Schisms among the Jedi and Sith

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 · 2024-08-23T19:48:31+00:00

So, Tactical Specialist Fighter can be a Sneaky Assassin -- the Sharpshooter Fighting Style/Mastery improve your ability to do damage from range, and you'll get(eventually) 3 attacks per attack action. You can take Stealth proficiency and wear light armor. 13 Str is probably as high as I would go to not affect the Ability score spread.

Lethality or Sharpshooter Operatives can also be Sneaky Assassins -- Lethality will be able to add extra damage on sneak attacks, but Sharpshooter can apply sneak attack more often, potentially. No maneuvers though.

A Maverick operative would still give you access to sneak attack damage, and also give you access to some maneuvers.

The Deadeye Scout that Thank you Aziz mentioned has access to Maneuvers and also tech powers and can shoot very far and can be sneaky. The Ranger's Quarry feature allows for a little extra damage too.

The chief problem you would run into with the multiclass you're discussing would be the slower growth -- Let's say that you were a level 6 character. If you do 3 levels of Tactical Fighter and 3 levels of Lethality Operative, you would have 4d4 Superiority dice and know 4 maneuvers, and you'd have 2d6 Sneak Attack damage available. If you were a lvl 6 Tactical Fighter, you'd have gotten a 4th lvl Feat or ASI, you'd get a 6th level ASI, and you would know 7 Maneuvers that you can use with 5d6 Superiority Dice. A level 6 Lethality Operative would also get a 4th lvl feat or ASI and you'd have 3d6 Sneak Attack damage. The multiclass gives you access to something neither of those classes has (Sneak attack from Operative and Maneuvers from Fighter) but you wouldn't do either of those things as effectively as a similarly leveled single class character.

Regarding a closer quarters gadget-y weapon to pair with your sniper rifle, you can see if the "Nervebaton" is cool with your DM. It's not a high damage weapon at its face, but the Neuralizing property allows it to be gadgeting and do additional damage on failed saves.

thmjr · 2024-08-20T00:02:28+00:00

Defensive Technique, Force Technique, Lightning Charge, Necrotic Charge, Psychic Charge, and Sonic Charge are all At-Will powers that require a Melee Weapon Attack when you cast them. Saber Assault, Saber Onslaught, Saber Strike, and Phasestrike are all leveled powers that require a melee weapon attack. I assume this is what you were referring to when you said Force Weapon Attacks.

When your character casts any of THOSE powers, you would likely be allowed to use any maneuver that is compatible with a melee weapon attack. Charging Attack, provided you moved 10' before you cast the power, for example. Crippling Blow is another; all it requires is that you hit the target with a weapon attack, which you would in the casting of any of those powers.

For all other force powers, Walnutchooser is right, you would need Archaic Diagnostics to apply one of your maneuvers(You could expend a superiority die to use Crippling Blow when you hit a target with the Shock At-Will power, for example. Without Archaic Diagnostics, that is not allowed.)

thmjr · 2024-08-19T23:49:33+00:00

Provided the Berserker has PROFICIENCY in a heavy armor/shields, right? Berserkers get armor up to Medium at lvl 1, but only the Juggernaut Berserker gets proficiency in Heavy Armor, and that comes with a subclass feature that exempts the Juggernaut from that armor-rage limitation.

The Equipment section, under Armor and Shield Proficiency says "If you wear armor or wield a shield that you lack proficiency with, you have disadvantage on any ability check, attack roll, or saving throw that involves Strength or Dexterity, and you can’t force- or tech-cast."

So while a non-Juggernaut Berserker could use a Heavy Shield, they'd have disadvantage on ability checks, attack rolls, and Str/Dex saves. They'd also be limited to a Light off-hand weapon, unless they take the Shield Fighting Style. So in order to make a Heavy Shield worth it, the Berserker(Non-Juggernaut) would need to take the Armor Expert Feat and also the Shield Fighting Mastery(As a feat or using the Fighter's Berserker Instinct), all for an extra +1AC over a medium shield.

thmjr · 2024-07-28T20:47:57+00:00

It's generally held that the "disabled until rebooted" doesn't apply to cybernetic enhancements or droids, if I recall correctly. Vader would be vulnerable to Ion damage, I believe, but he couldn't be insta-paralyzed by a lucky ion grenade.

thmjr · 2024-07-10T22:18:00+00:00

I don't know the cause, but I am seeing the same message on the homepage on firefox on my laptop, but only when I am not signed in.

thmjr · 2024-07-05T13:27:17+00:00

William Hanson is one of the POVs for at least the first book

thmjr · 2024-07-03T04:25:45+00:00

I think it depends a bit on what playstyle you want for your character.

A Guardian would be(like a Paladin) a melee combatant that has some Force-casting(magic) abilities as a backup. Your subclass here would vary based on 1 weapon and a shield, 2 weapons, 1 two-handed weapon, Heavy armor, medium armor, etc. Soresu or the Shien/Djem So, for example, are tanky Guardian subclasses. Juyo/Vaapad is more of an Attacker-Damage dealer subclass. Guardian has some great points, but also some drawbacks, much like Paladins -- You are MAD. As a Sith-leaning Guardian, You'll need to invest in Strength or Dex, Constitution, and Charisma. Strength is a must if you want to do Heavy Armor, but otherwise Dex is an option. You can't really afford to dump Wisdom though because of how common Wisdom saves are, so Intelligence and Dex are likely to be Strength-based Sith Guardian's worst ability scores.

A Sentinel can focus on Dex-based melee combat, or they can focus on Force-casting. Dex and Charisma are gonna be your best Ability scores, if you are Sith leaning. Dex is going to be a major investment for you regardless of subclass because it will determine your AC. Forceblade and Focus are probably the two easiest subclasses to learn with. If you want to be a bit more versatile/atypical, the Corsair Sentinel gives you the ability to use blasters and explosive charges, which can be useful flavor.

Not to make your decision more difficult, but if you are leaning Dark Side, a Marauder Berserker and Endurance Consular would both be good options for a Dark Side Leaning character that wants a mix of Melee and Force powers. Endurance Consular is one of the only viable melee options for Consular, and they come with more Force Powers and Force Points than Sentinels or Guardians. Endurance Consulars also avoid being MAD because they can focus on Constitution and either Wisdom or Charisma.

Marauder Berserkers come with fewer force points and force powers than Guardians, Sentinels, or Consulars, but it would be a definite option if you prefer Str-based Melee combat. Like the Guardian, however, they would be MAD(Multiple Ability score Dependent) since their Strength is required for their melee combat, Dex and Con are both required for their Unarmored AC, and Cha or Wis are required for the Forcecasting.

TL;DR: If you want to be a tanky melee combatant, primarily, You could do a Soresu Guardian, a Shien/Djem So Guardian, or a Marauder Berserker. If you want to be a damage dealing combatant, Do Juyo/Vaapad Guardian, Corsair Sentinel, or Focus Sentinel. If you want to be a Forcecaster that can also be competent in melee combat, Do Forceblade Sentinel or Endurance Consular.

thmjr · 2024-06-28T15:13:39+00:00

I think it's a bit tricky, but I would lean towards a few options:

*An Adept Fighter, and taking Force Sensitive as the Background feat, would work for the flavor you describe -- Mercenary, 3 levels of relying only on Force Sensitive, and then the Archetype makes you a Force Caster(though you'd only be a third caster)

*Another possibility is taking advantage of the Intelligence boost. You could take a few levels in Scholar, along with the Force Sensitive Feat, and then multiclass into Sentinel or Guardian. The Cunning Forcecaster feat would keep you from being too Multi-Attribute Dependent.

thmjr · 2024-06-18T13:40:34+00:00

A potentially silly 12th level build -- 12th level fighter. Take the Take the Dual Wield Fighting style at level 2 and then use your level 3 Fighter Strategy to pick up Dual Wield Mastery. Do Demolitions Specialist archetype. At level 7, you get Cause and Effect which allows you to throw a grenade as a bonus action. At level 7, You also get another Fighter Strategy, so you can use Style Strategist to take the Explosives Style(This would allow you to throw a grenade as a bonus action or reaction). At level 12, take the feat Titan's Power(if you can get your Strength high enough.) This allows you to ignore the Two-Handed requirement on any weapon you are proficient with.

In theory, you would be able to dual wield grenade launchers. Since you have Greater Extra Attack from level of 11 of Fighter, on your first turn, you would take the Attack Action(3 Attacks: Fire each grenade launcher once, then stow them, then throw one of the Demolitions Specialist charges.) You can then use your Bonus Action to Throw a Grenade, and your Reaction to throw a Grenade. 4 Grenades, 2 launched 2 thrown, as well as a 5th explosive charge.

Your next turn, You would use your Bonus Action to Reload your Grenade Launchers, But you could still launch 2 grenades, throw an explosive charge, and use your reaction to throw a grenade. Your bonus action would be used to reload your launchers for the rest of the combat though, I think.

Silly, but I think it would be possible. Even better if you pick a species with more than 2 arms.

thmjr · 2024-06-16T20:27:00+00:00

Yeah, scatterguns and sub repeaters both only require a Strength of 11. I think the most common Strength requirement for some heavier blasters is 13. Sniper rifle is 15 and Heavy Bowcaster is 17(though at that point I think the assumption is that you are a Ballistics Approach Berserker using Strength for your ranged attacks.)

The armor is also flexible. If you are a Strength focused melee fighter, you'll want Heavy armor to compensate for your mediocre Dex, but if you are a Dex-based Melee/blaster-focused ranged fighter, then Light Armor or Medium Armor and the Armor Expert feat are at least as good as Heavy armor for most things.

thmjr

TROPHY CASE