We are starting a new adventure, we have all three of these starter sets. I wish to play a force positive character that can use Force Powers but is not a Jedi. They have not been trained in the ways, and they do not have a lightsaber; but he is in touch with the force. Is there a recommended way to do this? I thought about simply making a Seeker and simply avoiding all lightsaber weapons. We play the environment where the Jedi do exist, but they are very rare and remote; however the force Power is known in the universe and some of us have contact with it.

This is very easy to do, 2 of my 3 players are not following the Jedi path at all. I think a good place to start is where your character comes from, and how does he see his powers? Someone from a primitive world might be considered a shaman, or blessed by the spirits. One of our characters is a semi-primitive hunter, who uses his gifts to stalk his prey.

If he's from a "civilized" world, he may consider his powers 'psychic,' or not even think of them as powers. "I'm just that persuasive!" or, "Sure, I knew what he was thinking, it was written all over his face!" One of my other players is a Sentinel/Shadow who's basically a corporate espionage agent. He can Seek the information or material he's after, and Misdirect people into not even noticing him.

Personally, I think the non-Jedi options can be the most interesting. Good luck!

Bear in mind that while all Jedi are Force users, not all Force users are Jedi. In both the current canon and in Legends, there are a bevy of Force traditions out there in the galaxy, many of which have no connection to the Jedi belief structure. Sadly, due to WEG writers at the time having no reason to think otherwise, they pretty much assumed that in the Star Wars 'verse, the terms "Jedi" and "Force user" were interchangeable, since at the time they were written (late 80's to the early 90's), the only Force users we'd seen were either Jedi such as Yoda, Ben, and eventually Luke, or former Jedi such as Vader, with Palps being an outlier.

It is also quite possible to play a "stealth" Force user mostly by selecting powers and talents that don't have an obvious external effect, sticking to powers like Foresee (just don't share where you're getting all these hunches about the future from) or Enhance (the Force leap series of Control upgrades being a notable exception) or even Sense (maybe you're just really good at reading people, which in turn lets you react quickly to their attempts to harm you or spot openings you can exploit in a fight).

1 hour ago, The Grand Falloon said:

This is very easy to do, 2 of my 3 players are not following the Jedi path at all. I think a good place to start is where your character comes from, and how does he see his powers? Someone from a primitive world might be considered a shaman, or blessed by the spirits. One of our characters is a semi-primitive hunter, who uses his gifts to stalk his prey.

Just a note that primitiveness and shamanism/spirituality are not mutually exclusive—not in the real world, and not even in Star Wars . The Chalactan adepts and the Baran Do sages are both mystical Force-using traditions from standard-technology worlds. In other words, if you want your non-Jedi to be a mystic/spiritualist/animist/druid/whatever, don't feel compelled to make him an Ewok. He can just as easily be from a Core World with a strong spiritual tradition.

1 hour ago, Donovan Morningfire said:

Sadly, due to WEG writers at the time having no reason to think otherwise, they pretty much assumed that in the Star Wars 'verse, the terms "Jedi" and "Force user" were interchangeable, since at the time they were written (late 80's to the early 90's), the only Force users we'd seen were either Jedi such as Yoda, Ben, and eventually Luke, or former Jedi such as Vader, with Palps being an outlier.

WEG did correct themselves, at least by 2nd edition. Remember the Tyia adepts, represented by the plant species, the Revwiens? I'd still love to play one of those in the current system.

I would just use the existing talent tree's, avoiding light saber, and call it whatever you want. Create your own tenants. They still have to obey the morality of the force (dark/light) because that's a Force thing not a Jedi thing.

5 minutes ago, Split Light said:

They still have to obey the morality of the force (dark/light) because that's a Force thing not a Jedi thing.

Ah, unless you are only playing with Edge or Age and go Exile or Emergent. Technically the morality mechanic doesn't apply to those two since they have Obligation and Duty.

If you are going strictly by RAW, that is.

There's plenty of alternate Force Traditions out there in Canon and Legends, but I've considered that if I have a character develop Force Sensitivity, I'd probably go my own way, especially after the fall of the Jedi Order. I'd still take advice from Jedi or study ancient lore, but I wouldn't feel the need to continue all their traditions.

15 hours ago, Desslok said:

Ah, unless you are only playing with Edge or Age and go Exile or Emergent. Technically the morality mechanic doesn't apply to those two since they have Obligation and Duty.

If you are going strictly by RAW, that is.

That depends.

If you're allowing material from the Force and Destiny book, then the chapter in FaD on integrating the three games pretty much says "if you've got a Force Rating, you've also got Morality," and even spells out that a PC can't take advantage of increased starting Obligation or decreased starting Duty and the Morality bonus at character creation.

But if you're strictly sticking to EotE and/or AoR, then Morality doesn't apply since that mechanic isn't a part of either of those books, the same as Obligation or Duty not applying if all you're using is FaD. A GM can chose to add one or both depending on their campaign; for instance I could see PCs that are members of the Jedi Order and part of the Grand Army of the Republic during the Clone Wars as having both Morality and Duty, even if none of the PCs are using AoR careers.

16 hours ago, SavageBob said:

WEG did correct themselves, at least by 2nd edition. Remember the Tyia adepts, represented by the plant species, the Revwiens? I'd still love to play one of those in the current system.

Not in the descriptions of the Force powers and examples of those powers being used, where unless it was a dark side power introduced in a later supplement or they were using a specific character name, then they used the term "Jedi" as opposed to "Force user." And they'd had an Alien Student of the Force that was clearly defined as not being a Jedi ever since the 1st edition.

31 minutes ago, Donovan Morningfire said:

Not in the descriptions of the Force powers and examples of those powers being used, where unless it was a dark side power introduced in a later supplement or they were using a specific character name, then they used the term "Jedi" as opposed to "Force user." And they'd had an Alien Student of the Force that was clearly defined as not being a Jedi ever since the 1st edition.

Cool, I didn't realize the alien student of the Force went back that far! And I didn't realize you were talking specifically about the Force-power descriptions. But at least they did acknowledge non-Jedi Force-users at character creation, even if their editors forgot about them a few chapters later.

The Commanding officer of my rebel group is a mandalorian who discovered he can use the force, but in true mercenary pragmatism he thinks of it as a tool, an asset. Yes he now has a lightsaber, but he doesn't consider himself a Jedi, as Ahsoka did in Rebels. He even got white as a saber color in the questionnaire someone around here did, which only comes to pass when you have equal of all three primary colors.

57 minutes ago, Donovan Morningfire said:

That depends.

If you're allowing material from the Force and Destiny book, then the chapter in FaD on integrating the three games pretty much says "if you've got a Force Rating, you've also got Morality," and even spells out that a PC can't take advantage of increased starting Obligation or decreased starting Duty and the Morality bonus at character creation.

But if you're strictly sticking to EotE and/or AoR, then Morality doesn't apply since that mechanic isn't a part of either of those books, the same as Obligation or Duty not applying if all you're using is FaD. A GM can chose to add one or both depending on their campaign; for instance I could see PCs that are members of the Jedi Order and part of the Grand Army of the Republic during the Clone Wars as having both Morality and Duty, even if none of the PCs are using AoR careers.

No matter which of the three core books you're using you can use or set aside any of those three systems as appropriate to the theme of the campaign and the interests of the players. Regardless of whether the PCs are all force-sensitive, if no one's really interested in playing out (and mechanizing) internal emotional struggle as part of the narrative then morality doesn't suit the game (and insisting on using it regardless won't do anything useful since, of all three systems, it's pretty much entirely dependent on player engagement to work at all).

If morality isn't being used then it's largely a judgement call (and matter of intent) as to whether the PC is light or dark. It's not like that makes a huge difference to how the character operates, either: you use one or the other color of pip and some powers function a little differently.

So when it was all done I went with the Warrior career, and the Shii as my spec. I do not have a lightsaber, nor do I have any teacher, or admittance into the Jedi Order. I am simply a trained warrior of my tribe, that "believes" he is meant for more. I picked this career because it clearly focuses on his melee style and the powers it gives support this with a force-like feel.

The GM and I agreed that my chosen weapon (force pike) will substitute for all references to lightsaber. For example Sum Djem, did the force just help him, or was it luck and some skill?

My character knows of the rumors of the force, learns what he can, desires to be a Jedi (perhaps too much). We are not using morality. My obligation is to 10 family (per his race description) and "currently" 5 obsession. We are playing EotE, so the ONLY force powers I have access to are the ones in that book.

I was cautioned that, while we are not using morality, the GM reserves the right to formulate a plan for converting excessive dark force use into increased obsession obligation.

None of this may be as RAW intended, but I'm quite pleased with my choice.

I am playing a Gand workign on becoming a Findsman in our Living Campaign. He's a Seeker Pathfinder & Executioner. Neither of which have Lightsaber Skills or Talents nor is he a Jedi (Campaign is set during the Imperial Era so there are few Jedi left.) and I'm having a lot of fun.

Something to keep in mind; most of the "Style Trees" do not get a Force Rating Bump, except Niman Disciple. That includes Shii-Cho. 1 Force Rating is a pain for Force Users, especially for extended periods.

It can be fun to make up or let players create their own Force traditions and beliefs that they follow. It's a big world after all and I'm sure there's stuff out there that nothing's ever covered, so creativity can run free. FaD I believe does already have information on playing a non-Jedi Force user as well as a Dark Force user, so all you've got to do is fit that around the character however way you like.

Some of the old republic era novels introduced a Jedi Auxiliary. They were force sensitives from Non-humanoid species that the temple trained and others that chose to leave the Jedi Order.

Aren't all F&D characters not-Jedi? I'm away from my books at the moment, but I'm pretty sure that the book says that the Jedi are gone, and while some Careers and Specializations have naming conventions identical to Jedi archetypes, they are in no way to be construed as an actual Jedi.

That being said, I could see a campaign set in a society with customs similar to the Sword Law on Telerath (from the excellent Dark Times comic). A prevalence of melee weapons and lack of blasters would certainly allow a Lightsaber-user to shine if they got their appendages on an Ancient Sword.

1 hour ago, SFC Snuffy said:

Aren't all F&D characters not-Jedi? I'm away from my books at the moment, but I'm pretty sure that the book says that the Jedi are gone, and while some Careers and Specializations have naming conventions identical to Jedi archetypes, they are in no way to be construed as an actual Jedi.

That being said, I could see a campaign set in a society with customs similar to the Sword Law on Telerath (from the excellent Dark Times comic). A prevalence of melee weapons and lack of blasters would certainly allow a Lightsaber-user to shine if they got their appendages on an Ancient Sword.

Yes , They go as far as to infer Jedi were more adept than starting PCs would be. A starting PC could be Kanan in the comic book after he gets selected to be a Padawan. Even Knight level Xp isnt supposed to represent a Jedi Knight, but could represent someone close enough to have been of that level.

10 hours ago, SFC Snuffy said:

Aren't all F&D characters not-Jedi? I'm away from my books at the moment, but I'm pretty sure that the book says that the Jedi are gone, and while some Careers and Specializations have naming conventions identical to Jedi archetypes, they are in no way to be construed as an actual Jedi.

It does, but naming conventions/habits die hard, and for well over 20 years, people have been using the term "Jedi" as either being interchangeable with or a shorthand for "Force user." I do it myself on occasion, and I know full well that FaD PCs are not Jedi, just as Luke himself wasn't a proper Jedi until the climax of RotJ, even though he'd been trained as a Jedi by the (canonically) last of the Jedi Masters.

It's also part of the hullaballoo around the name "Knight Level" for experienced PCs that you can't make what would be perceived to be a Jedi Knight with just 150 additional XP. Although, in my own estimation, a Knight Level Force user PC in the Rebellion Era would probably equate to your average Padawan that had just been promoted to the rank; very highly trained but certainly not a master of the Force.

18 hours ago, SFC Snuffy said:

Aren't all F&D characters not-Jedi? I'm away from my books at the moment, but I'm pretty sure that the book says that the Jedi are gone, and while some Careers and Specializations have naming conventions identical to Jedi archetypes, they are in no way to be construed as an actual Jedi.

That being said, I could see a campaign set in a society with customs similar to the Sword Law on Telerath (from the excellent Dark Times comic). A prevalence of melee weapons and lack of blasters would certainly allow a Lightsaber-user to shine if they got their appendages on an Ancient Sword.

The F&D careers can represent full on Jedi, but they don't have to, and, in the rebellion era, aren't likely to.

14 hours ago, Tramp Graphics said:

The F&D careers can represent full on Jedi, but they don't have to, and, in the rebellion era, aren't likely to.

Well writ!

Also, you can do as one of my earlier fellow players did in another game, treat the character as not knowing he has the force and explain the force talents as "luck". Of course going this way rules out any of the lightsaber specs. And the only force powers, that "sortta" work with this model are enhance, manipulate and influence, but only the way that let's you commit force die and upgrade your dicepool, since your character does it "subconsciously".

The fun thing is for the GM to then make an adventure where the character finds out he's forcesensitive.

1 hour ago, TheMOELANDER said:

Well writ!

Also, you can do as one of my earlier fellow players did in another game, treat the character as not knowing he has the force and explain the force talents as "luck". Of course going this way rules out any of the lightsaber specs. And the only force powers, that "sortta" work with this model are enhance, manipulate and influence, but only the way that let's you commit force die and upgrade your dicepool, since your character does it "subconsciously".

The fun thing is for the GM to then make an adventure where the character finds out he's forcesensitive.

Note that even flashier Force powers could be "explained away" as luck with a bit of creative roleplaying: Bind ("My pursuers always seem to trip!"), Foresee and Seek ("I just always seem to guess right"), Heal/Harm ("Don't know what happened; that mugger just keeled over..."), Manipulate ("Hey! My blaster's working again!"), Move ("Whoah! I totally thought the chance cube was going to land on blue, but look: red!"), and Repair/Wreck ("Guess that droid bounty hunter had a bad motivator?").

I love the idea of non-Jedi Force users rationalizing their abilities in this way. Another idea is that a religious character might see her powers as divine favor. I'm playing a character in a PbP now who sees the Force as a connection to his ancestors, and it's great fun.

While I'm loathe to reference what was generally a rather atrocious book series, the Jedi Academy trilogy started out with Luke gallivanting across the galaxy looking for potential recruits for his first crop of students. And many of his potential candidates were folks that were in effect "unusually lucky," such as Bespin prospector that had a knack for "sniffing out" pockets of tibanna gas to mine. Ezra from Rebels is a case of having the Enhance and Sense powers but chalking them up to lucky circumstances or surges of adrenaline.

So it's quite possible to have a "stealth paranormal" that has all sorts of Force abilities that they're blissfully unaware are actually Force abilities, and thus thinking they're ordinary folks until somebody in the know informs them otherwise.

14 hours ago, Donovan Morningfire said:

While I'm loathe to reference what was generally a rather atrocious book series, the Jedi Academy trilogy started out with Luke gallivanting across the galaxy looking for potential recruits for his first crop of students. And many of his potential candidates were folks that were in effect "unusually lucky," such as Bespin prospector that had a knack for "sniffing out" pockets of tibanna gas to mine. Ezra from Rebels is a case of having the Enhance and Sense powers but chalking them up to lucky circumstances or surges of adrenaline.

So it's quite possible to have a "stealth paranormal" that has all sorts of Force abilities that they're blissfully unaware are actually Force abilities, and thus thinking they're ordinary folks until somebody in the know informs them otherwise.

Yeah! Ezra is definitely one of the top examples for the current canon. The Jedi academy books were awful though and just because of two words: "sun crusher". The idea with the lucky people was neat though.