Star Wars Ramblings: Bridging the Midi-chlorian Divide

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...
The Jedi studied The Force through meditation and contemplation. It was a mystical force that only a disciplined mind could wield and master. It was known that force-potential was often an inheritable trait passed on from mothers and fathers to their offspring. This prompted one Jedi, a former scientist, to seek scientific explanations for The Force. He discovered midi-chlorians and their relation to The Force. He postulated that at one time, the midi-chlorians were a virus that infected living cells. Eventually, mutations occurred and they became a part of living cells that were copied as each cell divided (like the mitochondria of our galaxy). The Jedi of the time viewed his findings with disdain. "Science is not the way to The Force", they said. Fearing that this particular jedi would unlock powerful secrets of The Force through midi-chlorian research instead of practiced and disciplined spiritual study, the council banned further study of the midi-chlorians. The science-jedi took offense to this and left the order with many other jedi following him.

This group would later go on to become the Sith. It's leader would one day take the name Darth Plagueis. It is said that he possessed such wisdom that he could influence the midi-chlorians to prevent those he cared for from dying. Well, who does a Sith care for? Himself. Plagueis mastered the ability to transfer his consciousness from one body to another. He lived for thousands of years this way, taking the names of his victims and sometimes using various new Sith names. When his apprentice, Palpatine learned that his master planned to one day possess his body, he attempted to kill Plagueis. He succeeded in killing Plagueis' body but Plagueis took possession of Palpatine as he delivered the final blow. Snokes is Palpatine is Plagueis.

While Plagueis had great knowledge of the midi-chlorians, he never managed to increase his own midi-chlorian count or the midi-chlorian count of other living beings. He eventually took a different tack and it payed off. He was able to use the midi-chlorians to cause parthenogenesis and, in the process, boost the number of midi-chlorians in the fetus. There are Sith legends that he first performed these experiments on animals - which created some rather nasty force-immune and force-wielding creatures. He eventually learned how to do this with humans - which proved very useful for creating new, powerful hosts for himself. Each time, he was able improve the midi-chlorian counts in the midi-chlorian conceived offspring.

If the Jedi had such contempt for midi-chlorians and using science to study The Force, why were they using it to test for force-potential during the time of the Prequel Trilogies?  The Jedi originally existed as a cloistered order. As the Republic grew, the Jedi were called upon for aid more and more often. Eventually, the Jedi became very intertwined in the political workings of the Republic. The Republic continued to grow and so did the Jedi responsibilities within the Republic. Eventually, the Jedi were spread very thin and too busy to send Jedi out looking for new jedi recruits. They acquiesced and allowed the use of midi-chlorian testing to identify potential candidates. While they allowed midi-chlorian testing, study and discussion of the midi-chlorians were always discordant and controversial. Thus, midi-chlorians were still a rather taboo topic of conversation. By the time of the Clone Wars, the Jedi had already fallen from their pure, spiritual grace without even realizing it. Through Luke Skywalker, with Obi-wan and Yoda as his guides, the Jedi Order regained its integrity and its spiritual roots.

Mettle: Talents and Skills

I think all actions (ignoring spell-casting for the moment) within an adventure game can be categorized as follows:

Melee (fighting with striking weapons or unarmed)
Marksmanship (throwing and shooting)
Subterfuge (lock-picking, pocket-picking, hiding and detecting hidden things, disarming traps, etc.)
Survival (tracking, foraging, navigation - outdoor survival skills)
Communication (languages, diplomacy, lying, intimidation, persuasion, haggling, etc.)

I will call these generalized skills "Talents". A Talent check is a 4x check: roll 1d6, multiply by 4, compare to related Trait plus Talent bonus.

If a player or GM wishes to create or develop a specialized skill, no problem. The specialized skill (Skill) is a 3x check: roll 1d6, multiply by 3, compare to related Trait plus Skill bonus. Learning or improving a Talent or Skill costs the same amount of XP but a Talent is a 4x check where a Skill is 3x check. Neither Talents nor Skills may be improved past +4.

Some examples...

A character named Bill has Subterfuge+3 but wishes to specialize in Traps. He spends XP and gains Traps+1. His Subterfuge bonus no longer applies when dealing with traps.

If Ted did not have the Subterfuge Talent but wanted to learn how to detect/disarm traps, no problem. He spends XP and gains Traps+1. If Ted later decides to pickup the Subterfuge Talent, no problem. He spends XP and gains Subterfuge+1.

Both Bill and Ted must meet someone willing to teach them their new Skill. However, Talents may be self-taught.

a vertical cavern-crawl map

(potentially for use with my Death Maze / Citadel of Blood inspired game called MoBaD - Maze of Blood and Death)

Mettle

Creating a Character
Start with 6 points in each of the following traits: Strength (ST), Dexterity (DX), Intelligence (IQ), and Mettle (MT). Distribute 8 additional points among those traits as desired. Choose 4 points of Talents, Skills, or Spells.

Trait Tests
Roll 1d6. A 1 is always a success. A 6 is always a failure. Multiply the roll by 3 (3x). If the result is less than or equal to the tested Trait, the test is passed.

Talent Tests
Roll 1d6. A 1 is always a success. A 6 is always a failure. Multiply the roll by 4 (4x). If the result is less than or equal to the applicable Trait plus Talent bonus, the test is passed.

Skill Tests
Roll 1d6. A 1 is always a success. A 6 is always a failure. If the skill is known, multiply the roll by 3 (3x). Otherwise, multiply the roll by 4 (4x). If the result is less than or equal to the applicable Trait plus Skill bonus, the test is passed.

Winning Tests
When there is opposition to a character's action, the character must win a test against the opposition. Both sides roll 1d6, multiply the result by 2, and add a related Trait plus a related Talent or Skill. The character with the highest result wins the test. Let the highest roll (1d6) break a tie when possible. Otherwise, re-roll.

Octoid

Octoids have yellow-green skin that is both semi-transparent and semi-luminescent when they are excited. These rare creatures can stun their prey with a pale red beam from their single large eye. Octoids will envelop the head of their victims whenever possible. Once firmly attached, the victim becomes a meat-puppet extension of the octoid's body, attacking any perceived threat. Once all threats have been eliminated, the octoid begins secreting acidic enzymes that allow it to dissolve, digest, and absorb it's prey.

The octoid has eight dexterous tentacles centered around an orifice beneath their large, bulbous heads. Within the orifice are three jagged and razor-sharp teeth. Octoids can levitate but are much quicker when scurrying around on solid surfaces with their tentacles. Despite their resemblance to sea-creatures, water affects octoids as if it were fire or scalding hot liquid. They are immune to the affects of cold and can survive in the vacuum of space indefinitely.

Cybot Reimagined :)

Cybot