As far as I can tell the jedi knight is exactly what they were trying to evoke through the psionic warrior. In that sense fighters are the best fit for portraying a jedi in dnd, at least if you want to invoke the jedi usually portrayed in the films. The only thing that bothers me with the psionic warrior is that they use intelligence for their abilities, when I feel wisdom would be more appropriate for a jedi, and charisma would be more appropriate for a sith. (Although I suppose that is why they chose intelligence, which lacks a connection with either side).
However, star wars rpgs have been made in the past, with the most noteworthy being the Knights of the Old Republic series. There, you had three force classes, the guardian, sentinel and consular. Knights of the Old Republic were based on 3rd edition dnd, and there were certainly similarities with preexisting classes.
In my opinion the Jedi Guardian, the type of force user I think most of the movie characters would be classified as, were mechanically more similar with paladins more than anything. With a little bit of magic/force abilities, and a strong focus on battle. While no abilities were tied to any of the classes, the guardian had the least choices for force powers, and since you focused on martial abilities your powers would be the least effective. Therefore, just like paladins, you were better off choosing force powers that bolstered your martial prowess, like raising your ac, haste, resistances etc. All force users also applied their charisma modifier to saving throws, just like paladins.
So if I were to portray a guardian today I'd probably choose a psionic warrior, or a paladin. Another good choice I think, would be a kensei monk. What makes monk a bad fit in this case is the lack of force powers, or how you're forced to rely on unarmed strikes. Beyond those drawbacks, however, a kensei monk hits a lot of the right boxes. You have ways to stop missiles, you use your insight, foresight and agility to dodge and block attacks. And beyond any of the other classes, monks are the ones that put a focus inwards, on becoming in tune with yourself and the universe (the force). You may not have telekinetic powers, but they are rarely used in lightsaber duels anyway.
The sentinel had a higher focus on force powers, and a little less focus on combat compared to the guardian. They could also choose the most skill proficiencies (or what would become todays skill proficiencies) out of any force user. Sentinels were jedi who perhaps avoided direct confrontation, focusing more on blending into the background, on exploration or perhaps machines or computers. In that sense they were more like bards or the rangers of 3e, focusing on information gathering and scouting as well as the force. Perhaps a fey wanderer ranger would fit a sentinel well, using your powers to influence the minds of your enemies. Or maybe a college of swords bard.
The Consular was more similar to the 3e cleric than anything. Although the argument for a martial sorcerer could be made as well. This was the class that focused the most on force powers. In Knights of the Old republic you could use wisdom or charisma for your force powers, whichever was highest iirc. They had the most force points (spell slots), and got to choose the most force powers. They could still use lightsabers, but not as effectively as the other force users. To portray a consular without homebrewing? Honestly, use your imagination and go wild.
In some of the canon shows there has been uses of sith sorcery, but I think a sith who uses it would be better classified as a warlock rather than a sorcerer, since it involves studying and mastering the force more so than willing it into existence. Perhaps your character has discovered the knowledge and techniques from ancient sith holocrons.
Maybe a tempest cleric, or a storm sorcerer if you want to be all about flinging lightning. Maybe a bladesinger, using their fore to animate several lightsabers at once (animate object), or a war mage doing the same.
Just had a thought about how a Wizard could be considered for a force user (and apologies it might go off on a slight tangent), the reason for Wizard would be Holocrons.
If you think of Holocrons in Star Wars Lore being receptacles of knowledge then you could use them as follows in D&D:
1) As an Arcane Spell focus in a fashion similar to an Orb.
2) As a Spell Book, by studing the holocron you can memorise your force powers and change them up as needed and if you find them you could learn new powers.
3) Spell Scrolls, some may have some latent power you can call forth.
4) A magic item such as a Pearl of Power or Ring of Spell Storing, they could be used to store magic in for you to use later.
5) Potential Phylactaries where users can store their "spirits", these could open up a few possibilities where the spirit in on tries to take over a new body, or a practioner uses it to become a lich or more benevolent spirits might just be available to talk with.
This would then be a D&D reason to go out and hunt them down and collect them like various powerful Force users have done throughout Star Wars history.
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If we can go to LV 20, I would say level 19 oath of ancient's paladin/ level 1 hex blade warlock. Attack with Cha, Command spell for Mind Tricks, eldritch blast and an invocation for force pull. Play variant human to get the magic initiate feat. Put a bit in Int, and grab mage hand, then at level 4, grab shield
SORRY one more thing. If your DM bans feats, lower your pallidin level to 18, have 1 level in Hexblade Warlock and 1 level of Blade Singer wizard, for Shield, Mage Hand, ect
Also, I just realised Pallidins get smites. Talk with your DM to change it to fire damage, mabey thunder?
You could label/create them as Light Side and Dark Side Warriors.
A Jedi's abilities come from The Force, and all of these abilities are "spell-like" in nature but require no gesture, statement, or component to create. They would need their own "spell" list per level.
So, with that in mind, Psi Warrior, Cleric, or Sorcerer seems most appropriate. Wisdom would seem to be the best fit for them as a primary ability. You could use the wisdom ability score modifier as the number of force points they start with, or maybe the modifier + 1D4 per level.
The other issue is "the Force." How could you account for this? As it is the source of everything they are and do. You could consider a certain number of force points per level. These could be used for "spell-casting or specific abilities to draw upon (lightsaber use).
The "lightsaber" is something else entirely. You could make this a clerical ability where they must attune with a specific weapon. Each successful strike could imbue the weapon with "divine energy" (+ 1D4 or 1D6). You could make it even more specific that they must construct their weapon. If their weapon gets lost or destroyed, the character must re-create and attune with a new weapon before using the lightsaber forms.
You must also consider lightsaber forms (fighting styles), as each has specific abilities. You could adapt many of the Battles Master traits for this. Make three skill levels for each lightsaber form (Adept, Expert, and Master). You would need to use a "force point" each time you utilized the "skills" from the form. You could also pull from Homebrew feats to create specific traits with each lightsaber form.
Lastly, at what levels would you move/promote from apprentice to knight to Jedi master? Would there be some quest, test, or adventure process that would need to be completed for each advancement?
So I'm trying to make a homebrew that's a medieval version of Star Wars- i.e. all on one planet with medieval to steampunk levels of tech and magic (blimps and flying ships, but no internet and only isolated cases of electricity if any).
In this world, weaponry is confined to melee (swords, spears, axes, etc), slow projectiles (bows, catapults and crossbows), and magical attacks.
In a world where everybody uses swords, the Jedi are distinguished by their use of glowing blades that can cut through anything only at the user's will. The blades are normal at rest but can become hot/sharp enough to cut through anything at the pleasure of their user. Eg: a jedi or sith can touch their own blade without harm unless they explicitly will the blade to cut themself.
Given this, Jedi and Sith- especially in times of war- can be found wearing armor and using sheilds. Among the Jedi and Sith Orders, some members are more martial, while others act more as maesters, studying the force- others act more as monks- trained mostly in the healing and meditational aspects of the force (these rarely take part in combat except perhaps in a medical capacity).
Control of the force also extends to control over weather. Sith lightning? Try a Sith Thunderstorm. Sith Acid Rain. Sith Monsoons. Jedi and Sith can both summon storms, but only the most powerful of their orders can do so. Due to the destructive nature of storms, this method is favored by the dark side.
With all this in mind- what classes would best suit the different branches of the Jedi and Sith Orders?
Weirdly, you could make most of the vibe for all of your branches fit with Druid, but they would need homebrew subclasses to make them work. Shillelagh fits the lightsaber vibe well since they need to activate it. The Primal Orders could answer the martial vs maester concept. Plus, they get the most access to storm calling spells. Even the vibe of being attuned to the natural world could easily be reflavored to attuning to the force.
Having said all of that, wild shape does not fit at all and some of the subclasses only sort of work while Moon makes zero sense.
They are Shadowblade monks - so essentially a wizard/monk multiclass of some sort.
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Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
Realistically Jedi/sith don’t really work in 5e. The force manipulation is all psi not magic so the 2e psi classes would be better fits. If your going to try to make them in 5e your pretty much stuck with a fighter- sorcerer multiclass or maybe a ranger sorceror multiclass. Exactly how many levels of which depends on whether you’re mostly a sword wielder or a force manipulator. The best (magic) weapon to simulate the light saber is probably the sun blade - radiant damage, just a hilt until activated. Some characters from the stories (palpatine, yoga etc) are probably epic with levels beyond 20 effectively. A normal split is probably ranger 10/sorceror 10 with a somewhat more martial being fighter 11/sorceror 9. A major force manipulator might be R/F6 / sorceror 14.
As far as I can tell the jedi knight is exactly what they were trying to evoke through the psionic warrior. In that sense fighters are the best fit for portraying a jedi in dnd, at least if you want to invoke the jedi usually portrayed in the films. The only thing that bothers me with the psionic warrior is that they use intelligence for their abilities, when I feel wisdom would be more appropriate for a jedi, and charisma would be more appropriate for a sith. (Although I suppose that is why they chose intelligence, which lacks a connection with either side).
However, star wars rpgs have been made in the past, with the most noteworthy being the Knights of the Old Republic series. There, you had three force classes, the guardian, sentinel and consular. Knights of the Old Republic were based on 3rd edition dnd, and there were certainly similarities with preexisting classes.
In my opinion the Jedi Guardian, the type of force user I think most of the movie characters would be classified as, were mechanically more similar with paladins more than anything. With a little bit of magic/force abilities, and a strong focus on battle. While no abilities were tied to any of the classes, the guardian had the least choices for force powers, and since you focused on martial abilities your powers would be the least effective. Therefore, just like paladins, you were better off choosing force powers that bolstered your martial prowess, like raising your ac, haste, resistances etc. All force users also applied their charisma modifier to saving throws, just like paladins.
So if I were to portray a guardian today I'd probably choose a psionic warrior, or a paladin. Another good choice I think, would be a kensei monk. What makes monk a bad fit in this case is the lack of force powers, or how you're forced to rely on unarmed strikes. Beyond those drawbacks, however, a kensei monk hits a lot of the right boxes. You have ways to stop missiles, you use your insight, foresight and agility to dodge and block attacks. And beyond any of the other classes, monks are the ones that put a focus inwards, on becoming in tune with yourself and the universe (the force). You may not have telekinetic powers, but they are rarely used in lightsaber duels anyway.
The sentinel had a higher focus on force powers, and a little less focus on combat compared to the guardian. They could also choose the most skill proficiencies (or what would become todays skill proficiencies) out of any force user. Sentinels were jedi who perhaps avoided direct confrontation, focusing more on blending into the background, on exploration or perhaps machines or computers. In that sense they were more like bards or the rangers of 3e, focusing on information gathering and scouting as well as the force. Perhaps a fey wanderer ranger would fit a sentinel well, using your powers to influence the minds of your enemies. Or maybe a college of swords bard.
The Consular was more similar to the 3e cleric than anything. Although the argument for a martial sorcerer could be made as well. This was the class that focused the most on force powers. In Knights of the Old republic you could use wisdom or charisma for your force powers, whichever was highest iirc. They had the most force points (spell slots), and got to choose the most force powers. They could still use lightsabers, but not as effectively as the other force users. To portray a consular without homebrewing? Honestly, use your imagination and go wild.
In some of the canon shows there has been uses of sith sorcery, but I think a sith who uses it would be better classified as a warlock rather than a sorcerer, since it involves studying and mastering the force more so than willing it into existence. Perhaps your character has discovered the knowledge and techniques from ancient sith holocrons.
Maybe a tempest cleric, or a storm sorcerer if you want to be all about flinging lightning. Maybe a bladesinger, using their fore to animate several lightsabers at once (animate object), or a war mage doing the same.
Just had a thought about how a Wizard could be considered for a force user (and apologies it might go off on a slight tangent), the reason for Wizard would be Holocrons.
If you think of Holocrons in Star Wars Lore being receptacles of knowledge then you could use them as follows in D&D:
1) As an Arcane Spell focus in a fashion similar to an Orb.
2) As a Spell Book, by studing the holocron you can memorise your force powers and change them up as needed and if you find them you could learn new powers.
3) Spell Scrolls, some may have some latent power you can call forth.
4) A magic item such as a Pearl of Power or Ring of Spell Storing, they could be used to store magic in for you to use later.
5) Potential Phylactaries where users can store their "spirits", these could open up a few possibilities where the spirit in on tries to take over a new body, or a practioner uses it to become a lich or more benevolent spirits might just be available to talk with.
This would then be a D&D reason to go out and hunt them down and collect them like various powerful Force users have done throughout Star Wars history.
Sorcerer, Fighter multiclass perhaps
If we can go to LV 20, I would say level 19 oath of ancient's paladin/ level 1 hex blade warlock. Attack with Cha, Command spell for Mind Tricks, eldritch blast and an invocation for force pull. Play variant human to get the magic initiate feat. Put a bit in Int, and grab mage hand, then at level 4, grab shield
SORRY one more thing. If your DM bans feats, lower your pallidin level to 18, have 1 level in Hexblade Warlock and 1 level of Blade Singer wizard, for Shield, Mage Hand, ect
Also, I just realised Pallidins get smites. Talk with your DM to change it to fire damage, mabey thunder?
:)
You could label/create them as Light Side and Dark Side Warriors.
A Jedi's abilities come from The Force, and all of these abilities are "spell-like" in nature but require no gesture, statement, or component to create. They would need their own "spell" list per level.
So, with that in mind, Psi Warrior, Cleric, or Sorcerer seems most appropriate. Wisdom would seem to be the best fit for them as a primary ability. You could use the wisdom ability score modifier as the number of force points they start with, or maybe the modifier + 1D4 per level.
The other issue is "the Force." How could you account for this? As it is the source of everything they are and do. You could consider a certain number of force points per level. These could be used for "spell-casting or specific abilities to draw upon (lightsaber use).
The "lightsaber" is something else entirely. You could make this a clerical ability where they must attune with a specific weapon. Each successful strike could imbue the weapon with "divine energy" (+ 1D4 or 1D6). You could make it even more specific that they must construct their weapon. If their weapon gets lost or destroyed, the character must re-create and attune with a new weapon before using the lightsaber forms.
You must also consider lightsaber forms (fighting styles), as each has specific abilities. You could adapt many of the Battles Master traits for this. Make three skill levels for each lightsaber form (Adept, Expert, and Master). You would need to use a "force point" each time you utilized the "skills" from the form. You could also pull from Homebrew feats to create specific traits with each lightsaber form.
Lastly, at what levels would you move/promote from apprentice to knight to Jedi master? Would there be some quest, test, or adventure process that would need to be completed for each advancement?
So I'm trying to make a homebrew that's a medieval version of Star Wars- i.e. all on one planet with medieval to steampunk levels of tech and magic (blimps and flying ships, but no internet and only isolated cases of electricity if any).
In this world, weaponry is confined to melee (swords, spears, axes, etc), slow projectiles (bows, catapults and crossbows), and magical attacks.
In a world where everybody uses swords, the Jedi are distinguished by their use of glowing blades that can cut through anything only at the user's will. The blades are normal at rest but can become hot/sharp enough to cut through anything at the pleasure of their user. Eg: a jedi or sith can touch their own blade without harm unless they explicitly will the blade to cut themself.
Given this, Jedi and Sith- especially in times of war- can be found wearing armor and using sheilds. Among the Jedi and Sith Orders, some members are more martial, while others act more as maesters, studying the force- others act more as monks- trained mostly in the healing and meditational aspects of the force (these rarely take part in combat except perhaps in a medical capacity).
Control of the force also extends to control over weather. Sith lightning? Try a Sith Thunderstorm. Sith Acid Rain. Sith Monsoons. Jedi and Sith can both summon storms, but only the most powerful of their orders can do so. Due to the destructive nature of storms, this method is favored by the dark side.
With all this in mind- what classes would best suit the different branches of the Jedi and Sith Orders?
Weirdly, you could make most of the vibe for all of your branches fit with Druid, but they would need homebrew subclasses to make them work. Shillelagh fits the lightsaber vibe well since they need to activate it. The Primal Orders could answer the martial vs maester concept. Plus, they get the most access to storm calling spells. Even the vibe of being attuned to the natural world could easily be reflavored to attuning to the force.
Having said all of that, wild shape does not fit at all and some of the subclasses only sort of work while Moon makes zero sense.
They are Shadowblade monks - so essentially a wizard/monk multiclass of some sort.
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
That sith description sounds a bit like a tempest cleric.
Realistically Jedi/sith don’t really work in 5e. The force manipulation is all psi not magic so the 2e psi classes would be better fits. If your going to try to make them in 5e your pretty much stuck with a fighter- sorcerer multiclass or maybe a ranger sorceror multiclass. Exactly how many levels of which depends on whether you’re mostly a sword wielder or a force manipulator. The best (magic) weapon to simulate the light saber is probably the sun blade - radiant damage, just a hilt until activated. Some characters from the stories (palpatine, yoga etc) are probably epic with levels beyond 20 effectively. A normal split is probably ranger 10/sorceror 10 with a somewhat more martial being fighter 11/sorceror 9. A major force manipulator might be R/F6 / sorceror 14.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
Two ways:
1. Become battle master fighter, get Magic Initiate: Druid, (for Shillelagh) and then take the telekinetic feat.
2. Become Psi Warrior fighter.
Roll for Initiative: [roll]1d20+7[/roll]
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