I find the lightsaber forms amusing concepts, but as with all things I don't really believe a lightsaber form itself has much influence on he capability of the wielder, rather people gravitated to it depending on a personal preference on a philosophical state of mind. After all the Jedi follow the force first and formost, their capability behind the blade depends on both their physical and mental conditioning first and foremost and form third.

Sure, there are some advantages to each firm but it is important to stress that it is not as important as the person behind the blade. The forms are not discussed in movies in great detail because it isn't relivant, but rather that the personality dictated the form that they took. After all, yoda was formless because he exclusely use the force to move himself around, does one suggest differently in that he chose that form? Or simply what he was? Is a formless character inherently inferior to one that has adopted none but simply a force of will and blade?

My personal opinion is that most for,s are capable of doing most functions, with the exception of the duelling style which is naturally weak to blaster bolts. Hence like with all things martial related in the end it comes down to experience and a quick mind and body

If it helps, I once asked a friend of mine who runs a kendo dojo about different Styles and he laughed. There's really only 7 ways to swing a sword, and all seven are in every style, everything else is just flourishes and personal preference, with no style providing any actual benefit over another. If anything it's actually a little discouraged to learn multiple styles simply because you're more likely to cross contaminate and end up actually mastering neither.

I don't think there is any practical benefit to discouraging one from learning multiple martial arts styles.

As a student and practitioner of "modern martial arts", I can tell you that different styles are designed for different people with different strengths, weaknesses, and desires. Strengths, weaknesses, and desires that may be perfect for the people who devised them, but may not reflect your own.

While there are certainly disciplinary and perhaps spiritual benefits to mastering one school, in practical terms, the best bet is to learn a lot, decide what suits you best, and then master that. You may find yourself mastering one style, you may find yourself mastering one style with a couple modifications to suit yourself, or you may find yourself just taking a bunch of what works from many styles and integrating them into your own style.

So a technique may be eminently suitable for a 300-pound linebacker, but less so for a 170-pound ballerino, a 150-pound Crossfit mom, or an 85-pound college sorority sister. Likewise, a technique may be ideal for the ballerino, Crossfit mom, or sorority sister but be ill-suited for the linebacker. Demanding that all four individuals master the same techniques regardless of their physical strengths, weaknesses, and lifestyles is foolhardy for any use outside the dojo. And Jedi do not study the lightsaber to be scored on their ability to perfectly perform kata in the sparring ring.

The lightsaber forms aren't legends they are Canon as they appear in the films.

Soresu = Obi Wan

Shien = Darth Vader Luke SkyWalker

Makashi = Count Dooku

Ataru = Qui Gon Yoda

Niman = Yoda

Juyo = Darth Maul

Vapaad = Mace Windu

I have heard this argument before, so I re-watched the movies looking for any mention of the wholly EU forms. They are never mentioned, nor are they ever attributed to any characters.

The lightsaber forms aren't legends they are Canon as they appear in the films.

Soresu = Obi Wan

Shien = Darth Vader Luke SkyWalker

Makashi = Count Dooku

Ataru = Qui Gon Yoda

Niman = Yoda

Juyo = Darth Maul

Vapaad = Mace Windu

I have heard this argument before, so I re-watched the movies looking for any mention of the wholly EU forms. They are never mentioned, nor are they ever attributed to any characters.

Yep, all we get I THINK is passing mention in one of the Rebels episodes.

At no time in the films do we see:

Obi-wan:HA I shall defeat you for I know Spondle form XI!

Vader: Indeed Obi-wan. I only know Gertamerta form X, your saber skills clearly go one the more form then I.

Just what the heck is with flipping saber forms anyway? Is there like a dozen books I haven't read where they go one for entire chapters about how lightsaber combat is some kind of game of pokemon with one form being super effective against another or something?

Personally, I've viewed the Forms as being primarily mindsets that a Jedi uses in combat as well as various series/sequences of moves.

Also, prior to the canon-wipe, it was noted that many Jedi actually did incorporate elements of other Forms into their bladework; it was the rare Jedi that focused exclusively upon a single Form without learning at least the core elements of Shii-Cho.

Before becoming the dreaded Sith Lord Vader, Anakin's fighting style was primarily Form V (started with the Shien portion before delving into Djem So after his duel with Dooku), but he also made heavy use of Ataru and Shii-Cho in his bladework. Obi-Wan himself incorporated Ataru (due to Qui-Gon's teaching) and a smattering of other Forms into his predominantly Soresu bladework. Palpatine was himself said to be extremely well-versed in each of the classic Seven Forms as well as sub-styles such as Jar'Kai.

Point of interest, prior to Bruce Lee's introduction of the concepts of Jeet Kune Do, the classic Eastern martial arts were very strict and stringent; Master Lee was in fact challenged many times by other schools for having the audacity to not only teach kung fu to westerners, but to alter his Wing Chun style to incorporate aspects and moves of other styles. One story as told by Chuck Norris had him relate that during a sparring session with Bruce Lee, Lee had decried the usage of the style of high kicks that Norris is famous for. They discussed the matter, pros and cons... and not long after Bruce had started to incorporate high kicks not too unlike Norris' in his films. And this obviously was long before the popularity of mixed martial arts, which itself is a "use what works, scrap what doesn't" approach to fighting that requires a fighter to blend several different methods if they want to be legitimately successful.

The point of the above bit of historical rambling? Don't get stuck into thinking the Lightsaber Forms aren't interchangeable sets of moves. Given all of them sprang from Shii-Cho, they're all connected at the fundamental level. And Niman itself is a "mix and match" Form that boiled down the elements of the five prior Forms into a rather simplified method of combat that worked for the Jedi's roles as keepers of the peace rather than front-line combatants.

Also, another element to bear in mind about the Lightsaber Form specializations is that these are not representative of the full degree of training that the Jedi Knights received. They are ultimately scraped together bits of knowledge about how the Jedi fought, and don't quite match the "full body of lore" that the Jedi Order had access to. Obi-Wan could very easily visit the Archives to learn all there was to learn about Soresu in the wake of Qui-Gon's death on Naboo, same as Anakin could brush up on the finer points of Djem So after getting schooled by Dooku. The PCs in a Force and Destiny don't have that option; if they're really lucky they might find a holocron with in-depth knowledge of the Forms, but more often than not a version of a Form they do practice is the "bare bones basics" of that Form, and that completing that particular specialization doesn't make them a true "master" (at least not on the same level that the Jedi Order would consider a master) but are highly capable swordsman.

I don't like applying real world logic to saber forms(especially when they can deflect bullets and crush things with their minds) but I also generally agree with Donovan on this point.

I would also add however there is a difference between fluff and crunch when it comes to these kinda things. I think you can fluff mastery of a saber form, saying you're a "Soresu user" even though you've never touched the tree nor play to use intelligence for your saber, but getting access to the talent tree does provide a greater degree of proficiency than you may have before, and I'd hope that mechanically the talents reflects that and reinforces the fluff rather than take away from it. Like in Saga, you could be an "Ataru user" but not have the Talent since it was locked in a prestige class. With F&D something similar occurs, and I think that's okay so long as the Talents feel right when you get to them, which I feel they largely do.

Yeah, the whole "my character uses Form Y when wielding a lightsaber" is by and large a fluff element. Aside from Shii-Cho, picking up the respective Form Technique talent simply means the PC has a broader knowledge of the core elements of that given Form.

So a PC could say that they use Form V when wielding a lightsaber, even if they've only got a single rank in the Lightsaber skill and don't have the Shien Expert specialization, but they're going to be considered "fully proficient" until such time as they pick up the Shien Technique talent.

A PC with just the Shii-Cho Knight spec could simply say that they incorporate elements of Ataru and Makashi into their 'saber usage and yet never so much as give those specializations a sideways glance.