Now that F&D has its own permanent forum, I can start strip-mining the dark recesses of my hard drive for old notes and Jedi relevant documents. Like this tidbit from about 1998:
ORIGINS:
Much like The Lost Treasures of Xim, or Volda, the Planet Of Gold, the legends and myths surrounding the Crystal Odeum are thick and plentiful indeed, obscuring whatever truths are to be had. However, unlike the other fictitious treasures mentioned - the Crystal Odeum was very real.
Its origins begin approximately 15 thousand years ago, with a Jedi named Mal Jinn Taal, during the era known as the ancient republic. Jedi Tal was a renowned master craftsman, skilled at working with crystal. He was only a moderate Jedi, but a first rate artist.
It was just after the great Battle of the Outlaw Star, where no less than 75 Jedi Knights were slain. Mal Jinn Taal was distraught and disheartened at the terrible loss. Friends, companions, lovers - all gone forever. Although there is no death in the Force, there is still a sense of loss to the beings of crude matter left behind. Jedi Taal vowed that it would never happen again, and set about his greatest - and most ambitious project - the Crystal Odeum.
It's known by many names The Vault of Memories, The Crystal Eye, Shol'Omen - but in the end, they all mean the same thing - a veritable wonder of the galaxy.
The Odeum is a simple structure on a mid rim world whos name is long since lost to the mists of time. It's a simple excavation, deep inside a moderate sized mesa, surrounded by harsh desert. The complex, in the most basic terms is part holochron, part archive, part holographic projector - all governed by what can only be termed as an extremely advanced AI program - although such a term is only vaguely appropriate. The true nature of how the Odeum functions are not fully understood.
The construction of the Odeum took nearly the remainder of Mal Jinn Taal's life to complete. Alone, he worked, fashioning the cavern, it's subsystems, the entranceway - all ornately done by his hand. The labor of love went on for decades in solitude, with only the occasional visitor. Then, as the last crystal shard was placed, Jedi Tall was contented. He emerged, calmly sat by the entrance, and became one with the Force.
For thousands of years after, other Jedi traveled to the site, contributing what knowledge they could. Offerings of historical events, friends and loved ones, random thoughts - all this and more were contributed to the Odeum. Scholars and other non-Jedi, working in conjunction with the Jedi Order, were eventually also allowed to contribute and seek knowledge. In time, the Odeum truly became a nexus of wisdom in the galaxy.
Sadly, this grand wonder was lost in an unprecedented - and unexpected catastrophe. The planet, whose name has long been forgotten, was struck by a planet-shaping event - an asteroid upwards of 70 kilometers across impacted with the globe. The devastation was instant and immediate. A firestorm raged across the surface of the planet exterminating nearly all life. Debris and dust clouded the sky for a thousand years, forcing the temperature well below freezing. Few beings were caught in the devastation, fortunately. However, as the world became less and less habitable, the structure was forgotten. The silent and dead world slowly spun in it's orbit while the galaxy moved on with it's life. Eventually, the world passed from memory and into legend.
Nature, on the other hand is infinitely more resilient than most beings give it credit for. In the silence of the next millennia, life slowly returned to the devastated planet. Even more amazing, the Cavern survived intact - buried, but functional. This was mainly due to the underground nature of the structure and the happenstance of its placement - shielded by a natural canyon in a rugged mountain range. If such a thing is possible, the Force was truly with this building.
MODERN HISTORY:
In the years just before the rise of the Empire, the Odeum came to light once again. Shortly before the Naboo crisis, a group of Padawans was forced out of hyperspace by the gravity shadow of the lost world. Upon landing and further investigation, they accidentally stumbled across the Crystal Odeum - intact and in working condition. The simple act of being in the right place at the right time again opened up the lost oracle to the galaxy at large.
However, during Palpatine's bid for power, the Cavern was towards the top of his list in targets. It's threat far outweighed it's usefulness. Simply put - the structure was far too effective a weapon in the hands of his enemies, or potentially instrumental in the restoration of the Jedi Knights. No matter how you looked at it, the Odeum was the key to his undoing. And so, sadly, one of the oldest structures in the known galaxy did not endure the fury of the Sith.
After the battle of Endor and the fall of the Empire, stories of the Crystal Odeum surfaced once again. This time it came from highly placed defectors in the Empire who had heard of whispered tales that the artifact survived the Jedi purge. Rumors that Palpatine somehow removed it from its indigenous home and transported it across the galaxy to his hidden world of Byss. In light of the recent discoveries of such artifacts as the Stones of Derenna, the Lost Heart of Zodin and the complete works of Bordin Mass stored away in Palpatine's remote personal museums, such rumors cannot be discounted. Surely such a feat such as transporting such an assembly would be simplicity for one who has the technology to build moon sized planet destroying space stations at his command. Perhaps the Crystal Odeum survives to this day.
THE PHYSICAL CONSTRUCTION OF THE ODEUM
:
From the surface, the entrance to the chamber is a simple black obelisk about 3.5 meters tall. The only feature on the outside is a small rainbow colored pyramid just above the featureless door. A simple twist of the pyramid above the nearly seamless opening, and the stone door irises open. A ornate hallway leads downward at a moderate angle into the bowels of the mesa.
The chamber is roughly the scale of a mid-size sports arena, a bowl shape about 300 meters across. There are several tiers along the edges, about 8 feet tall, and 30 feet deep. From the ceiling hang thousands of crystal shards - spikes anywhere from 3 inches long to 4 feet long.
In the very center of the arena is a small table about 3 feet high. It's a rough stone surface, with a raised edge. The lip of the table is 3 or 4 centimeters high. The tabletop surface is covered with faintly glowing gems - red, blue, green, purple - all colors of the spectrum are represented. The gems are neatly arranged in a 15 by 15 grid, with color placement in a seemingly random order. Each gem and be turned and depressed ever so slightly, activating the chamber.
THE CAPABILITIES OF THE CHAMBER:
Much like the Holocron technology that it was based on, the Chamber was capable of creating a life like, interactive persona - avatars of the gatekeeper and so forth. The gatekeeper, of course, is Mal Jinn Taal - who is just a cryptic and elusive in death as he was in life.
Even more amazing, the Chamber can recreate - in stunning detail, full historical events. The battle of Jera- Dun, where a thousand Jedi were slain at the hands of the Fanatical army of the Xylon Empire? Within reach. The final stand of the Sith against the Jedi in the Thousand Days of Darkness? Childs play. Not everything was stored, and not everything can be reproduced in full holographic glory - but a great deal can. It can either play back in a passive replay mode, or an fully interactive mode. True the chamber cannot be completely interactive, as the contents are just images and projections of light, but short of that the stars are the limit.
GAME NOTES:
The Crystal Odeum, in the simplest terms, is a GM's passport to period pieces without messy complications that go hand in hand with time travel adventures. Any period through the Galactic Republic's history, up to the last thousand years or so, can be recreated in stunning accuracy.
The period of the Old Republic can also be recreated, but in much less detail. The Odeum had only been rediscovered a handful of decades before Palpatine's dark shadow obscured the galaxy. Also, this would be one of Palpatine's first targets during the purge - leaving this exposed would be a disastrous misstep in the Empire's campaign against the Jedi.
"But, wait a moment" a detail oriented player says "with the Odeum activated, if I started walking in one direction, why don’t I eventually run into a wall?" The technobabble answer is: The Odeum carefully and subtly alters it's holographic surroundings as the characters approach the wall, visually tricking them into not running into obstacles. The more Star Wars answer: It just works, ok?
Also, a GM should be aware of the potential game imbalance that the Odeum presents. A GM may not want knowledge of the Old Times. To offset this, sections of the Odeum could easily have been damaged - either during the initial disaster, or during the move to the Emperor's treasure storehouse on Byss.
Since anyone who knew how to operate the controls is long since dead, activating the Odeum is mainly a hit or miss affair - entirely up to the GM's discretion on what is presented. There are thousands of subtle and intricate variations to the controls, and no owners' manual. Eventually a kind GM may allow characters a ridiculously hard Lore, Mechanics or Computers to even get within the ballpark of the desired result. However, such a outcome is left entirely to the province of the GM.
It's a much easier process, should a Jedi wish to add knowledge and information to the Odeum. With a simple Easy roll with either Know: Technology or Moderate Computer Program/Repair, the character may enter data. This can range from simple dictation and story telling to a full on Sense roll and several hours worth of meditation to infuse the Odium with a major event. Of course, more perspectives from other characters will allow greater and more lifelike detail.
USING THE CRYSTAL ODEUM IN A GAME:
In the tradition of the MacGuffin, the players first encounter with the Odeum should be rumors of it's existence, not an actual physical encounter with the chamber. A Raiders of the Lost Ark style game would be appropriate - the players hear tell of a lost Jedi temple in the lowest levels of Coruscant, where only the brave and the foolhardy would dare to go. Investigating the temple uncovers a map incomplete map to the lost planet and just enough details about the Odeum to be tantalizing. Of course Agents of Evil have learned of the Odeum's existence, and seek to claim it first. Suddenly the players find themselves in a race for the ultimate Jedi prize in the galaxy.
Of course the GM's options open once the players have secured the Odeum. Imagine the look on their faces when the players first activate the chamber - and seemingly find themselves back in the days of the Ancient Republic.
Perhaps the players are a team of Jedi assigned to study the Odeum when Palpatine decides to uproot the structure. Since Palpatine would not do such an important task in half measures, it is clearly a losing proposition from the moment the Empire/Sith shows its ugly head in the system. The characters have to fight a holding action while recovering what notes they can before having to abandon the Odeum.
NO FORCE FOR YOU!....