TheSagaContinues

Show me what you got!

As there are already 26 Force traditions, it is easy to make one up. You just pick and chose 4-5 talents from the other traditions that fit the concept of your new tradition. If one of the talents that you want to use has a name associated with a different tradition, you just give it a new name and describe it as talent X. If you can't find a suitable talent there, look elsewhere in the game and adapt said talent for use with your tradition.

Let me give you an example:

The Bo Len Mu is a small sect that has established itself near the border to the unknown regions of space. They train in secrecy to understand the force through the betterment of the body and the mind. When they have received their training, they are free to stay on to train others or leave. However, they can never tell another of where they hide in the outer rim, and are bound to protect the sect if necessary. New recruits are chosen by those traveling the galaxy, and are brought to a trial in a remote location before being accepted for training.

Most Bo Len Mu will pick up a a telescoping metal Bo-staff (costing 265 credits), but even a sturdy wooden staff will do in a pich.


Talents

Bo Kata: Treat Bo (quarterstaff) as a Medium weapon not Large, can Pin & Trip with Bo-staff if Bo-staff in hand. Requires: Force Sensitive, proficient with Bo (quarterstaff)

Bo Apprentice: Bo-staff (quarterstaff) deals 1d8/1d8 damage and gain reach 1 if only one end of the staff is used for attacks.
Requires: Bo Kata, Rapid Strike

Bo Master: Bo-staff (quarterstaff) deals 1d10/1d10 damage and can benefit from the Improved Rapid Strike feat even though it is not a light weapon.
Requires: BAB +5, Bo Apprentice, Improved Rapid Strike

Fluidity: UtF for Acrobatics & can reroll UtF if can reroll Acrobatics, spend FP to be one size larger w/grapple


This is something I made up on the fly for you, so I can't tell if it is entirely balanced. I made it mostly so you could see that reusing talents is easy. Making up new ones is a bit harder and risk being unbalanced.

I must say I'm rather disappointed that my new tradition didn't even get a single comment.
...

Well if I'm not supposed to say....

Anyway, I've been watching some B5 lately (and sorry but that is better Sci-Fi than StarWars) and the "collapsing quarterstaff" has me thinking of the Minbari weapon that the Warrior caste and some Rangers (ie Marcus) use.  Also had me thinking about a certain blind monk a movie, believe it was the rogue one that didn't really have any of the BIG characters in it.

As a whole it may not be too bad.  Now to give a critique:
Bo Kata:  Note that when used one-handed you can NOT benefit from it as a double weapon.  Should have WP-Simple unless you're saying the Bo Staff is exotic.  I guess I don't see the use of Pin with the weapon so I don't think it should give that benefit but Trip may be fine.

Bo Apprentice/Master:  I actually find these somewhat interesting.  The damage boost are one thing but giving the weapon Reach may be major.

Fluidity:  Now is this a full "skill substitution" talent so you could actually use the many Trained Only applications of Acrobatics although you are using your UtF modifier instead?  That would probably be enough right there.  The "spend a FP to be one size larger w/ grapple" ability may deserve its own talent but certainly needs some time frame, or is it like several other talents where you basically would just wait until you are about to level (and lose any FP you haven't spent yet during a level) and activate it then with it sticking around permanently?

You asked for comments so there you have them.

Now maybe we need to see one that will allow a Force Sensitive who does NOT have UtF Trained to do some of the things that normally would require UtF to be a trained skill.

Stolen talent?  Here I thought it is supposed to be called Stolen Form which effectively gives anyone with access to the Sith talent tree access to the lightsaber form talents.

I'll admit I'm not all that familiar with the Shapers of Kro Var (I'd look it up, which book if you recall right off to top?) but even if copied verbatim it doesn't dismiss my issues with the talent.  Probably another one of those things that SHOULD have had errata to it but they never got around to fixing before they had to close up shop.

Some of those other feats did have me thinking Mutukai although the Wan-Shen strikes me as being much more significant that the basic bo-staff.  Of course the Wan-Shen has a significant number of advantages to start out with as it gives the extended reach and has a higher base damage.

Quote from: StevenO on December 24, 2018, 01:57:26 pm

Stolen talent?  Here I thought it is supposed to be called Stolen Form which effectively gives anyone with access to the Sith talent tree access to the lightsaber form talents.

Aha, maybe I'm unclear again. This has nothing to do with Stolen Form. Stealing a few talents, that is my recipe for creating another tradition. Most traditions have 4 to 5 talents, so that is what you need for a new tradition. Either you make up all those 5 talents yourself or you take some from other traditions. Taking them is much easier.

Of course I would not recommend letting the players cherry pick the talent they want from any tradition. But as a GM tool to make a new tradition, it could work out fine.

Oh you're fine, I'm just working on making bad connections.  I certainly agree that when a GM wants to make his own Force Tradition it will generally be much easier to use talents that already exist and just use them in this "new" tradition or at least use them as a basis for modification hoping that the original was fair to begin with.  I certainly would NOT allow a PC (and a GM should think long and hard before doing it) to cherry pick talents from other traditions just to build their own; I know there are some traditions (Aing-Tii Monk for example) that I severely restrict (ie you don't just get to choose these when planning your character) and if you want talents from them you're going to have to get them with you master's degree.

Quote from: StevenO on December 24, 2018, 01:57:26 pm

Some of those other feats did have me thinking Mutukai although the Wan-Shen strikes me as being much more significant that the basic bo-staff.  Of course the Wan-Shen has a significant number of advantages to start out with as it gives the extended reach and has a higher base damage.

Yes, but Mutukai need to tot around a conspicuous exotic weapon. So, this is why I rather play someone following my tradition. Any wanderer may have a quarter staff for support without drawing much attention.

Anyway, this is not exactly a tradition intended for play. However it would probably work out and not break anything in the game if used as I wrote it.

I believe the Wan-shen is supposed to break down for easy storage/carrying but I know what you mean.  Of course it's no more or less intimidating that someone walking around carrying a Vibro-Axe!  Not everyone gets powerful melee weapons that area as easy to conceal as lightsabers.

Just popping up to answer this part:

I'll admit I'm not all that familiar with the Shapers of Kro Var (I'd look it up, which book if you recall right off to top?)

Jedi Academy Training Manual, Page 84.