Discussion Attaining the rank of Jedi Master/Sith Lord?

[Caedyn Arenais]

Question: What have your Characters (past or present), done to achieve the rank of Masterhood or Lordship?

Caedyn Arenais is my primary character and I have made it my mission to spend a good deal of time playing out the life of a Jedi Knight.

I hoped to portray your small-time Jedi compared to those akin to Anakin Skywalker or Obi-Wan Kenobi (Well recognized and legendary Jedi known to history). I had no intention of making him out to be someone with the same stature and reputation as his father Veiere Arenais held but wished to spend more time writing about the fight for the everyday citizen, fighting criminality and bringing humanitarian aid rather than focusing on massive battles or challenging Sith Lords.

However, after a certain amount of time, there comes a point where further Character Progression needs to occur to keep the RP flowing and the story moving organically behind the character. This led me to write up this discussion in the interest of hearing other people's experiences in becoming a Master rank character. Veiere's Masterhood was voted in on the much older system that required faction members to vote on each Force User Promotion.

So, while I'm taking a break from writing narratively, I figured hearing other people's thoughts and experiences might help influence Caedyn's future arcs when I'm ready to return to active writing again. Obviously, everyone will have different opinions and feelings on the subject for their own characters, and by all means, I encourage you to air them here. I'm very much interested to hear some feedback, and if you have any suggestions or advice regarding Caedyn's development, please do tell!

 

[Elle Mors]

I think breaking away from a hierarchal group made it easier for me to figure out how to write Elle as a Jedi that is a "master" without being a Jedi Master in the way you tend to immediately think when you hear the words Jedi and Master said together. She's very much the same person she was when she accepted her role as a Jedi going from planet to planet helping with "minor" issues (normal problems a city or perhaps entire planet might face) just with more potential for her to explore with the force and more developed capabilities. She isn't suddenly obligated to take on Sith Lords like she did over Csilla (which will probably happen regardless just because that's how the trend goes on Chaos for conflicts with force users) and she has a bit of a rubber-band effect on her abilities (she has fluctuating skill ceilings and the force has a sort of Mjolnir relationship with her, and other ic justifications for why she isn't leagues above, say, a Sith acolyte of decent skill when she has fought Darth Carnifex to what could be considered a temporary stalemate).

From the writer angle this is me trying to make things flexible so I don't make her boring to write in fights and so I can be engaging for other writers to go up against. From a character angle this allows me to push her both up against really difficult opponents while also strip all of that away when I want or need to in order to keep her humble and vulnerable.

In-character Elle considers her moments of heightened power to be the force's doing rather than her own skill, so I just kind of "let the force decide" in stories if she gets to tap into the light or not depending on a few factors, like need and interest - like it was necessary for her to see the shatterpoint of a blast door to escape The Mercy during the CSilla annihilation, and it could be neat if she, like, fails to wield telekinesis effectively enough to stop something from colliding with her or something and ends up hurt. That kind of thing.

There's a lot of ways to portray your character as having reached their height of potential/skill while keeping it interesting, this is just one take I've had on it. Just gotta find one you like to keep things fresh.

Caedyn Arenais

 

[Tempest Yore]

I wrote on a board that was the same. Back then, the Jedi promotion seemed more of a mystery to me because their focus can be so vastly different to one another. I preferred a community centric path over a battle master’s. For me personally, I thought of the progression as one of a shaman or monk. You just know when that enlightenment is attained, and only you can honestly know when.

 

[Matt the Radar Tech]

I started as a Sith Apprentice, way back when (before Chaos even existed, now that I think about it). I teamed up with my master, he made me do a bunch of missions and quests (threads), and eventually I had enough RP cred to gain Knight rank. Then I followed that master on a Sith group split, helped start the next group, did a bunch of threads/missions, and started to train other Apprentices. Then, after a while doing that (almost a year, I think?) I was able to do the Master trials.

Did those.

Passed.

Then went on to run the Sith Order in another community for a while, did some stuff, then found Chaos.

Long story short, I wasn't too fussed about rank, and I just focused on propelling the character through development and situations, while maintaining his Force growth how I felt was appropriate to what he was capable of. Ended up working out fine, the rank race never bothered me as a result, and through RP the character naturally developed into a Master.

 

[Irratar Hemstagon]

i have started about 9 times from acolyte and back, all the way up to Darth throughout 5 years in rp. To be honest, each time was rather different. Highly dependent on your character's backstory. A fallen noble of mine, once my main, was left to die, found by a lord and taken as apprentice starting from zero. After years of hammering and campaigning he got to the point he overshadowed his master. When tensions reached the ceiling, he killed her and ignited a civil conflict which ended in a truce, and him being darthed (he was already lord at the time, warmaster of his master's hosts). Years later he will be known across the server for his conquests and capable military leader, resulting with rather high tensions in a frontier which will get him at the verge of civil war. IF things go as planned, chances are he revolts and declares his own faction from the sith empire. But we wait and see 0.0 still ongoing tbh so cant predict much!

Another was an inquisitor who was a sorcerers apprentice and became a priestess. Thhus, although her power was high she never got darthed as she didnt apply to the hierarchy.

In general due to my high militaristic approach to sithhoo, i most of the times led crusaders and marauders, being ranked after extraordinary deeds in battle or command alike. My main's 2 last apprentices became darths after major victories in both naval and ground confrontations.

And then come those who rise simply due o the force of tongue and weakness of their superiors.... xD POLITICS

 

[Tiland Kortun]

My thoughts are generally that Knight is an acknowledgment of skill and capability to fulfill the responsibilities of being a Jedi/Sith, hence then being the bulk of each order. Mastery, in my mind, was always about wisdom and maturity. (Hence Anakin never making Jedi Master) That also ties into the idea in Legends that one of the requirements to be a Jedi Master training an apprentice to knighthood.

Teaching something well, especially the esoteric and magic I would assume, requires an immense understanding. (Einstein’s if you can’t explain it to a toddler for example) And in the process of teaching, one often finds a much deeper understanding of the content you’re teaching as well. Plus, as the master/apprentice model in the various canons also seems to include a fair bit of parenting, there’s also that aspect of experience as well as the most important lesson of letting go and letting people move on from your life.
But naturally, wisdom and experience vary dramatically between individuals, which may be why there were a relatively small amount of Jedi Masters.

 

[Aayla Shan]

I write them that way kek, nah; I couldn't tell you. Outside of having a dedicated Master-Apprenticeship, I don't think people of rank really notice characters enough to suggest such a thing; it would be a nice (and relatively realistic/immersive) surprise mind you.

For now on my path to bring Aayla to a Knight I play her as relatively combat competent, and quick to action when the situation calls. Caedyn Arenais

 

[Matsu Ike]

the journey from padawan to master can be fun and depends on how you want to have the character be. Matsu mixes long arcs with short one offs. Depending on the writing partner it evolves and changes but a lot of her heavy training and development has been in solo threads where she endeavors to learn many many things. Matsu has done it across several sites for almost 20 years now since 2004 and transferred in as a master on chaos then was stripped and came back to the rank of master reconnecting to the force and if anything she came back with a better understanding of it which has formed her ideas for using the force in many different ways and learning different techniques from across the galaxy.

 

[Kurayami Bloodborn]

On Chaos? Not all that much, as the story I had planned got derailed whe RL circumstances got in the way. Thankfully I knew people who could vouch for the rank of Master, and then filled in the missing parts. Not my best writing since it was thrown together last minute.

Pre-Chaos, when I first started writing Kurayami in 2007, I slowly worked up his rank from unaware of his abilities up through master. Took a while though I can't remember exactly I know it was about a year of writing. Training threads, working as a healer, battles, meditation, exploration threads...anything and everything I could write to help his journey through the ranks. Perhaps a bit more or less, but it was quite a ride. While it was fun, the best part of it is what most people now seem to dread...training threads. To be fair the people who trained him were very easy for me to contact and keep in touch with while writing. Thanks to them, 13 years dow the line the character is still going strong.

 

[Romi Jade]

Oh you know....

Few near death experiences.....lots of wars....fought a bunch of sithies....saved some people....learned some skills....converted to dark side and fought my way back to the light....boom mastership

(Was never my intention to grow in rank)

 

[Darth Carnifex]

I got like, staff-promoted both times, so idk.

 

[Tefka]

Back in my day you had to make friends and play politics with people who hopefully liked you and if not they dragged out your promotion for months if not years

wags cane

 

[Darth Banshee]

I got like, staff-promoted both times, so idk.

Yeah, Tefka gave me mine.

Though anyone taking the rank of master in my eyes, should not be a mary sue knight. Can take hits, as if they can't do it then, they will find more of an excuse when a master.

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

Awesome contributions to the discussion so far! Was really pleasing to see so many replies

Obviously, there's a large difference between becoming a Sith Lord and a Jedi Master, one often being far more aggressive in nature of achievements than the latter.

Mastery, in my mind, was always about wisdom and maturity. (Hence Anakin never making Jedi Master) That also ties into the idea in Legends that one of the requirements to be a Jedi Master training an apprentice to knighthood.

I have to say that this made me pause and ask myself how Caedyn fits in with this.

He certainly hasn't reached the point of maturity in the sense of Obi-Wan or Qui-Gon presented canonically, and his recent apprenticeship didn't make its conclusion, instead, his Padawan deciding to walk her own path. While he's been in large battles and done a lot for various Jedi and civilian nations/organizations, his personal growth isn't quite there yet and this is why I was interested to hear feedback and opinions from everyone else!

Back in my day you had to make friends and play politics with people who hopefully liked you and if not they dragged out your promotion for months if not years

wags cane

Yes, this was the downside of that old system and I watched a few going through this back when the Galactic Republic was still a thing alongside the One Sith. I loved the feeling of achievement that came with the recognition that one's character would receive from their various Orders or Factions, but this one drawback and clique-like aspect of the old system is why I'm glad we changed things, in hindsight.

Also, did someone hold you back in a past life Community?

 

[Tefka]

Also, did someone hold you back in a past life Community?

I am constantly held back by the weight of this forum. I'm a peacock, Cap'n, you gotta let me fly.

I kid.

At my previous forum, we had ranks for Neutral characters, aka Non-Force Users. Trainee, Adept, Elite. Promotion usually lasted six months, but they were starved for Non-FUs and my trainer really liked me (and was also MFO) so she fast tracked my promotion, giving me Elite in under three weeks. Mainly because I wrote long, girthy and succulent posts full of plot and useless details because I was pretty young and came from the competitive writing environments of T2 chat roleplay.

So, the opposite, I'd wager. I quickly found out how easy it was to just play politics and the "please like me" game while watching the OOC backroom dealing shenanigans through my non-FU glass like it was a zoo. I love the idea of a system of incentive. Writing with incentive is awesome and I really do like the idea of how Jedi Masters and Padawans are forced to work together, creating a cooperative system, it's a system that has that huge bonus tutorial level that would really help out new players on sandbox forums like this where finding purpose can be a struggle.

But it also has that oh so familiar ugly beast attached to it, the ugly beast we call OOC. The one that people use and wield on their adventure to become the ultimate douche lord because girls never paid them enough attention in highschool. And once one person does it, without constant mitigation and micromanagement, it continues to feed until the system becomes what we literally find on almost every site I've ever visited ever. Especially the crappy Jcink ones.

It's a powerful beast, that OOC.

TL;DR: Met cool non-FU master, fast tracked because #swag, became #woke, now types in #hashtags and past tenses of OOC FU ranking structures.

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

Tefka - I'd actually love to hear more about your past experience with communities (Which one's you've been in and what helped you to shape the outlook you have while running/owning Chaos today), but I'm wary about straying off-topic as I still want to hear from others on the subject of their ranks and journey to Mastery/Lordship, however that was a good read thank you If there wasn't the potential for favouritism and stagnation for some writers then I'd love to see some sort of system that encourages/delivers that incentive once again but I also think our current system works best for everyone.

Not everyone wants their character to start from the beginning (Padawan) for example, and for the above reasons you've mentioned, I'm glad that we made the change when looking back.

Initially, I wanted us to keep the previous system back then, but in the long run of things it was the best move we could have made and I wasn't thinking for the community so much as I was my own preference in those days (Still early days for me on Chaos way back then).

Thanks for jumping in on the thread Tef

 

[Tiland Kortun]

Not everyone wants their character to start from the beginning (Padawan) for example

It was rough writing Tiland back in the day, let’s just say. He really didn’t hit his stride until we released the restrictions and I could put him properly as a Jedi Master. Otherwise, Veino was the only one of mine to go through the whole set of ranks (twice, in fact). For him, when he initially made Master, it was from the Underground. And I don’t think he necessarily did anything specific, except act as a leader without asking. He just took on the mantle of responsibility and leadership and then got the title afterward but not the pay increase.

Everyone else I just bumped up myself when the time came based on what felt appropriate. It’s why Tiland and Veino are my only two to have reached the rank of Master out of… probably twelve Force users.

 

[Caltin Vanagor]

This guy was actually my first ever dedicated attempt at a Jedi (on a previous site an admin gave a fleeter of mine Force abilities, but it never took and I never used it). Originally he was going to be a Sith based on the attitude I was developing for him, and the bio, however, one point in the biography itself changed that and I had to make a Jedi, I had to.

Most of what I did with and for him was about evolution. He started as a Padawan, a broken kid, mentally and emotionally. Eventually, training and sparring took and he went out in groups. I say "groups" because the player who was his first Master had real-life issues and was not around (understandable of course), well after asking her permission, I put his feeling of abandonment by her into RP. Then his second Master had real-life issues as well, so after talking to her I put this into his evolution.

He took to this when it came to his trials and took to the premise that no Padawan would experience what he did. In hindsight that was a drain on my creativity as I took to writing with multiple players taking theirs as Padawans. lol. Eventually different training methods and going out in the field, a lot brought on battles with Sith, a lot of them. Then he took to the Guardian archetype and took the fight to the Sith, going after them whenever and wherever he could (disarm, not kill). His name was repeatedly brought up in the halls of the dark Temple, and even once he reached the level of Master gave me the biggest compliment I had ever received for him. His lightsaber "Conservator" was stolen and brought back to the Dark Council. They considered it quite the prize as if Caltin himself was dragged before them.