I think there is a difference of opinions as to what the Force actually is. To call it a hammer and a tool is not quite what it appears to be portrayed as, at least from the perspective of the films. It is true that the Force provides power, to be used in various ways by the individual, but at the same time it seems above the individual - people can control the Force, but the Force also controls them. That's why there are prophecies and visions. That's why Jedi say to 'Trust in the Force.' I do not trust in a hammer, and the Force is much more then that.
An important bit of this which I think some might be missing is that the Jedi Corps appear different because they obey a body - a highly rutheless, paranoid, and Orwellian body - that will give them orders they will follow, and they will follow these orders above the Force.
We have all heard in the movies and read in the books about the Will of the Force, and the Jedi's wisdom came from divining this will and seeking to enact it for the benefit of all. However, although the Jedi Corps might believe they are supporting their ideals, they use the power of the force while not obeying it. They don't obey it's light or dark side, they don't obey it as a whole, they use it to do what the Empire tells them and nothing more. They take without giving anything back.
The Force, as portrayed by the films and the novels, IS a semi-conscious entity that connects all life, almost on the edge of life itself. The Jedi Corps do not form a symbiotic relation with the Force, as they use without return. They will hurt the Force, and the ramnifications of shattering the Force's power would be great.
I appeal to you all now on two fronts:
1) The writing front, whereby this would be an amazing story that could even be part of the Star Wars main plot, tying in how one Sith's mad ambition spawned an Empire that could possibly - through devotion to his lies - now destroy the Force. This sort of story could be amazingly entertaining and certainly at least plausible.
2) The Star Wars front, because this is the sort of thing that happens in Star Wars, and frankly it appears to me as the sort of thing that would happen if a government (even inadvertently) ended up trying to take control of the Force, weakening it's flow and thus the flow of life.
Lastly, I'd like to say that it could be handled in a way where those who don't want to participate wouldn't have to, where the effects would only be felt by those involved, and that the outcome could be anything so don't be against it just because you fear it might jeprodize your plans or assets. I'd really like to try this, so isn't there some way it can be done? It seems to make so much sense.
But so the Jedi. They do what the Jedi Code tells them. But the Jedi code was written by the Jedi. The Jedi believe themselves to be supporting the ideals of the Force when in fact it is their own ideals they follow. The entire idea of a light and dark side to the Force is a Jedi one, not neccessarily one of the Force itself.
The Jedi Corps., to a large degree, rise above such petty division. Yes, they serve the Empire. But serving the Empire is in no way different than the Jedi serving the Jedi Council.
Given the ambiguity of the Force itself, 'serving the Force' is impossible to classify... maybe the Force's biggest desire is order? Then the Jedi Corps. are serving it.
I think to do an RP like this, Dolash, it would require us to fill in a lot of blanks about one of the biggest elements of Star Wars. Making up history for the Empire, sure. But I'm not sure I feel comfortable doing so much with the Force...
[font=Arial]An energy that occurs naturally in the galaxy, it springs from all forms of life. It has two "sides," a good side and a Dark Side, although this is a great oversimplification of the Force's existence. The Jedi Knights believed that the Force had many sides, including a living element and a unifying element, and it binds all things together in a great web of existence. In this way, the Jedi saw the Force as its own end. The modern Sith, while acknowledging that they learned of the Force through the Dark Side teachings of the ancient Sith, simply saw the singular power of the Force, which to them was a means to an end. The Jedi Knights discovered that the Force was accessible to all living beings through the presence of midi-chlorians in their cells. The more midi-chlorians that inhabited a being's cells, the more the being was able to contact the Force. However, a high concentration of midi-chlorians did not guarantee a being control of the Force. Only through intense study and dedicated training could a being become proficient in harnessing the power of The Force. The Jedi Council discovered that younger beings had an easier time of learning the techniques required to touch and control the Force, and eventually developed a system that actively sought out and identified beings with high midi-chlorian counts at their birth. With, or sometimes without, the permission of the parents, the Jedi took children no more than one year old away for training. Children and older beings, who had already established a set pattern of mental and physical usage, often were unable to complete the necessary training, and were deemed too wasteful of Jedi resources. The Jedi Knights have historically been the most powerful users of The Force, having trained with and learned the three basic techniques: control (the manipulation of one's internal Force strength), sense (detection of the Force in the external world), and alter (manipulation of matter with the Force). These techniques, used by themselves or in combination, allow the Jedi to perform many different activities with the Force. The Sith, on the other hand, gained strength from the Force by focusing their emotional energies - especially strong emotions like anger and hatred - which gave the quick mastery but didn't take much discipline. During the Yuuzhan Vong invasion of the galaxy, some twenty-five years after the Battle of Endor, the foundations on which the Jedi Knights based their knowledge of the Force were suddenly altered. There were several forms of life - primarily the ysalamiri of Myrkr - which could push back against the Force, but these creatures were assumed to live within the Force in some fashion. The Yuuzhan Vong, however, appeared as a void in the Force, neither projecting nor absorbing or repelling it. Many of the new Jedi Order struggled with the concept of a race of beings which seemed to lack any contact with the Force, since it was believed that the Force was contained within all forms of life, even if it was in trace amounts. Jacen Solo was one of the first Jedi to discover that the Force acted in many ways, without a true light or dark side, and that there were ways in which it could be attuned to at least recognize the alien invaders. The former Jedi Knight Vergere was instrumental in guiding Jacen to this realization, having spent more than thirty years in their presence. After the surrender of the Yuuzhan Vong at Coruscant some five years after their invasion began, Jedi Master Master Skywalker contemplated his new understanding of the Force. It was not a simple delineation between light and dark, but a more profound definition of the ways in which good and evil fight for control of an individual. Ultimately, he chose not to return the Jedi to their roles as an unbiased police force. Luke reasoned that the Jedi Knights of the Old Republic were once a meditative order that was drawn deeper and deeper into the machinations of the Republic when its Chancellors called for their help in mediating disputes. As this call for help escalated into the battle legions of the Clone Wars, the Jedi became less interested in the nature of the Force and more interested in separating good and evil into light and dark halves to the Force. The Jedi of the Old Republic, according to Skywalker, lost sight of the fact that the Force moved through an individual, not from them. [/font]
I think Dolash is right by referring it as a type of "life force". On Episode 5, Yoda said that the Force is life and life creates the Force. I think it would be in an imbalance and I stand on him all 150% about this. Think of the Force as a double-edged sword. If you mishandle it, it's all over. True, it's plausible, and I think it's even possible.
Again, I stand firm with Dolash, and I agree with his whole 'only those who want involved'. After all, those who don't want to get involved, can just say they were fortunate enough to avoid the blow. But those who want in, they can get involved.
I kind of answered your latest point already, Demos, within the very reply you quoted. Namely, I said that the Jedi do 'obey' the force to some extent, since they speak of heeding the 'will' of the Force, and certainly the Jedi Council was followed because they were best at diving the will of their Light Side of the Force and enacting it. I said this in my previous post, but perhaps you missed it, as it seems to answer your questions fairly well.
After all, there is in fact a difference between serving the Jedi Council and serving the Empire. As the article Omnae posted said near the end, before the destruction of the Old Jedi Order, they had become too insulated and misunderstood the will of the Force as a whole, hence why they failed to stop Palpetine. They had failed to read the will of the Force, and they suffered for it. The Empire doesn't even try to hear the will of the Force, and wouldn't care if it did, so there is no chance that what they do will keep the balance since they are taking advantage of the power of the Force without heeding it's will, it's warning. It is not a free power bereft of responsibility, and those who access it cannot simply claim it's abilities for free. Even the Sith had a harsh hierarchy in place, as well as dark rituals, to keep their powers in balance.
If you don't want to participate, that's ok Drayson, you are more of a fleeter and no one would force you anyways. But I think it should definetly be out there for the rest of us to try and write with. After all, imagine the opportunities created by sudden fluctuations in the powers of the Force, the appearance of long-dead Force Users, and other anomalous activities. Solving the mystery of where it is coming from would be all the more rewarding, since no player would be doing it, and every character would be taken by surprise.
Not to mention Irtar's problem would resurface more terrible than as a child. Actually... yeah. This idea keeps sounding more and more cool and the RP possibilities are just on the rise.
Dolash: No, I got that. I was simply playing Devil's Advocate, in that the Jedi did not follow the Force per say, but what they believed was the will of the Force. You're quite right in that because the Jedi Council attempted to read into the Force they would probably come closer to following its will, and the Jedi Corps do not. But by the same token, the Sith (while having some ceremonies etc. of their own) cannot possibly follow the will of the Force (if the Jedi are accurate in their reading), and they seem to do okay.
So I have to wonder how important the supposed 'will of the Force' is, as a result. The entire idea does, however, explain why the Jedi Corps. are weaker than Jedi or Sith... restricting the Force to a tool no doubt denies them its full power.
*shrug*
If there's no effect outside the RP, it sounds fine (to me). It would no doubt be an interesting story. But if you wanted to fundamentally change the nature of the Force forever (as was my initial impression) then I would have to object.
