By John Grigsby, Staff Reviewer d20 Magazine Rack
Sizing Up the Target
Power of the Jedi Sourcebook, by JD Wiker, Michael Mikaelian, Jeff Grubb, Owen K. C. Stevens, and James Maliszewski, is a supplement for the Star Wars Role-Playing Game from Wizards of the Coast. This 162-page hardcover supplement retails for $29.95 and is for use with all the Star Wars role-playing eras.
First Blood
“Hmph. Adventure. Heh! Excitement. Heh! A Jedi craves not these things.” — Yoda, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
Once again, the tremendous effort that Wizards of the Coast has put into their Star Wars line can be evidenced by just a brief perusal of the pages in this volume. It is full-color throughout, with plenty of photographs and drawings, many never seen before. Though it seems rather thin, it is packed with great information to enhance your role-playing experience.
Power of the Jedi is, as can be guessed from the title, all about the Jedi, the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic. In these pages, you will learn the history of the Jedi, from the earliest days of space exploration to the uncertain future. You will learn the Jedi Code, and what it means to be a Jedi. You will learn how the Jedi Order came to be, and the price that the title carries. In short, you will know what it means to be called “Jedi.”
We begin with a history of the Force and the Jedi themselves. Where did they come from, who are they, and who are their greatest heroes? All of these questions are answered in a detailed essay of their history. From the earliest days of space travel to the time of the New Jedi Order, the history of the Jedi and the Jedi Order is completely mapped out and defined, essential reading for all Jedi students and those who would know of their origins.
New force skills, force feats, and prestige classes are introduced. Again we see that Wizards of the Coast has committed themselves to covering not just the canon material, but also that which is speculative, as many of the new powers originate from the Tales of the Jedi comic-book series. Because they originate from a time when the Jedi had fewer constraints, some of these powers are devastatingly strong. Fortunately, they are well-balanced by the prerequisites required to draw upon them, though some game masters may still wish to limit access to them by player characters.
The prestige classes are designed to expand the possibilities beyond the core rules. While the Jedi guardian and the Jedi consular are fine characters, some players may aspire to more. Individuals who dedicate themselves to understanding the living Force can achieve far greater potential. The Force warrior, for example, rely less upon weaponry (even lightsabers) and more exclusively upon the Force and their own abilities in combat. Jedi healers learn to channel the Force into healing energy (one of the most precious and rarest of the Jedi powers). Jedi instructors devote themselves to teaching others the ways of the Force, while Jedi scholars study the Force and the history of the Jedi with great scrutiny. Finally, the Jedi weapon master chooses one style of unarmed combat and hones it to perfection. These prestige classes serve to provide new opportunities for Jedi characters to grow, yet remain faithful to their teachings.
But since Jedi do not actively seek adventure and excitement, what do they spend their time doing? Quite a bit, it would seem. First is the Jedi Code. Being a Jedi is not easy. A Jedi must have self-discipline, responsibility, and be willing to perform public service. As the book explains, adventures tailored around Jedi characters should tax and test these traits. Jedi characters can be Padawan learners, still under the tutelage of their masters, or may have gained sufficient experience to begin the Trials of Knighthood.
The Trials involve rigorous testing, though it varies greatly depending on who is applying the tests. The goal of the Trials is to answer a single question: is this Jedi ready to take on an apprentice of his or her own? Several trials are given as examples for the GM (who are strongly encouraged to make their own), including knowledge of the Jedi Code, lightsaber proficiency, judgment, or a solo mission in which the apprentice is separated from the master and must make their own decisions.
When the Jedi passes the trials and is accepted as a Jedi Knight, the true tests begin. Instead of living by the master’s schedule, the Jedi is now free to set their own direction. But now the Jedi Council will call upon them to perform missions and tasks. The Jedi is no longer offered guidance by their master; they must now choose their own path to their destiny. In this capacity, they work their way towards the coveted title of Jedi Master.
Power of the Jedi handles all of this very well, providing a wealth of tips and ideas for game masters who include Jedi in their campaigns. The Jedi through the different eras are closely examined; how each era brings new changes and challenges to the Order and the Jedi themselves. Perhaps most importantly, a section is devoted to running a Jedi campaign, in which all or most of the characters are Jedi. As such a campaign would be very challenging to maintain, this section is a welcome addition.
Power of the Jedi also introduces some new equipment. Training lightsabers (so those lightsabers that all those Jedi youths had in Attack of the Clones were not nearly as lethal as the real thing), dual-phase lightsabers (with adjustable blade lengths), Jedi battle armor, Force detectors, Jedi starships, and the rare and valued Jedi holocron are among the new goods described here. The inclusion of the last item is further proof that Wizards of the Coast does not intend to limit themselves to the films, the Jedi holocron being an artifact of the Extended Universe.
If new alien species are your thing, you’ll want to acquire Power of the Jedi. A total of 18 new species are detailed, all suitable for use as heroic characters. Some are completely original, but others are drawn from novels, cameo appearances in the films, and even the comic books that have been printed by Dark Horse. I daresay I saw a character from the Marvel Comics series in there as well, but it’s been a while since I’ve read those. There are also eight new alien creatures brought to life in this volume, as well as a brand new template; the Force Spirit.
For over a thousand generations, the Jedi have displayed heroic traits. In that time, the beliefs have undergone countless revisions of philosophy, procedure, equipment, training, and politics. This is why an entire chapter has been devoted to examining the traditions on the Jedi. From the Ancient Masters to the Halcyon Bloodline, each tradition is laid bare, including the game statistics for some of the better-known proponents of that tradition. All of the members of the Jedi Council from The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones can be found here, as well as some characters from the novels of the New Jedi Order. Even Kyle Katarn, whom many know from the Dark Forces computer game series, is here!
Finally, just to keep the Jedi’s live interesting, seven locales strongly associated with the Jedi are described. Each is given plenty of detail, with a couple fully mapped and keyed. The history of each site, its importance to the Jedi, and adventure hooks insure that these can be used in a Jedi campaign or in a normal campaign. They might even make an interesting side trek if the characters happened to make a forced landing there, not knowing what they have stumbled upon.
Critical Hits
From start to finish, Power of the Jedi demonstrates the same high quality that prevails over most of Wizards of the Coasts’ STAR WARS line. It stays on topic, providing information that is both informative and useful, with a good balance between crunchy and chewy material. Even Star Wars fans who are not role-players would find this work enjoyable reading, and that’s important in any book.
As the subject matter goes, it covers it more than adequately, touching on every aspect of the Jedi life. It has everything that I would have expected from a book like this, and more. The only nitpick was that Luke Skywalker was not laid out in character format anywhere in the book. I would like to have seen his stat block as of the New Jedi Era.
Critical Misses
In fact, even though I can’t complain about the number of characters that were included, I can’t help but mourn that a few of my favorites were missed. Some of them have been covered elsewhere, but some, like the Young Jedi, have been continually overlooked. Wizards, if you’re reading this, how about a Rogue’s Gallery for STAR WARS, filled with all of the characters from the films, novels, and comics?
My other beef is the price. Is Power of the Jedi an excellent book? Yes. Is it well-laid out and formatted? Yes. Is it full color throughout, with plenty of photos? Yes. Is it worth almost what the core rulebook cost? No, and here’s why. With the revised STAR WARS core rulebook ($34.95), you got 384 wonderful pages of material. With Power of the Jedi, which offers the same quality, you get less than half that number of pages, yet you pay 85% of the price. That means that I’m paying a 35% increase for… what? Yes, it’s all new material, but I don’t think that justifies a 35% price hike and you can’t tell me that the price of production has gone up so far in just a year’s time.
Coup de Grace
Whether you are a serious collector of all things Star Wars, a role-playing looking for information on playing a Jedi, or just enjoy reading about the Star Wars universe, you won’t be disappointed with this volume. There’s no doubt that the information contained herein is both useful and entertaining and will surely enhance any campaign into which it is inserted, but I think the price could have been a little more reasonable.
As usual, there is no material designated as Open Game Content and compliance to d20 standards is nearly perfect (I didn’t check each and every character). While a lot of the material in here is built on existing work, I’d have to say that it’s pretty original overall. I also give a good playability score because, even though it is Jedi-specific, it can be used to enhance the flavor of most any campaign.
And we come to the issue of price. I’ll make no bones about it; I felt the price could have been lower. Even $25 would have been preferable to $30. Still, if you can find it for a lower price, grab it and consider yourself lucky. If not, and you can spare the cash, it’s definitely a worthwhile addition to your Star Wars collection.
To see the graded evaluation of this product and to leave comments that the reviewer will respond to, go to The Critic's Corner at www.d20zines.com.
