Force Speed

Control Difficulty: Moderate

Required Powers: Enhance attribute

Effect: A Jedi can use this power to enhance his Move rating, increasing his running and walking speeds dramatically for a short period of time. Both the duration and Move increase are determined by the amount the Jedi’s control roll exceeds the difficulty. The duration can be increased by spending character points – for each character point spent, the duration is increased by one round. These points can be spent at any time before the power fades.

Background: Force speed, also known as burst of speed or Force sprint, was a core Force power that allowed the user to maintain sprinting speeds for a brief time. Greater aptitude granted greater boosts to speed and/or greater duration. The increased speed of the Force-user enabled the individual to perceive and react the world and the entities around them in slow motion, allowing them to dodge attacks easily and attack more quickly with greater accuracy.

The technique was commonly used by many Force-users throughout history, including Jedi, Sith, and the Matukai order, an organization of Force adepts who used the physical body to channel the Force. During the Clone Wars, many Jedi used the ability to great effect on the battlefields. It was also commonly used to increase speed during lightsaber duels as well as in unarmed combat. According to Jedi Master Tionne Solusar’s tome regarding the Force, there was a drawback to using this power; using Force speed had a draining effect on a Force-user’s energy and metabolism, and required a longer recovery period.

Using the Force to increase one’s speed was a common ability among many Force-users throughout history, with many able to both use the Force to increase their muscle speed and to slow down their perception of the world. The increased speed of the Force-user enabled them to see the world and the entities around them in slow motion, allowing them to dodge attacks easily and attack more quickly with greater accuracy. With sufficient skill in this ability, one could actually run on vertical surfaces for brief periods of time.

According to Tionne Solusar’s tome regarding the Force written at the time of the Second Galactic Civil War, Force speed would only be achieved after a Jedi used the Force to attune their entire body with their heightened reflexes. The power could be used with such velocity that they appeared to simply vanish from their previous position. If the user was in unarmed combat, they could use it to swiftly bring an end to a skirmish. However, there was a drawback to using this power; using Force speed had a draining effect on a Force-user’s energy and metabolism, and required a longer recovery period.

A core Force ability, Force speed fell under the control area of the Force, which was the first aspect of the Force taught to Jedi Initiates. Force speed was referred to by different names throughout history including burst of speed, burst run, Force run, Force sprint, heightened speed, Force dash, Force quickness, and Surge.

Applications

Increasing sprinting speeds by using the Force to augment the muscles was commonly used by both Jedi and Sith, such as when the Sith Lord Kaox Krul used this Force power to chase Crian Maru and Dree Vandap, who were on a speeder. In 5000 BBY, Jedi Master Relin Druur used the power when he attacked the Harbinger, which was mining Lignan crystals in the Phaegon system, and, by his own estimate, he was able to cross 100 meters in a second, running in a blur.

Darth Sidious was a great adept of force speed, using it with deadly precision during his mission to kill the Gran senator Pax Teem by killing a pair of Dugs guards at such speed that seemed to be a blur for Human senses and a phantom to security cameras.

The Jedi Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi were also known to be skilled in this ability, using it to escape from Trade Federation droidekas. This technique was not limited to the Jedi and Sith however; the Force-using Matukai who focused on channeling the Force through their bodies, were highly skilled in sustaining agility based motions using the Force.

During the Clone Wars, many Jedi used this ability to great effect on the battlefields, as seen when Jedi Master Mace Windu used this technique to gain momentum for a long-distance Force Jump he was about to perform during the Battle of Dantooine, as well as to augment his fighting ability against Kar Vastor on Haruun Kal.

Jedi could also use the Force to augment their muscles and increase the speed of their movements during combat, heightening their reflexes and increasing the speed of their blocks and blows during engagements. Grand Master Luke Skywalker was proficient in this application of the power, often using the Force to increase the speed of his lightsaber strikes, as seen during his duels with Yuuzhan Vong Supreme Overlord Shimrra Jamaane and UnuThul. During their duel, Jedi Master Mace Windu and Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Sidious both showed considerable skill in this ability, both moving in a blur. In particular, Mace Windu’s lightsaber form Vaapad relied on using the Force in this way as in combat it would appear as if he was wielding dozens of swords at once. However, prolonged use of the Force to increase their speed could leave the user dangerously tired.

Slowing down their perception of the world would give a Force-user more time to react to a situation as Luke Skywalker discovered in 3 ABY, during his confrontation with the human replica droid Guri in Prince Xizor’s Palace on Coruscant. With guidance from the voice of Ben Kenobi, Luke gave in to the Force and found that time seemed to slow down considerably, allowing him to dodge the assassin’s attack and defeat her with ease. Luke would later remark to his students at the Jedi Praxeum that he didn’t feel in control of this power and instead felt that it was the Force guiding his actions.