Sense Difficulty: Moderate
Required Powers: Emptiness, hibernation trance
Game Note: This power can be kept up.
Effect: This power informs a character of the “path” he travels: whether his current actions are likely to lead him to the dark side, and whether any specified future actions are likely to do so (this power may be thought of as farseeing without control). Bear in mind that without control, the Jedi does not have the ability to decide whether he sees the past, present, or a possible future. The visions he receives are more likely to be allegorical in nature to receive specific details, the farseeing power must be used.
When giving the results of this power, be honest but obscure if the character has gained any Dark Side Points and is attempting to atone, this power will tell him how successful he has been within a game context.
The Jedi can choose to consciously use this power, or it can be a plot device. If the latter, at an appropriate point in the scenario, you may call for a roll on this power, and give the Jedi a vision if he succeeds. You may use this to tell the players how well they are doing, or to give them a premonition of doom just before a critical encounter to heighten the tension. You may use it to warn them (by showing the future of their current course), to encourage them
(particularly when they have done the right thing but have no way of knowing), to provide hints, or to foreshadow upcoming events.
A vision from the Force should never be taken lightly by the players. It should give them something to think about, along with the attendant chances for good roleplaying. Bear in mind that different Jedi will tend to receive different renditions of the same scene, and consequently you should tailor the details you give to the fit character concerned. Instead, you might consider altering the way you describe the scenery; for the dark side, you might always
describe rocky and barren terrain, or with a cold wind blowing, or it might always be night for the dark side and daytime or dawn for the light side. You can present these images in as contrary manner as you wish, provided you are consistent with the descriptions.
Another thing to bear in mind is that it is never easy to tell which is the right course to take (although the path of darkness may be clear enough, the path of the light may be far more elusive). The Jedi must still be sure to follow the Jedi Code regardless of what his visions seem to be telling him, otherwise his own desires will encourage a less truthful vision and cause his downfall. And it is quite possible for a skilled Dark Jedi to twist the readings of this power to suit his own ends.
Example: Another narration: “You are scrambling through a rocky landscape at night. The only light is a feeble flow ahead of you, coming from behind the next outcropping. You are hurrying, trying to arrive in time to avert… something. When you pass the outcrop, the terrain falls away on all sides, and you find yourself on the edge of a gigantic precipice, like the inner rim of a volcano. Rock walls loom high on the opposite side of the pit. Standing, alone
and vulnerable on a spike of rock scarcely half a meter wide at the tip, is your companion Tetsu. He is scared and crying. The column he is on is nowhere connected to the rim where you are standing: there is no way to reach him. A wind begins to howl up from below.”
Example: Another narration: “You are walking along a path: the route is straight and wide… and as black as coal. On your left is a second path, just as broad, just as straight, and shining brilliant white. You become aware of a presence walking along the second pathway matching you pace for pace. Ahead your paths cross, and the path that leads away from the point of intersection is twice as wide as your own… and of indeterminate color.”
Background: Force visions were an aspect of the Force, an ability to see into the past, the future and other places. An ability once possessed by all Jedi, in the final years of the Galactic Republic before its transformation into the Galactic Empire, it had grown rare. Some Sith, as Force users, were also capable of experiencing Force visions.
Despite their prophetic nature, Force visions were not absolute in their content and could be left up to much interpretation, with the emotions of the witness potentially clouding their judgement on the issue or otherwise causing them to misread the vision. Some Jedi attributed this to the future constantly being in motion, with the visions merely warning of what could happen. As such, visions were treated with great caution by the Order.