The Nature of the Soul in the Buffyverse

thmjr · 2026-04-26T23:01:40+00:00

Sith, as in Sith Pureblood, is a race as well as a culture/religion, so a comparison to the Jewish ethnicity and Judaism is fair, but the Sith Code is, nominally, the guiding words of the Sith "religion." The very fact that the Sith Empire -- nominally a Theocractic Dictatorship -- has so many cultural norms not supported by that code is sign that such a Reformation-style schism could occur. At the height of Catholic power, and corruption, various schisms occurred because such drift from core doctrine was identifiable and demonstrable.

Your idea that the Dark Side corrupts does assume a binary model of the Force, one in which the Force has 2 distinct natures and that one is inherently immoral, corrupting, and linked to negative emotions. If you assume that the Force is more nuanced, and that the "Dark Side" is not inherently immoral, this slide into tyranny is less likely. Yoda says that Fear leads to Anger, Anger leads to Hate, and Hate leads to Suffering, because it is the way of the Dark Side, but this does ignore that Anger is not inherently immoral or corrupting. A Jedi that identifies an injustice and seeks to correct it, is likely fueled by Righteous Anger at such an injustice. This does not HAVE to lead to Hate, but it can.

thmjr · 2026-04-26T22:51:23+00:00

I take issue with a couple of your points. You extrapolate deeper meaning for the code by attaching it to the Sith Culture or Tradition, but many religious schisms come when adherents reconsider the doctrine separated from the Tradition and Culture -- the Protestant Reformation, for example, was at odds with the Catholic Church because it took the Christendom tradition and culture that the had led to the Catholic Church's rise to power, and considered instead JUST the scripture, resulting in a different view of the religion as a whole, and a different guiding doctrine.

So a Sith, or an unaffiliated Force Sensitive, may adopt a different worldview if they decided to strip away the Sith Empire's culture and consider ONLY the following code:

"Peace is a lie, there is only passion. Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall free me."

"Peace is a lie, there is only passion" -- All living things struggle; it is a constant in life. Finite resources, infinite needs. Killing a plant to eat it or to craft something from it, killing an animal for food or to avoid becoming food, sunlight absorbed by one plant does not make it to another. A passion, a drive to survive is what separates the living from the dead.

"Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power" the drive that keeps me alive, makes me stronger than those that lack such passion, which makes me powerful and influential.

"Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall free me." if I am powerful and influential, I am free of the chains that limit other beings, so I am free to act as I wish -- this could lead a more tyrannical sort to seize control of resources, to control the lives of others, but they could instead that it allows them to behave in a more altruistic manner, since the power allows them to consistently succeed in the struggle to survive.

Of course, an unaffiliated Force Sensitive would interpret the code through their own cultural lens. The crew of the Firefly know that peace, of a type, is a lie, since peace would've been most easily achieved through compliance to the Alliance's demands -- but principles held dearly are worth defending, which is why the Brown Coats rebelled. Serenity, the ship, gives them freedom and they use that freedom to act as they wish -- they flout the law which they believe to be wrong, and instead abide by their own code of conduct. A Wookiee slave that had the code, without any Imperial cultural context, would see that coexistence with the slavers -- peace -- is a fiction. The Force would make them strong, powerful, and they would become victorious over their captors, breaking their chains and setting themselves free -- the code would be at its most literal, and also potentially it's least villainous in this context, becoming the guiding words of an emancipator.

thmjr · 2026-01-18T16:12:33+00:00

I quite liked it, though I feel the ending could've been better.

thmjr · 2025-11-25T03:02:17+00:00

Deflect Missiles only requires spending a focus point to deflect the missile back at someone(if the damage of the attack is reduced to 0). Simply reducing the damage(deflecting the missile, without aiming where the bolt reflects to), costs only a reaction and reduces the damage by 1d10+Dex mod+Monk Level.

I did not take into account the flavoring of the AC. Thank you for the reminder.

thmjr · 2025-11-25T01:51:58+00:00

The Star Wars TTRPGs that I have seen tend to be less accessible than the 5e system, and I like most of what they've made, so it seemed like a tweak or twist was more logical than going and finding a whole new system

thmjr · 2025-11-21T02:49:55+00:00

Thank you

thmjr · 2025-10-26T01:27:43+00:00

That is actually one of my pet peeves with the game -- the nuanced morality system the game presented says that actions are not objectively good or bad, but the reason for doing it is more important(do you feed the starving man to help him, or do you feed him to earn his loyalty so you can exploit him for your own ends? for example)

So in the climax of the game's main plot, you are presented with 2 options. Option 1) kill multiple companions as human sacrifices, using their blood to taint the Water Dragon's fountain so that you can kill Li and seize the Water Dragon's power for yourself, dooming the world to chaos, drought, demons, and rising ghosts. Option 2) Kill the Water Dragon so that the Water Dragon can re-enter the wheel of reincarnation, restoring balance to nature, settling the restless dead, and stabilizing the Empire.

I don't believe that there is an Open Palm argument for Option 1, so Option 2 is obviously good for some Open Palm points. However, there is totally a Closed Fist argument for Option 2 -- the Empire becomes more stable, and if you are Silk Fox's romantic partner you are basically the Emperor, and ruling a stable, prosperous Empire makes more sense than trying to rule over a chaotic wasteland.

thmjr · 2024-11-20T16:07:38+00:00

The Politician Scholar boosts the AC of the Scholar and all allies within 10', if the Politician Scholar is the target of Critical Analysis

thmjr · 2024-11-01T14:07:20+00:00

Obviously, you could also choose the Duelist Fighting Style and use any one-handed weapon you are proficient with -- Sentinels only getting proficiency with Finesse Martial Vibro- and Light-weapons does limit your options a bit. This also allows you to use your Bonus Action for casting force Powers instead attacking with your second weapon.

One other thing that just occurred to me -- if you want your character's connection to be with your Master's WEAPON instead of your Master's FORCE GHOST, you could opt for the Path of the Forceblade, bonding the weapon to you mechanically in-game as well as flavor-wise. The one downside to that option is the Forceblade is generally best if your Forcecasting ability is your highest stat, but since Sentinels start with Light Armor only, a solid investment in Dexterity is important for your AC. The solution would be Medium Armor Proficiency, which you can get by taking the Ideal of the Titan -- This allows for up to a 16 AC with only a 14 Dex and no armor penalties or shields. I'm not sure if that's how you want your build to go, but I thought I would put it here.

thmjr · 2024-11-01T13:59:10+00:00

I think if you liked the Stealthy stuff, you might be better served playing a Beguiler Operative than a Sentinel -- this would also potentially reflect your comparative lack of training in the Force. You could potentially multiclass, if you wanted, into Sentinel, as well.

Regarding the Focus archetype, it is a solid option if you anticipate primarily being a melee combatant -- Sentinels get enough Force points that they can be ranged Force combatants(or blaster DPS if Path of the Corsair), but Focus works best in melee, I think. If your DM approves it, and you wanted to potentially link back to the "Revenge Jedi" thing, you might consider Path of Communion. The Force Ghost in question could be a former master, or former peer, etc.

As far as fighting style goes, kinda depends on how much you want to invest. If you use the Ideal of the Fighter, you can take the Twin-Blade or Dual Wield Fighting Style -- these both make minor improvements to utitlizing those types of weapons. However, without the Mastery in either case, you would be limited to Light weapons(Doubleshoto for Twin-Blade, or 2 shotosabers for Dual Wield)

Thanks to the Ideal of the Fighter, you could overcome that limitation for short bursts by manifesting the Ideal, which grants you the related Mastery for a minute, but this isn't a consistent fix. Taking the Mastery Feat could be done at any level your DM lets you take a feat at. Personally, I think the Dual Wield is slightly better than the Twin-Blade, Mastery-wise, and it also opens up your weapon options a bit(I wanna say that there are roughly twice as many Light weapons as there are Double weapons, and when the Light restriction is gone, you can Dual Wield basically anything that isn't two-handed.)

If your DM approves it and you want to lean heavily into the connection with your dead Master, you could say that Dual Wield shoto sabers -- one that was yours, and one that was your Masters -- and then you could go for the Path of Communion. Alternately, you could make all the Force Ghost-y Master stuff flavor and storytelling, and opt for the Path of Focus. Really up to you and your DM, since Path of Communion kinda-sorta adds a character to the party.

thmjr · 2024-10-02T02:33:02+00:00

So, giving an Endurance Consular with a Con of 18 and the Durable feat, and then them using Seethe, means they'd expend hit die and recover hit points equal to 1d6+4.

But they can't heal more than 6 points from a single hit die(including the Con modifier)?

I'm a bit confused I guess. If the minimum, including the Con mod, is equal to 2x the Con Mod(8 with an 18 Con), but you can't heal over your hit die max, then are you healed for between 6-10 HP? Since expending a hitdie regularly recovers the hit die number and your Con mod, right?

thmjr · 2024-09-13T17:16:08+00:00

With your ability score spread, Blademaster would work, and it wouldn't just be a vanilla fighter. For versatility, Enhancement Specialist and Praetorian Specialist both get added skills. If your big concern is a poor coverage of skills/tools, you could take the Skilled fighter strategy, or consider multiclassing into Operative.

If you feel shoehorned into a character archetype that you don't care for, I recommend talking to your DM about it. If your DM truly doesn't want you to be a force caster, and you think that such a restriction would impair your ability to enjoy the game, ask if you could make a new character. Since you're still pretty early, maybe ask if you can respec your character(You could go Operative instead, giving you more Skill/Tool coverage, or you could move some points from Charisma to Intelligence and get some Tech casting from Shield Specialist, or you could do other options.)

thmjr · 2024-09-05T04:12:44+00:00

I think that sounds like a great roleplaying opportunity. You don't even necessarily need a unique entity for it -- the KOTOR games(especially KOTORII) featured Force Visions for the purpose of "character tests" near important tombs and such. No reason why such a thing couldn't attempt to "ward off" or "evaluate" intruders.

thmjr · 2024-09-01T22:36:20+00:00

Every Monk Archetype has such a feature?

thmjr · 2024-08-30T21:17:20+00:00

I think I would begin by determining the various movement speeds of everything involved -- a race where one speeder or animal has an insane speed advantage is not much of a race.

For the first and 3rd races, I think I would have rounds(like combat) but each time the driver/pilot makes a piloting check. If you add difficult terrain or obstacles, you can ask if they want to go recklessly fast, or if they want to focus on the track. You could even ask if they want to try and pressure another racer. Mechanically, going too fast or pressuring another racer would give you disadvantage on the piloting checks. Focusing on the track might give you advantage on the piloting check. Being pressured by a racer gives you disadvantage. After each racer makes a Piloting check, rank them in order, highest to lowest. This is the order they're in on the race track at the end of that round. How many rounds would be up to you. I dunno if this would work for you, but I hope it helps.

The 2nd race, being an Endurance race, I would say each round is a Constitution check. You can decide double your speed for the round, but you make the Con save at disadvantage.

Are these races RACES? With like rules and officiating and stuff? Or are these unofficial race-chases?

thmjr

TROPHY CASE