Maybe go Force Adept / Soldier / Force Warrior.

The advice on Jedi campaigns is top-notch....lots of good details on how the order functions, the teachings of the Jedi, etc.

Vorpal Bunny, I would be all over that Hero's Guide, if there were any way to sneak it past my wife. But she's a cop, and she has a keen eye for detail, and she already thinks I buy too damn many game books...

 

[DMScott]

I also think a former member of the Jedi Ag Corps would be a great character, especially in the Rebellion Era. A force-sensitive discovered by the Jedi Order as an infant who just didn't have what it takes to be chosen as a Padawan [just not all that strong in the Force]

It's not necessarily a matter of strength in the Force, I believe the official EU background for Obi-Wan says he almost ended up in the Ag Corps before Qui-Gonn agreed to be his master. After the Jedi purge, you might run into an ex-Ag Corps who's pretty strong but didn't have the discipline or temperament to get chosen as a padawan. Might be neat to run into somebody like that who's picked up some Force Adept levels in the Empire years, and probably a few dark side points in their attempt to survive. Could be anything from an isolated hermit to a disguised farmer to a crime boss by the Rebellion era.

I'm not a big fan of the New Republic books (at least, the non-Zahn ones) so one idea I had was a different take on rebuilding the Jedi - have the New Republic give Luke a disarmed Star Destroyer as a mobile Jedi Academy, along with a complement of subordinate craft. The Academy could jump to a particular system and spend a few months there, looking for force sensitive people and training the students. More experienced students jump out to outlying systems on diplomatic and investigative missions, getting into all sorts of trouble while spreading the word that the Republic and the Jedi are back in action. Every few months, the Academy could move to a new region. I envisioned it as sort of a "Star Trek Jedi" campaign.

 

[JPL]

That's a good point --- sometimes, it's not lack of talent, it's just you'd honestly rather be a gardener. You could do something like a multiclass fringer / force adept, with a narrow range of the appropriate Force skills maxed out.

Your Trek Wars idea sounds like the Jedi ExoCorps, also described in PotJ. That would be an interesting twist on standard Star Wars, in which the search for new life and new civilizations isn't the focus at all.

PotJ has some interesting ideas for a "Jedi historian" campaign, in which you are rediscovering rather than discovering. For the hardcore Lucas fans, it could be a cross betwen Star Wars and Indiana Jones...seeking out lost Jedi lore and running afoul of the Sith-worshipping natives

 

[JamesM]

My favorite bit so far: the "duelling school" run by a dropout ex-Padawan during the Rebellion Era, where Force-sensitive students learn the barest rudiments of the Jedi tradition while hiding from the Empire. What a great setup for a campaign...and it doesn't put too much strain on continuity.

I'm glad you like it, since I wrote that chapter. It's one of my favorites as well. Plus, it gave me a chance to pay homage to a friend and colleague who's among the best gaming authors out there today by naming the head of the duelling school after him.

 

[JPL]

I'm glad you like it, since I wrote that chapter. It's one of my favorites as well. Plus, it gave me a chance to pay homage to a friend and colleague who's among the best gaming authors out there today by naming the head of the duelling school after him.

Very nicely done. It allows a Rebellion Era campaign to maintain a Jedi influence without treading too heavily upon Luke's status as the last Jedi Knight.