[pic cropped]

This shows the reason why I always questioned why Sentinels were given yellow lightsabers as their colour: its not inbetween Blue and Green but inbetwixt Red and Green, making them more a Gray Jedi or even Darksider colour! I mean, that's how it works with Purple and Violet right?

(Yeah I know it doesn't have to work like that, I'm just being an anal **** ).

Mwuahahahahahahahahaahha! The Pink is back!

Ahem. In answer to your question, it's because the original lightsaber colors were made from the Primary Color chart, not a chromokey like above. Blue was designated to the Guardians, who were martially oriented and guards and protectors of the Order who worked within the Order. Yellow was designated to the Sentinels, who were hidden agents that operated in the shadows outside the Order performing acts throughout the galaxy. Consulars were given Green, a combination of both Yellow and Blue, as they both operated within the Order to advise and tutor, and outside the Order as diplomats and envoys of the Jedi.

Hmmmm..... I wonder how THIS will look!

Edit:

Squeeeeee!!!!!!!! *Kyla does a happy dance!*

That's awesome, Kyla... (and I'm missing the pinkness already...!)

I really need to get my head around things like Obsidian Portal. This coming from a woman who still writes a lot of her game notes on dozens of pads of dead tree paper. Old dog, new tricks...

Thanks! As for Obisidian Portal, this is my first attempt at it, and it's been really kind of painless. The input screens are no more complicated than posting on here, and everything is organized for linking pages with a simple button click! You also can upload any pictures you want right to it from your own PC, then link them into posts as you need them! Overall very user friendly!

As for how I use it, it's mostly for player reference - new players or players with questions about the history or this or that odd background or character, can look at the website and get their question answered even if I'm not there. It's also good for new players to read about what has happened already (though at this point the history of the game so far is upwards of 200,000 words).

Finally, as we are all mums and dads (except for my daughter who is now playing with us) it has a built in Calendar and message board which is really useful in getting us all coordinated and helping us remember session dates.

Hmmmm..... I wonder how THIS will look!

Edit:

Squeeeeee!!!!!!!! *Kyla does a happy dance!*

Pink font. Violet background. Kyla, will you go out with me !? *

Obviously in jest but...

Despite that he's a hero fighting the empire, but at the same time he's a utter self serving bastard. As his apprentice once said; "You are the centre of your own universe!"

So. . . Rimmer but with a lightsaber?

Hmmmm..... I wonder how THIS will look!

From a graphic design choice, I think the Pink with Black in your next post looks the best.

The nice thing about the pink on black formatting is that anyone who has trouble reading it can just highlight the text (drag over with mouse pointer/cursor) and it inverts to a bluish text on light background.

Note to self: never argue colours with people who have the special Signature Ability to predict the dates of splatbook releases!

Darn right !

Hmmmm..... I wonder how THIS will look!

Edit:

Squeeeeee!!!!!!!! *Kyla does a happy dance!*

This is to me the most readable of your pinks. I like seeing the variations but not a fan of the pink on the standard grey though.

[pic cropped]

This shows the reason why I always questioned why Sentinels were given yellow lightsabers as their colour: its not inbetween Blue and Green but inbetwixt Red and Green, making them more a Gray Jedi or even Darksider colour! I mean, that's how it works with Purple and Violet right?

(Yeah I know it doesn't have to work like that, I'm just being an anal **** ).

Mwuahahahahahahahahaahha! The Pink is back!

Ahem. In answer to your question, it's because the original lightsaber colors were made from the Primary Color chart, not a chromokey like above. Blue was designated to the Guardians, who were martially oriented and guards and protectors of the Order who worked within the Order. Yellow was designated to the Sentinels, who were hidden agents that operated in the shadows outside the Order performing acts throughout the galaxy. Consulars were given Green, a combination of both Yellow and Blue, as they both operated within the Order to advise and tutor, and outside the Order as diplomats and envoys of the Jedi.

*sound of penny dropping* Ahhhhh!!! That makes sense now! I was thinking they were meant to be the middle-point between the other two Force-points-wise and yellow was the only colour left that didn't look like a shade of the others. Goddamn that makes total sense, just goes to show how "from a certain point of view" can actually be totally different and not just Obi-Wan blagging stuff. Cheers Kyla!

If it were completely up to me to rewrite the underlying details of the Star Wars setting, when it came time to look at the Force, I'd be focused on coherence.

The Force would be The Force, that's it. The whole "light side" and "dark side" thing would be about what the Force-sensitive brought -- their mindset, their thinking, their beliefs, their intentions, their motives, their actions. "You will find only what you bring in." Going by the breakdown in the essay linked in my sig, the Zoroastrian "good vs evil dichotomy" thing would be greatly reduced.

The Jedi and the Sith would be two competing "Force religions" resulting from a schism in a past age, whose "light side" and "dark side" obsession was largely a product of their own dogmas rather each being the mortal manifestation of an inherent and objective aspect of the universe. In other words, the Jedi and Sith would BOTH be wrong in some ways.

The whole "Father, Son, Daughter" arc would be gathered up and dumped in a burning barrel, to never have happened.

Just want to comment on the irony of the meme posted earlier, that Jedi don't kill people... They just happen to carry around the deadliest personal weapons in the entire galaxy and even use them as the symbols of their order. That's not what you'd attribute to a pacifist organization.

Something that's always irked me a bit is Kenobi's rather haughty assertion that lightsabers are so much more 'civilzed' than blasters. Leia got stunned by a blaster and, in what seemed to be only a short time later, was walking under her own power without even showing any signs of a concussion. When Obi-Wan wanted to take Zam alive, he did so by permanently maiming her.

Regarding Kenobi's comment, it's more the fact that a lightsaber requires significant training and incredible precision to use it properly, while any idiot with a set of working fingers can pick up and fire a blaster. Someone that's been properly trained with a lightsaber has the decision to kill or maim, and as the Zam Wessel and Evazan/Ponda scenarios show, proper training means they can negate the threat while sparing the offender's life. Most firearms training has the shooter focus on hitting the center of mass i.e. the torso (where the majority of your vital organs are kept), and often includes the advisory "don't point a gun towards someone unless you intend to end their lives." The various trick shots you see in films and TV are just that, tricks that are staged for the benefit of the viewing audience. Mythbusters even did segments on various gun tricks, and the majority were deemed plausible at best, or more often than not busted, such as the notion of shooting a weapon out of a person's hand without harming the other person. That a Jedi can use such a blatantly lethal weapon in non-lethal ways, such as intercepting ranged attacks or destroying weapons without maiming the target (Luke did this in RotS vs. Boba Fett) is a sign that they have a more civilized approach to fighting; avoid it if you can, but end it quickly and decisively if you can't. In contrast, it's all too easy to pick up a blaster and start blazing away, and in the process wind up causing a lot of unnecessary collateral damage, such as shooting (inadvertently or otherwise) innocent bystanders whose only fault was being in the wrong place at the wrong time?

In a way, Kenobi's view is not unlike the samurai viewpoint regarding the katana and kenjutsu; any peasant could be handed a spear and told to fight, but to demonstrate proper prowess with a katana was to set oneself above the common rabble. And yes, it is a bit elitist, but that's one of the many criticisms of the Jedi Order by the time the prequels rolled around.

Now, the RPG doesn't really reflect the training/precision that a lightsaber would generally require as a simplification of how combat is handle in this system (and is perfectly fine since the PCs are meant to be heroes and thus a cut above the common folk, on top of combat being an abstraction). After all, in real life it takes significant training to be able to use a pistol with any degree of accuracy, yet in this RPG any fool with a high Agility can pick up a random blaster and be a significant threat.

To add to Donovan's comment above, the very evidence that Kenobi, who (it's implied) had never handled a blaster before in his life, was able to pick one up at random and kill Grievous was impetus for his statement.

So, Some like this....

And others like this....

I guess, either way, I can remove the disclaimer in my siggie now! *wonders what to put in its place .... so many options!*

To add to Donovan's comment above, the very evidence that Kenobi, who (it's implied) had never handled a blaster before in his life, was able to pick one up at random and kill Grievous was impetus for his statement.

So, Some like this....

And others like this....

I guess, either way, I can remove the disclaimer in my siggie now! *wonders what to put in its place .... so many options!*

Personally I kind of took Kenobi's "so uncivilized" remark to be a parting shot at Grievous as well as a bit of self-deprecation that he'd had to resort to a blaster of all things to stop that particular threat.

BTW, never had a problem with you using the pink font. If anything, made it easier to identify who was doing the talking, which was hand as you've usually got a lot of good/interesting things to say.

Thanks Donovan! That means a lot coming from you!

To be brutally honest, I chalk the line up to George Lucas throwing a joke into the movies, but the moment serves to both your view and to mine without being mutually exclusive - one can abhor the situation for making him use such a piece of "uncivilized tech" at the same time one reinforces the opinion that it is, indeed, uncivilized. I think both speak more to how much we put into it more than what the line was necessarily intended to be.

Pink font. Violet background. Kyla, will you go out with me !? *

Obviously in jest but..

K, but you have to drive to Dallas to pick me up!

Regardless of the mythology, in most actual situations, the "modern ranged weapon" is superior. There's a reason modern militaries issue firearms and not swords to their soldiers. And despite what was said upthread, you can't actually just pick up "a gun" and use it effectively, this actually takes a degree of training and practice. I know RPGs rarely reflect that, but it's clearly true once one looks at the lack of success untrained or poorly trained people have actually hitting a target beyond a short distance, even a target that's just sitting still and not firing back.

If one wanted a reason for Jedi to carry a lightsaber instead of a blaster, then look to the symbolism of "peacekeepers and mediators" not carrying a blaster, but instead carrying a weapon that can defend against blaster fire, and has no (or little) ranged offensive capacity. Plus, to the Republic at large in the era between the fall of the Sith as an open threat and the start of the Empire, the lightsaber is a badge of office as much as it is a weapon, a symbol that one is a Jedi.

It's worth noting that in early concept notes, Lucas had everyone carrying "laser swords", not just Jedi. If troops are going to be doing a lot of fighting in close quarters on ships, where stray blaster fire could be a real hazard to the ship, there's some basis for that idea.

I personally think that Obi-Wan is a space samuari powered by midcholorians and the power of dry British wit, thus resorting to a weapon of the evil west in vanquishing this vaguely communistic demon served to put spegetti over everyone's shirt. Pity Grevious didn't have a midochorlian count exceeding 9000 otherwise he might have been the one to serve salted jedi on a bed of seabass and seaweed.

XD all trolling aside, it is possible to put too much thought into something. I found the remark about uncivilised to be pretty cool reference. That and I believe them to be somewhat fanatical in their belief's, they are monks that serve a mystical energy over anything else and thus their desire to spare people is intended to have visible consequences, a single rumour of a guy being dismembered ensures people think twice even though ultimately they were spared.

That and Jedi are incredibly boring people. Probably why every story has them lazily struggling with emotions rather then them actually struggling with any major decisions.

[pic cropped]

This shows the reason why I always questioned why Sentinels were given yellow lightsabers as their colour: its not inbetween Blue and Green but inbetwixt Red and Green, making them more a Gray Jedi or even Darksider colour! I mean, that's how it works with Purple and Violet right?

(Yeah I know it doesn't have to work like that, I'm just being an anal **** ).

Mwuahahahahahahahahaahha! The Pink is back!

Ahem. In answer to your question, it's because the original lightsaber colors were made from the Primary Color chart, not a chromokey like above. Blue was designated to the Guardians, who were martially oriented and guards and protectors of the Order who worked within the Order. Yellow was designated to the Sentinels, who were hidden agents that operated in the shadows outside the Order performing acts throughout the galaxy. Consulars were given Green, a combination of both Yellow and Blue, as they both operated within the Order to advise and tutor, and outside the Order as diplomats and envoys of the Jedi.

Even going by Chromokey, it still makes sense for Sentinels to have yellow--for the very reason because it is between red and green. Sentinels, because of their jobs, are the most pragmatic of the Jedi traditions and often do walk the line between light and dark as they hunt down darksiders. They often are required to use "questionable" means to get results, including subterfuge, coercion, deceit, etc. They're typically not what you'd call "paragons of virtue".

Pink font. Violet background. Kyla, will you go out with me !? *

Obviously in jest but..

K, but you have to drive to Dallas to pick me up!

Hmm...Google Maps says it takes about 12 hours, and I don't have any plans for the weekend...

Huh, what? N-no! I wansn't actually gonna do it! It was all a joke! I promise >_< !

Personally, I find the entire "color coded Force users" debate intensely pointless, but that's just me. It's one of the most ridiculous aspects of the setting that keeps randomly popping up in both canon and EU. Why would that ever be a thing, especially for those who are trying to hide or distort their purpose or affiliation?

I swear this thread grows faster than I can read it..... The only thing faster than its growth is my desire to have most of you in my game or dming a game for me based on you great answers to the OP and your equally great off topic deviations.

I don't necessarily hold to the Guardian/Consular/Sentinel color schema, but rather I personally like how they correspond to the Chakra's:

Blue represents the throat, and is our willingness to see solutions in everything. Our resources are made known, our expression are clarified like crystals, and we convey ourselves with a mix of playfulness and natural authority.

Yellow represents the solar plexus and the beacon held under a magnifying glass. What we submit for contemplation is amplified by the solar plexus chakra. This is because we have entered the dawn of specialized perception. When yellow gently strokes its fingertips across your awareness, it's prompting focus. Focus into the core of inner being, inner intelligence. This yellowy core asks us to honor the fullness of who we are.

Green represents the heart, and is connection and growth. It's a cue to get back in step with the beating rhythm of the pulse of all life. Place your awareness upon your neurological, and vascular networks - then translate these networks into externals like internet pathways, road grids, and relationships.

Red represents the root chakra, Just like the core of the Earth, it pulses and swells with bright crimson radiant heat. It is a clear sign of visceral, primitive power. It's the sparking place for big blasts of raw creation.

Depending on the attitudes any given Jedi has towards their duty, these colors flow into the crystals when they commune with them, tainting their hues into the crystal itself. At least, that's what makes my socks go up and down I suppose.

You might want to be careful, Kyla! I don't know what happens when the awesomeness-level of a thread goes to OVER 9,000!!1!, but if you keep this up, we're all gonna find out !

I think it involves explosions...

the Zoroastrian "good vs evil dichotomy" thing would be greatly reduced.

The Jedi and the Sith would be two competing "Force religions" resulting from a schism in a past age, whose "light side" and "dark side" obsession was largely a product of their own dogmas rather each being the mortal manifestation of an inherent and objective aspect of the universe. In other words, the Jedi and Sith would BOTH be wrong in some ways.

The whole "Father, Son, Daughter" arc would be gathered up and dumped in a burning barrel, to never have happened.

"I love you, and I want to have your -" - oh that upset people last time out, didn't it?

*ahem*

<said in deep, manly voice> "I greatly agree with you, sirrah, and concede you have a very valid point!"

*MarcyVerse rambling*

For my part, we play the Force as just that. It's mysterious and unknowable, even to the experts who find it comfortable. It doesn't care how or why you use it. Every PC with a Force-sensitive career has a 'light' Morality and a 'dark' Passion, representing the extremes of their personality. So 'light and dark' are a thing, but they likely represent law and control, against chaos and emotion, and are not intended to be good or evil. The actual characters, of course, can be so! Just as anyone can. Our system is built around that, being a little like a simplified version of 'cautious and reckless stance' in WHFRP3.

Also, we have a lot of Sensitive traditions. The Jedi are simply the expy for Christianity or Islam here - they are the most aggressive and widespread tradition, but certainly not the only game in town. They call it 'The Force' and are steeped in tradition and odd rituals. Other traditions may call it 'speaking to the spirits' 'magick' or 'Sith alchemy' or 'biotics' or whatever. Statistically, it's all the same thing.

Our Sith are just a sect of the Jedi - rebellious, emotional, maverick, iconoclastic. The Jedi use them as a kind of holding pen for their outliers. The Sith work with the Jedi when they have common cause (which is most of the time) and generally act as a nuisance in those rare times of peace. They are analogous to Protestant and Catholic Christians, or Sunni and Shia Muslims - they might fight at times (even often!) but are still sects with the same root.

Our Jedi are both brave and committed protectors who would lay down their lives for their worlds, and intolerant, Force-supremacist jerks who believe the 'end justifies the means'. Most are incredibly ruthless in doing their jobs. In some parts of the galaxy, they are utterly loathed; other parts see them as heroes and worthy protectors. They are few in number but have armies of clones and droids as cannon fodder, led by veterans of the Clone Wars and the Exodus War against the Vong/Tyranids/whatever race they exterminated like vermin on the Far Rim. The amoral members tend to do well. The really moral ones like Ben almost always end up leaving. They are anti-heroes and antagonists, rather than 'villains'. Like the dying Empire, they are not a playable faction for PCs, though many PCs are ex-Jedi. As the Empire has never used Sensitives outside of the Emperor's Hand (secret agents and assassins, very potent but not battlefield assets), the Imperials don't give a squibb's rear end about them. The Jedi Inquisition, however, hunts down and tries to re-educate apostate Force adepts (or destroy them if they can't be educated...) Lightsabers are quite rare, and holocrons all possess a horrifying secret...

There are many other Traditions - the Followers of the Temple under Lucas Lars, who are recognisably 'good guys' (somewhere between the New Jedi Order and a 60's hippy cult). There are the various tribes of Dathomir, the militaristic initiates of the Emergent Project, who view the Alliance as their religion and are trained for the battlefield. There are the Navigators, a mysterious sect who were once the Jedi Exploration Corps before they broke away. And likely millions of other sects like Baran-Do, who keep a lower profile under the scrutiny of the Order.

The Jedi obsess over bloodlines and breeding. They are essentially Dune-style noble houses, who breed for Sensitives and desired traits. They cling to 'midichlorian theory', which posits that Sensitivity is a genetic factor, and has been derided as baseless quackery by every other tradition for thousands of years. Midichlorians exist, and they do... something. (Possibly measure diabetic blood sugars.) What they definitely don't do is indicate the presence or power of Sensitivity, though the Order still puts them (and genetic superiority) at the centre of their spiritual beliefs.

The Followers believe in personal responsibility and enlightenment. Their 'leader', Lucas Lars (he hates the concept and sees himself as a teacher or guide) might be the most powerful Sensitive alive, but he's the son of moisture farmers with no Sensitivity in their history whatsoever. He teaches that Sensitivity can be learned through enlightenment, and that one day, every being might 'awaken' to their potential.