Whom do you designate as a PC's "mentor," someone who passes along Force Powers at an XP discount?

I've read other threads that reference a small list of Jedi who survived Order 66. Few remember Master Echuu Shen-Jon, although his reference is based on Legend, not canon. Given how few Jedi remained, I cannot expect canon to meet all of my fantasy needs. Rather than invent new Jedi from scratch, especially someone who may teach or train with Lightsabers AND know Light Side Force Powers, some Legends may prove valuable.

Regarding Master Shen-Jon, we know he ultimately meets his end during the Krantian Civil War. From Far Horizons sourcebook for colonists, a neutral medical facility on Krant follows the relative timeline for the RPG setting while offering a nice "base" or business for new PCs. Adding a Jedi Master in hiding who will fight for the good cause seems like gravy, and I intend to use him as a possible mentor and ally (although short-lived, depending on how long PCs take to find him). Did you notice how many Jedi/Sith temples are also on Krant? I do not think this setting suggestion was a mistake in development, but a subtle push into exploring Legends.

Do you use any Canonical or Legendary Force-Using Mentors? If so, whom? If not, how do you adjudicate having a mentor for Force Powers' XP discount? Am I missing any Canonical Mentors that aren't so large that their inclusion as a mentor would skew plots?

Nope, for the few times that the Mentor group resource has come into play, I've avoided any Canon or Legends Jedi survivors in favor of creating my own NPC. Primary reason for that is with an original NPC, I've got more of a blank canvas to work from in terms of that Mentor's personality, beliefs, and teaching methods.

Plus, a Mentor doesn't have to be a Jedi. They could simply be a very knowledgeable Force user, with Hethan Romund from the FaD Beginner Box being a prime example of a Mentor to the PCs (each pre-gen's background makes mention of Hethan helping them better understand the Force) even if the adventure doesn't specifically call her out as such. There's zero indication that Hethan is any sort of Jedi, but rather is like TFA's Maz in that she's an old woman who knows the Force.

And learning one of the Lightsaber Forms of combat doesn't absolutely require a living Jedi Master either. From my own interpretation, the LS Form specs are more the "fundamentals" of a Form and comprise what information the PC has been able to find on them, with a number of them (like Shii-Cho Knight) being rather outdated (the more modern Shii-Cho used by the Order was fully capable of dealing with blaster fire, i.e. offers the Reflect talent). Luke himself uses a bare-bones amalgamation of Shii-Cho Knight and Shien Expert by the time we see him in RotS; it's been suggested here the Luke-as-PC started out a Warrior/Starfighter Ace, picked up Shii-Cho Knight for some lightsaber combat skills, then likely moved into Shien Expert to add some defense against blaster fire and further bolster his dueling prowess.

I agree with Donovan. Although, my signature character, Korath's, history extends from D6, Korath was raised by a Duinuougiun (Star Dragon) Jedi Master on Ingo, a backwater Mid Rim world, with (luckily) no Imperial presence. Korath's Master was koilled when Korath was fifteen, around 10 years ABY.

Thanks for the great feedback. I have a player who really wants to study under Mace Windu, because he likes the idea of a Grey Jedi with (likely) cybernetics post-Episode III. While I could insert Samuel L. Jackson's iconic character in the game, I think the use may be overkill for our fledgling characters. I wanted some advice about appropriate mentors t justify the XP discount (which isn't much, so I presume it's more for story fluff than number crunch).

I like you examples, and appreciate quick feedback!

I've toyed with the idea of inserting Dass Jennir from the Dark Times series from Dark Horse comics. The series also mentions several other Jedi, some fallen & some not. It's a good read, if you can find it. There's certainly a lot of material you could mine (or steal outright) for a F&D game.

To take it in a slightly different direction... I have to say that I really like the idea espoused by the Rebels cartoon. Kanan, is a mentor to Ezra, but was never a full fledged Jedi himself - his master was killed by Order 66 when he was still a Padawan. Adapting that scenario to the RPG, the mentor isn't necessarily a powerful Master, merely someone that's more knowledgeable than you are. A youngling or Padawan struggling to remember lessons from years ago, make the right choices, and grappling with the responsibility of teaching the use of the Force to the party would make a fantastic mentor, in my opinion.

Why not Maz Kanata?

She clearly knows more about the Force than she lets on, and she's fully canon (if you like that sort of thing.)

A mentor that stays in one place and the PC's visit occasionally is a great idea, and I think Maz Kanata is a great choice.

I created a Mon Calamari Artificer for my campaign. She tends to be rather distracted when non-training stuff comes up.

My current character has a very non-standard mentor - she's not Force-sensitive (as far so I know), knows next to nothing about society at large, and is incredibly vulnerable to harm. However, she grants the mentor bonus because she's so different and has such a unique point of view, and my character's friendship with her allows her to better grasp and understand the unity and oneness of the Force.

Now of course, this is a solo game and my character is a Mystic so she's more adaptable to the strange and liable to see meaning in odd places, but I bring it up to show you that you don't have to feel bound to using the standard "High-level Force-using NPC that teaches the party and buggers off whenever something vaguely important happens."

Unlearn what you have learned, expand your minds! Anything that you players can learn from and either travel with or visit semi-frequently could potentially be a mentor, as long as you have the right point of view. An old text that they slowly translate to learn the techniques and philosophies of? Sure! An ancient temple atop a vergence that they sometimes hide out in that occasionally gives them dreams and visions? Absolutely! This is the Force we're talking about, if it wants you to learn, it has ways to teach you!

From the TFA, we've got the Church of the Force, which apparently went underground when Palpatine took power, and only resurfaced in the years after his demise. From what little is known about them, there don't seem to be many (if any) Force-sensitives amidst their number, but they are probably fairly knowledgeable about the Force on an intellectual level.

So it's quite possible to have a mentor that was part of the Church of the Force even if they can't use the Force, still able to provide a deeper understanding of the Force to the PCs because of their own study of the Force's mysteries and lore.

After all, Clark Kent's parents (especially in the Smallville TV series) were able to help him understand and learn to control his various Kryptonian powers even though Ma and Pa Kent were ordinary humans.

The mentor in my original EotE campaign is a Miraluka who is the wife to a crimelord (a human posing as a Hutt-his entire character was based on the original shooting of Jabba's scene in Ep IV). She's very weak in the Force but seems to know an eerily large amount about the Jedi and Sith.

The Mentor doesn't have to be alive anymore or can even be a Holocron if you want. Keep in mind that the Mentor's sole mechanical effect is the reduction in cost of only the first rank of Force Powers and that can be narrated as a teaching from the past that the PC remembers now that they are an adult or whatever.

I'm considering having one PC who grew up as a Force sensitive Zabrak on post-Nightsister Dathomir receive visions of Asajj Ventress as her mentor character. In the same game, the PCs crossed paths with a younger Lor San Tekka as he wandered, but he was actively trying to escape Imperial attention and couldn't do anything more than pass on a set of coordinates for ancient Jedi ruins.

But for the most part, I prefer to make up my own characters. Another game will have the players realize that the adopted NPC dad of the group is really an Order 66 survivor. I try to keep canon characters' interactions with my games restricted to cameos, because a.) it makes them special, b.) keeps the players focused on the story we've created together, and c.) minimizes the chances they have to kill them.

I just created a Mentor for the Solocampaing of my "sith"-like player...

An female Chiss, former member of the not so public J.E.I.C. (Jedi Emergency Interception Corps) a special ops of the jedi tempel where all those ... not so stable jedi where gathered (those that are quite strong in the force and to instable to let them just running around loose).

beeing already unstable before order 66, the years in hiding in the wilderness of Xagobah, did not make it any better. While seeking revenge and beeing closed up in her own world, she acepts the player as her pupil... mostly to forge a weapon of revenge out of him.

She makes more trouble for the player (that wants to keep a low profile with in the alliance) she refuses to help the player out in combat because "What a pupil would you be if you can't handle this little bit of circumstances"

It's quit fun to have her around sometimes

After all, Clark Kent's parents (especially in the Smallville TV series) were able to help him understand and learn to control his various Kryptonian powers even though Ma and Pa Kent were ordinary humans.

As a comic book fan, I've grown to appreciate other ideas about the Kent's and their adoptive son's powers. For example, one theory suggests that x-ray vision is really a form of clairvoyance. This concept was too much for farmers to grasp, and they imposed the lead restriction based on limited understanding of alien psychology.

I do NOT want this thread to derail into comic book defenses of x-ray vision or the Kents-- I merely wanted to share how some perspectives may erroneously place limitations, which could certainly come in handy when dealing with something equally as mystifying as the Force.

After all, Clark Kent's parents (especially in the Smallville TV series) were able to help him understand and learn to control his various Kryptonian powers even though Ma and Pa Kent were ordinary humans.

As a comic book fan, I've grown to appreciate other ideas about the Kent's and their adoptive son's powers. For example, one theory suggests that x-ray vision is really a form of clairvoyance. This concept was too much for farmers to grasp, and they imposed the lead restriction based on limited understanding of alien psychology.

I do NOT want this thread to derail into comic book defenses of x-ray vision or the Kents-- I merely wanted to share how some perspectives may erroneously place limitations, which could certainly come in handy when dealing with something equally as mystifying as the Force.

Well, that's actually fairly appropriate, given that it's come up in official materials as well. Nexus of Power describes Weik as believing the Force is magic, and their wizards believe they have to say the incantations, make the hand signs, etc. in order to use Move or Enhance. One of the devs shared a story about that on Order 66, about his character thought he was a sorcerer and refused to even consider using the Force without first "saying the magic words."

It might also, depending on your point of view, apply to the Nightsisters.

It certainly makes sense. Yoda said if you don't believe, you can't achieve (paraphrasing, certainly), and I know in Mage: the Ascension, by White Wolf, most characters need to use fetters, totems, or other focus items, before they can unleash their magical powers. This isn't because such a thing is necessary; it certainly is NOT, and many characters eventually grow to learn this, but the simple idea of what magic means, and that you can do what not everyone else can, you need to justify it, in your head, so focus items. if the Jedi, or some other Force tradition, actively trained their disciples in a way that explained such objects were necessary, I believe those self-same acolytes actually would develop a need for said crutches, and be powerless at their loss, even though the Force has no such limitation.

EU Nightsisters, and their fellow Wtiches, were stuck in this belief, if I remember correctly, and maybe Gethzerion (it's a D&D term, if I got her name wrong, and then I'll feel a little silly ) knew better, hence why she was so powerful a Nightsister. i seem to remember Tenel Ka having to come to terms with the ways she was taught, versus the ways her mother, Teneniel Djo, knew.