The word Jedi gets tossed around a lot these days. While any science fiction material is open to interpretation, I think some people are mistaking the word Jedi for “Badass Force user”. The original concept of Jedi established in the original trilogy has certainly been expanded on in the EU and new trilogy. Have those expansions been for better or worse ? That’s up for debate, but I think the majority of us can agree on what Jedi are “supposed” to be.
Many people are expecting that Force and Destiny’s release by FFG will finally give them the Jedi they’ve been waiting for. Lightsaber styles, Force Pushes, Choking and Lightning for all. Here’s where I’m going to disagree though. I do believe such things will be found in F&D but not under the banner of Jedi.
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Collective gasp, yes that right, something tells me that Jedi will not be a career or specialization like smuggler or politico. Now you might completely disagree with that, but consider the following first. A Jedi is not a collection of force abilities and force powers. Just as Sith are not a collection of force abilities and force powers. It’s an ideology, a belief, a code of standards and ideals one must adhere to.
I think it far more likely that F&D will indeed have force related specializations and careers, but they will have far more generic names like Force Disciple, Force Defender, Force Empathiser. Yeah, I know, terrible names, I’m sure they’ll have better names than that. The point is that those options will merely determine what you CAN do, not who you ARE. The ideals you hold and the choices you make determine what the galaxy will call you.
Consider for a moment that the Jedi order minus the Force would still be galactic defenders of peace. Sure, they would have a hell of a time performing that role without the crutch of the Force to lean on. None the less they could still uphold the ideals of the Jedi Order, Force or no Force. Conversely take away the beliefs and code of the Jedi order and your left with a group of egomaniacs forcing their will on the galaxy because they can.
So here’s the big prediction. Jedi will be a choice of Destiny, whatever form the destiny mechanic takes. Crazy? Perhaps, but does it not make an elegant sort of sense? If you want to call yourself a Jedi then you need to act in accordance with that set of values. The more you act like a Jedi the closer you’ll get to your destiny of becoming a Jedi.
Here’s the really cool thing. You know all those players who want to play Jedi because it enables them to wreck face with lightsabers and force lightning? They can still do that, but they won’t have the right to call themselves Jedi. They’re just badass force users out for their own glory. Nothing wrong with that, but it means those who actually want to become Jedi will have a true sense of achievement when they do. They won’t have just paid 100XP to buy the Jedi specialization. They follow the Jedi code, choosing the harder path to become more than just a guy who waves his hands to get his own way.
I think I will enjoy F&D, because if the above is true, everybody will win.
