Re: Star Wars in HERO
Here are the two uneditted source pages I wrote, no system materials just the history and Star Wars in my eyes:
"...exitement ha, adventure ha, a jedi craves not these things..."-Yoda
Perhaps not but where ever a jedi goes, exitement and adventure seem follow. In Star Wars: Tales of the New Jedi (coming soon to a white board near you), we will follow our heroes, a Jedi Knights and his Padawan as they traverse the Galaxy; fullfilling the councils mandates and searching their souls for the true meaning, and will of the force. This is a brief over view of the last 100 years in the Star War universe, according to Rick.
In the galaxy 100 yrs after the fall of the empire, there is great peril for these new Jedi. The galaxies citizens are still uncertain about how to feel about these guardians of peace and Justice, and the senate chafes at continued rejections by the Order to fall under it's priveiw.
Master Skywalker adressing the senate, "...though it was the machinations of an evil genius that destroyed the republic and nearly destroyed my order, it was the greed and ambition of the senate and of public officials that were his greatest weapons. We are the jedi as you once new them, but we've learned from our fore-bearers mistakes. We serve the republic and it's people, we'll, if requested, assist the senate and office of the cancelor: but we will never again be the puppets of the political machinations of any one body or person."
It wasn't long after the battle of endor that Luke Skywalker began looking for others to train in the ways of the force. In those first years he was forced to choose student who were older, this he knew was dangerous, but his instincts served him well. He and these students became the 1st generation of the Jedi order rebuilt (note the my use of the 'generation' is only for orginazation, and it won't be used in game). These Jedi did their jobs well, though they all struggled W/the darkside they managed to maintain their focus and stay strong.
During these early years while meditating dagobah, Luke found Yoda's second reason for hiding in such a vile uninviting place...the compressed data archive files (Think zip disc) that backed up what was once the greatest library in the galaxy...the Jedi archives. Though it would take the finest slicer minds several years to crack yoda's incryption code it was much like opening the greatest treasure trove imaginable.
Luke, and his disciples began looking for those who'd become the 2nd generation of new Jedi. Where as Lukes first class was a spectacular success, his second class had it's share of near catostrophic failures. Trained on Yavin 4, in the Jedi Praxium (the interum home of the jedi until the Temple on Coruscant was re-founded), these students though younger were trained en mass W/little or no one on one Master/Padawan relationship. This class of Jedi would boast atleast 20 or so rogue or fallen Jedi. These nascent jedi would cause Master Skywalker no end of heart ache and trouble. These new Jedi were some what unruly, and few outside the order ever even realized they were Jedi untill a Lightsaber was brandished. They looked and acted more like scoundrels and fringe characters than Jedi. In spite of this, many of these students were competent individuals and slowly began to shine W/in the order.
During this time a mysterious cult of nare-do-well force user began to emerge calling themselves the Krath. They appeared to the layperson to be Jedi, they dressed in the same Rogueish manner and commanded mysterious powers and wielded lightsabers. Though rarely was any one of these Krath as powerful as a Jedi, they made up for their lack of training W/numbers.
Around 30-40 years after Endor, the third generation of Jedi came of age. THese Jedi were different than their forebearers though. Raised on coruscant or Yavin these were truly children of the order, lukes first attempt at reproducing master Yoda's training regimine. These young Jedi were raised not on the tales of the first and second generations' deeds and prescedants, but on the stories and histories of the Jedi archives. They didn't see themselves as errant warriors fighting for rightous causes (though they understood that was part of what they were). They grew up reading and even watching the deeds of great Jedi like, Odan-urr, Yoda, Carnar, Elana doe Ror, Mace Windu, Dooku, Thren Don and Obi Wan Kenobi. They were a monastic order and they new it, and aspoused those older principles. They Began dressing themselves in the manner of these older Jedi and they, unlike the second generation of Jedi, took Master Skywalkers calm, slow approach to being a Jedi to heart.
The importance of their choose in clothing (as innane as it sounds) became obvious when Jedi Master Golth Yune Hoy attempted to settle a trade distbute between a Wookie colony and an ithorian world ship. Master Hoy (a renowned Jedi of the 2nd generation) was accompanied by his padawan Tetha 'Chon. Teth was in the garb of a traditional Jedi and the Wookies and Ithorians looked from his master to him, then made a double take. They (both being very long lived species) Bowed low to the young padawan and asked if he as a wise Jedi could help find an amicable solution to their distbute. (Tetha'Chon is now a revered member of the Jedi Councel)
W/the older species seeing the emergence of these "true" Jedi, it brought a level of legitimacy to Skywalker's New Order they'd never had. He simply smiled thinking how such a small, innane thing as a Habbit and Tunic could make such a difference, then he remembered the tiny Yoda lifting his Xwing out of the Bogg on Dagobah.
60 or so years after the destruction of the death star came the orders first dire test of strength and will. A major confliguration W/the Imperial sector was set off when, on orders from master skywalker a group of Jedi (Tetha Chon, Kay Aalan Mudorian W/his padawan Vin Orn Fa and Rorn Rye Ethon) made a Sortie on to a contested world and rescued a refugee Princess who's ancestors came from old alderaan, this set off a war between the Jedi and Krath which was mirrored by the Impirial sector and the Republic. Near abouts the same time a mysterious warrior who'd later claim to be a Sith Lord (though master skywalker referred to him as an overly ambitious member of the Krath) stole on to Dagobah and slaughtered 2 Jedi masters and 17 Padawan and learners including Rye Ethons padawan Dara Lor. This war ended after 3 long years. Mudorian would lose his student Vin (who was at the time actually a full fledged Knight) but he inturn would slay the would be heir to the Sith, his student's killer. It was also discovered that it was Rye Ethons student who allowed the Leader of the Krath to infiltrate Dagobah and Master Ethon inturn put down his former student, Dara Lor.
With this war over it ushers in the time of renewed faith in the republic, this my friends is your time. It's been 100 years since the Emeror Palpitine the last true Dark lord of the sith (Darth Sidious) was slain by Anakin Skywalker. In the intervening 100 years the Jedi's number have reached to over 2000, but the Galaxy is inhabited by 10's of trillions of setient beings. Can you serve them as you should, are you more than a lot of talk and a Lightsaber, do you have what it takes to call yourself.......a Jedi Knight.
And Balance in the force:
There are many thearies as to what Balance means in starwars. Here's theone
that'll be in play in my game world. Jedi Master Kay-Allin Mudorian, adressing a former Padawan Learner: "The Darkside is not a Tool to be used. If you start down that that path, you will findyourself becoming the tool to be used by the Darkside."
The Force is what it is. The energy field, sentient or not, that binds the
universe together. The light and dark sides are not two different things, but
exist in tandum W/in the force. The lightside creates the darkside destroys (a
suitable, if not some what simplistic, Generalization).
The jedi are the embodiment of the Lightside. Yet at the end of thier lifes
they realize that they must die, effectively the Darkside wins you may think.
Wrong. This is the Natural cycle of things, when something is born it must
eventually die, then something else will be born in it's place. THis is the way
of things, the way of the Force.
Then what is this thing called balance. Balnce is when things are in harmony
W/the force. For a 1000 years after the last wars W/the Sith there was a great Golden age in the Republic. The Force it would seem was in balance. The Jedi had great powers and did many great things. Even during the Wars W/the Sith they controled many impressive means, they simply fought beings W/equally impressive abilities. There seems to be little to no issue with the idea of balance. Not until near the end of this time only decades before the empire, does balance become an issue.
So what is this imbalance that afflicts the galaxy. Is it to many Jedi. No, for
nearly 1000 years there has been this order W/no Darkside groups of substanial numbers, yet no imbablance. Yet something happens that begins to degrade the Jedis' powers, most notable to farsee (they didn't see the clone army being created, undoubtly that would create tremors in the force).
It seems to me that it comes down to the individual's relationship W/the force. Imagine if you would, that the force is like a river that runs through a fertal valley. This river brings water that gives life, plants thrive animals drink. At times though the River floods and kills much life, and makes the river banks
unliveable for a time. Then the water recedes and the Valley returns to it's
peaceful life once again. In this way the River (Force) embodies both the Light
and dark side. A people have two choices in the valley. The first is to learn to live W/the River. To respect it, to take only what the need. They must move when that time of year comes when the river floods and the know to return when it recedes. This is how a Jedi should exist W/the Force, understanding it's eb and flow. Using it only when needed and never abusing it. Interestingly, I believe the ancient Sith were vary similiar to the Jedi in this way. They used only what was needed to attain their dark designs. This is balance in the Force (once again in my world).
The other option is to bend the river to your will. To create dams, redirect
it's flow, waste large amounts of it on frivelous endeavors (Fountians in
Pheonix anyone) or even stop it altogether. This would be out of Balance. THis is what, in my world (as of now, I could be wrong after epIII), sidious did
somehow. This was undoubtly helped by arogant Jedi not treating the force W/it's do respect. See Anakin showing off his powers to Padme', not a horrible
trangression, but indicative of the larger problem that master Yoda mentions in ep II.
Every Jedi must contend W/the darkside, confront it and turn away from that
path. OB1, my favorite Jedi, undoubtly dipped his toe in that pool while
fighting Darth Maul. He over came the inclination though and stayed true to the lightside. Luke nearly turns down the Dark path on the second Death Star but he too sees the folly of this desiscion and stays fast to the lightside. This even seems to be one of the test of the Jedi order, as when Luke proclaims to yoda "I am a Jedi", Yoda rebukes him with "First you must confront Vader, then and only then a Jedi will you be". As to the, is Luke a Jedi question. YES, that quote says it right there, if anyone has the right to declare anyone else a Jedi, it's Yoda, even postumously.
