Hey everyone I have a question about the Force Unleash Power.

1. How would you describe to your group what the Force power Unleash looks like from a narrative perspective?

I understand that Mastery is Force Lightning (and everyone knows the effects of that power), but how would you describe the effects of the powers that come before Mastery??

I really want to introduce an Inquisitor utilizing this power, but I don't know how exactly to describe these powers to my group.

Some clarification would be greatly appreciated.

I've described pre-Mastery Unleash as Force Lightning as well, with Mastery just being Palpatine-grade levels of the stuff. It's a simple enough solution.

Getting more complex: As written the basic Unleash power is 'a surge of manifest emotion', so physically it probably doesn't look like much, since the target is merely being flooded with feelings (of raw Dark Side hatred and the like, one presumes). As an alternative Tales from the Hydian Way, when they addressed the power, pointed out that there's nothing to keep you from re-flavoring it. Unleash could be how you have someone lobbing a fireball D&D-style, particularly if the user doesn't follow the Jedi/Sith traditions (which an Inquisitor might not, not really being a Sith).

Yeah that sounds like something I'd like to have my Inquisitor use against my PCs. I would want it to be similar to Force Lightning but not the dreaded bluish- purplish Force Lightning Palpatine used throughout the series.

Thanks for the clarification Cannibal Halfling.

I'm looking forward to hearing about other ideas.

Maybe a flash of not-quite lightning? Not the streams of electric hate, but just a blaster-like bolt or stream. Maybe something like (but not quite) Deadly Sight (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Deadly_Sight) too. It could also contain aspects of Choke/Crush, injuring the target with a burst of telekinetic pressure.

I think it would kinda come down to the NPC in question. More about the character will likely determine how it manifest. For instance for an Inquisitor who maybe came from a culture that had deep spiritual ties and ancestor worship I might describe the early levels of Unleash as the PC being attacked by vengeful ancestor spirits of the Inquisitor. From one that hails from a frozen world like Hoth maybe it's a blast of bone chilling cold. From a concept that maybe preys on peoples fears the power manifest as the PC's worst fear doing bodily harm to them. For an NPC with an obsession on death I would describe it as the power feeling like death itself is leaching years off their life.

So work out what the NPC is, what he believes, how he thinks and then I think how Unleash manifest will be a bit easier to figure out.

I like the manifestion based on culture to be honest, but you could always do it a single bolt of lightning. As the Inquistor in question gets more powerful, more bolts begin to manifest itself.

Seems reasonable, Dooku didn't conjure up waves like the Emperor, but he manifested a couple or forks before Yoda shut him down.

Fire breathing Dragon... Just saying.

Ah... Trappings, as we call them in Savage Worlds. Such fun!

So the way I see it, there are three damaging powers where the trappings can be played with, for fun effects each time. Your players might face several Dark Force users, each with a different Unleash they haven't seen. They don't need to know it's all the same power. All they know is that Dathomiri Witch keeps urns of green balefire nearby, which lash out and burn them. Meanwhile, the Arkhosian Viper Monk throws a thunderclap punch from across the room, but the force of it travels 20 feet and breaks your ribs.

So let's have a look at the powers and how they could be described:
Harm: Probably manifests as sudden illness or aging, while the user becomes stronger and more invigorated as he heals himself. Wounds on the user close, only to appear on the target. The target turns pale and ashen as he is suddenly aged, he coughs up blood, or it begins leaking from his eyes, nose or ears. Vile, discolored pustules erupt over his body. Go ahead! Get gross!
Bind: Probably the most subtle. Like being hit by a Buick instead of a Mack truck. This is probably going to manifest pretty much like Vader does it. Lungs or throats are constricted, or the heart is forcibly stopped. If you want to be gonzo, perhaps the victim's head is crushed, or his heart ripped out of his chest into the user's hand. I kinda prefer this power to be a little less over-the-top, though.

Unleash: Probably the least subtle, in my mind it pretty much always manifests as a fairly obvious "from me to you" sort of effect. Lightning, streams of strange fire, blasts of ice and cold, screaming spirits of dead ancestors, or even the Sectumsempra spell from Harry Potter.

How about tendrils of darkness that envelop the victim?

The D6 system had several damaging powers that could easily fit under the Unleash umbrella. There was Bolt of Hatred, which took the form of a glowing orb hurled from the user's hand; there was Force Wind, which was basically a minor hurricane at the target location; there was a "tendrils of darkness"-thing like papy72 mentioned above, and I think one or two more. I'd just pick one that fits the character in question and go with it.

I really like all of these ideas. Thanks for ideas everyone.

• Stream of prismatic colored light