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Leon The Lion
Commander
Joined: 29 Oct 2009
Posts: 309
Location: Somewhere in Poland
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 Posted: Fri Jan 03, 2014 6:45 pm Post subject: |
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| Tinman wrote: | | >Snip< some very well thought out and interesting ideas. |
Now, see, this - this I could get behind.
For myself and my game, I will still go with a different, deeply non-canon, more flexible view of the Force.
But if I was forced (heh) to accept the canon "mechanics" of the Force, I'd definitely want your explenation to be the underlying reason for the Force working as it does. It's a miles better and more interesting way of reasoning it out than anything I've seen offered to date. The usual explanations, in my ears at least, always seem to end up reduced to a dogmatic "because Star Wars is supposed to be a black-and-white fairy-tale (and if you don't agree, You're Doing It Wrong, tm)".
I salute you, good sir. You've managed to put a dent in my loathing for the traditional idea of the Force. Not enough of one to make me a convert, not by a long shot, but you've definitely gave me something to think about. Cheers.
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Plagiarize! Let no one else's work evade your eyes,
Remember why the good Lord made your eyes! So don't shade your eyes,
But plagiarize, plagiarize, plagiarize... Only be sure to call it, please, "research".
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Tinman
Lieutenant Commander
Joined: 26 Dec 2013
Posts: 110
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| Posted: Fri Jan 03, 2014 8:48 pm Post subject: |
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| Leon The Lion wrote: | | Tinman wrote: | | >Snip< some very well thought out and interesting ideas. |
Now, see, this - this I could get behind.
For myself and my game, I will still go with a different, deeply non-canon, more flexible view of the Force.
But if I was forced (heh) to accept the canon "mechanics" of the Force, I'd definitely want your explenation to be the underlying reason for the Force working as it does. It's a miles better and more interesting way of reasoning it out than anything I've seen offered to date. The usual explanations, in my ears at least, always seem to end up reduced to a dogmatic "because Star Wars is supposed to be a black-and-white fairy-tale (and if you don't agree, You're Doing It Wrong, tm)".
I salute you, good sir. You've managed to put a dent in my loathing for the traditional idea of the Force. Not enough of one to make me a convert, not by a long shot, but you've definitely gave me something to think about. Cheers. |
Well, those aren't actually my ideas.. I'm just drawing certain conclusions based on the ideas from a handful of sources there. There are still certain things which it doesn't explain, like exactly where "visions from the Force" come from. (Unless they come from literally everyone, i.e. they're distillations of knowledge and perceptions on a very grand scale, interpreted by the subconscious mind of the Force-Sensitive.. which would explain why they're often very symbolic and vague.)
None of it implies that different traditions involving use of the Force wouldn't treat the subject very differently, sometimes out of necessity and sometimes as a matter of culture. Wookiee mystics (if there is such a thing, presumably they had or have some sort of Force tradition from a time before their connection to the Old Republic) most likely would have some sort of rite or rigorous practice for controlling their natural tendency to go into rages.. and likely also had a few notorious Dark shamans in their history too. Force Sensitive Sullustans might pick up Instinctive Astrogation almost without being taught, due to their natural abilities.
My one foray into creating a Force tradition was the Wayfarers (a collection of spacefaring tribes descended from a large outer rim slave population, who overthrew their masters and took to the stars as a nomadic culture.) Their Force-Sensitives (called Wayseekers and Wayguides) were unusual in that they were almost exclusively seers (Alter abilities simply were not taught or practiced, and Control was only minimally explored, mostly in meditative ritual.) It would not have been "evil" for one of them to learn other techniques (historically a couple had joined the Jedi order) but they did not see it as their "way" to disturb the Force in such a manner. (This also largely spared them from the Purge, as their Force practitioners were almost impossible to locate due to lack of disturbance, not to mention the movements of the tribes were guided by mystics who'd mastered Sense powers to an unparalleled degree.) The other quirk in their tradition was that Wayseekers and Wayguides almost always lost their eyesight as their Sense skill increased, due to the same strain of Miraluka genes which made Force-Sensitives slightly more common in their culture. They also had an interesting practice of using space dwelling life forms (such as mynocks and exogorths) to keep tabs on the movements of those who might threaten the tribes, using the Force to perceive different locations through their highly adapted senses. |
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garhkal
Sovereign Protector
Joined: 17 Jul 2005
Posts: 14359
Location: Reynoldsburg, Columbus, Ohio.
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| Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2014 3:26 pm Post subject: |
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Do you have more on these 'wayguides'?
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Tinman
Lieutenant Commander
Joined: 26 Dec 2013
Posts: 110
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| Posted: Sun Jan 05, 2014 12:41 am Post subject: |
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| garhkal wrote: | | Do you have more on these 'wayguides'? |
I'll post my old notes here since you're interested. I never created any new rules or anything concerning how Wayseekers and Wayguides made use of the Force, they just have an expansive knowledge of Sense abilities and a complete traditional aversion to Alter and most Control powers. (They're aware of other traditions such as the Jedi and what they were capable of, and don't consider their practices really unethical.. it just isn't the way they themselves deal with the Force.)
Wayfarers are a fairly obscure culture. Many people who make their living in space and spaceports are familiar with them, but (other than a few galactic historians and anthropologists) the planetbound population of the galaxy are mostly oblivious to them. They're known to be excellent ship mechanics (they're taught those skills from a very young age) and could occasionally be found working temporarily in spaceports or on trade ships doing those sorts of jobs. Superstitious spacers consider crossing paths with one to be good luck, and having one aboard generally means your ship will be in better condition when their service with you is up than when you take them on. They're also known for telling good stories of their travels, and buying one a drink in a spacers' bar is the traditional payment for at least one good tale (which, as incredible as their stories can be, are often found not to be exaggerated.) Establishing a friendship with one is likely to result in being given good tips about areas and current situations to avoid, though it's not usually easy to get to know them that personally. They can also be found making a living running common cargo, (mostly) legal space salvage operations and can occasionally be hired as asteroid surveyors. They're known to loathe slavers and pirates and strictly avoid having anything to do with the Empire and corporations allied with them, though they seem to see nothing wrong with the better sort of smuggler (though they're not known for doing that sort of business themselves.) They've been around for so long that BoSS considers "Wayfarer" to be a legitimate category when registering "planet of origin" on permits and licenses. Those very familiar with them can pick them out of a crowd, as they tend to braid and weave their hair into elaborate patterns and wear very utilitarian clothing decorated sparingly with distinctive tribal markings (unless they want to be unobtrusive.)
Most Wayfarers are descended from the liberated members of a large far rim slave mining colony dating back to more than two millennia BBY. A small number of them were Miraluka. Most of them had been slaves for their entire lives, and so had their parents, so they really had no world they called home once they'd freed themselves.. and the world they were enslaved upon was very inhospitable. Three of the Miraluka had a powerful collective vision shortly after the liberation, of a long search among the stars followed by the discovery of a paradisiacal world they would one day call home, and this inspired the others. They seized the ships of their former masters and began the search, and have been wandering ever since. As their numbers grew over the generations, they formed a handful of different tribes. Most are very-near humans (due to the Miraluka ancestry) indistinguishable from the rest of the galactic human population above the genetic level. Others have been accepted into the tribes over the years, including a handful of non-humans, usually from among those they've occasionally liberated from slavers. (They ordinarily stick to a peaceful way of life, but if a good opportunity to free enslaved individuals presents itself they will often take it.) A couple of the tribes have friendly relationships with certain Ithorian herdships.
For the most part, at any given time, the bulk of a Wayfarer tribe will move as a fleet, guided by that tribes' Wayguide (the senior most Force-Sensitive of the tribe, who always stays with them.) They can be found living aboard just about any sort of ship imaginable, generally smaller vessels (though a couple tribes have successfully salvaged and populate old capital ships.) In rare instances when a tribe has been located and sufficiently threatened, they've been known to scatter temporarily. Individuals who captain smaller craft will engage in scouting missions, sometimes on behalf of the tribes' Wayguide, or go planetside to gather supplies. Children often accompany their parents and are expected use the opportunity to learn (whether it's astrogation, piloting, trade, ship maintenance, etc.) Most Wayfarers have as much experience in the spacing profession by the time they're teenagers as adult veteran spacers of other cultures. They tend not to keep droids, as the master/servant type of relationship is something they find distasteful even dealing with sentient machines.. though if an abandoned droid (or one which is found with defeated slavers) insists on trying to stay with them and make itself useful they'll accept it and maintain it.
Every fifty years the tribes hold grand gatherings in places they've arranged over the centuries, being highly festive occasions of storytelling, competitions, drinking, spouse seeking and also a formal gathering of all the Wayguides and Wayseekers.
Force-Sensitives among the Wayfarers are generally known as Wayseekers. They're very much an integrated part of the tribal communities and are expected to do their personal part in all tasks which keep their ships operational and communities functional like anyone else, in addition to their obligation to learn to use their own unusual abilities. Ability with the Force generally runs within certain bloodlines, so children generally learn from their parents. On occasions where the gift manifests itself in children and neither parent is Force-Sensitive, they engage in apprenticeship (and the teacher usually becomes a sort of third parent to them, and it's quite common for those students to marry into the teacher's bloodline.) They are first taught to "still themselves and listen to the universe" (Hibernation Trance and Emptiness,) and once those skills are mastered to "see and feel" the cosmos about them. Powers such as Farseeing, Sense Path, Sense Force, Life Web, Merge Senses, Shift Sense and Instinctive Astrogation are extremely common. Wayseekers of certain tribes who show particular martial prowess will sometimes be taught Danger Sense and Combat Sense, though allowing Wayseekers to enter into such roles is a point of contention among the Wayguides and periodically debated. Older students are sometimes taught to make use of telepathy if they show sufficient inclination, and the teacher has such skill themselves. Life Bonds between Wayseekers are also not unheard of. Some Wayguides even develop the Beast Languages power and will carry on telepathic "conversations" with space dwelling organisms such as exogorths or mynocks. (Wayfarers are nearly unique in that they will not harm mynocks, they've found some otherwise unknown means of making their ship power conduits "unpalatable" to them and have no trouble sharing space with curious flocks which will occasionally follow tribes for a time.)
It is not uncommon for Wayseekers to spend time away from their communities, following visions and using their abilities to seek out resources and safe havens for the tribes to make use of. At the end of their apprenticeships, each Wayseeker learns to build a lantern-like device which is the symbol of their calling. This is not a Force-imbued object like a holocron, but a combination of journal and astrogation instrument and recorder. It can interface with a nav computer and record routes and locations into its internal charts, and if left under a clear night sky or near a port window will eventually calculate its location from star positions and log it. Other information commonly stored within the device are charts of Wayfarer bloodlines and personal journals, as well as recorded tribal histories. It can also produce a small plasma flame and serve as a light source, which is what most outside the tribes believe them to be if they meet a Wayseeker with his lamp in evidence. Any two (or more) lamps placed in proximity of each other will share astrogation and genealogical information to update each other. The information within the lamp is actually displayed using a hologram projector, and data like star maps can be expanded to display over a large open area for closer examination. The effect is quite beautiful even to those who don't understand enough about stellar navigation to know how impressive the maps themselves are. The lamps are highly personalized instruments, customized by their owners, and take a very fine touch to operate.. generally only the owner and his or her teacher will understand any given one well enough to operate it casually.
One consequence of the Miraluka genes which make Force-Sensitives slightly more common than usual among Wayfarers is that (with very rare exceptions) Wayseekers gradually lose use of their eyesight as their ability with the Sense skill becomes more advanced. This is accepted as part of the natural order of things by them, and they simply learn to heighten their other senses to compensate. Still, it is customary for students to accompany their teachers and assist them when necessary. They never lose the ability to, in some sense, "see" the light or projections of their own lamps regardless of their level of physical blindness. This is due to their intimate familiarity with the precise energy frequencies the device uses (the reason why they must construct their own lamps) which allows them to perceive its effects very vividly through the Force. Lamps projecting in concert (common at gatherings) allow anyone who owns one of the lamps involved to see what it being collectively studied.
Last edited by Tinman on Sun Jan 05, 2014 11:19 am; edited 2 times in total |
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garhkal
Sovereign Protector
Joined: 17 Jul 2005
Posts: 14359
Location: Reynoldsburg, Columbus, Ohio.
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| Posted: Sun Jan 05, 2014 1:39 am Post subject: |
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nice.. Thanks for posting it.
Sounds almost like the Travelers from season 3 and 4 of Stargate Atlantis..
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Tinman
Lieutenant Commander
Joined: 26 Dec 2013
Posts: 110
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| Posted: Sun Jan 05, 2014 11:04 am Post subject: |
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| garhkal wrote: | nice.. Thanks for posting it.
Sounds almost like the Travelers from season 3 and 4 of Stargate Atlantis.. |
Hmmm! I'm going to have to go back and finish watching Atlantis, I don't believe I ever got past season 2 (not because I didn't like the show, but due to time constraints.) The existence of such a culture of people just seemed to make sense, and one of my players was looking to play sort of a "gypsy child" type of character with very minimal Force abilities, so I worked with them to help them to come up with a plausible cultural background, and it ended up fueling some plot elements in the series as well. |
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DougRed4
Rear Admiral
Joined: 18 Jan 2013
Posts: 2295
Location: Seattle, WA
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| Posted: Tue Jan 07, 2014 1:13 pm Post subject: |
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What an excellent (and fascinating) write-up, Tinman! I especially like their lamps. Thanks for sharing it with us! 8)
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Currently Running: Villains & Vigilantes (a 32-year-old campaign with multiple groups) and D6 Star Wars; mostly on hiatus are Adventures in Middle-earth and Delta Green |
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garhkal
Sovereign Protector
Joined: 17 Jul 2005
Posts: 14359
Location: Reynoldsburg, Columbus, Ohio.
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| Posted: Tue Jan 07, 2014 4:27 pm Post subject: |
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One thing i have noticed with a 2nd read through, is no real disadvantages to being that way, other than the slight pacifistic nature to them.
Surely with living such insular lives, they would have developed some problems.. like maybe their ships are so modified/jury rigged, doing proper upgrades are impossible. Or cause of their insular sort of nature, inbreeding is an issue.
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Tinman
Lieutenant Commander
Joined: 26 Dec 2013
Posts: 110
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| Posted: Tue Jan 07, 2014 8:48 pm Post subject: |
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| DougRed4 wrote: | | What an excellent (and fascinating) write-up, Tinman! I especially like their lamps. Thanks for sharing it with us! 8) |
You're welcome.  The last time I actually gave them much thought (this was part of a game from years ago) was when I saw the star map scene in the movie Prometheus, which brought back memories of what I envisioned the projected navigational maps from the lamps as looking like.. though there was no scene in the game where one projected a map over such a large area (several lamps projecting in concert would probably have been necessary for something like that.)
| garhkal wrote: | One thing i have noticed with a 2nd read through, is no real disadvantages to being that way, other than the slight pacifistic nature to them.
Surely with living such insular lives, they would have developed some problems.. like maybe their ships are so modified/jury rigged, doing proper upgrades are impossible. Or cause of their insular sort of nature, inbreeding is an issue. |
Oh, certainly. If I'd been running a game based on the travels of the Wayfarers I probably would have gone into a good deal more depth on subjects like that. As it was, it was only one PC and a couple NPCs which were dealt with very closely. The player role played-in some pretty logical character elements (such as being unaccustomed to being under natural sunlight all that much, squinting quite a bit when planetside and outdoors, and remarking that the output of a common autochef had quite a bit more variety and flavor than what he was mostly used to eating.) The culture fell more into the category of "Story Factor" than anything else, and I never gave them any special abilities or anything like that. (I'm not a huge fan of house rules, and rarely create them unless I'm forced to by lack of anything in the source material which covers a situation... and there's a LOT of source material for this particular game and setting..)
Presumably lack of access to things like starport maintenance facilities was the reason why they weren't more insular as a culture than they were, and were recognizable enough in starports by people who worked at them, and why Wayfarers would sometimes seek employment with others. They wouldn't have been 100% self sufficient. As they have a penchant for attempting to free slaves, it seems reasonable enough that some of those freed would join the Wayfarers (those with no homes to return to) and provide just enough "fresh blood" to prevent genetic problems from cropping up.
History in regards to the Wayseekers and Jedi Order did come up at one point, though only in conversation between the Jedi in the party and a Wayguide during a period where the group had been allowed to take temporary refuge with one of the tribes. The Jedi of the Old Republic were aware of the Wayseekers, and at any given time one of the Masters always had the job of keeping a line of communication open with them (presumably among his or her other duties.) As they were not Republic citizens, the Order had no real jurisdiction over them, but they were viewed (correctly) as being a group of Force Adept mystics without any known history of inclination toward the Dark Side. The Order's liaison would occasionally consult with a Wayguide on behalf of the Jedi Council, as their abilities as seers were acknowledged as being slightly more advanced than the Jedi in that particular area. There were also two known cases of Wayseekers who'd left their tribes to join the Jedi Order.
During the final year of the Clone Wars, the Wayfarers suddenly (and with no explanation) broke off contact with the Jedi and the tribes headed to the far rim or even further outside Republic space. Concerned over what might have happened to them, the Council sent their current liaison to investigate the situation, as they could not be located even through the Force. The Master finally did find one of the tribes, and insisted on speeking to their Wayguide. By way of explanation he was granted a vision, though its nature wasn't recorded in the histories (a very unusual thing in and of itself.) Whatever was seen, the Master left terribly shaken. Whether he ever made it back isn't known, but the Purge began less than a month later. This last came up in discussion of exactly where the Wayseekers were when the purge happened, and if they knew something terrible was going to happen why they didn't warn anyone. The reply was that the Wayguides had actually met to discuss and contemplate the situation at great length, but could find no "path" which wouldn't have resulted in the complete destruction of the tribes other than quick and quiet self-exile well beyond Republic space. They knew something horrible was going to happen to the Republic and the Jedi Order, but their vision was too obscured by opposition from some outside influence to know the exact circumstances or people involved. The Emperor never regarded the Wayseekers as a threat, though he considered their effectiveness at hiding from him to be a mild annoyance just the same, so trying to track them down was low in his priorities. His plan was to flush them out once the Empire had expanded sufficiently and they began to run out of places to hide. |
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