Which species, generally speaking, cannot or do not become Jedi?

By Harlock999, in Star Wars: Edge of the Empire RPG

Legends had a species called Shards that were intelligent crystals. Those out and about in the galaxy often took droid bodies for mobility and interaction with outsiders. Shards can be Force-sensitive, meaning you can at least approximate a Jedi droid. Pretty cheesy, but so are a lot of things in Star Wars.

In an Edge game that didn't really go anywhere my wife had an assassin droid character that had kyber crystals built into her neural pathways. We created a pretty cool connected backstory for her and my secret force emergent scoundrel. Secret that he was a force sensitive, not that he was a scoundrel. She never planned on making the droid force sensitive so it was mostly just fluff for the GM to have fun with, but I could see ways I'd allow pretty much any player to do what they wanted as long as they had a cool backstory to go with it. I know, not exactly what the OP was asking, but I like to share, lol.

8 hours ago, HappyDaze said:

Nikto existed beyond Hutt control. One of them was a Jedi Master fighting on Ryloth in TCW.

LoNH makes it pretty clear the homeworld is largely under Hutt control, and not Republic/Imperial, and the Hutts would be unlikely to back Jedi recruitment efforts (well not without some kind of significant quid-pro-quo). Their violent tendencies, distrust of outsiders, and the Morkugai cult also point heavily to cultural aversion to Jedi concepts and recruitment.

If the question is "What species can't be jedi?" then the answer is essentially "none." Any sapient species that is force sensitive (which in current canon appears to be just about all of them) can absolutely train as a Jedi, and become one. TLJ pretty much makes this idea one of it's core messages.

If the question is "What species are unlikely to be Jedi" then you'll have some who, while physically capable of becoming Jedi, typically won't due to astrographical, political, and cultural reasons. But "typically won't" isn't he same as "can't." In a galaxy of billions of habitable planets there's always going to be a member of a species/culture here and there that beat the odds and become a Jedi anyway.

I mean, there's a lot of species that are probably low on the Jedi list for those reasons. A member of a slave species probably won't become Jedi, but add a colony composed of escaped slaves of that species and now there's a more viable source of that species for recruitment.

The Talz probably have limited membership in the Jedi order due to their being largely "undiscovered" and primitive prior to the Clone Wars. But, Talz still managed to get offworld, and by sheer probability one or two probably ended up as Jedi here and there.

Heck, until TPM Yoda was thought to be one of the only members of his species to become a Jedi.

Even then tracking will be hard. In a galaxy as big as Star Wars, and based at a planet like Coruscant, a Jedi of atypical species/cultural origins might go without any fanfare, as I'm sure people see species they have never seen before every day. What's one more?

1 hour ago, Ghostofman said:

LoNH makes it pretty clear the homeworld is largely under Hutt control, and not Republic/Imperial, and the Hutts would be unlikely to back Jedi recruitment efforts (well not without some kind of significant quid-pro-quo). Their violent tendencies, distrust of outsiders, and the Morkugai cult also point heavily to cultural aversion to Jedi concepts and recruitment.

If the question is "What species can't be jedi?" then the answer is essentially "none." Any sapient species that is force sensitive (which in current canon appears to be just about all of them) can absolutely train as a Jedi, and become one. TLJ pretty much makes this idea one of it's core messages.

If the question is "What species are unlikely to be Jedi" then you'll have some who, while physically capable of becoming Jedi, typically won't due to astrographical, political, and cultural reasons. But "typically won't" isn't he same as "can't." In a galaxy of billions of habitable planets there's always going to be a member of a species/culture here and there that beat the odds and become a Jedi anyway.

I mean, there's a lot of species that are probably low on the Jedi list for those reasons. A member of a slave species probably won't become Jedi, but add a colony composed of escaped slaves of that species and now there's a more viable source of that species for recruitment.

The Talz probably have limited membership in the Jedi order due to their being largely "undiscovered" and primitive prior to the Clone Wars. But, Talz still managed to get offworld, and by sheer probability one or two probably ended up as Jedi here and there.

Heck, until TPM Yoda was thought to be one of the only members of his species to become a Jedi.

Even then tracking will be hard. In a galaxy as big as Star Wars, and based at a planet like Coruscant, a Jedi of atypical species/cultural origins might go without any fanfare, as I'm sure people see species they have never seen before every day. What's one more?

There are some species which are completely incapable of becoming Jedi or using the Force at all, for one reason or another.

11 minutes ago, Tramp Graphics said:

There are some species which are completely incapable of becoming Jedi or using the Force at all, for one reason or another.

While probably true, I'm hesitant to commit to such an absolute statement. This week you'll s say that species X "absolutely cannot" be a Jedi for whatever reason, next week a novel or comic comes out following the one unique case where that species totally did become a Jedi.

At the moment the only real restriction seems to be: Are you, as a species, intelligent enough to undergo the training, and can you use the force? If the answer is yes to both, then you can, at least from a technical aspect, become a Jedi.

Most likely the reasons for not being able to be a Jedi would be less absolute. An Ewok could be come a Jedi (intelligent enough, could use the force assuming one is force sensitive), but since the Jedi were pasted some 20 years before the galaxy at large even knew they existed it's pretty unlikely one ever would have gotten recruited in the first place, and since Luke's attempt to restore the order failed it's unlikely an Ewok ever became one.

But... there's still room for that one Ewok that stowed away on a smuggler's ship that stopped over on Endor for whatever reason, to have also been Force Sensitive, and crossed paths with a Jedi, who recruited the Ewok, who then became a Jedi...

At the end of the day, factors that affect probability are probably a greater indicator of Jediness than anything else. A force sensitive human on a far flung planet, politically opposed to the Republic, with a bad history with the Jedi, and with a culture that isn't very compatible with the Jedi ideals is just as unlikely to become a Jedi as that Ewok.

Just now, Ghostofman said:

While probably true, I'm hesitant to commit to such an absolute statement. This week you'll s say that species X "absolutely cannot" be a Jedi for whatever reason, next week a novel or comic comes out following the one unique case where that species totally did become a Jedi.

At the moment the only real restriction seems to be: Are you, as a species, intelligent enough to undergo the training, and can you use the force? If the answer is yes to both, then you can, at least from a technical aspect, become a Jedi.

Most likely the reasons for not being able to be a Jedi would be less absolute. An Ewok could be come a Jedi (intelligent enough, could use the force assuming one is force sensitive), but since the Jedi were pasted some 20 years before the galaxy at large even knew they existed it's pretty unlikely one ever would have gotten recruited in the first place, and since Luke's attempt to restore the order failed it's unlikely an Ewok ever became one.

But... there's still room for that one Ewok that stowed away on a smuggler's ship that stopped over on Endor for whatever reason, to have also been Force Sensitive, and crossed paths with a Jedi, who recruited the Ewok, who then became a Jedi...

At the end of the day, factors that affect probability are probably a greater indicator of Jediness than anything else. A force sensitive human on a far flung planet, politically opposed to the Republic, with a bad history with the Jedi, and with a culture that isn't very compatible with the Jedi ideals is just as unlikely to become a Jedi as that Ewok.

There are certain species, such as the Ssi-Ruuk, who are physically incapable of Force sensitivity, and are completely blind to the Force. Others, like the Yvetha and Ubese have ingrained cultural factors, such as extreme xenophobia , that utterly prohibit them becoming Jedi. These species have no Force users among their numbers at all.

51 minutes ago, Tramp Graphics said:

There are certain species, such as the Ssi-Ruuk,  who are physically incapable of Force sensitivity,

Non-canon last I checked, so by that there are plenty of other Non-canon examples, sure.

51 minutes ago, Tramp Graphics said:

Ubese have ingrained cultural factors, such as extreme xenophobia , that utterly prohibit them becoming Jedi. These species have no Force users among their numbers at all.

Ubese lore is also largely non-canon these days, but assuming they stay the same (which little reason not to)...

No confirmed force users, which if culturally prohibited, then yeah, you're agreeing with me. If your culture doesn't like the people that use the force (or anyone else for that matter) then even if you are force sensitive there's no way for you to cultivate it and you'll likely never even know that you are.

In this case you end up with an unreliable narrator situation. They might not have any force sensitives, or they might just not have any known, recorded force sensitives. But you're back to the Ewok Jedi; there's a chance of Ubese Jedi showing up the moment a novelist, or comic book writer, or Filoni, or Happy Vizla decides there needs to be one.

So we're back to what I was saying. Anyone can cook, but not everyone has access to a kitchen.

2 minutes ago, Ghostofman said:

Non-canon last I checked, so by that there are plenty of other Non-canon examples, sure.

Ubese lore is also largely non-canon these days, but assuming they stay the same (which little reason not to)...

No confirmed force users, which if culturally prohibited, then yeah, you're agreeing with me. If your culture doesn't like the people that use the force (or anyone else for that matter) then even if you are force sensitive there's no way for you to cultivate it and you'll likely never even know that you are.

In this case you end up with an unreliable narrator situation. They might not have any force sensitives, or they might just not have any known, recorded force sensitives. But you're back to the Ewok Jedi; there's a chance of Ubese Jedi showing up the moment a novelist, or comic book writer, or Filoni, or Happy Vizla decides there needs to be one.

So we're back to what I was saying. Anyone can cook, but not everyone has access to a kitchen.

My point is that the lore has a number of specific species which have been firmly established as being physically incapable of using the Force and others which can never become Jedi. In fact, under every previous game system, player characters of such species were forbidden by RAW from taking the Force Sensitive feat (D20 OCRB/RCRB), or otherwise being Force Sensitive (WEG). Ewoks have been established within the lore as being fully capable of using the Force, and have had at least one Jedi. The lore also has introduced at least one Gamorrean Force user; the Dark Sider Gorc from Dark Forces II . So, Gamorreans can certainly be Force users.

Tramp, chill.

Most of these "can't be Force users" "can definitely be Force users" examples are Legends, anyway, so they have little to no bearing on the current lore. The real answer to this question is that we don't now. It's a GM call if you allow a Gamorrean Jedi or a Force-using Shard droid, or an Aqualish Sith.

16 hours ago, SavageBob said:

Legends had a species called Shards that were intelligent crystals. Those out and about in the galaxy often took droid bodies for mobility and interaction with outsiders. Shards can be Force-sensitive, meaning you can at least approximate a Jedi droid. Pretty cheesy, but so are a lot of things in Star Wars.

That reminds me of the JK-13 security droids, or Bio-Droids, that had Force Sensitive slugs implanted into them to give them some Force abilities, the only reason they didn't get rolled out en masse being that the droid would go insane if it actually killed anybody. I wish the concept had been expanded on afterward, because it would have opened up quite a few possibilities for droids.

9 hours ago, SavageBob said:

Most of these "can't be Force users" "can definitely be Force users" examples are Legends, anyway, so they have little to no bearing on the current lore. The real answer to this question is that we don't now. It's a GM call if you allow a Gamorrean Jedi or a Force-using Shard droid, or an Aqualish Sith.

Sure, and as soon as Disney needs to pump up toy sales, a magical Shi-Ruuk jedi appears. /Bitterness off/

At least the EU were more or less consistent (for me). Not entirely, but I think we, fans should start to disregard content which is not compatible with the rest of our* Star Wars, don't just accept it, because "it's Star Wars" too. If it don't fit your world, don't use it. If you want an Ubese jedi, go for it.

* Though Star Wars is, a collection of books, comics, movies, series, but in reality it's different for everyone, who experiences it. So I don't think it's debatable whether you can do it or not. Someone does, others won't.

There's been a lot of discussion here...

I guess, in a Clone Wars setting, it seems I should probably not allow Jedi that come from a species that is aligned with the Separatist movement (or is actively against the Republic's core values). This would include Quarren, Trandoshans, Hutts, etc. That is, unless a player wishes to become the next Worf or Drizzt ... although I'm never really sure about those types of characters.

From what I can gather, species such as Tuskens, Jawa, Chiss, that "V" species (apparently, we saw them as pod racers?), and Ewok cannot become Jedi.

However, I noticed one of you had mentioned the Aqualish. But I'm rather certain we saw an Aqualish Jedi in one of Haden Blackman's Clone Wars-era comics sandwiched between the stellar John Ostrander issues. Speaking of Ostrander, he introduced a female Devaronian Jedi. But what about male Devaronian Jedi? Was that ever a thing? (I'd also forgotten we see a Weequay Jedi in another comicbook, and that particular Jedi was turned into an action figure and sold exclusively at Target.)

Anyway, please feel free to keep the discussion going; I'm always ready to hear from all of you regarding your thoughts on the subject.

Thanks, all.

3 minutes ago, Harlock999 said:

There's been a lot of discussion here...

I guess, in a Clone Wars setting, it seems I should probably not allow Jedi that come from a species that is aligned with the Separatist movement (or is actively against the Republic's core values). This would include Quarren, Trandoshans, Hutts, etc. That is, unless a player wishes to become the next Worf or Drizzt ... although I'm never really sure about those types of characters.

From what I can gather, species such as Tuskens, Jawa, Chiss, that "V" species (apparently, we saw them as pod racers?), and Ewok cannot become Jedi.

However, I noticed one of you had mentioned the Aqualish. But I'm rather certain we saw an Aqualish Jedi in one of Haden Blackman's Clone Wars-era comics sandwiched between the stellar John Ostrander issues. Speaking of Ostrander, he introduced a female Devaronian Jedi. But what about male Devaronian Jedi? Was that ever a thing? (I'd also forgotten we see a Weequay Jedi in another comicbook, and that particular Jedi was turned into an action figure and sold exclusively at Target.)

Anyway, please feel free to keep the discussion going; I'm always ready to hear from all of you regarding your thoughts on the subject.

Thanks, all.

It's already been shown that there has been at least one Ewok Jedi in the lore. There have also been Devronian Jedi as well.

1 hour ago, Tramp Graphics said:

It's already been shown that there has been at least one Ewok Jedi in the lore. There have also been Devronian Jedi as well.

That Ewok Jedi is just one artist's (silly) imagination on display in a supplement to a WotC Star Wars RPG. I'd hardly call that "lore." If it were in a comic, novel, or video game, the Ewok Jedi would have more credibility.

And, yes, we've definitely seen *female* Devaronian Jedi. However, I cannot recall ever having seen a *male* Devaronian Jedi in either canonical or Legends works. But, hey, that doesn't mean I didn't miss something... ;)

9 minutes ago, Harlock999 said:

That Ewok Jedi is just one artist's (silly) imagination on display in a supplement to a WotC Star Wars RPG. I'd hardly call that "lore." If it were in a comic, novel, or video game, the Ewok Jedi would have more credibility.

And, yes, we've definitely seen *female* Devaronian Jedi. However, I cannot recall ever having seen a *male* Devaronian Jedi in either canonical or Legends works. But, hey, that doesn't mean I didn't miss something... ;)

Those game supplements were just as much a part of SW lore as any novel or comic book. In fact much of the lore we have, that went into those novels and comic books came from the original WEG D6 RPG. And, as I already pointed out, we even had a Force using Ewok Shaman template in D6 as well. Ewoks are a very spiritual people. As such it makes perfect sense that they would be in tune with the Force and would have Force users amongst them. So there is no reason why an Ewok couldn’t become a Jedi. They may be primitive, but they’re not stupid or intellectually impaired.

As I said before, the only species which absolutely cannot become Jedi are those few species which are utterly blind to the Force, or who have a specific cultural enmity to the Jedi or other ingrained extreme xenophobia in regards to other species or cultures.

Edited by Tramp Graphics
4 minutes ago, Tramp Graphics said:

Those game supplements were just as much a part of SW lore as any novel or comic book. In fact much of the lore we have, that went into those novels and comic books came from the original WEG D6 RPG.

I bought those WEG D6 books when they were released back in 87. But there's a big difference between *detailed* write-ups in a period when Star Wars was believed to be "dead" and one random painting of an Ewok Jedi flinging him/herself into battle in a supplement that came out in the midst of the prequel trilogy more than a decade later.

I do agree that Ewoks are not stupid. And they are definitely spiritual. Just ask Threepio.

@ErikModi Come on, a buff Hutt with a lightsaber pike would be so cool.

What if I wanted to play rocket Raccoon err I mean a Drall Jedi, those 1 brawn and 1 agility stats just sing Jedi Warrior.

Edited by Eoen
52 minutes ago, Harlock999 said:

I bought those WEG D6 books when they were released back in 87. But there's a big difference between *detailed* write-ups in a period when Star Wars was believed to be "dead" and one random painting of an Ewok Jedi flinging him/herself into battle in a supplement that came out in the midst of the prequel trilogy more than a decade later.

I do agree that Ewoks are not stupid. And they are definitely spiritual. Just ask Threepio.

Actually, no, there isn’t. There is no difference at all. Everything created under the licensing back then was part of the canon of the time. This includes all artwork , not just stories. As such, it is all part of the lore, whether or not it’s part of the current canon.

As I'm also sure you're aware, there were varying levels of canon (e.g., G-canon, C-canon, S-canon, etc.) in those days.

So, again, an arbitrary painting in the midst of a random RPG supplement lacks any sort of credibility. As opposed to something seen in a video game, comic book, or novel ... or, better yet, a film or TV show.

But, hey, you're certainly entitled to your own opinions, and I always appreciate reading others' points of view.

11 minutes ago, Harlock999 said:

As I'm also sure you're aware, there were varying levels of canon (e.g., G-canon, C-canon, S-canon, etc.) in those days.

So, again, an arbitrary painting in the midst of a random RPG supplement lacks any sort of credibility. As opposed to something seen in a video game, comic book, or novel ... or, better yet, a film or TV show.

But, hey, you're certainly entitled to your own opinions, and I always appreciate reading others' points of view.

Yes, it did. However, the novels, comics, games, etc. and their content, were all the same level; “C-Level”. The next level up (G-Level) was the movies, and the next level below (S-Level) was older material which didn’t quite fit. So, yes, that artwork counts just as much as any other material of the time.

Generally speaking, if a species isn't part of the new republic proper (Zygerians, Hutt citdel and their slave species) then I imagine those members would have absolutely have zero representation among the Jedi most of the time. There might be the occasional exception that would be as regular in the history of the Jedi as Yoda's species was. Basically, because their species were generally conditioned to appose republican values they wouldn't generally volunteer their children (basically, giving away their own blood for nothing) for the Jedi order under normal circumstances, given the Republic (and by extension, the Jedi) do not have any authority within that space. Likewise, I never would consider a Hutt a Jedi candidate at all given that a Hutt would never dare lower their offspring to serve lower beings, and they are one of the few species that I can safely say would have zero representation within the Jedi order. So there are some circumstances where I can see a particular species being unusual because of their disposition.

Likewise, some species generally don't interact with the republic out of choice or of circumstance. For example the only Gungan Jedi that would have served the Republic would have been immediately after the stockade on Naboo; likewise Ewok Jedi don't exist for most part because the galaxy was unaware of them until Endor. Might have been one or two trainees at Luke's place, or they might be like Yoda's species in the past of popping up occasionally despite being unidentifiable as a species.

Of course outliers exist in all examples, Yoda seems to either be poorly represented or a true anomaly from a species that generally remains isolated from the galaxy but I imagine most species are approached by the order at some point; if nothing more to ensure that those force sensitives don't become a danger to others. That and your table; your rules. Unusual tales can be interesting. ^^

37 minutes ago, Tramp Graphics said:

Yes, it did. However, the novels, comics, games, etc. and their content, were all the same level; “C-Level”.

From Wookieepedia: "Games were a special case, as generally only the stories were C-canon, while things like stats and gameplay may not have been; they also offered non-canonical options to the player, such as choosing female gender for a canonically male character."

I'd call choosing to play as an Ewok Jedi one of those "non-canonical options to the player." And an arbitrary and silly painting in the midst of a supplement is not a "story."

Once more, I can appreciate your enthusiasm in this regard. But I'm afraid you're simply not going to win me over with what you may deem statements of fact. So maybe we ought to just agree to disagree. Cool? ?

On 10/25/2018 at 8:29 PM, Edgookin said:

Don't forget the Toydarians. They are specifically immune to force manipulation, which should preclude force sensitivity.

I don’t think Force Resistance precludes being cutoff from the Force.

Resistance to the force could itself be based in the force. A species could have an innate ability to manipulate the for e such that other individuals cannot alter their mind or body with the force. Like a wizard casting a spell that prevents enemy spells from affecting him

52 minutes ago, Harlock999 said:

From Wookieepedia: "Games were a special case, as generally only the stories were C-canon, while things like stats and gameplay may not have been; they also offered non-canonical options to the player, such as choosing female gender for a canonically male character."

I'd call choosing to play as an Ewok Jedi one of those "non-canonical options to the player." And an arbitrary and silly painting in the midst of a supplement is not a "story."

Once more, I can appreciate your enthusiasm in this regard. But I'm afraid you're simply not going to win me over with what you may deem statements of fact. So maybe we ought to just agree to disagree. Cool? ?

Except that it’s not a “non-canonical oddity”, as you So colorfully put it. Not only is it fact that we have at least one Ewok Jedi, but only those species specifically excluded from being capable of being Force users were barred from taking Jedi classes or templates. And while specific game stats weren’t necessarily canon, that exclusion does not extend to artwork. The artwork is as canon as any story. That artwork depicts in universe events and characters, not game stats. That is where your argument falls apart.

53 minutes ago, LordBritish said:

Generally speaking, if a species isn't part of the new republic proper (Zygerians, Hutt citdel and their slave species) then I imagine those members would have absolutely have zero representation among the Jedi most of the time. There might be the occasional exception that would be as regular in the history of the Jedi as Yoda's species was. Basically, because their species were generally conditioned to appose republican values they wouldn't generally volunteer their children (basically, giving away their own blood for nothing) for the Jedi order under normal circumstances, given the Republic (and by extension, the Jedi) do not have any authority within that space. Likewise, I never would consider a Hutt a Jedi candidate at all given that a Hutt would never dare lower their offspring to serve lower beings, and they are one of the few species that I can safely say would have zero representation within the Jedi order. So there are some circumstances where I can see a particular species being unusual because of their disposition.

Likewise, some species generally don't interact with the republic out of choice or of circumstance. For example the only Gungan Jedi that would have served the Republic would have been immediately after the stockade on Naboo; likewise Ewok Jedi don't exist for most part because the galaxy was unaware of them until Endor. Might have been one or two trainees at Luke's place, or they might be like Yoda's species in the past of popping up occasionally despite being unidentifiable as a species.

Of course outliers exist in all examples, Yoda seems to either be poorly represented or a true anomaly from a species that generally remains isolated from the galaxy but I imagine most species are approached by the order at some point; if nothing more to ensure that those force sensitives don't become a danger to others. That and your table; your rules. Unusual tales can be interesting. ^^

Yoda’s species was represented more than you might realize. We have at least examples of Jedi from Yoda’s species, most of them Jedi Masters.

MEMBERS

And we we have at least one Hutt Jedi on record (though he did eventually end up turning to the Dark Side).

The same goes for these other species. The only species which absolutely cannot become Jedi are those few who, for physiological reasons are literally blind to the Force, have a cultural hatred for the Jedi, or other species as a whole. Thus, there are very few species which absolutely cannot be Force users or Jedi. Ewoks and Hutts certainly can and have become Jedi and do have Force users among their populations, Jedi or otherwise. Ssi-Ruuk and Yuuzhan Vong can’t be Force users because they are blind to the Force; Ubese hate the Jedi, because of the deviation that happened to their home worlds and people in the distant past, and the lack of help from the Jedi and Republic; Yvetha are too xenophobic and arrogant, and considered all other species in the galaxy to be nothing more than vermin undeserving of existence.

Edited by Tramp Graphics