So, I thought I'd post about an idea that I've had and see if I could get some feedback. I'd also love to find some people to help me flesh it out and turn it into something great.

So, the idea I have is a New Jedi Order story. No, not the Legend's old series, but instead it's titled (for now), "Luke Skywalker's New Jedi Order", starting roughly five years after the events of Return of the Jedi. Luke Skywalker has spent the previous five years searching for Jedi and force traditions to learn everything that he can in order to grow in the force. He has decided that he was finally at the stage that he could train others and has began training on Yavin iV (Yeah, took a page from Legends). The player characters that join this game are among his first students.

So far, I don't have much for the PCs to do. First, I have the idea, taking a page from Nexus of Power, the PCs will go on the quest that'll turn them into Jedi knights and each claim a kyber crystal for a lightsaber. This quest will be a trip to Ilum where the PCs will use what force abilities that know to get past obstacles that's been placed in their way. This would be a pretty basic adventure, where the GM would have to think a bit on his/her feet to customize the obstacles to the force powers.

From here, I don't have much. PCs should go on adventures that'll uncover more force traditions and artifacts. But also, Luke Skywalker has aligned his new Jedi with the New Republic as well and PCs should be called on from time to time to take the roles of mediators and the such for disputes around the galaxy. But also, there should be something that tiptoes the Jedi vs Sith idea and I have been thinking about having surviving Inquisitors also confront the PCs and battle them.

In my idea, the Empire will already have been reduced to "remnant" status (as they'd eventually become in Legends) but still remains a threat. Luke, Han Solo, and Lando will all have served for a short time (around a year or so) as generals in the New Republic navy and all helped nearly eliminate the Empire. But the Empire still exists and still tries to be a thorn in the side of the New Republic.

Well, that's the idea. It's still at the beginning stages though. I am trying to sit down and type up a treatment for it, to describe exactly the state of the universe as I am imagining it.

- Eric42

So you rp like you're in jedi knight academy almost?

Despite the two official Sith dieing out with Vader and Sidious (and Sidious' efforts to aggregate and hide all knowledge and records of the Force leading up to that), there were thousands and thousands of Force Sensitives out there in the Galaxy, who fell - or were falling - to the lures of the Darkside.

And a big theme of Legends media - and there's no reason it wouldn't be true in the new canon if that matters to you - is how many people (Force Sensitive and not) there are out there who collect (knowingly and unknowingly) Sith artifacts and knowledge. Whether just out of fancy (a non-Force Sensitive fascinated by the "fairy tales" and figures involved in this myth called the Force) or out of a desire to actively know and grow in the Darkside of the Force (a nascent Force Sensitive seeking meaning and learning).

So in the interest of still having Force-wielding Nemeses for your PCs, I would take advantage of these themes.

Maybe Luke has taken one or two (or more?) under his wing even as Students? Believing he can "save" them, but that continue to show and use all of the cunning and anger of the Darkside to make the Order a competition and try to sabotage those "below them" so that they can be at the "Top of the Class"? Or perhaps they conceal themselves until such a time as they've learned enough (and maybe found a Sith Holocron) that they break away from the New Order and form a new Darkside Tradition? Which of course the PCs then must battle and try to destroy.

2 hours ago, Eric42 said:

So, I thought I'd post about an idea that I've had and see if I could get some feedback. I'd also love to find some people to help me flesh it out and turn it into something great.

So, the idea I have is a New Jedi Order story. No, not the Legend's old series, but instead it's titled (for now), "Luke Skywalker's New Jedi Order", starting roughly five years after the events of Return of the Jedi. Luke Skywalker has spent the previous five years searching for Jedi and force traditions to learn everything that he can in order to grow in the force. He has decided that he was finally at the stage that he could train others and has began training on Yavin iV (Yeah, took a page from Legends). The player characters that join this game are among his first students.

So far, I don't have much for the PCs to do. First, I have the idea, taking a page from Nexus of Power, the PCs will go on the quest that'll turn them into Jedi knights and each claim a kyber crystal for a lightsaber. This quest will be a trip to Ilum where the PCs will use what force abilities that know to get past obstacles that's been placed in their way. This would be a pretty basic adventure, where the GM would have to think a bit on his/her feet to customize the obstacles to the force powers.

From here, I don't have much. PCs should go on adventures that'll uncover more force traditions and artifacts. But also, Luke Skywalker has aligned his new Jedi with the New Republic as well and PCs should be called on from time to time to take the roles of mediators and the such for disputes around the galaxy. But also, there should be something that tiptoes the Jedi vs Sith idea and I have been thinking about having surviving Inquisitors also confront the PCs and battle them.

In my idea, the Empire will already have been reduced to "remnant" status (as they'd eventually become in Legends) but still remains a threat. Luke, Han Solo, and Lando will all have served for a short time (around a year or so) as generals in the New Republic navy and all helped nearly eliminate the Empire. But the Empire still exists and still tries to be a thorn in the side of the New Republic.

Well, that's the idea. It's still at the beginning stages though. I am trying to sit down and type up a treatment for it, to describe exactly the state of the universe as I am imagining it.

- Eric42

Interesting concept, one caveat though. I would not send them to Ilum. Ilum is in First Order hands, and was virtually stripped of crystals. Not only that, but it is " potentially " the planet that was turned into Starkiller Base. Even if it wasn't, it is still completely inaccessible. There are plenty of other sources of lightsaber crystals in the galaxy that are still available, such as Ossus (Mephite), Tatooine (Krayt Dragon Pearls), Barab I (Barab Ingot), Dantooine (Dantari), etc.

In legends and the new movies the biggest danger to lukes students was themselves, he wasn't a good enough teacher and some fell to the dark side. That in itself is a great story arc to run, with lots of developed NPCs and tales of friendship, betrayal, sacrifice and redemption.

Yavin has a long history of the dark side. Ancient temples, sith holocrons, hidden artefacts, sith alchemy lab, descendants of the original sith mutants, dark siders in search of ancient secrets, force ghosts or possession, exploring the abandoned rebel base, bits of the death star that crashed into yavin to explore, survivors (or droids) from the DS still stuck on yavin, meteor shower (bits of the DS), wild animals.

The DS laser was built with Jedi crystals, a huge chunk of that weapon may have landed on yavin. The very crystals that killed billions forever twisted to the dark side calling out for someone to build a lightsaber from them.

11 hours ago, Luahk said:

So you rp like you're in jedi knight academy almost?

Nah. More like you're graduating from the academy. The first quest that I have in mind would be the "final" test before Knighthood.

9 hours ago, emsquared said:

Despite the two official Sith dieing out with Vader and Sidious (and Sidious' efforts to aggregate and hide all knowledge and records of the Force leading up to that), there were thousands and thousands of Force Sensitives out there in the Galaxy, who fell - or were falling - to the lures of the Darkside.

And a big theme of Legends media - and there's no reason it wouldn't be true in the new canon if that matters to you - is how many people (Force Sensitive and not) there are out there who collect (knowingly and unknowingly) Sith artifacts and knowledge. Whether just out of fancy (a non-Force Sensitive fascinated by the "fairy tales" and figures involved in this myth called the Force) or out of a desire to actively know and grow in the Darkside of the Force (a nascent Force Sensitive seeking meaning and learning).

So in the interest of still having Force-wielding Nemeses for your PCs, I would take advantage of these themes.

Maybe Luke has taken one or two (or more?) under his wing even as Students? Believing he can "save" them, but that continue to show and use all of the cunning and anger of the Darkside to make the Order a competition and try to sabotage those "below them" so that they can be at the "Top of the Class"? Or perhaps they conceal themselves until such a time as they've learned enough (and maybe found a Sith Holocron) that they break away from the New Order and form a new Darkside Tradition? Which of course the PCs then must battle and try to destroy.

Those are some good ideas to keep in mind. Thanks

9 hours ago, Tramp Graphics said:

Interesting concept, one caveat though. I would not send them to Ilum. Ilum is in First Order hands, and was virtually stripped of crystals. Not only that, but it is " potentially " the planet that was turned into Starkiller Base. Even if it wasn't, it is still completely inaccessible. There are plenty of other sources of lightsaber crystals in the galaxy that are still available, such as Ossus (Mephite), Tatooine (Krayt Dragon Pearls), Barab I (Barab Ingot), Dantooine (Dantari), etc.

I am not necessarily following any particular canon. Ilum is my choice because I am not using the First Order and so far, they don't exist in "my" canon, per say. In doing this, the PCs would be writing their own canon with a bit of input from me.

I really enjoyed the jedi knight academy game. I still have it on my desktop!

I think it's a fun idea and both the new jedi and any new "Sith" would have enough legends/lore basis to draw upon whilst still being your own creation.

I would start out and keep them on Yavin IV. There is a reason he's using that as his Academy. Sending them off immediately to somewhere else sort of reduces the point of having a centralized training location.

Give them some basic "lessons" as single session adventures. This is hardly a comprehensive list, but things like "Get to the top of that mountain, how and which path is up to you, but you have until dawn rises from the peak to be there." Then have several ways to proceed. This will give those who have physical based PC's and Force powers, a chance to stretch their muscles, and earn a little exp to flesh out some more. It will also allow the more intellectual based ones a chance to try to climb smarter, not harder. Perhaps they are able to fashion together some climbing gear from the local flora, and use that to help them ascend. Or maybe they have a Knowledge skill that lets them know that mountains of that particular material tend to be very porous, so they could possibly find tunnels inside that could help them climb more easily.

Also give them some more mystical puzzles to do. If they are skilled in Foresee, perhaps have Luke say "You will meet me tomorrow for a lesson in tapping into the Living Force." And then he just walks off. "But Master, where is the meeting?" They might ask. He just turns and looks back at them. "I'm sure you can figure it out if you open your mind." Then, since the base version of Foresee shows them something within 24 hours of their current point, they could potentially get glimpses of the session....or perhaps an unexpected event instead,like a crashing ship that leads to an unscheduled learning session.

Things like this. Give them some basic tests to try out their powers, which has the double purpose of giving new players a chance to warm up to the dice mechanics without anything being too terribly life threatening.

I mean, this is supposed to be Year 1 of Force Trainin School. It's hardly expected of them to be saving the Galaxy right off the bat. So having some basic stuff makes sense for newbie Force users.

Then, after a few training events like that (1-2 sessions at most), have some unexpected thing happen, that forces them off planet. Perhaps Luke gets called away on some diplomatic thing, or he gets a vision from the Force, of some very serious danger, and he HAS to go deal with it. But he can't leave the PC's, so he has them come with him.

I did something like that, but it was much lower scale issue. It was the party Mentor, and she was a diplomat of the Old Republic. My two players were her Padawans (well, 1 official Padawan, the other was a street urchin with sensitivity that she picked up along the way). And basically, I shelved the Mentor by having her locked up all day in boring diplomatic discussions, while the two PC's waited outside in the antechamber. While there, one of the diplomatic aides came in, all distressed about something that would cause problems for the negotiations. A valuable item, that had been obtained to present during the negotiations, to help smooth over the friction between the 2 parties, had been stolen. The one politician would lose face for not being able to present it, and it could cause serious, long term ramifications for both nations. So, the PC's decided to go deal with this "totally minor and not at all risky" event, while the adults kept on talking. This lead my players to have a bit of a shoot out, and chase scene with the local gang of thugs that had been hired to steal the item. There were other plot threads that would delve deeper, later on in the campaign, but for Session 1, they were just dealing with a group of minion thugs, and a simple speeder bike chase.

They enjoyed it, and it felt appropriately risky for a group of starting characters.

I love the idea, but I have this personal fear that my players wouldn't want to do that. So, in my idea so far, I've jumped to the "final mission" they are taking in order to be "promoted" to Knight status. It represents maybe in-universe one year of hard training with Luke and perhaps a couple others. I have given it thought though, even before your mentioning it, and I thought that if a GM needed to help teach his players how to use the dice or something, they could role play out pseudo-battles between the players, using training sabers as their weapons. That'd allow players to learn the dice and learn combat as well with no threat of "death". But if my players ever wanted more pre-Knight mission adventures.... well, it's something that I could work on, I just fear that no one would end up being interested in that. I wanted to jump to what I consider the meat, having players explore out in the galaxy and being Jedi, which I picture they'd consider themselves even before they complete that first mission. heh

On 8/24/2017 at 0:23 AM, Eric42 said:

I love the idea, but I have this personal fear that my players wouldn't want to do that. So, in my idea so far, I've jumped to the "final mission" they are taking in order to be "promoted" to Knight status. It represents maybe in-universe one year of hard training with Luke and perhaps a couple others. I have given it thought though, even before your mentioning it, and I thought that if a GM needed to help teach his players how to use the dice or something, they could role play out pseudo-battles between the players, using training sabers as their weapons. That'd allow players to learn the dice and learn combat as well with no threat of "death". But if my players ever wanted more pre-Knight mission adventures.... well, it's something that I could work on, I just fear that no one would end up being interested in that. I wanted to jump to what I consider the meat, having players explore out in the galaxy and being Jedi, which I picture they'd consider themselves even before they complete that first mission. heh

Did you actually ask your players how much of their training they wanted to play out? That's usually a pretty good place to start to know what they'd like to skip over. Personally, I like the training stuff, it helps me flesh out my character, helps me tailor how their lessons will shape their worldview. Plus, it's like wanting to skip right to "You've failed your highness, I am a Jedi, like my father before me." *lightsaber mic drop* Without you know....going through all the work it took to earn that moment.

But that's me. I'm from the school of thought that a story doesn't have to be vast to be epic. You can make small scale stuff be awesome, and very intense, if you can get buy in from players. That's of course assuming your players are into the story part, and not just the "i gained levels and can now pwn stuff more effectively!" kind of play.

To skip over making my own lightsaber, my first lessons with the Force. My efforts to delve into new aspects of the Force, and the teachings of the Master who taught me, I mean, why?

12 hours ago, KungFuFerret said:

Did you actually ask your players how much of their training they wanted to play out? That's usually a pretty good place to start to know what they'd like to skip over. Personally, I like the training stuff, it helps me flesh out my character, helps me tailor how their lessons will shape their worldview. Plus, it's like wanting to skip right to "You've failed your highness, I am a Jedi, like my father before me." *lightsaber mic drop* Without you know....going through all the work it took to earn that moment.

But that's me. I'm from the school of thought that a story doesn't have to be vast to be epic. You can make small scale stuff be awesome, and very intense, if you can get buy in from players. That's of course assuming your players are into the story part, and not just the "i gained levels and can now pwn stuff more effectively!" kind of play.

To skip over making my own lightsaber, my first lessons with the Force. My efforts to delve into new aspects of the Force, and the teachings of the Master who taught me, I mean, why?

Amen.

Cool ideas. The only thing I would definitely change is the alignment with the Republic. If Luke has become a student of history (and I would hope he has!), then he will likely have realized that downfall of the Jedi Order was due in part to their symbiosis with the Republic. The Jedi were essentially the secret police of the old Republic, and then became its de facto military commanders in the Clone Wars.

In my estimation, Luke would want to distance himself from any possible repetition of those events.

3 hours ago, awayputurwpn said:

Cool ideas. The only thing I would definitely change is the alignment with the Republic. If Luke has become a student of history (and I would hope he has!), then he will likely have realized that downfall of the Jedi Order was due in part to their symbiosis with the Republic. The Jedi were essentially the secret police of the old Republic, and then became its de facto military commanders in the Clone Wars.

In my estimation, Luke would want to distance himself from any possible repetition of those events.

While I agree with this idea, I am curious as to what the Jedi Order would actually do in that case? I mean, will they just sit around learning about Force powers, and do nothing unless they catch wind of a Sith out there or something? Will they answer to no one? Will they have authority to go about the galaxy as they see fit, independent of Galactic Law, and local laws as well? While they were part of the Republic, they at least had grounds for their infrastructure and funding, as they helped the government, and a reason to go out and do stuff. "Protect Peace and Order" So, if Luke severs connections....then what?

I don't mean to suggest a complete severing of connections, but rather an unofficial but amicable relationship that involves mutual respect with no oversight, and no official capacities given, save for perhaps envoys that would convey messages between the two organizations. The Jedi & the Republic would recognize each other as entities with aligned interests, but otherwise do their best to stay out of each other's way.

I think such a relationship would evolve into something workable over time, were it given the chance.

29 minutes ago, awayputurwpn said:

I don't mean to suggest a complete severing of connections, but rather an unofficial but amicable relationship that involves mutual respect with no oversight, and no official capacities given, save for perhaps envoys that would convey messages between the two organizations. The Jedi & the Republic would recognize each other as entities with aligned interests, but otherwise do their best to stay out of each other's way.

I think such a relationship would evolve into something workable over time, were it given the chance.

Right but, I mean, what happens when the Republic asks them for help because of some Sith problem? Or if a Jedi gets a vision of evil on some planet. Do they just swoop in, laws be damned and do whatever it takes to deal with the problem? That's the problem of "no official capacity given", it basically makes them outlaws/vigilantes any time they go and do the stuff we normally associate with Jedi. I guess my question is, given that this Republic encompasses most of the known galaxy, or at least the common, law abiding portion of it, when you say "Stay out of each other's way", it's kind of hard, as the members of the Jedi would likely all be members of that Republic, or at least a good number of them. Are they now no longer members of the Republic? Do they have dual citizenship? Is the Jedi Order considered a sovereign government? If they are following their own Code and it comes into conflict with Republican law, what happens? "But he was a Sith your honor! I had a Force vision that proved his evilness to me! So I had to kill him!" Seems like a problematic defense in court.

I know these are "putting real world concerns into a fantasy story" and usually I am against that, but it is an issue at gaming tables, where players/GM's frequently flesh out the events and their ramifications much further than most 2 hour movies have time to cover. It poses a problem is all I'm saying.

For another example perhaps, let's say the US government just severed all ties with the Marines. All the members, who were previously funded and given authority by the US, are now an independent group. They still have their own creed, and training and all that, and still have bases in the US,a nd are made up of US citizens. And they still want to go out and shoot at things they consider bad. But....under what authority now? This is a simplified example, but I mean, the Jedi were freaking lethal as heck. As members of the Republic, they at least answered to a system, and had limitations in place. Independent, there are just problems galore.

sounds like a good premise for some political intrigue.

It depends on how "big" a government the New Republic is. Does the Republic exist just to bring sovereign sector/system/planetary governments together in partnership? If so, then the Jedi would basically just need license to operate on the member worlds. They could petition the Republic for such a thing.

6 hours ago, awayputurwpn said:

Cool ideas. The only thing I would definitely change is the alignment with the Republic. If Luke has become a student of history (and I would hope he has!), then he will likely have realized that downfall of the Jedi Order was due in part to their symbiosis with the Republic. The Jedi were essentially the secret police of the old Republic, and then became its de facto military commanders in the Clone Wars.

In my estimation, Luke would want to distance himself from any possible repetition of those events.

Actually, I'd disagree. I understand what you are saying, but you have to remember something. Luke just helped the future "New Republic" defeat the Empire. He helped them come to be. He would have an investment, if you will, in helping the New Republic succeeding. And that's not to mention his ties to the NR through his sister, Leia. By not "siding" with the NR could be viewed as a betrayal to his sister and everything that they fought for together.

Now, I get what you are saying, but at roughly 28 years old, do you think Luke will have the foresight already that you are giving him? I personally think not. At least, not yet. What I can personally see is that Luke is young (and naive) enough to think that he can have a positive effect on the New Republic and he can do so by forming a new Jedi order and aligning them with the group that he just helped form.

I am not saying that what you are talking about would never come to be, but instead it would be later on. Actually, as I've been writing this out, I have thought that it could make a good story in game, as the PCs uncover various Jedi and/or Sith (and others) artifacts that helps Luke and the Jedi grow. Perhaps with that study (could include the Journal of the Whills as a item to claim?) and how the New Republic is having to react to everything going on in the galaxy, then Luke could see that with a bit more clarity.

1 hour ago, Eric42 said:

Actually, I'd disagree. I understand what you are saying, but you have to remember something. Luke just helped the future "New Republic" defeat the Empire. He helped them come to be. He would have an investment, if you will, in helping the New Republic succeeding. And that's not to mention his ties to the NR through his sister, Leia. By not "siding" with the NR could be viewed as a betrayal to his sister and everything that they fought for together.

Now, I get what you are saying, but at roughly 28 years old, do you think Luke will have the foresight already that you are giving him? I personally think not. At least, not yet. What I can personally see is that Luke is young (and naive) enough to think that he can have a positive effect on the New Republic and he can do so by forming a new Jedi order and aligning them with the group that he just helped form.

I am not saying that what you are talking about would never come to be, but instead it would be later on. Actually, as I've been writing this out, I have thought that it could make a good story in game, as the PCs uncover various Jedi and/or Sith (and others) artifacts that helps Luke and the Jedi grow. Perhaps with that study (could include the Journal of the Whills as a item to claim?) and how the New Republic is having to react to everything going on in the galaxy, then Luke could see that with a bit more clarity.

If you read the current Marvel comics or Star Wars novels (Mainly the Aftermath series), it portrays Luke spending a lot of his time with the Rebellion still trying to explore the history of the Jedi, sometimes at the expense of the Rebellion's cause. In the Aftermath series, which takes place shortly after Return of the Jedi, Luke has pretty much disappeared from the growing New Republic, and spends most of his time roaming the galaxy trying to learn more of the Jedi Order's history.

So it makes perfect sense for Luke's new Jedi Order to be a bit removed from the goings on of the New Republic, to instead focus on making sure Force sensitives learn the ways of the Jedi, and how to resist the pull of the Dark Side. Having personally witnessed how terrifying the power of the Force can be in the wrong hands, it makes sense for Luke's primary goal to be sure such a threat doesn't rise again. Best way to go about that is to make sure Force sensitives are trained in the ways of the Light instead of discovering the Darkness on their own.

At least, that's my perspective on it. I totally get where you're coming from, but I kind of like the idea of Luke separating himself from the New Republic once it formed, so that he could better focus on the rebuilding of the Jedi Order. Maybe after the Jedi are properly restructured, it might join with the New Republic once more in some official capacity, but I see Luke's first goal to simply rebuild and pass on what he has learned, as Yoda instructed him to.

5 minutes ago, Underachiever599 said:

If you read the current Marvel comics or Star Wars novels (Mainly the Aftermath series), it portrays Luke spending a lot of his time with the Rebellion still trying to explore the history of the Jedi, sometimes at the expense of the Rebellion's cause. In the Aftermath series, which takes place shortly after Return of the Jedi, Luke has pretty much disappeared from the growing New Republic, and spends most of his time roaming the galaxy trying to learn more of the Jedi Order's history.

So it makes perfect sense for Luke's new Jedi Order to be a bit removed from the goings on of the New Republic, to instead focus on making sure Force sensitives learn the ways of the Jedi, and how to resist the pull of the Dark Side. Having personally witnessed how terrifying the power of the Force can be in the wrong hands, it makes sense for Luke's primary goal to be sure such a threat doesn't rise again. Best way to go about that is to make sure Force sensitives are trained in the ways of the Light instead of discovering the Darkness on their own.

At least, that's my perspective on it. I totally get where you're coming from, but I kind of like the idea of Luke separating himself from the New Republic once it formed, so that he could better focus on the rebuilding of the Jedi Order. Maybe after the Jedi are properly restructured, it might join with the New Republic once more in some official capacity, but I see Luke's first goal to simply rebuild and pass on what he has learned, as Yoda instructed him to.

You are on the same track as I am, I believe. I am not personally saying that the new Jedi would be agents of the New Republic, but instead, that until things change, they are aligned with the New Republic and are willing to help and assist. Take a look at the old EU (Legends). This is pretty much what happened. Sorry for any spoilers, but Luke separated himself and his Jedi academy to the moon of Yavin but continued to help his sister, Mon Mothma, etc. Many years later, Luke disagreed with the direction the New Republic (since renamed to Galactic Alliance) was taking and took the Jedi order from being allied with them.

Here's the timeline that I have in mind: Following the events of Return of the Jedi, Luke stuck with the New Republic military for a short time as a general. This would be a lot less time that others like Han Solo would have served. When that time is up (perhaps three to six months?), he resigns and goes on his search for as much information about the Jedi, about the Sith, about the various Force traditions that he learns about and so forth. He spends years doing this, roughly three or so. During this time, he seemingly disappears from the galaxy. He uses his status with the New Republic as a way to get on many planets during this time, following leads as he finds them. Then He finally "reemerges" to help found a new Jedi order. He does believe that he is the "last" Jedi (he found no "Jedi", but did find many force sensitives) and takes the duty to pass on the teachings of the Jedi that he has learned (from Obi-Wan, from Yoda, from his research).

Only then does he begin teaching.

I'd like this timeline. In my opinion bonding with the New Republic is totally sound. Saying everything about the "downfall of the republic" is a little strange... the Old Republic last for 1000 years, so by all measurement was a sucessful governement.

Sure most than the Empire, that endured a couple of decades before falling apart...