Character Composite: Cariaga Sin

(Taken from the Jedi Archives' files.)

Subject: Cariaga Sin

Homeworld: Dachat

Youngling Clan: Nashtah Clan

Jedi Master: Var Cashral (Kerkoiden, deceased), Vee Naaq (Gran, deceased), Tyria dal Rozess (human)

Course Study: Lightsaber study (master level), alter (remedial level), sense (remedial level), control (apprentice level)

Age: 29

Personal History:

Cariaga Sin was born on the Core World of Dachat. The planet experienced a period of relative peace after Jedi Master Arca Jeth's successful campaign against the Nelori Marauders, a well-organized group of pirates who used the planet as a base to prey upon the Core Worlds. Still, years of oppression under the pirates had given the planet's colonists a combative edge, and even after years of peace, they still trained extensively to defend themselves. When she was discovered by the Kerkoiden Jedi Master Var Cashral at age 4, she had recently been orphaned when her parents and older brother were killed in a heavy weapons accident. She was already proficient in hand-to-hand combat, and Master Cashral sensed the Force flowed strongly through her when she fought. He took her to the Jedi Enclave on the isolated plains world of Yinn'al, where she began her training under the Twi'lek Jedi instructor Malazi Veri.

Coming from a homeworld that believed strongly in self-sufficiency and defense training, Cariaga easily took to the lightsaber, quickly becoming the best dueling student in her class (even being so skilled as to wield two at once), though she lagged behind in other skills, such as diplomacy and telekinetic Force use; she placed all her faith in her lightsaber, and being a very attractive young lady, she grew up believing her looks were all that were necessary for diplomacy. Malazi Veri sensed that Cariaga Sin might one day become the greatest duelist in the Jedi Order. When Cariaga turned 16, Var Cashral took her as his apprentice.

Master Cashral was known for being one of the preeminent lightsaber duelists in the Jedi Order; several techniques and maneuvers associated with the Jar'Kai form have been attributed to Cashral's mastery of the form. Cashral was also something of a maverick, leaving the safety of Republic territory for months at a time to fight injustice and bring aid to others. Cariaga followed Cashral to troubled hotspots around the galaxy in the aftermath of the Great Sith War, helping the Jedi stamp out Krath survivors and restore peace to some of the lawless regions of the Outer Rim. Together, they were responsible for restoring Republic control of the Besloruk Sector, defeating the Krath warlord Urias Kato, and rescuing Senator Eewenn Awmod from terrorists. Cariaga was but a teenager, but she was quickly proving herself capable of feats of daring and heroism. She even took to wearing Jedi battle armor, though such a practice had been out of favor since the Great Sith War.

However, three years into training Cariaga, Master Cashral, while undertaking a solo mission in the Homon Sector, was ambushed and killed by war droids. Though she was ordered to stay at the Jedi Enclave on Dantooine for safe keeping, Cariaga defied the Council and searched for her master's killers. Though she found the droids that had killed him, whoever had programmed them had long since disappeared, and the trail went cold. Cariaga swore revenge, but she never found another clue as to who killed her Master.

The Enclave Council on Dantooine, recognizing Cariaga's defiance, assigned her a new Master, the Gran consular Vee Naaq. Where Cashral had been more loose about his association with the Jedi hierarchy, Naaq was more obedient to the will of the Councils, and the Council hoped that Naaq's subservience would rub off on the more independent Cariaga.

Cariaga chafed under the direction of Naaq, who had taken it upon herself to bolster Cariaga's lackluster Force abilities. Cariaga resented the meditations and the training exercises, and hated that Naaq refused to knight her until her other skills were up to snuff. For several years, she spent most of her tutelage struggling to master her Force abilities; the Force came most easily to her when she held a weapon (though she did eventually, begrudgingly master a few). Worse, rumors had begun to filter in that the Mandalorians were raiding outside Republic territory, and Cariaga longed to prove herself; she had not faced a worthy foe since Cashral's passing.

However, her training under Naaq came to a sudden and violent end when Vee Naaq brought her to the Outer Rim planet of Lesu, to meditate in a jungle that was strong in the Force. Unfortunately, while meditating there, the planet fell under attack by the Mandalorians, who were still probing the defenses of the Republic and looking to conscript the Lesu colonists. Naaq was surprised by a Mandalorian sniper and killed, but Cariaga was quickly able to save herself, slicing her way through nearly an entire platoon of troopers before stealing a Mandalorian ship and escaping. On the trip back to Republic space, Cariaga rued Naaq's teachings, noting that the consular had been unable to detect the approaching enemies or save herself, and believed that the lightsaber was the only way to stop the Mandalorians and save the innocent.

Troubled by Cariaga's growing defiance of her Masters, the Dantooine Enclave Council voted to censure Cariaga, requiring her to perform menial labor with the local farmers in hopes of teaching her humility. They also assigned her a new Master, the human Tyria dal Rozess, a noted humanitarian who devoted her time to tending to the less fortunate on Dantooine. Cariaga was miserable, uncertain of her future in the Jedi Order but feeling that she was being repressed by a Council that wanted to keep her in line.

When she first heard of the Mandalorians attacking Republic settlements, she left Dantooine behind and joined Revan's call to war, believing her superior lightsaber skills would help bring a swift end to the emerging war. Free from the confines of the Jedi Masters, Cariaga took great pleasure in exercising her lightsaber mastery at every opportunity. Though she was not much of a leader (still preferring to use her looks to get things done), her experience on the battlefield soon earned her the command of military platoons, and she was soon responsible for successful campaigns on Eres III, Iktotch, and Daluuj, though she soon gained a reputation as a Jedi who enjoyed battle more than most. For her valiant service, she was awarded the Republic Emblem of Valor by Admiral Saul Karath.

Cariaga disappeared with Revan's fleet after the Battle of Malachor V, ostensibly to pursue Mandalorian survivors in the Outer Rim. For a year, she was presumed missing or dead by the galaxy at large; the Jedi Council believed Revan's followers may still have been alive, and organized an extensive search for them, Tyria dal Rozess being among the Masters sent into the Unknown Regions. When Revan and Malak returned as Dark Lords of the Sith and attacked the Republic shipyards at Foerost, Cariaga Sin led the ground forces that seized control of the main orbital facility. She was likewise present at the Sith capture of Korriban, where she quickly distinguished herself for her savagery in combat. Where she had once worn Jedi battle armor to honor the Order, she now has been seen wearing thick leather and bone armor, believed to have been constructed from the bones of a hssiss, or "dark side dragon."

Cariaga Sin remains at large, and is believed to be commanding the Sith interdictor Malak's Fist. She was present at the Battle of Ithor and was in command of the Sith embassy on Myzil V before the Techno Union affirmed its commitment to the Republic. Her present location is unknown.

DM's Notes: Cariaga Sin is actually not my original creation; in KOTOR 2, when you go to the tomb of Ludo Kressh, you are first visited by an illusion of when Malak first recruited you to fight for the Mandalorian Wars. There are several other Jedi with you who choose to join Malak, and they're all individually named (Cariaga Sin, Nisotsa, Talvon Esan, Xaset Terep, and Bastila). I thought it would be interesting to expand on one of the characters who's seen choosing to join Malak and make her one of the primary villains.

Jake also inquired about whether she had been knighted; Cariaga never formally received the title Jedi Knight, but took it upon herself after joining Revan's crusade against the Mandalorians.

June 15 recap

•The party stakes out the Royal Icqui Aquaria.

•Kazbich pays dearly for making a poor choice.

•The architect behind the Myzil V sabotage is revealed.

With Gaph successfully healed, the party takes its leave of the deep catacombs he calls home and returns to the surface. Ras is intent on arresting Gaph, but notes that his compound is heavily fortified and they have now lost the element of surprise, so the party decides to put that off until a later date, preferring to investigate Wertsnik further before moving against Gaph.

The party splits up for the rest of the day. Ras looks into surveillance droids and recording equipment to be able to capture what Wertsnik says on tape, with Kelif in tow. Lyta works at the clinic some more, and meets up with Novin, the Arkanian lawyer who helped them on Myzil V, who has learned that his old clients are on Coruscant now. Gobmush leaves the group for a short while. Kazbich decides to take care of a loose end in his life and begins searching for someone who can find and kill Zhen Cravel, the Zabrak commando who helped them on Nal Hutta. He searches for Exchange members on Coruscant, but finds nothing to work with. On the Raraza, Marina is dubious as to Kazbich's intentions and does not call in her contacts. Kazbich tries to call Gorrak the Hutt, but is blocked by his receptionist droid, who does not want Kazbich to kill one of Gorrak's top men. Mr. Skee is similarly suspicious and is unwilling to make a deal. Rek Luk, now a bounty hunter, doesn't mince words about it being a dumb idea and refuses to connect Kazbich to anybody in the Bounty Hunter's Guild who might be willing to help, as Kazbich doesn't seem to have a good reason to want Zhen dead. All avenues blocked to him, Kazbich relents on the idea... for now. Ras purchases a bunch of recording equipment and a probe droid, and goes to the Royal Icqui Aquaria and convinces the Bothan security chief to let them conduct their sting operation.

The next day, the party separates and stakes out the aquarium. Kazbich makes the mistake of hanging out outside the aquarium posing as a death stick dealer; security forces ask him to either come inside to the aquarium as a tourist, or leave. Kazbich enters, but must stow his guns before entering — absolutely no weapons. (Ras has maneuvered around this liability by using her Jedi credentials.) Kazbich tries to smuggle his slugthrowers in anyway, but is patted down by a security guard, who forcefully pulls him into a back holding cell, where security guards whomp his ass around the clock and a medical droid submits him to a full cavity search.

After a couple of hours, the party spots Wertsnik, who enters the aquarium alone, looks at the various aquatic life, and sits on a bench in front of the firaxa shark tank. He doesn't notice Ras' probe droid watching him; nor does the Yarkora, who arrives an hour later and quietly sits next to Wertsnik. The probe droid picks up a snippet of conversation that they're waiting for their third party to show up.

Another hour later, Kazbich is still getting gang-probed, and Wertsnik and the Yarkora are joined by a Draethos holding a walking stick — who does notice the probe droid. He contacts security, who hauls the droid away (they're well-alerted to its presence already by Ras, so they don't destroy it). The Draethos reaches out with the Force and senses two Force-users nearby — Ras and Lyta — and warns Wertsnik and the Yarkora that there are Jedi about. He telepathically contacts both Ras and Lyta, inquiring as to who they are; Ras agrees to meet with him, but Lyta declines, watching from a safe distance. Ras meets up with Kelif, and together they decide to meet the enigmatic Force-user.

The Draethos introduces himself as Alhu-Zun, and the Yarkora introduces himself as Nemor-Jelak. Wertsnik instantly recognizes Ras and Kelif. ("Didn't I threaten you with a blaster rifle?") When pressed about his motives, an overconfident Alhu-Zun explains that he sabotaged the Myzil V negotiations in favor of the Republic by turning public opinion against the Sith; he convinced Umoe to have someone (who turned out to be Kazbich) pump Krosix-9 into the Pit, believing that most Skakoans would assume that only such a brazen terrorist act would be performed by the Sith. The Sith would similarly take the blame for the exploding droids, which would be seen as an assassination attempt on the Republic ambassadors. Alhu-Zun explains that he's been stacking the deck in favor of the Republic all across the galaxy; being a member of a long-lived species, he remembers well the devastation caused to the galaxy by the Great Sith War forty years ago, and he's willing to use underhanded means to keep that from happening again, even if that means killing a thousand to save a million.

Naturally, the party disagrees and assembles a security team to arrest Alhu-Zun, but the Draethos uses his powerful mental abilities to disorient the party and security forces, and beats a hasty escape, with Wertsnik and Nemor in tow. By the time the party recovers, Alhu-Zun has left the aquarium. And with the probe droid discovered and moved away, nothing they said was recorded.

June 10 recap

•Mr. Skee taps the Untouchables for an assignment.

•The trail for Wertsnik leads to the Galactic History Museum.

•Lyta saves the life of a ruthless crime boss.

Picking up where we left off at Wertsnik's G-type shuttle, it appears the trail has gone cold; Gobmush's tracking has shown that Wertsnik boarded a speeder and left the landing site.  Looking for a lead, Ras searches the ship for anything that Wertsnik has handled, eventually settling on some ration wrappers in the trash disposal.  Her plan is to see if there is anybody at the Jedi Temple who might be able to use the Force to use them to find Wertsnik.

At the same time, back on the Raraza, Catchy receives an incoming transmission from Mr. Skee and patches it through to Kazbich.  Mr. Skee remembers the legal help he provided to the Untouchables on Myzil V, and thinks it's time to call in a favor: The Ryn crime lord Gaph has been waging a bloody campaign through the Coruscant underworld, deep in the bowels of Republic City itself, yet the Jedi have been powerless to do anything to stop him.  Mr. Skee wants to know how Gaph is able to pull this off time and time again.

While Ras goes to the Jedi Temple in search of a Jedi Master who can help her, the rest of the party goes into the lower levels in search of information about Gaph.  Crask is unwilling to make the drive, so he sends a Bothan driver instead, who drops them off but is not willing to wait around for them.  Upon landing, the party is accosted by beggars.  A Twi'lek claims to be a Mandalorian Wars hero and tries to shake down Kazbich for money; Kazbich refuses, but when the Twi'lek says he just wants some booze, Kazbich offers up his hip flask.  This gets all the beggars coming, since hey, someone's actually listening to their panhandling.  Lyta and Oro take the initiative to lead all the homeless to the clinic of their Toydarian doctor friend, Bumo.  At Bumo's clinic, Lyta learns that Gaph's men have been stealing lots of medical supplies, creating a crippling shortage in the lower levels; the Republic police don't act on it, since most of them don't really care what goes on in the dangerous lower levels.  Bumo does provide, however, a comm number for an associate he knows who is trying to track down the missing supplies himself.  At the same time, Kazbich fends off a Talz death stick dealer.

Kazbich makes a call to Bumo's contact, who turns out to be a Zabrak doctor named Bekk Stath.  The party meets up with him at a bar in the lower levels, and Stath says he's been tracking where Gaph has been stashing the supplies he's been stealing.  He leads them to an abandoned turbolift tube, where they climb down 12 stories (which is physically exhausting) to Gaph's warehouse, in a dark, abandoned level.  The warehouse is full of medical supplies, and a single Twi'lek is organizing the loader droids to lift supplies out of a speeder truck while security droids stand watch.  Kazbich tries to bluff the Twi'lek by saying he works for Gaph, but the Twi'lek sees right through it and tries to stab him.  A brief fight ensues, with Stath (an accomplished martial artist) charging into melee and Gobmush smashing droids willy-nilly.  After a brief fight, the Twi'lek surrenders and says he can tell them where Gaph is; he also says Gaph is stealing medical supplies because he's got some illness he can't shake.  The party ties him up and decides not to kill him anyway.

The next day at the Jedi Temple, after finishing building her lightfoil, Ras meets up with Master Gonar Vos, who uses his Force powers to locate Wertsnik — meeting a Yarkora at the Galactic History Museum, near an exhibit about the founding of Coruscant.  The party goes to the museum, but Wertsnik's already gone.  Ras convinces the security team to allow them access to the security camera footage, and after a long search, they find footage of Wertsnik meeting with a Yarkora in a rancorskin jacket, but there's no audio.  After bringing the footage to the Jedi Temple, Asa Ulara reads their lips and says they're meeting a third party the next day at the Royal Icqui Aquaria.

The party then decides to check out Gaph — the Twi'lek leads the way deep into the catacombs beneath the city to an abandoned factory, where well-armed Ryn stand guard outside.  The party convinces the guards that they're doctors sent to help cure Gaph.  The Ryn lead them inside the factory, which has been turned into a Ryn enclave.  Gaph is staying in the control room — he's the leader of the colony, a tall, imposing figure who hides behind a heavy cloak.  Lyta convinces him to let her try to treat him, but Gaph warns that if she can't help him, neither she nor her companions will leave the enclave alive.

In a private room, Gaph shows Lyta the cause of his condition — he found a spinal implant years ago which grants him nondetection from Jedi.  (Ras confirms this when she can't get a firm sense of him through the Force.)  He says that he stole it off a corpse at the wreckage of the Draay Estate after the terrorist attack there five years ago.  Lyta's diagnosis is that his body is rejecting the implant and the implant itself is causing necrosis of nearby tissue, literally poisoning him to death.  She says he'll need regular blood transfusions just to stay alive; there's no cure for him other than removing the implant, which he's not willing to do.  Lyta is briefly tempted to kill the brutal crime lord now, but decides in favor of her hippocratic oath and does him no harm.  Satisfied with the diagnosis and her makeshift treatment, Gaph lets them go, but warns them to never return on pain of death.  Kazbich contacts Mr. Skee, who is satisfied with the information but says their debt is not settled yet.  Ras is noticeably uncomfortable with letting go a crime lord in possession of what appears to be a Sith artifact.

May 20 recap

Ras and Kelif have been investigating the G-type shuttle that Wertsnik flew onto Coruscant, and come to the conclusion that they'll need Kazbich's computer skills to be able to successfully track it.  They leave the Jedi Temple for a nearby upscale bar, the Force of Personality, and call the entire party together to form a plan of action.  Marina declines to participate, preferring to stay in the ship.  Ras and Kelif lay it all out — they've deduced that since Wertsnik has Republic security clearance, he probably didn't have to go through customs and security to get onto Coruscant, and interviews with local pilots have said that if you wanted to land a ship near Republic City without a lot of scrutiny, you'd do it in The Works, the nearby factory district that isn't as densely populated as the city.  So the thing to do would be to have Kazbich try to detect the engine signature of a G-type shuttle in the Works.  (Trivia note: The Works is the area of Coruscant near Republic City where Count Dooku meets up with Darth Sidious at the end of Attack of the Clones.)

Craskh Luk volunteers to drive his air taxi through the Works to help the party.  While driving through the Works, the party finds only a few other speeders and personnel — the vast majority of work here (manufacturing, security, etc.) is done by droids.  After a long, long scan of the area, Kazbich finds the ship they're looking for at an abandoned factory belonging to Nebula Manufacturing, which went out of business 17 years ago.  A decrepit custodian droid greets the party and directs all inquiries to the corporate offices.

The party enters the factory — Gobmush keeps watch outside, while Craskh keeps an eye out for nearby speeders (with Jazz in tow).  Inside are huge piles of junk, abandoned droids, and nonfunctioning machinery for repulsorlift parts.  At the corporate landing bay is a G-type shuttle, but as the party approaches, three of the large junk piles spring to life!  The junk droid behemoths charge, slamming into Kazbich, Kelif and Ras with their gigantic fists and inflicting significant damage.  Ras uses the Force to slam the droids into each other while Kazbich and Kelif open fire, eventually reducing the junk droids to rubble.  However, the party has been badly hurt by the battle, and Lyta and Oro spring into action, performing surgery to heal their wounds.

Kazbich hacks his way into the G-type shuttle, and the party explores it, but the ship's logs have been wiped clean.  Gobmush enters the ship and, using his superior tracking skills, finds the footprints of a Trandoshan inside — it's Wertsnik, alright.  The tracks lead outside the ship, then stop, suggesting that Wertsnik used a speeder of some kind to exit the building.

I couldn't resist.

Here's a little bit of Kazbich humor for you (here's the link, because the resolution is not so good):

May 13 recap

Good gravy, are we practically up to weekly games now?  I'm not complaining...

In an impromptu session, Ras and Kelif continued their search through the Jedi Archives for information on Kelif's father, only to find next to nothing other than colonization reports from Naboo; they'll probably need primary sources and will need to talk to people who knew his father, Selif, to get more information.  Ditto for information on Kaius Fett, the Mandalorian Rally Master who recruited him, especially given that he is now dead.

While in the Archives, Ras and Kelif met up with Ras' Jedi Master, Asa Ulara, who congratulated her on her approaching Knighthood and told her to be at the Jedi High Council spire at sunset.

Ras worked heavily on her lightsaber, building a crossguard lightsaber and looking to accessorize it.  She worked with Duros Jedi Artisan Master Muz, who used his tech specialist abilities to fully modify her lightsaber.  As Ras worked with Muz, Kelif waited in a nearby hallway, where he met a 5-year-old human named Wuja, an enthusiastic Jedi apprentice who is "top of his class in sense powers."  Ras and Kelif agree to spar with him the following morning — he has 8 a.m. classes — and show him some moves.

Ras and Kelif leave the Temple to look for more information on Selif Binks.  They accessed a public computer to try to learn more, but only found more Naboo colonization reports.  They descend to a lower level — not too far from the surface — and enter Chobar's Drop, a rather seedy cantina run by a burly Bothan.  He asks if anybody there has been to Naboo, to which a drunken Duros named Bor awkwardly hits on Ras and claims to have been a war hero from the Mandalorian Wars.  Ras and Kelif promptly leave, and head up closer to the surface.

They go to a more posh bar where Republic troopers in uniform are enjoying drinks.  The comely human bartender, Kira, directs them to a pilot — the handsome Twi'lek swashbuckler Nawara, who takes an instant liking to Ras.  Nawara confirms the travel time for Wertsnik's incoming shuttle, as well as the long wait in customs, but something still doesn't feel right.  A female Ithorian confirms the travel time, but Ras then realizes that since she met Wertsnik as a Republic agent, it's entirely likely he has clearance to go past customs.  Nawara says if he was heading for Republic City, he'd probably land on the outskirts in the Works, the large factory district.

When Ras and Kelif look for information on Naboo, they talk to two human Republic soldiers, Darven and Salek.  Darven hasn't been to Naboo, but he did serve two tours during the Mandalorian Wars, setting Kelif on edge.  Salek has been to Naboo, delivering supplies to the colonists there, though he makes a gaffe in referring to the Gungans as "savages."  He apologizes profusely, but says he doesn't know any Gungans personally (and thus doesn't know Selif).  Ras and Kelif realize they'll probably have to go to Naboo to learn more — there's only so much they can learn from Coruscant.

As sunset approaches, Ras and Kelif then attend the Knighting ceremony.  The council chamber is dark, but as Ras enters, she is surrounded by thirteen ignited lightsabers, one for each member of the Jedi Council and one for Asa Ulara.  Master Vrook formally declares Ras Patul a "Knight of the Republic."

After the ceremony, Ras informs the Council of the search for Wertsnik.  The Council says that she has semi-autonomy now, and the resources of the Temple are at her disposal.

The next morning, bright and early, Ras and Kelif practice dueling with Wuja, and Kelif buys a cortosis weave sword on the street.

Jedi Academy overview

I have picked up the Jedi Academy Training Manual, and let me just say this is one of the best books in the entire Star Wars RPG line.  This book is not just essential for Jedi — it's a must-have for Force-users of any kind.  If you liked the Force material in the old Hero's Guide for Revised Core, you'll find a lot of familiar things reprinted here.

There are very few new species in this book, and in fact there is no "new species" section.  Shards, Celegians, Krevaaki, and Vultans get their own sidebars as appropriate.

The book opens up with the "Power of the Force" chapter.  New uses for the Use the Force skill are reprinted from Clone Wars and KOTOR.  The book then introduces Force regimens — training exercises that Force-users and lightsaber duelists can use to get a small game benefit.  These are pretty flavorful and take hours to perform, so it's not like they're something simple you can perform on the fly.  For example, the Oxygen Bottle regimen has you emptying a small glass bottle of air, then using the Force to only allow pure oxygen inside.  If you can complete it, you gain a bonus against inhaled poisons and hazards, or if you roll high enough, you become immune for the day.

Next come the talents.  Of which there are a lot.  The Jedi class gets 6 new talents — nothing that's a must-have, but Shoto Focus gives some love for the short lightsaber, or "shoto," Hold the Line gives you basically the 4E Fighter's "Combat Superiority" class feature, and Grenade Defense lets you hurl grenades away harmlessly as a reaction.

There are a lot of Force talents — 17, to be exact (one is a reprint).  Several Alter talents build off of the Illusion talent, letting you disguise yourself or see through the eyes of your illusion.  The Control talents are both winners — Channel Energy lets you immediately use a Force power after successfully using the Negate Energy power, and Force Harmony lets you, once per encounter, activate a Force talent that requires a Force Point without spending the Force Point.  The Dark Side gets Transfer Essence, which lets darksiders try to possess people or objects when they die.  The book also introduces the Guardian Spirit talent tree — you have a Force spirit that aids you in various (and powerful) ways.

Prestige classes get a lot of new talents.  First, the Force adept: The Dark Side Devotee gets its own version of the Force Talisman; the Beastwarden tree lets you control beasts; the Mystic uses the Force in strange and magical ways; the Telepath makes you a master of mind-affecting powers and lets you perform some pretty powerful mental tricks.  The Jedi Knight gets four new talent trees: the Jedi Artisan tree gives you bonuses when wielding a lightsaber you built yourself; the Jedi Instructor tree lets you share your Force secrets, techniques and talents with other Jedi; the Jedi Investigator is great at tracking down prey and avoiding deception; the Jedi Weapon Master is good at wielding two weapons or using unconventional weapons.  The Sith Apprentice gets the Sith Alchemy tree, which lets it create all kinds of Sith trinkets (armor, amulets, talismans, weapons), modify its gear with its own Tech Specialist-like tree, and mutate creatures or people into Sith abominations or chrysalis beasts (both templates provided).

There's only five new feats; they're not anything super-awesome, but they're pretty good.  They're pretty much only for lightsaber wielders or Force users.

Then come the Force powers.  Holy moley, are there a lot of Force powers.  Blind hurls debris at a target's eyes; Convection makes your skin incredibly hot, making your unarmed attacks more powerful; Crucitorn increases your damage threshold; Cryokinesis damages objects; Drain Energy turns off small objects; Fold Space lets you teleport objects; Force Light creates a radius of light that burns darksiders; Force Storm is a name reprint of a power from The Force Unleashed campaign book, but creates an acid rain storm in a large area; Force Track lets you follow a target without the need for Survival checks; Hatred creates waves of pain that hurt your enemies; Inertia lets you run up and along walls; Inspire gives your allies a boost to Will (and is heads above the similar power Valor from the KOTOR book); Intercept throws objects in the path of incoming ranged attacks, letting you negate the attack; Memory Walk forces your enemies to relive their worst moments (straight out of the Lando Calrissian novels and Darth Bane books); Mind Shard sends wracking pain into another creature's mind; Plant Surge grapples a whole lot of enemies at once; Thought Bomb deals damage in a burst.

Also technically Force powers are the Lightsaber Form powers, which basically function to create a complex lightsaber dueling system.  There's a lot of really cool stuff here (I won't list them all, but there's 24 powers here), like Draw Closer, which pulls an enemy towards you; High Ground Defense (wonder where that came from), which grants you extra attacks while you have high ground; and the high-powered Tempered Aggression, a Vaapad-influenced power where if you exceed your target's Reflex Defense enough, it's an automatic critical hit.

There's also a few Force Techniques, which mostly boost new powers introduced earlier on, and two new Force Secrets: Holocron Loremaster lets you borrow Force powers from your allies, and lets you record your own holocron, while Mentor lets you lend powers to your allies, and is only accessible to those who have trained a Padawan all the way to Knighthood.

The next chapter is Philosophy, which is dedicated to exploring what it means to be a Jedi, how the Force works, and how people can fall to the dark side.  If you read the same section in the old Power of the Jedi Sourcebook in Revised Core, a lot of this will be familiar to you, which is a good thing, because this really gets in the nitty-gritty about how people can live up to the Jedi ideals.  The section also includes rules for giving Padawans to players, which are surprisingly unintrusive and smooth; they're just nonheroic characters, they borrow defenses from their master, and they don't take party XP.

Next comes the Equipment & Artifacts chapter.  Every lightsaber that has seen print so far is reprinted here, as well as a few new ones (archaic lightsabers, dual-phase, great lightsaber, crossguard, dueling, and even the rare san-ni staff, the lightsaber tri-staff).  There's a huge section on lightsaber crystals — just about every kind you can think of is listed, as well as where they're from — and there's a small section on extremely rare crystals, like krayt dragon pearls.  There's a small section for lightsaber accessories that don't do a whole lot gameplay-wise but are still pretty flavorful.  There's a section on Jedi and Sith armor, and orbalisk armor gets reprinted from Threats.  Then there's a big section on holocrons: how to use them, how they can be used in combat, how to build them, how to stat out their gatekeepers.  The section ends with some Sith artifacts: amulets, Sith poison (really, really nasty), scrolls, talismans, and the Muur Talisman (of Vector fame), which is statted out exactly how you'd think it is.

The Affiliated Programs comes next, basically a list of other Force traditions that are traditionally allied (or at least tolerant of) the Jedi.  Aing-Tii Monks are mysterious mystics from the deep reaches of space, and they have crazy teleportation powers.  Baran Do Sages are Kel Dor adepts who specialize in seeing the future.  Fallanassi are stealthy and secretive, favoring powers that let them avoid detection.  Iron Knights are really old school, from the West End Games Star Wars RPG — sentient Force-sensitive crystals that inhabit droid bodies.  Matukai use the Force to push their bodies to their physical limits and wield the unique wan-shen weapon.  Seyugi Dervishes are Force-wielding assassins who really love the Whirlwind Attack feat.  The Shapers of Kro Var are a new tradition — they use the Force to control the elements, with a strong mystical bent.  The Tyia are also from the West End Games version, being peaceful diplomats who seek only life and harmony.  Wardens of the Sky are new, a wandering group of spacers who excel at martial arts and grappling.  The Zeison Sha are grim survivalists who thrive on telekinesis, especially with their signature discblade weapon.

Instructors & Alumni stats out previously unstatted characters: Anoon Bondara, Arca Jeth, Cay Qel-Droma, Cilghal, Corran Horn, Dace Diath, Grand Master Luke Skywalker (level 20 version), Kieran Halcyon, Kyle Katarn, Mara Jade Skywalker, Nomi Sunrider, Odan-Urr, Ooroo, Oss Willum, Shoaneb Culu, Thon (no Tchuukthai stats, sadly), Tott Doneeta, and Vodo Siosk-Baas.  A whole lot of high-level Jedi all around.

Next is the chapter "Dangers of Study," delivering plenty of dark side threats.  Named characters are Azrakel, the Blackguard, Brakiss, Carnor Jax, the Dark Side Spirit template, Hethrir, Irek Ismaren, Kueller, Massassi Abominations, Nightsisters of Dathomir, Prophets of the Dark Side, Sedriss, Shadow Academy Students, Sorcerors of Tund (no Croke stats, sorry Andy), Tamith Kai, and Xanatos.  A good mix of low-level and high-level threats.  There's also a whole lot of dark side creatures: Two-Headed Battle Hydra, Beck-Tori, Chrysalis Beast, Derriphan, Droch, Dxun Tomb Beast, Hssiss (Dark Side Dragon), Marsh Haunt, Nighthunter, Shyrack, Silooth, Sith Warbird (the picture is more funny than threatening), Sith Wyrm, Storm Beast, Taozin, Terentatek (finally!  I have been waiting for these for a long time), and Tuk'ata Sith Hounds.

The book ends with the Studying Abroad chapter, which lists a lot of Force-strong locations.  Light side spots include the Chu'unthor, Dantooine, Ossus, Yavin 4, and Ruusan, while dark side sites consist of Dxun and Korriban.

All in all this is a fantastic book.  If you liked the old Hero's Guide and Power of the Jedi books, you'll find a lot to remember in here, and there's just so much for any aspiring Force-user in this book.