So, what do you think the fantasy equivalent of a Jedi is? How would you build one/it in your favorite system?
Breaking down what a Jedi can do, only the precognition seems to stand out, aside from the kill-anything sword. Telekinesis is pretty standard fantasy magic, and usually stronger than your typical Jedi has it also. The ability to physically enhance yourself is also pretty standard for mages, albeit not easily/naturally as a Jedi does it, but that said they can usually do it to greater extremes in most fantasy settings.
Drop a Jedi into most fantasy settings, such as D&D or Elder Scrolls, and you basically have a fairly potent yet narrowly-focused Spellsword with a Infinity +1 sword.
It's just an idle thought I had playing the Witcher today and planning a Edge of the Empire game for my group. I'm curious how others feel that the space wizards would fare in their setting of choice, transplanted from the Jedi temple as a skilled yet no-name Knight, to [insert world] and going on a quest to find a way home. What sort of troubles would they handle well, and enemies, and what would potentially kill them?
Jedi are the fantasy equivalent to Jedi it's space fantasy. Give them regular swords or just say they use magic sticks or whatever and it's literally no different.
Elijah Roberts
Interestingly, someone who fights like Kylo Ren may well be the most dangerous foe to run into. What he lacks in swordsmanship and the old-school finesse, he makes up for with creativity.
The ability to immediately and completely freeze/paralyse a foe, make them pass out with a force-suggestion, and/or rip information from a persons mind would be very hard to counter in most settings in general.
Nolan Williams
Of course, but you are being obtuse. I clearly mean 'how would you build this/how would this fare' in [insert roleplaying system/setting]/D&D/Elder Scrolls/ect.
Logan Walker
Why are female jedi always so sexy?
Don't they have any old crones like a female yoda?
Paladins in some settings/roleplay are basically fantasy jedi, following a set of rules and doctrine in order to preserve peace with their abilities.
Caleb Adams
Cleric. Combat focused cleric. Maybe instead of healing, they can choose a type of spell (buff/offensive/sensing) to be able to spontaneously cast
John Scott
Judging from flavor, a Jedi would probably be something like a swordsman/psionic/monk/sage with a magic sword.
In function, a paladin or cleric might be more like it, though only tangentially. Peacekeepers with powers they generally use for good.
Luke Parker
The Gith are sort of Jedi in a way.
Aaron Cox
Probably either psionics or monks with a more magic bent
Luis Johnson
Jedi were just meant to be sci fi versions if movie samurai with some subtle mysticism added for flavor. Then Yoda came along and showed a much more spiritual side to it by incorporating elements of Taoism.
That can work just fine as some kind if fighter archetype . We shouldn't get too hung up on the lightsaber though. Remember originally, everyone was supposed to use them, even stormtroopers. They don't need any fantasy analogue because they're just swords used in a setting where most people don't use them.
Ayden Perry
>Cleric. Combat focused cleric. Maybe instead of healing, they can choose a type of spell (buff/offensive/sensing) to be able to spontaneously cast Jedi aren't just melee fighters. There are classifications of Jedi that focus primarily on Force powers, from offensive, to buffing, to healing.
Austin Robinson
I never liked comparing Paladins to Jedi. The concept of hunting and smiting feels very out of character for Jedi.
Paladins are meant as judges and avengers. That just feels too aggressive for what we saw in the original movies. Remember they changed the title for RotJ because "Revenge of the Jedi" left a bad taste in people's mouths.
By contrast, vengeance doesn't feel nearly as incompatible with paladins.
Wyatt Lee
what could BTFO a Jedi in D&D 3.5 or Elder Scrolls?
Josiah Martin
Again it depends on setting and the type of paladin, some paladin kits/whatever you want to call it. Consider revenge a breaking of their code and will fall because of it. And some paladin types believe in keeping balance over hunting evil.
Ethan Murphy
I use this obvious translation of them in my worldbuilding.
Tyler Diaz
I guess the kit can be changed around.
But I still have some reservations about Smite Evil. The closest we really see to that is Luke's freakout at the end of Jedi. And the whole point of that is he's losing control and acting un-Jedi-like.
I dunno, if I were using Not!Jedi, well the first thing I'd do is use a system other than D&D. And then I'd fluff it as more of a religion and way of life than a job, so as to make it like the OT.
Blake Butler
Soulknife with crystalline hilt item in pathfinder, then maybe going in to some form of initiator + psion or wilder.
Lightsabers tend to be pretty overhyped - yes they're neat weapons designed for specialist use, but they're basically +1 fantasy swords.They don't kill anything that couldn't be killed by other means as well - they definitely are not infinity+1 weapons.
Certain fighting styles draw on different emotions - for example Kylo and Vader drew heavily upon pain that they were experiencing, and channeled that into their fighting and their force abilities.
Logan Turner
Vengeance is evil. Paladins are good.
Wrath is the love of justice turned to hatred, it's a perversion. In a setting where there are no pure 'good/evil' people, vengeance has no place for a paladin.
Grayson Gomez
Thing with lightsabers is they're only specialist weapons by virtue of being swords in a setting where you don't need swords.
There's no real reason for a fantasy Jedi to use any kind of fancy special sword other than flavor. A regular sword captured their essence just fine.
Andrew White
>...they're basically +1 fantasy swords.They don't kill anything that couldn't be killed by other means as well - they definitely are not infinity+1 weapons.
Fair point, but one I'm not sure I agree with fully. There are very few fantasy creatures that I can think of that are as durable as, say, a solid future-metal construct (from Battle Droid to an AT-AT's leg) or a Blast Door. Lightsabers have triumphed over both, albeit the latter required time.
You could argue that supernatural durability is different, but we have no idea if the 'heat'/plasma would serve the same purpose as fire to the undead, though I would err on the side of yes. There is also the spiritual component that the crystal and weapon itself is practically a manifestation of the force/the wielder made into pure energy. To go with the whole Samurai thing, with the soul in the sword. At the least you can argue its also a blessed weapon, and not simply a 'masterwork' weapon.
Not to say that a Jedi is something that can't be challenged outside SW. Mook enemies, and even groups of normal humans, should fall easily enough - but a sufficiently experienced Wizard or the like might well take them out with little the Jedi could do about it. At best I would put your average Jedi at the level of a high-level (but not epic) melee class with some cross-class into the arcane.
Gavin Cruz
I think the best way to translate it us the "lightsaber" is a unique sword made out of some special material only they have. Each guy crafts his own in a process which is half metallurgy and half meditation.
It captures the spiritual aspect and symbol role very nicely I would think. And that's what's really important
Nolan Cox
>Blast Door.
Actually, that was prettymuch just a sunder attempt with a lightsaber that had heat damage on it. It was capable of bypassing object 'hardness' so it just dealt damage straight to HP.
The 'cinematics' of it say 'whoa he just stuck his fancy energy-sword in here', but the gameplay mechanics were basically just him doing full attacks without needing to consider object hardness.
>solid future-metal construct (from Battle Droid to an AT-AT's leg)
They're mooks. They don't really matter for much.
Owen Morgan
>Vengeance is evil. Paladins are good. >literal "Oath of Vengance" archetype in D&D 5e >talking out your ass in this day and age
Julian Wright
>What's a paladin.
Levi Bell
...
John Smith
The Jedi/Paladin comparison is superficial at best.
Christopher Fisher
A bit more Sci-fi than fantasy, but Cyber Knight is pretty fucking close.
Nolan Reed
Dragonstar had an item called the Sunsword which was basically a lighsaber
Sunsword 1,500 cr 2d6 19–20/x2 — 3 lb. Fire The weapon ignores the first 10 points of armor bonus or natural armor bonus and hardess of any target it strikes. The sunsword sheds light in a 60-ft. radius. It also sheds warmth, though it does not burn unless one actually makes contact with the plasma blade.
