A Treatise on the Force

The Star Wars Saga has been one of the best series of movies that came out of Hollywood in the late 20th Century and part of the Early Twenty-first.  The most important message of the Saga was the message about the Force.

If you remember the first movie, Episode 4, Obi-wan Kenobi introduced Luke Skywalker to the Force.  He described the Force as an energy field generated by all living things.  It surrounds us, penetrates us, and binds the Galaxy together and started Luke on his path on becoming a Jedi and facing the two Dark Lords of the Sith.

As the stories of Star Wars continued to expand, we learned much of the Jedi and the Dark Lords of the Sith, the Republic, the Sith Empire, and the Galaxy.  Recently, last year, Star Wars: the Old Republic Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game (MMORPG) was released.  This game answers most of the questions of the Jedi and the Sith.  Where did they start?  How did they come to be?  What actually happened?  However, watching on-line Lets Plays reveals something of the players of the game.  More people played as Sith Lords or as Jedi than as Troopers, Smugglers, Bounty Hunters, and Imperial Agents.

Understanding Star Wars


Star Wars sets itself apart from Star Trek in the basic idea that the premise of both are incredibly different.  Star Trek presents a positive view of Science and the Achievement of Man.  Star Wars is a Spiritual, almost religious, Myth.  Both are the brain children of two men.  One was a police officer, the other was a racer.  The second, George Lucas, was in a car accident while racing.  According to his biography, George Lucas was in the hospital when he came to learn of the Force.  The Star Wars movies presents his beliefs about the Force.  A lot of people believe that the Force is fiction. However, in the twentieth Century, Science has been done before the Movies had ever come out, that may prove that the Force is an actual reality.

Doctor Riche and the Force


Doctor Riche was a German Scientist who made an interesting discovery.  He practically discovered an energy that is present in all living things -- he called it the Orgone Energy.  What he found was that the Orgone came in two flavors -- Positive Orgone and Deadly Orgone.  Positive Orgone -- which he called POR -- can heal and cause growth in an organism if properly accumulated.  Deadly Orgone causes Dis-Ease (disease) and sickness in an organism and can eventually kill.

When he published his discoveries and experiments with Orgone, Doctor Riche came under attack by a vicious smear campaign.  He was eventually found guilty by an obscure health law, imprisoned, and his books burned.  His life destroyed, this gentle scientist died in Prison.  But the discoveries he has made with life and energy was so significant that Doctor Albert Einstein was impressed.  Not impressed enough to endorse Doctor Riche, but impressed.

Since then, we have Photographic Proof of the Orgone Energy.  It appears as a blue glow around Astronauts, Galaxies, the Earth, and organisms in the Earth.  The Force is real enough.  So, as the Force is real -- as in actual photographic proof, what does that make us?

The Vibrational Being


As humans (and star children, and indigo children, you know who you are) we are vibrational beings.  We are capable of altering the vibrations of Energy -- the Force -- all around us to produce results.  This is either a determined result or a subconscious result.

In the movies, Force sensitives were able to show that they can control the Force, they were able to show that they can alter the Force, and sense the Force.  Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader could telekinetically move objects, see the future, and alter patterns in the Force to their desires.  Even Darth Sidious was able to do this -- as he arrogantly bragged to Vader's son how everything transpired according to his desires.

Ironically, not many people know we can do the same.  However, instead of telekinesis, and being our own seers, we alter the Force through creation.  As vibrational beings, we alter Force patterns.  However, to be able to do this, we also have to be beings of the Force ourselves.

In Episode 5 and the Episode 6 novelizations, both Yoda and Vader told Luke that we are luminous beings and not the crude matter that makes up our bodies.  This implies that we are all apart of the Force, and therefore, connected to one another.  This is the true message of the movies: that we are beings able to alter the Force.  We are luminous, spiritual beings.

The Jedi and Sith, a Critique


One of the interesting things that came out of the movies is a new religion that has appeared on Earth.  This religion is called the Jedi religion and it's been pieced together from the movies.  However, I'd like to say that although the Jedi and Sith in the movies are on the right track, they have existed so long in that Galaxy that both have missed the mark as a Religion.  Both Jedi and Sith are members of the same religion -- just that one side believes in strict monastic, or Aesthetic beliefs and the other indulges in the opposite.

What Happened on Tython
The MMORPG gets into what happened on Tython, the home planet of both Jedi and Sith, a little.  From what is said on the Wookieepedia, those that followed Ashla and Bodan had a dichotomous disagreement over how the Force should be used.  The Ashlar believed that strict control over one's passions is the key, while the Bodanists believed that unbridled emotion is the key to getting results.  A fight broke out, and the result was a true schism.  The Bodanists were eventually banished and the Ashlar, who became the Jedi, left the planet on their own accord, relocating on Coruscant.

The Bodan Jedi eventually found the Sith aliens and conquered them, becoming the Dark Lords of the Sith according to the Galactic Record.  The Ashla Jedi simply became the Jedi.  The two constantly clashed, but the two groups truly balanced one another.  The Jedi can't exist without the Sith, it's impossible.  If one group was destroyed, that group will eventually arise from the one who is victorious.  So, the Galaxy was in balance because of the existence of both Jedi and Sith.  However, both are wrong in their approach to the Force and the role of emotion.

I thought about what it would be like if Jesus Christ was born on Tython and how the Jedi and Sith would respond to his teachings.  Jesus Christ, who would be the ultimate Force user, would probably put the Jedi Council and the Dark Council in a total tizzy.  His teachings would bring both councils into an uproar as he  probably would denounce both Sith and Jedi as hypocrites and taught the common people their secrets.

Jesus, a man of infinite love and compassion, would suffer death after their hands.  Both the Jedi and the Sith would slay the Great Sage of Nazareth.  So, I figure that there was probably a third group of Jedi on Tython, who strived to be one with the Living Force by neither denying emotion nor letting it run unbridled, but experienced emotion and were passionate enough to deliberately create from the Force.

Christianity and the Force


Most people don't understand that they are Children of the Force.  However, all people on the Planet Earth has at least three fathers:  the Father of our Intelligence, the Father of our Spirits, and our Earthly father make up the trinity that gives us our origins.  Christians have a fourth father: Jesus Christ himself.  All Christians -- whether baptized by proper authority or not, have taken upon themselves the name of Jesus Christ.  But lets talk about these fathers, each in turn.

The First Father is our Earthly father.  Our Earthly fathers have given us life by having sex with our mothers.  When a father and a mother come together and become one flesh, they create new Life.  Both must unite in this common purpose to create a body of Flesh and Blood so that we may experience Earth Life and learn from our experience.  Through our Earthly father and mother, we are given a physical body so we can experience what we truly desire through our five senses -- Taste, Smell, Touch, Sight, and Hearing.

The Second Father is our Heavenly Father -- the Great Eternal.  He is known by many names, but its most proper to call him Heavenly Father.  The Jews call him Elohim, but in that, there is a strong problem.  The word Elohim is plural.  Our Heavenly Father is immortal, meaning that he has both Life Eternal -- a body of Flesh and Bones -- and Eternal Life.  He is the father of our Spirit, or as the Psychologist would say, the father of our Consciousness.  The process of creating Spirit bodies, however, is similar to creating a body of flesh and blood.

The Third Father is the Force itself.  Our intelligence, our power and will to act, has to have an Origin.  This is the Force, or more properly, the Holy Spirit.  In ancient Hebrew the Holy Spirit is known as Ruach, which means wind, breath, mind, and spirit.  We are all Children of the Holy Spirit.  In a fit of Understanding Itself and seeking to be more, the Holy Spirit split a part of itself into infinite parts.  These parts are us.  All of us.  Man, Animal, Plant, Mineral.  All of us are a part of the Force or the Holy Spirit. Therefore, as a part of the Force, we are all connected to the Force, and through the Force, we are connected to each other.  We are children of the Holy Spirit, and as such we are capable of having anything, doing anything, and being anything.

If we desire to lift an object without touching it, we can do so.  If we desire to see the future and the past, we can do so.  If we desire to leap high, cast Force lightning, and do other things beautiful, great, and terrible; we can do so.  If we desire an abundance of goods, we will have them.  If we desire to reject the message of Salvation, we can do so (and many have done so).  The Force exists to grant our every desire, whether good or evil, bad or righteous, such desires are always granted by the Force.

The Fourth Father however, pertains to Christians.  This fourth Father is Jesus Christ himself.  As Christians, we have taken upon ourselves His name, and acknowledge Him to be the Father of our Salvation.  Jesus Christ made it possible for us to come into Heavenly Father's presence.  As Christians, we are to put our trust in Jesus Christ's sacrifice and live our lives according to how the Holy Spirit or the Force, directs us to live.

In this way, Jesus Christ is our Messiah, our Savior.  He saved us from our sins, or our rebelliousness against the Holy Spirit.  He saved us from an eternity of pain and suffering.  Jesus also has another identity.  Jesus, whose English name means NOTHING in Hebrew, was given the Hebrew name of Yeshua -- which is transliterated into English as Joshua.  Yeshua, or Yahshua, means in Hebrew "Yahweh is Salvation."

This means that Jesus is Yahweh (pronounced "Yah-way").   This also means that Yahweh is Jesus. The God of the Old Testament, the God that commanded the Israelites to leave Egypt and to slay the Canaanites, is Jesus Christ of the new Testament.  They are one and the same.  When you speak of Yahweh, you are speaking of Jesus Christ.  And when you are speaking of Jesus Christ, you are speaking of Yahweh.  Jesus was crucified and was resurrected, meaning that he has a body of Flesh and Bone and is fully alive.

Jesus doesn't sleep, he is very aware of what is going on with the World and he has pleaded with His people in the latter days to repent and to believe upon Him and to forsake our vain quest for popularity and material things.  Jesus has had enough with the wayward ways of His nation, and He will chastise His nation for our adulterous and slutty behavior.  However, Jesus is full of infinite love and compass ion.  He has sent a Prophet for those who want to live through his judgement of America, he will call those who will listen.  These are His elect, and he will have them be prepared so he can have a nation of Priests and Priestesses, Kings and Queens once again.

In Summation

So to conclude the Treatise, the Force in Star Wars is an actual thing.  It has been scientifically documented and experimented with by Doctor Wilhelm Riche.  The Force is Orgone Energy, and there is photographic proof of the Force.

The Force is the father of our Intelligence.  Because we are the Children of the Force, we are all connected to one another.  We are also infinite as the Force is infinite, and we are capable of having anything, doing anything, and being anything we desire.  We are truly the Children of God.

The Great Eternal, our Heavenly Father -- is the Father of our Spirits.  The Spirit is the blueprint, or pattern, of our bodies.  The Spirit gives our Intelligence definition and form.  The Great Eternal, our Heavenly Father -- has a body of Flesh and Bones.  Therefore, he was once a man liken unto our Earthly father.  He was once mortal and had mortal children.  Now he has an immortal body and has immortal children.

Our Earthly fathers are the fathers of our bodies.  Our Earthly father, with the help of our Earthly mother, made it possible to for us to have a mortal body and to be able to experience Earth life.  With a body we are capable of making manifest our desires, through the Force, into physical reality.

Our Father of our Salvation is Jesus Christ.  As Christians, we have taken upon ourselves his name and promised not to be hypocrites -- saying one thing but doing another.  Doing so is taking the name of Christ in vain.  Vanity is a shallow thing when made manifest, especially as Christians.  It is easier to be a Christian in vain, though -- than it is to be a Christian in reality.  A vain Christian has the pride and popularity of the World.  A real Christian is thought of as peculiar, strange, and weird by the World.  Such a man or woman is laughed at, spit upon, thought of as crazy, weird, and eventually may find himself under physical persecution for his belief in Christ.  He may even lose his life for the Father of his Salvation.

The Force is a real thing.  We are real Children of the Force, or God.  As such, we should do everything we can to Learn about ourselves, the reality of ourselves, and seek Atonement with God.  We are to become one with God and eventually become as Exalted as the Great Eternal is.

If I were to run Star Wars SAGA RPG

If I were to run the Stars Wars SAGA RPG, I'd set it during the Knights of the Old Republic Era -- the same as the current, and new Star Wars: The Old Republic Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game is set.

So, why STAR WARS SAGA?

Star Wars SAGA is the true 4th Edition of D&D.  Really it is.  Looking at the rules, it's easier to get.  You've got five classes:

Jedi -- which covers the Jedi and the Sith.

Noble -- Star Wars nobles.

Scoundrel -- Han Solo

Scout -- Chewbacca (although his Scout role wasn't really all up on that. )

Soldier -- which covers Republic and Sith soldiers.


Next: you have feats and Talent Trees.  The Talent Trees is where D&D 4e should have gone rather than use Powers set up in order to ease D&Ders into 4th Edition.  In other words SAGA represents were 4th should have gone and 4th represents where 5th needed to go.  By that time, we would be ready for 4th Edition as it stands.

But Alas, pathos, pathos, pathos.

So, why Star Wars: The Knights of the Old Republic?

KotR is the Setting of the Jedi Golden Age.  Well, kinda.  The Force was balanced by the Jedi and the Sith.  Although to describe it as the Jedi Golden Age is laughable at best.  Especially when I have the unnerving feeling that the Jedi will most probably try to kill Jesus Christ for taking the Jedi Secrets and teaching them to the common people.

The Brahmin Caste tried to do it when the Christ visited India.  The Christ's only crime was to take the secret of the Brahmins and teach it to the Vayshas and the Untouchables.  Then the Christ got kicked out of many places -- Athens, Alexandria, Persepolis, Rome . . . And the Shelahites finally crucified him.  He didn't get kicked out of Britain, but he built the first version of Glastonbury church.  Ahem.

Well, I would set the campaign during the Knights of the Old Republic.  Player characters would be on the side of the Republic and fight the Sith Empire.  Adventures would take them to Tython, to Coruscant, to Ord Mantell, and other lovely places in the Galaxy -- including Alderaan, Tatooine, and Corellia.

So, how does the MMO work?

Basically, it's based on the World of Warcraft model (a lot).  In WoW, it's Horde vs. Alliance.  In this case, its set in the KotR Aeon and it's Republic vs. Sith.  Although in WoW, you can justify the Horde being good -- especially after the Horde has been cleansed by its blood taint and now they have two Paladin Orders -- the Blood Knights and the Sunwalkers to offset the Order of Argus and the Knights of the Silver Hand.  In Star Wars it's not so simple.

Changing the Subject:
Although, in a fit, the MMO says you can set your own destiny by gaining Force points and Darkside points through certain choices.  So it's possible to play a righteous Sith (although Ironically, you have to lie a bit to attain Righteousness among the Sith) and a wicked Jedi (which it makes sense that you have to lie and cheat to be WICKED among the Jedi).  The problem is -- George tells us that the Sith are evil incarnate.

The Galaxy is very Dichotomous thanks to Ashla and Bodan.   There is really no middle ground.  So, what do you do?  Gray out both sides.  Corruption is in the Senate, and some of the Sith are actually good guys and they see the Empire as the way to spread law and order across the Galaxy.  The only problem is --

All the Sith Lords are a bunch of backstabbing, half-brained, power hungry idiots who will sooner turn on each other or get their slaves to do their dirty work.

There are a total of 4 classes with their Dichotomy counter parts.

The Jedi Knight is opposed by the Sith Warrior.

The Jedi Consular is opposed by the Sith Inquisitor.

The Republic Trooper is opposed by the Imperial Agent.

And the Smuggler is opposed by the Bounty Hunter.

Advanced classes are these:

The Jedi Sage is comparable to the Priest in WoW.  The Jedi Sage is about Force Healing and fighting purely with Ashla.

The Jedi Shadow has no comparison to a WoW class.  The Shadows are consulars who are the James Bonds of the Republic.  They wield double bladed lightsabers and have licenses to kill.

The Jedi Guardian is comparable to the Paladin in WoW.  It's about protecting and dispensing Justice throughout the Republic and the Galaxy.

The Jedi Sentinel has no comparison to a WoW Class.  They use the Force and they fight with two lightsabers, and they use the Force to exploit their enemies' weaknesses.

The Scoundrelous Smuggler is comparable to the Rogue in WoW.

The Gunslinging Smuggler is comparable to the Cowboy in all the Old West movies you used to watch.  To get into the Gunslinging smuggler, you need to watch High Noon, The Shootist, and Support Your Local Gunslinger.

The Vanguard is comparable to the Warrior in WoW.

The Commando has no comparison in WoW, but if you have to compare it to a D&D class, the best way to  compare it too is the ranger.  The Commando is comparable to the U.S. Rodger's Rangers, who in the Revolutionary War, were a Crack Team of Elite soldiers of the Republic made up of rough and tumble Frontiersmen (and were one of the slights that turned General Arnold into a traitor).


The Power Tech bounty hunter specializes in using technology to his advantage.  He has no comparable WoW class.

The Mercenary Bounty Hunter is the Sith Empire's answer to the Warrior Class in WoW.

The Juggernaut Sith Warrior is a Dark Paladin.  Truly dark in every way, the Blood Knights -- although with a reputation for evil -- would find the Juggernaut to be a perversion of Paladin virtue.

The Marauding Sith Warrior is a highly aggressive Sith Lord that opposes Jedi Sentinels.

The Sith Sorcerer, an Inquistor that looks deeper into the Force -- is comparable to the WoW Warlock -- but not in every way possible.  Some interesting parallels are the fact that they are also comparable to Shadow Priests in WoW.

The Sith Assassin are comparable to KGB Assassins in attitude.  Maybe worse.  They need no license to Kill.  Wielding double bladed lightsabers, the Sith Assassin is something you don't want hunting you.

The Sniping Imperial Agent are comparable to snipers in Rainbow Six.  The only comparable WoW Class is the Hunter.

The Operative Imperial Agent represent the Sith Empire's Impossible Mission Force.  While the Republic relies on the Jedi Shadow to deal with impossible espionage missions, the Sith Empire is built on Lies, Secrets, and Intrigue.  Thus it's fighting class -- the Imperial Agent -- is based on the WoW Rogue.


So, how do you put all this together in a Roleplaying Game?

The Jedi class represents Jedi Knights, Jedi Consulars, Sith Warriors, and Sith Inquisitors.

The Scoundrel class represents both Smugglers and Bounty Hunters.

The Soldier class represents the Republic Trooper, while the Scout class best serves the Imperial Agent.  It's a little more complex than that.  Bounty Hunters who are mercenaries are certainly Soldiers, while gunslinging Smugglers can certainly be Scouts.

The SAGA edition can certainly be used to replicate the ST:tOR MMO.  Just remember that the SAGA game system and the MMO are based on different game systems (the d20 System vs. the WoW MMO system -- Advanced Classes get TALENTS!).  You can't fully replicate one game with the mechanics of the other.  However, with the RPG, you can go places were the MMO can't.  The MMO is totally scripted -- in one Story, you are a Sith that gets involved with the Revanites in order to kill their leader and to destroy their religion.  However in an RPG, you can get involved with the Revanites and not kill them but become their leader.

Kind of different way of doing things with the RPG than with the MMO.

What I want 5e to do.

Simple.  I want support, however measly that is, for interesting backgrounds that makes a character live and breathe.

Last night, one of my players had fun with Central Casting.  It was Paul Jaquays' book on generating character backgrounds for fantasy characters, first edition.  We spent more time on building his character's father's career than his.

As a result, we got an interesting background for a nezumi or ratkin, or skavin character.  The results were simple.  Here's a conversation between a 4e character and this Pathfinder Nezumi.

4e Character: "Hello, happy world!  Hello, happy tree, hello happy bunny, hello happy squirrel!"

Pathfinder Character (who looks like a rat): "Hello, clueless one."

4e Character: "Oh hi!  Can we be friends?"

Pathfinder Nezumi character: "Maybe.  Tell me about yourself."

4e Character: "Well, my name's George.  I'm a house Deneith Mercenary and I fought in the Last War."

Pathfinder Nezumi Character. "Well, you're certainly acting pretty one dimensional, what was your military experience?"

George Deneith (4e): "I don't know.  I'm just a veteran of the Last War.  But I have Intimidate as an associated skill!"

The Nezumi does a face palm.  George. "What?"

"Your player is a gamist, right?"

"Yes."

"Thought so.  My player took the trouble generating my background, but my exploits pale in comparison to my father's."

"Oh?  What happened?"

"First of all, we were kicked out of Nezumi lands for being different.  My father found work as a fisherman and joined the Home Guard so we can have some money.  At first, he saw little action, ran away from some, and joined up to prove himself.

"There was a major war with a neighboring kingdom and his actions got him promoted to corporal.  There was many battles, and he was finally decorated for his bravery and became an officer.  He was so good that he signed on for another five years and was assigned to special forces -- in the Ranger division.  Another war broke out with Drow and he kills one of their generals!  There were major battles, where he lost most of his forces, but he proved himself and became a knight!  A KNIGHT!

"There was another war that broke out, and his stint was increased.  I never saw him but I knew he was doing well.  When he returned, he taught me some of his swordcraft, and taught me sword fighting the soldiering way.  Finally, there was a major coup on our kingdom and he led it.  He slew the king and took over the kingdom."

George looked at the Nezumi with his jaw open.

"And you think you have problems.  I've been adventuring in my father's shadow ever since!"


The difference between 4e and 3e is that 4e has little Roleplaying support.  You get backgrounds and you get themes, so what?  Tell me more about your character.  Give him a reason that he's alive, that he fought in the Last War and returned a hardened veteran.  After all, Roleplaying is ROLEPLAYING!  4e has little of that.

If you want to pick up a character sheet, write down some figures, and play; there's nothing wrong with that.  Character creation in 5e at the start should be quick and easy and fun.  However, if you want depth with your character, there should be options to build an interesting background for your character.  Some of us don't want to pick up and play, we want to know everything about that character so we can just get started.

It's as simple as that.

5th Edition

well, who wants to talk about 5th Edition Dungeons and Dragons now that Monte Cook is working on it?


5e. . .

5e . . .



5e!

Stargate SG-1 RPG

I just read the Stargate SG-1 RPG.  So many possibilities in one little RPG.  A far reaching Stargate network -- and hundreds of d20 and Pathfinder campaigns connected by that Stargate Network.  So many possibilities.

At the end of the book is a list of possible Crossovers:

Dragonstar, Mindshadows, Nyambe, and Seven Seas were all suggested as possible crossovers.  In fact, Dragonstar could be a replacement for the Goa'uld and the Ori.  In fact, the game suggests crossovers.  So, my mind went a thousand miles an hour and put together the following possibilities.

The Dragon Empire -- after the Goa'uld and the Ori were defeated, the Dragon Empire becomes the new problem.  With Quesamet and Asamet -- the Tau'ri have to deal with dragons in the Milky Way Galaxy and the Sagittarius Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy that has been intersecting with the Milky Way.  The dragons are like the Goa'uld -- they become masters of all they see.

The two empires have been competing and now the Dragon Empire is expanding.  Can the Tau'ri stop their expanse?

Forgotten Realms and Hârn:  Both Faerun and Harn were linked to Earth.  Instead of what the writers intended, I would use Stargates to link both Harn and Shavarash (Faerun) to Earth.  The Stargate would be in an Earthmaster (Ancient) site on Harn (Melderyn) and on the Forgotten Realms, the Stargate is located on the Chessenta and Unther border.

The Goa'uld used the Stargate to seed Faerun with Orcs and Elves along with humans from Earth.  Supreme System Lord Ra was defeated by the Goa'uld System Lord Gruumsh once, but Gruumsh was defeated by the Goa'uld System Lord Correllon Larethan.  The Goa'uld are also the Imaskari, with most of the Imaskari fighting chaste being Jaffa.

Eberron: Eberron has a STARGATE!  Built there by the Ancients, the Goa'uld seeded Eberron with humans from Earth -- taken from Troy or Greece.  The Stargate is located in Sarlona, specifically somewhere in Riedra.

Yrth: The planet of GURPS: Banestorm has a stargate.  The stargate is located in the island nations.

Plus, hundreds of other possibilities!  You can do anything with a Stargate campaign.  The possibilities are endless!