Help Me Design a...

[RedFox]

First of all, if you're in my D6 Troopers game on rpol.net, get out. Go on! There be spoilers here.
















































Okay, now that they're hopefully gone... I'm running a game on rpol.net that has a squad of Imperial Army regulars crash-landing on Yavin IV directly after the destruction of the first Death Star.

One of these troopers happens to be Force-sensitive.

I'm coming up with a scenario where they end up finding an ancient Massassi / Sith labyrinth dug deep into a cliff-face, with all sorts of ancient technology. Somewhere deep in there, I want to place a Sith holocron that's "beckoning" to the Force-sensitive trooper and wishes to instruct him in the ways of the Sith. In a way, the life force of an ancient Sith master has become wedded to this holocron, unable to let go of its former existance as an instructor and (ultimately) Master.

But the preservation fields of the chamber where the holocron rests have been damaged by the passage of time.

So I want ya'll's help in building a damaged Sith holocron. One that's malfunctioning and giving the Sith personality matrix inside it some increasingly bizarre and insane quirks. Possibly giving anyone who listens to its instructions a rather warped view of the Force (even by Sith standards.)

I'd still like the Adept to be able to learn from it... how to construct a lightsaber, how to get the control, sense, and alter skills along with whatever various powers the old Sith master had to bestow.

But I'd also like to try teaching him powers that just plain don't work... bizarre Force theories that are contradictory but believable to the uninitiated, and "ancient Sith traditions" that are certainly not. Some of these errors could be amusing quirks (All Sith must wear only the color lime-green, as it resonates strongly with the Force!) while some could be incredibly dangerous (The key to the ultimate technique of precognition is to manually remove one's own eye, replacing it with a kusari lightsaber crystal, which one must then hook up to a sonic oscillation device.)

So... ideas?
_________________
Ooo, a droid! Can I fix it?

I have Star Wars stuff!

[Akari]

Wow... quite a task you have set there! I'd say something in the line of your "lime-green" idea is a little silly... too easy to recognize for what it is, but "must always meditate facing the direction of the galactic core" or the "requirement to place a piece of your own bone into the hilt of your lightsaber" might work better...

Traditions might include "Never fail to consume the [insert squishy body part of your choice here] of your defeated force users for it will strengthen your [...]"

Also make sure to include the player character into the writings of the holocron in subtle ways, like if he has blue eyes the text will say "your blue eyes might turn red from the exposure..." or include hints to his past and stuff... like only he was destined to find it. That should get him more involved.

Perhaps when he tries to read a new chapter a message could appear "Previous chapter unfinished" and let him puzzle what to do to continue...

Anyway, good luck with your project! And let us know how it goes! =)

[Ray]

Dietary Requirements are a good idea. Make him eat stuff that'll "Increase his strength in the Force", and stay away from other stuff that'll "Impede his ability to feel the Force.". Look at some Religious Dietary requirements for inspiration (Jewish Kosher laws, for example, or a Mormon's inability to drink Alcohol or caffiene without being ostrasized.).

Make some of the comments appear to be contradictory. "Emotion has no place in the Force" later turns into "Hatred is the font of power in the Force".

Make him study Astology as well. "The Stars" are the messengers of The Force. They speak of how things move in the Universe, and how things have changed. Doesn't, actually, but gives him a reason to have a high "Astrogation" skill at least.

Superstition can become a big thing as well. "Be aware of everything, for the Force speaks through everything." Is that four-winged buzzard a foretelling of danger, riches, victory? Are those Wombattas moving in a formation similar to the Sith symbol for "Purity" meaning that the water is good to drink? Does the pinging of the Ship as it cools happen in a pattern that means that it's been sabotaged? Etc.

[Esjs]

I'm not sure how you're planning on using the Holocron (or if there are Holocron rules out there somewhere... I don't know 'cause I've been out of the Star Wars WEG D6 scene for so long) but can I make a suggestion?

Once you've compiled your list of "teachings" (sorted by correctness), have the player role a skill (scholar: Jedi lore ?) each time he attempts to learn more from the Holocron. Based on whether he beats your secret difficulty, read him a correct teaching or an incorrect one. Maybe a complication could be a teaching that contradicts a previous one (as Ray mentioned).

That's just how I'd do that.

Now to take a stab at a fake power (or maybe it's a real power that I don't know about): Substitutiary Locomotion (reference the old Disney film "Bedknobs and Broomsticks") - Animate the inanimate. "Bring the rock to life and have it do your bidding." It even has a incantation: "Treguna Mekoides and Tracorum Satis Dee." Make the power seem to be derived from both Affect Mind (or Control Mind, if you have those rules) and Telekinesis.

[Hellcat]

Here's a suggestion, don't allow the holocron to be warped. Not to begin with that is. Let the holocron gain it's prospective adept's trust, then slowly introduce the holocron's insanity. By that time the adept should likely trust anything the holocron tells them. If you introduce it, the holocron's insanity, early on, then they may say "Eat my opponent's eye after I kill them and it will give me great strength? Yeah right! Hey, look holocron dude, I don't know who programmed you, but I can tell you your really sithed up and I'm out of here."

Also, something like eating and opponents [insert squishy body part] is something you probably don't want to introduce when you first start introducing the insanity factor because that is way out there. It's a great idea and really does seem like perfect for the holocron to say. But unless the guy is totally screwed up to begin with, I don't think the adept would listen to such a thing early on. But the more they come to trust it and listen to everything it says, the more they are going to do such weird things.

On a different note, what about the instructions on building the lightsaber leaving out something to protect the adept from recieving a constant eletrical jolt whenever it's in use. And the holocron tells them that that constant tingle (which could actually be damaging their nerves) symbolizes their bond with both the lightsaber and the Force.
_________________
FLUFFY for President!!!!

Wanted Poster

[Xzil Maru]

Since it contains the life force of a sith master, perhaps have it subtly influence the trooper or his enviroment with force powers, affecting his roommate with telepathic commands, and illusions, making itself disappear or appear as something else.

Possible teachings...
"To understand a foe you must *bzt* add one ounce salt to the mixture and stir *bzt* with his skin."

"The force pervades all things *bzt* the larger the more powerful, therefore seek to become larger..."

"To control the mind, you must purify the body. Food is impure, you must fast until your mind is pure."


Oh that would be sort of disturbingly funny if it had strange recipes that required different organs as ingrediants for sith alchemy

You might have it begin its teachings at random times, like while the trooper is asleep, then he wakes up to "...and that is the end of the lesson my young apprentice."

Perhaps it first teaches him how to construct a sith training drone, which is a psychotic attack drone (think Phantasm deathball/flying cuisart) that the holocron can control.

To go along with Hellcat perhaps the lightsaber design includes a boobytrapped activation puzzle/switch that you have to solve to use (and the solution changes every time you solve it, failure to solve the puzzle might trigger an overload and give you a few rounds to figure out the solution before it explodes and sometimes instead it simply stuns the trooper)
_________________
Plook Bomdarb says "Will Kill for food."

[Volar the Healer]

A damaged Sith (not Jedi) holocron!?
Well, it should probably sound reasonable in the beginning then slowly slide into insanity. Each teaching of a power should require something that will gain the character a darkside point while each skill could require the character to do something useless but reasonable, with each skill's requirement becoming stranger and stranger. The holocon will know if the character is not wearing lime green and thus failing to demonstrate his commitment to the Sith way. After all, power is not for the weak...
_________________
Know Jesus, Know Peace.
No Jesus, No Peace