Teacher’s Aid; An Alternate Approach For Training Jedi
During The Rebellion Era.
Recently my son has been exploring the wonderful world of
tabletop role-playing games. He started with Dungeon’s & Dragons, even
though he has played other things over time this has been his first real
memorable foray into playing such games. Much like any other kid his age he
adores a variety of branded franchises and the release of a new Star Wars
series (Star Wars: Rebels) has seen his interest renewed.
…And then he saw a number of books and boxed sets setting
upon my shelf bearing the words Star Wars.
It wasn’t exactly a surprise to me when it happened, to be
honest. From a certain point I have expected specific iconic brands to call out
to my children as they grow up and statistically speaking I have yet to be
disappointed. The prospect of being able to play as a lightsaber wielding Jedi
was a sure bet that it would appeal to them. Who wouldn't want to be a Jedi?
However the events of Star Wars: Rebels bring an interesting
aspect to the potential stories that can be explored. The setting of the show
itself is that of the early days of the rebellion, the Jedi order has been all
but extinguished and virtually no Jedi are left to oppose the empire. As such,
when a former Jedi in hiding stumbles across the path of a potential student he
has to struggle with the implications of allowing his presence to become known
and if he even has the capacity to train an apprentice.
Everything known about this timeline firmly establishes that
this was a dark time for the Jedi. The vast majority of them have been wiped
out and the remaining few are in hiding or hunted and either could still find
themselves being dealt with by the empire’s continued purge. That being said we
also know that some former Jedi still exist as capable instructors with hopes
of someday returning the order to the galaxy.
The crux of the situation becomes a singular one; if the
Jedi order is all but extinct, how then could a student be taught the ways of
the force? An initial response would be that they would have to seek out a
master, even if they are so rare and no guarantee exists that a legitimate one
is available. Secondly, the prospect of finding an artifact like a Holocron is
also a possibility – be it Sith or Jedi.
When my son expressed an interest in playing in the
Rebellion Era as someone starting their Jedi training I had to consider all of
this. How could I pull off such a story without trying to incorporate
established characters or potentially distorting established information? My
solution feels flexible, fun and plausible (in my opinion). Allow me to
elaborate:
Without outright employing a powerful Jedi npc as a mentor
or using a familiar character I concluded that there had to be another way.
Now, according to some of the rulebooks there are indeed alternative options
for Jedi training without a mentor. Most notably among these was the use of a
Holocron to instruct a student in the ways of the force. Another approach was
by using the force spirit of a Jedi master, which could work but leave a
student character isolated from some physical implications of having a mentor
in the flesh.
While I was contemplating everything an idea occurred to me.
What was one thing that has been commonly seen alongside countless individuals
in some shape or form? It was a droid. Regardless of what assistance they
provide, having a droid by their side is a familiar sight for many characters.
Thinking about the matter further I decided the idea held
too much promise not to develop it. Especially if the game is centered on a
single player character or smaller than average party. Having an assistant to
help the player may not sound like a major aide but if for no other reason it
provides them with a sense of companionship and something to connect with while
playing.
So how does a droid fit into Jedi training? Imagine if you
will a loyal and well-serving droid owned by a Jedi, specifically one tasked
with instructing and protecting students. If such a droid existed then it could
contain some knowledge regarding Jedi teachings, the location of hidden
temples/shrines, archives, the resting place of holocrons or even a back-up
lightsaber.
Just try and think about the potential risk to the empire’s
plans that something like this would entail. If discovered it would be a prime
target for destruction. Ergo, should an individual with the potential promise
of one day becoming a Jedi discover such a droid it would be both a blessing
and a curse.
Any such droid could open up a doorway for a student to
start studying the ways of the Jedi without ever raising attention by looking
around for an instructor. In order to capitalize on this idea I settled upon a
rather low-key droid model; the R5 series of astromech, to be exact. It is
precisely the type of droid that could go unnoticed for years in idle storage
without anyone ever giving it more than a passing glance.
For instance, allow me to provide an example droid the likes
of which I am describing. Depending on your naming preferences you could refer
to the droid as R5-3D (“3D”) or R5-D1 (D-One or “Dunn”) just mentioning a
couple options for starters. Now, this R5 astromech droid has been in the
service of a Jedi master tasked with teaching and protecting a group of young
students during the later days of the clone wars. To be more exact, the Jedi
master Du Mahn who died while defending her charges from a contingent of clone
troops when order 66 was issued.
In order to assist Du Mahn in her duties, the R5 was
modified in a number of ways to be of use. First among these alterations was
some basic programming that gave the droid a modest database of Jedi teachings.
The R5’s base programming already covered some general purpose applications
like calculating navigational coordinates, basic piloting, and repairs among
others.
However, as the current climate of the time was far too
dangerous and given the duty of keeping her charges safe other alterations were
called for. To this end one of the R5’s tool mounts has been replaced with a
weapon mount containing a blaster pistol. Complementing this a low level shield
generator was also added to give the R5 droid a better chance in any firefight
while escorting any of the students.
Continued modifications improved the R5’s capabilities by
improving upon its installed sensor package, a shield expansion module (allowing
its shields to extend out to an adjacent individual being defended) and a
hidden core to preserve itself. Overall the R5 wouldn't be anything fearsome in
a firefight but what it could do is provide a degree of back up and a secondary
defense for others. Topping it all off; buried deep inside the loyal little
droid was a keystone that was linked with a holocron belonging to and hidden by
Du Mahn.
No droid can hold a connection with the force. However, what
this keystone does is react on its own when in the presence (via close
proximity) to the corresponding holocron. Consider it something akin to a
security access code or a unique key mated for a single lock. The R5 unit can
help guide another to where the holocron is hidden if certain requirements
(pre-set by its programming and cross referenced with its internal database on
Jedi lore) are met in order to awaken it for them. After which, it would be up
to the prospective student to unlock the various depths contained within the
holocrons stored wisdom.
The end result is a plot incorporating element that adds to
any storyline you choose to develop. An R5 with functioning memories of Jedi
Teachings and an existing directive to escort Jedi students is a valuable
asset. Couple that with a stored lightsaber or two and the potential to work in
a Jedi holocron and the potential for allowing an isolated young Jedi is a
powerful plot device.
What balances everything off nicely is the inherent risk of
having such a droid could bring. First of all (as previously stated), if
discovered there is no real happy ending in the future of the droid or the
owner. Added to that is the constant concern that the droid’s memory could be
faulty or it could be destroyed and an important source of priceless guidance
would become lost. And lastly, being a droid itself the R5 would lack the
ability to demonstrate force techniques or gauge progress effectively short of
projecting holograms or analytical comparison with stored recordings from past
instructions.
Keeping themselves below the radar of the empire is
challenging enough for a burgeoning young Jedi in the days before or the early
days of the rebellion. Trying to hide a source of Jedi education that constantly
enters into combat to protect you doesn't make it any easier. However, there is
an inherent compelling sense of engendered hope and warmth for any player just
starting out in a dark time with a loyal/trusted friend by their side.
Your millage may vary but I considered this little idea
worth sharing. If you ever thought about a Jedi just starting out without
following in the footsteps of Luke Skywalker then this (to me) is a
legitimately reasonable option. It provides a wealth of potential options for
pleasant adventures along with a healthy dose of conflict. Let us hope that it
proves to be fun for our games and if you care to try something similar I wish
you all great times as well.
Enjoy!
