Star Wars PBP musings

[rhoenix]

Man, not a single pure light-sider?

Looks like I may have to step up.

Looks like, indeed. I don't think we have a mage-type Force-user yet, nor do we have anyone specialized in verbal communication, though it seems we have several skilled in non-verbal communication of varying sorts.

I've posted my bio, and kept it story-ish and general. Please let me know if you want anything added or changed.

[Josh]

Okay, I'll be looking that over after I get home from rehearsal.

Thanks to Lys for the suggestion, I'm going to be putting this somewhere in the interval of the New Sith Wars, which is a very broad and vague period. I'll nail that down more when I get home as well, but basically the situation is that it's an interval of cold war after a particularly brutal bout of fighting about a decade before. So take things along those lines for the moment and I'll get more specific upon my return.

[White Haven]

That's helpful, but what I really need to figure out how to arc my concept around into a game-usable trajectory is some idea of how the campaign is going to begin so as to write a history that culminates in something, well, party-worthy. ...Especially to get this bag of madness to work together.

EDIT: How far after the Schism is this going to be set?

[Lys]

Preferably pretty far, I like the idea of a military Jedi Order that directly rules the Republic. Makes all the accusations of hypocrisy being flung around by both sides so much more fun.

[Josh]

Yeah, I do believe we'll go a bit after 1400 BBY when the Jedi are in charge. I like the concept of everything being in shambles.

Which brings me a quick drop about our setting. The world this starts on that everyone will have to find a reason to be at is Vaganus, and it's part of the so-called Gray Band Worlds, an area that's actually in a disputed Sith/Republic zone. What makes the Gray Band particular is that in terms of stellar topography there are Sith/Republic systems all around them in a disordered jumble. The Gray Band Worlds are the useless worlds in terms of the war effort- no production facilities of usable scale or other strategic resources. Many of them are bombed out in degrees ranging from 'nearly totally glassed' to 'post-apocalyptic hellhole'. As the war is expected to flare up again at any time, nobody's bothering with reclamation at the moment, and so the Gray Band Worlds are each little independent islands simply trying to survive the end of life as the galaxy knows it.

Vaganus is fortunately spared that bombed-out fate. It's a sparse, rocky world with only one major starport and a few scattered population centers with some nasty hardscrabble fauna outside the shielded cities. The local day lasts approximately fifty of our days and the dead core/lack of ozone layer makes it pretty nasty in terms of UV and hard radiation exposure in the wild.

Basically it's a shithole that pretty much nobody would pick to live on if they had any other choice, though it used to be nicer back in the day. All your characters need to have ended up there for whatever character history-appropriate reason. Tev, I've got one for your character that I'll be PMing over later.

[Charon]

I may throw my hat in the ring for this. I will have to consider my options. Probably not gonna play a force user though.

[Josh]

Welcome aboard, Dave.

I'm still fishing around for a good simplistic ruleset. I may just homebrew something based on opposed challenges, very WoD-lite perhaps.

Tyson and Haven's characters are approved.

[Lys]

Well if you want a minimalistic toolkit system then FUDGE, the Free-form Universal Do-it-yourself Gaming Engine, is probably your best bet here.

[Hotfoot]

Name: Kio Joon
Race: Kel Dor
Affiliation: Jedi Knight, Baran Do Master
Specialization: Consular

Description:
Relatively tall for even the Kel Dor, Jedi Kio Joon stands at just under two meters in height. His skin a rusted orange, his antiox equipment stands out with the slight blue coloration it has. His eyes are silver, common amongst force users of his people, but are hidden by the gear he wears to survive in what is considered "Normal" atmosphere to many other races in the Galaxy. He wears the robes of a Jedi, plainly and without assumption. While many other Jedi may now wear armor, he continues to dress simply, despite the dangers in the galaxy. His voice is deep and mechanically adjusted by his breathing apparatus, often causing others to mistake him for a droid before they see him. Despite this, he does not rely on his race's telepathy overly much, as that brings with it another set of issues to overcome.

Background:
Kio Joon is a Jedi, having been trained from an early age to adulthood in the Jedi Order, with occasional trips back to his homeworld to study the arts of Baran Do as well. His connection with the Force is strong, and he is one of the most talented diviners of future events in both the Jedi and Baran Do order. While he is not yet a master, in part due to his growing displeasure with the increasing militancy of the Jedi Order, he believes it is his destiny to rediscover ancient secrets of the Force he believe could save the Jedi Order, and perhaps even the Sith.

Kio Joon and his master, Jocah Kaber, are members of a moderate movement within the Jedi Order, one which is losing support with each passing year due to constant conflicts with the Sith. Recently, his master was brought to the Council under suspicion of being a Sith sympathizer, and while it was revealed that his trial, like many before, were a Sith plot brought about by Jedi who later defected to the Sith, the damage had already been done. His master had been relegated to peacekeeping operations, and in his care, Kio Joon had been given even more time to focus on his meditations on the Force, including the currents of the present, the ripples of the past, and the form of the future. As with all visions of the yet to come, they alter and shift with the eddies of the Force, and the emotions of those nearby can affect them. One thing, however, was clear. He must travel the galaxy, following the Force to his Destiny. To do otherwise was to risk the destruction of the Jedi Order and the ascendency of the Sith.

So he travels in search of lost teachings of not just the Jedi, but of all Force traditions, looking for a solution to the divide between the Jedi and the Sith, hoping to avoid further bloodshed and darkness.

Notable Possessions:
One Lightsaber, Blue
Jedi Robes
You Don't Need to See His Identification
C2-R2 Protocol Droid
Good Standing with the Jedi Council

[Cynical Cat]

Welcome aboard, Dave.

I'm still fishing around for a good simplistic ruleset. I may just homebrew something based on opposed challenges, very WoD-lite perhaps.

Tyson and Haven's characters are approved.

No need for formal mechanics. Just eyeball the probably difficulty and dice and random number generators will work from there. All our long running games have been fine with that.

[Josh]

Cool with me then.

Hotfoot approved.

[Cynical Cat]

Since the issue of styles came up, the Jedi Order is going to strongly discourage anyone who has fallen to the Darkside from ever using Juyo because they consider Juyo a dark side risk. Tyson, you might want to reconsider your past and change it to something like "enslaved by raiders" or some other nasty shit instead of something blatantly darksidey if you want to make use of aggressive lightsaber techniques and not having other Jedi sitting in judgement.

[rhoenix]

Since the issue of styles came up, the Jedi Order is going to strongly discourage anyone who has fallen to the Darkside from ever using Juyo because they consider Juyo a dark side risk. Tyson, you might want to reconsider your past and change it to something like "enslaved by raiders" or some other nasty shit instead of something blatantly darksidey if you want to make use of aggressive lightsaber techniques and not having other Jedi sitting in judgement.

I'm okay with having Juyo being part of Corvin's past, but something he no longer uses because it reminds him of the past. I'll edit accordingly.

I liked the Vaapad aspect of Form VII, but as Vapaad doesn't exist yet (being pioneered by Mace Windu, among others), he can just view Juyo as an artifact of his past, and leave it at that.

[Cynical Cat]

Mastery of Form VII and using Form VII are two different things. Dooku was a master of all the forms, but he preferred Makashi (Form II) and used it even in situations where it was sub optimal. He was good enough at it to win even then, until the end. Skill at Form VII will make you better at countering it, even if you never use it again, and that is useful.

[rhoenix]

Mastery of Form VII and using Form VII are two different things. Dooku was a master of all the forms, but he preferred Makashi (Form II) and used it even in situations where it was sub optimal. He was good enough at it to win even then, until the end. Skill at Form VII will make you better at countering it, even if you never use it again, and that is useful.

Precisely - not using it anymore certainly doesn't preclude knowing its weaknesses. Corvin wasn't a master of Juyo when he was a Sith, though if fate hadn't intervened in the way it had, he may have eventually become one.

His current styles are also meant to reflect his turn to the Light - against lightsaber-armed foes, he'd use Niman as his core stance (since he typically uses only one lightsaber in a duel, leaving the other hand free for hand-to-hand), and switching between Soresu for defense, and Makashi for rapid, striking offense. This was also transition away from heavy strikes and toward rapid repositioning, awareness and precision.

[Cynical Cat]

Makashi is really powerful on the defence for a one on one lightsaber fight. Nimian is an under rated style, but its advantages aren't that good for your character. You might want to rethink it as your core style and instead have it as one you slip into when the situation favors it.

[rhoenix]

Makashi is really powerful on the defence for a one on one lightsaber fight. Nimian is an under rated style, but its advantages aren't that good for your character. You might want to rethink it as your core style and instead have it as one you slip into when the situation favors it.

That's fair; I'll have to re-read the articles on Wookiepedia regarding the styles again when I get home (since unfortunately the website is blocked at work).

I chose Niman because of it's emphasis on unarmed strikes and throws, which Corvin would certainly make use of. I understood it's advantages as not being great at defense or offense the way others are, but the stance would allow one to easily mix in unarmed combat. If this was a misunderstanding, then I'll definitely be rethinking it.

As for Soresu and Makashi, those two almost seemed to be the same style with either a heavy bias on offense or defense, given my reading of it. I'll give them all another read-through when I get home, though.

[Lys]

Huh, CyniCat's backstory is substantially similar to mine. I guess Geta and Mylus will be able to comisserate and maybe even get along.

[Josh]

Okay, tomorrow night I'll actually be getting home at a decent hour (perhaps while the sun is still shining, clients permitting) and I'll start making character notes and prepping for intro scenes.

[Cynical Cat]

Huh, CyniCat's backstory is substantially similar to mine. I guess Geta and Mylus will be able to comisserate and maybe even get along.

No, you willingly chose to work as a mercenary for the Sith. Then you got fucked over.

[rhoenix]

So: Fun With Lightsaber Forms.

(hidden behind a spoiler since this is TL;DR for people who don't care)

Spoiler: show

Form I: Shii-Cho
. first true, recognized form of lightsaber combat (derived from techniques used with more traditional swords)
. lightsaber-on-lightsaber crime directly led to the creation of Form 2: Makashi, since Form I isn't great at it
. used primarily as a primer for students to learn the basics of lightsabers, though it does have it's specialists (such as Kit Fisto)

Form II: Makashi
"He is a fencer. Leverage, position, advantage—they are as natural to him as breathing."
- Qui-Gon Jinn

. favors precision swordplay
. elegant & efficient, excellent in one on one lightsaber fights
. sucks at blast-deflection
. because of focus on precision & elegance, can be overpowered by practitioners of other forms with brute force techniques

Form III: Soresu
"A… defensive technique. But effective. Use it if you do not wish to be hit, or if you are facing many opponents with blasters. With a lightsaber blade and enough skill in deflection, it is an excellent offense against blasters, but in other situations, it merely delays the inevitable."
- Kreia

. strongly favors defense over offense
. good at ranged defense as well
. no real offensive techniques to speak of

Form IV: Ataru
"The Ataru form of combat is aggressive, but focused. You must never rely solely on skill with a weapon, but rather embrace the idea that your whole body is the weapon. Use the Force to spin, jump, to overpower your foe."
- Luke Skywalker

. most acrobatic of all the forms
. not good for prolonged combat, since it emphasizes running and jumping very often
. not as good as other forms at multiple opponents, or ranged attacks

Form V: Shien & Djem So
"You will find it easier to deflect blaster fire with this form—and it shall also guard you against critical strikes by your opponents."
- Zez-Kai Ell

"Form V's Djem So variation is devoted specifically to lightsaber dueling."
- Cin Drallig

(Shien)
. excellent in defense against ranged or melee attacks alike
. not as great at one on one fights
. noted as one of the best forms at defense against ranged attacks

(Djem So)
. an outgrowth of Soresu, intended to help with Soresu's lack of appreciable offensive movements
. emphasizes heavy, powerful strikes (e.g. can overpower a practitioner of Makashi)
. not great at mobility

Form VI: Niman
"For superior balance, use the Niman form. This form has no specific strengths, but no weaknesses either."
- Kavar

. developed to not have any specific strengths
. developed to not have any specific weaknesses, either
. intended to combine well with Force abilities
. very relaxed and defense-oriented movements

Form VII: Juyo (and later, Vapaad)
(all notes below applicable only to Juyo, as Vaapad wasn't invented yet as of the time of the game setting)
"Predictably, he seeks to unbalance you with his erratic attacks. His technique is called Juyo, the most chaotic of the lightsaber forms. This form sacrifices much to bolster offense, leaving one exposed to attack by the Force."
- Kreia

. known as the most demanding, difficult, and vicious of the lightsaber forms
. suited for one on one lightsaber fights, really not good at defense
. heavy emphasis on fighting with controlled passions (in other words, Jedi are required to frown at the thought)
. described as Djem So with more footwork

ADDITIONAL (un-numbered) FORMS:

Spoiler: show

Sokan
- more a principle of lightsaber combat, rather than a true form
- utilizes the terrain to box in, trap, and restrict one's opponent
- best used in terrain familiar to the user, for obvious reasons

Jar'Kai
- a technique pushing two-lightsaber fighting to be its own art, rather than an offshoot of other forms
- related to Form VI: Niman, as both have the same roots (predating lightsabers)
- using two blades with any form is called a "Jar'Kai tactic"

Trakata
- technique utilizing rapidly turning the lightsaber on and off during a battle, to misdirect opponents
- not typically used by Sith, due to favoring practicality over passion
- not typically used by Jedi, since they're usually unwilling to rely on deception

Trispest
- combined elements of Form VII and S'kytri aerial dueling
- requires flight, but can be truly three dimensional in one's movements
- vulnerable to attacks directly above or below them

[rhoenix]

Ok. After re-reading the lists, I'm going to edit a bit about Corvin And His Lightsaber.

[LadyTevar]

I'll ahve to get back to you on the bio. I just got blindsided IRL, and I'm not in the right mindset.

[Josh]

That's fine, Tev. You can drop in when you're up to it and I'll work you in.

[LadyTevar]

Posted