On 11/14/2018 at 7:38 AM, Eoen said:Wouldn’t a knight have gone through the Padawan tree?
My guess is no, and here's my guess why:
The Careers and specs don't represent actul in-universe job requirements and positions, they represent the archetypes, stereotypes, and overall narrative concept of certain kinds of characters.
So the Padawan tree would not represent the prerequisites of becoming a Jedi Knight, it represents the kind of character, the kind of role within the story and action a Padawan would be.
Think of a Fantasy rpg. If you had a Knight and a Squire, sure they could both be represented by the same class at different levels sure...but it would suck, both for duplication of ability and for the level disparity. Nobody wants to be a level 1 sidekick in a level 10 party.
Likewise demanding 5 levels of squire before you can take a level of Knight sucks. Why does the theif, Archer, and barbarian get to start at level 1 but I've got to play sidekick for 5 levels?
So instead of making squire this lame prerequisite, instead you make it it's own thing. A direct combat support class that can pull weight on it's own, but really shines when synergizing with an direct-combat class like Knight, or warrior, or what have you. This allows you to have a Knight and a Squire, both be desirable, but also not doing anything like locking out a class, or having silly prerequisites, or having Squire only work with Knight.
With Padawan you can do something similar. Instead of a goofy prerequisite, you make it more about representing the role a Padawan typically plays in the story. Something that can stand on it's own, but synergies with other characters well allowing the Padawan to team up with a Master or Knight or commando team or whatever to become something greater.