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Dustflier
Lieutenant Commander
Joined: 21 Feb 2011
Posts: 140
Location: Upstate New York
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 Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2011 5:32 am Post subject: Midi-Chlorians, how do they work? |
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What do you think Midi-Chlorians are? Do you agree with Lucas' assumed interpretation, or do you have a pet theory?
Personally, I'm a fan of the theory that Midi-Chlorians are a sign of one's connections to the Force, but are not the source.
Statements about Midi-Chlorians are all over the board in EU publications.
If I'm not mistaken, Med Star II: Jedi Healer has a few references to the Midi-Chlorians suggesting that some Jedi believe that the Midi-Chlorians were created by the Force in order to communicate with cells.
Does this mean that there is an "off button" for the Force?
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garhkal
Sovereign Protector
Joined: 17 Jul 2005
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Location: Reynoldsburg, Columbus, Ohio.
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| Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2011 5:41 am Post subject: |
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I feel they are parasites that 'sense' / link up to those with force potential.. the more you have, the more MC's you get.
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Bren
Vice Admiral
Joined: 19 Aug 2010
Posts: 3868
Location: Maryland, USA
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| Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2011 1:25 pm Post subject: Re: Midi-Chlorians, how do they work? |
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| Dustflier wrote: | | What do you think Midi-Chlorians are? |
I try not to think about midi-chlorians.  |
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JT Swift
Lieutenant Commander
Joined: 10 Oct 2009
Posts: 132
Location: Austin Texas
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| Posted: Sat Mar 12, 2011 2:56 am Post subject: |
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I tend to go for the idea that their just a mediator. Their not intelligent, and the don't control the Force. They just act like a cellphone that you call in a telekinetic airstrike with. More of them make it easier to get a strong signal. But its what you say over the link - how 'persuasive' you are - that makes most of the difference.
I do think that they are responsible for the transforming into the Force process that a cell undergoes when it dies.
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Dustflier
Lieutenant Commander
Joined: 21 Feb 2011
Posts: 140
Location: Upstate New York
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| Posted: Sat Mar 12, 2011 3:26 am Post subject: |
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So you think that the Midi-Chlorians are capable of consuming dead or dying cells and exerting pure Force/spirit?
Here's a good question: If Midi-Chlorians are true biological indicators of Force powers, would it be possible for Midi-Chlorians to become infected themselves?
Would a bacterium or virus (or perhaps a bacteriumphage of sorts) be able to affect the Midi-Chlorians themselves? And the Force through them?
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garhkal
Sovereign Protector
Joined: 17 Jul 2005
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Location: Reynoldsburg, Columbus, Ohio.
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| Posted: Sat Mar 12, 2011 3:53 am Post subject: |
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Possible. But i see them more of an indicator of your potential.. not the more MCs you have the stronger you are.. Therefore you can't suck someones MCs out to put in someone else (to try and increase the injected ones potential..
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Blue Glowie
Ensign
Joined: 01 Mar 2011
Posts: 29
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| Posted: Sat Mar 12, 2011 5:21 am Post subject: Re: Midi-Chlorians, how do they work? |
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| Bren wrote: | | I try not to think about midi-chlorians. |
This. 
In my mind, the Force shouldn't be quantifiable. It just is.
Midi-chlorians only make me think of ridiculous Dragonball Z power levels. Seems like Jedi wouldn't be concerned with that type of stuff. |
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Dustflier
Lieutenant Commander
Joined: 21 Feb 2011
Posts: 140
Location: Upstate New York
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| Posted: Sat Mar 12, 2011 3:17 pm Post subject: Re: Midi-Chlorians, how do they work? |
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| Blue Glowie wrote: | | ]Midi-chlorians only make me think of ridiculous Dragonball Z power levels. Seems like Jedi wouldn't be concerned with that type of stuff. |
His Midi-chlorians! They're OVER 9000!
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Lancil
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Joined: 16 Dec 2009
Posts: 74
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| Posted: Sat Mar 12, 2011 3:39 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | In my mind, the Force shouldn't be quantifiable. It just is. |
Sorry, but we quantify the force all the time in this game with the dice. With rpg rules we have to quantify every thing just about, we demand it as gamers.
As far as midi-little buggy things go. I'm in the they are attracted to force potential....like mynoks to power supplys the more you have in you the stronger your force potential is.
| Quote: | | Sorry, but we quantify the force all the time in this game with the dice. |
Ack sorry that came off rude. |
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CRMcNeill
Director of Engineering
Joined: 05 Apr 2010
Posts: 16260
Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.
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| Posted: Sat Mar 12, 2011 4:38 pm Post subject: |
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I use an alternate Force Sensitive system, where Force Sensitive is treated as an attribute instead of a simple yes/no. A person with minimal sensitivity would have a 1D, while masters like Yoda would have a 4D, and Anakin would have a 5D or 6D. The three Force skills are then treated as normal skills under that attribute, and are added to it, so that the attribute is a representation of the character's innate Force potential. A midichlorian count would essentially be a measurement of that person's Force Sensitive attribute.
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Blue Glowie
Ensign
Joined: 01 Mar 2011
Posts: 29
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| Posted: Sat Mar 12, 2011 4:54 pm Post subject: Re: Midi-Chlorians, how do they work? |
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| Dustflier wrote: | | His Midi-chlorians! They're OVER 9000! |
Exactly! 
| Lancil wrote: | | Sorry, but we quantify the force all the time in this game with the dice. With rpg rules we have to quantify every thing just about, we demand it as gamers. |
Yeah, that's true. But that's for practical reasons. RPGs have to quantify it to make it playable with dice, just like a character's Dexterity or any other stat that tries to approximate aptitude.
My only point is that the original trilogy only qualified the Force, which was much more elegant. Midi-chlorians tarnish the mystery of the Force (for me anyways!) |
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CRMcNeill
Director of Engineering
Joined: 05 Apr 2010
Posts: 16260
Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.
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| Posted: Sat Mar 12, 2011 5:11 pm Post subject: Re: Midi-Chlorians, how do they work? |
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| Blue Glowie wrote: | | Yeah, that's true. But that's for practical reasons. RPGs have to quantify it to make it playable with dice, just like a character's Dexterity or any other stat that tries to approximate aptitude. |
We do the same in real life, only our quantification takes the form of grades, paychecks, sports stats, world records, IQ's, etc. Using dice is just a way to express those quantified qualities in a way that we can play around a table.
| Quote: | | My only point is that the original trilogy only qualified the Force, which was much more elegant. Midi-chlorians tarnish the mystery of the Force (for me anyways!) |
It's not too much of a stretch to believe that Force sensitivity varies from person to person, just like any other attribute. WEG didn't really screw up when they made Force Sensitive a binary choice, but they certainly missed an opportunity.
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"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.
The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index
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Dustflier
Lieutenant Commander
Joined: 21 Feb 2011
Posts: 140
Location: Upstate New York
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| Posted: Sat Mar 12, 2011 5:22 pm Post subject: |
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| crmcneill wrote: | | I use an alternate Force Sensitive system, where Force Sensitive is treated as an attribute instead of a simple yes/no. A person with minimal sensitivity would have a 1D, while masters like Yoda would have a 4D, and Anakin would have a 5D or 6D. The three Force skills are then treated as normal skills under that attribute, and are added to it, so that the attribute is a representation of the character's innate Force potential. A midichlorian count would essentially be a measurement of that person's Force Sensitive attribute. |
I appreciate this method, I might very well adopt it.
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Whill
Dark Lord of the Jedi (Owner/Admin)
Joined: 14 Apr 2008
Posts: 10396
Location: Columbus, Ohio, USA, Earth, The Solar System, The Milky Way Galaxy
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| Posted: Sat Mar 12, 2011 5:30 pm Post subject: |
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Someone had to go and use the dreaded M-word here! 8) Hopefully this discussion can continue for a while before degenerating into another negative 'prequel haters club' bash-fest.
I don't think much more about the midi-chlorians than what the dialogue from Eps I and III say about them. For starters, I'll post that here for reference...
QUI-GON : I need an analysis of this blood sample I'm sending you... I need a midi-chlorian count.
OBI-WAN : The reading is off the chart. Over 20,000. Even Master Yoda doesn't have a midi-chlorian count that high.
QUI-GON : No Jedi has.
OBI-WAN : What does it mean?
QUI-GON : I'm not sure.
QUI-GON : I have encountered a vergence in the Force.
YODA : A vergence, you say?
MACE WINDU : Located around a person?
QUI-GON : A boy. His cells have the highest concentration of midi-chlorians I have seen in a life form. It is possible he was conceived by the midi-chlorians.
MACE WINDU : You refer to the prophecy of the one who will bring balance to the Force. You believe it's this boy?
QUI-GON : I don't pressume-
YODA : But you do! Revealed your opinion is.
QUI-GON : I request the boy be tested.
YODA : Trained as a Jedi, you request for him, hmm?
QUI-GON : Finding him was the will of the Force. I have no doubt of that.
ANAKIN : What are midi-chlorians?
QUI-GON : Midi-chlorians are a microcopic lifeform that resides within all living cells.
ANAKIN : They live inside of me?
QUI-GON : Inside your cells, yes. And we are symbionts with them.
ANAKIN : Symbionts?
QUI-GON : Life forms living together for mutual advantage. Without the midi-chlorians, life could not exist, and we would have no knowledge of the Force. They continually speak to us, telling us the will of the Force. When you learn to quiet your mind, you'll hear them speaking to you.
ANAKIN : I don't understand.
QUI-GON : With time and training, Annie...you will.
PALPATINE: Darth Plagueis was a Dark Lord of the Sith, so powerful and so wise he could use the Force to influence the midi-chlorians to create life... He had such a knowledge of the dark side that he could even keep the ones he cared about from dying.
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CRMcNeill
Director of Engineering
Joined: 05 Apr 2010
Posts: 16260
Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.
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| Posted: Sat Mar 12, 2011 5:42 pm Post subject: |
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Considering the degree to which Star Wars (and sci-fi in general) bends science in the name of the story, I'd rather not delve into midichlorians too deeply. I treat it more along the lines of Star Trek techno-babble, in that it gives us a scientific sounding name to describe an in-game process for determining the natural Force Sensitivity of a given being. IMO, better a simple blood test than Kevin J. Anderson's paddle-scanner, or his telekinetic reflex kick technique.
Ultimately, per the RAW, why bother? Life Detection allows the Jedi to sense whether or not a character is Force Sensitive and whether or not they have any Force skills, so I'd just go with that. In fact, if I were to re-write it, I'd probably allow Life Detection to read whether or not another character has DSPs and whether or not they've turned to the Dark Side.
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"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.
The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index
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