May 17, 2011

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Ask A Jedi: What Would The Jedi Be Without The Sith?

If you spend any time on the official Star Wars: The Old Republic forums, you are sure to have seen his passion and prose regarding all things Jedi. You know him as Professor Walsh. Each week (or thereabouts,) Professor Walsh will answer a few reader-submitted questions in order to enlighten us all with the ways of the Jedi. You can submit your own question at the end of the article!


Greetings and welcome! I am the Professor and, as always, here to answer your questions about all things Star Wars.

This week we have a question which I have seen mirrored before by many posters. This question is one that spans tens of thousands of years. This is the truth of Star Wars.

Okay… Maybe not. But we do have a whopper of a question this week.

Akrida asks:

I was wondering how many milenia will it take for Jedi to understand that they can not exist without the Sith around?

This one I can really sink my teeth into. The answer is deceptively simple but requires quite a long explanation. So without further delay lets dive into this particularly vexing conundrum.

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May 11, 2011

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Ask A Jedi: The Mandalorian Mistake

If you spend any time on the official Star Wars: The Old Republic forums, you are sure to have seen his passion and prose regarding all things Jedi. You know him as Professor Walsh. Each week (or thereabouts,) Professor Walsh will answer a few reader-submitted questions in order to enlighten us all with the ways of the Jedi. You can submit your own question at the end of the article!


Hello everyone! Professor Walsh here…. Time for another edition of Ask A Jedi!

This week pickings were a little slim, I guess everyone else had questions regarding the dropped embargoes or something. However, I did get a nice spattering in my inbox this week, so I decided pick one of the more interesting ones.

Our first question comes from a poster at the official TOR forums, and he has asked that he remain nameless:

“Hey Professor, I’ve recently gotten into Star Wars books and I just read the “Legacy of the Force” series. I’m confused. When was it established that Boba Fett had killed more Jedi than anyone else?”

Well Anonymous, this one is actually extremely good, and I had to gather a lot of sources to answer it… Meaning I have spent a lot of time on this one question and the answer is a long one. So if you need to use the bathroom or want something to drink, you might wish to do so before you continue to read on. I’ll wait.

Are you back already?

Good, let us continue.

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Apr 19, 2011

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Ask A Jedi: What Are Dark Jedi, Really?

If you spend any time on the official Star Wars: The Old Republic forums, you are sure to have seen his passion and prose regarding all things Jedi. You know him as Professor Walsh. Each week (or thereabouts,) Professor Walsh will answer a few reader-submitted questions in order to enlighten us all with the ways of the Jedi. You can submit your own question at the end of the article!


Welcome everyone to another week of Ask A Jedi! As always, I’m your host Professor Walsh and I’m here to answer your questions regarding all things Star Wars lore. Remember, if you have a question, no matter how big or small, please submit it! I may not get to it instantly, but I will get to it in time.

This week we have one question with two parts:

Dear Jedi,

What actually “defines” a Jedi to George Lucas? I mean, according to G-canon, are there such things as Dark Jedi? It would seem that there must be a minimum checklist somewhere that all persons carry the label “Jedi” should have/be.

Obviously I’d like to know this in the context of The Old Republic, but any general information would be appreciated!

– Rebel

Good question Rebel. Unfortunately I can’t really answer what George Lucas defines a Jedi as, and the reason of course is because I am not George Lucas. I can only state what he seems to have defined them as.

As to the second portion of your question, you want to know if there are such things as Dark Jedi in G-Canon? This is a little more complicated.

First you have to understand, unlike what some people believe, G-Canon is still part of canon and thus follows a strictly defined set of rules. So G-Canon is not separate from other canon. In fact, if G-Canon, since it is the highest level of canon, says that there is no Dark Jedi then, well, there are no Dark Jedi… anywhere. Until such a time as he specifically says that there is no Dark Jedi in G-Canon then due to how canon works there simply are Dark Jedi in G-Canon.

So, yes, there are indeed Dark Jedi in G-Canon. Though that is, of course, subject to change.

Now, from a canon standpoint a Dark Jedi is simply a Jedi who has been seduced by the Dark Side of the Force. Often people who were never Jedi are erroneously identified as Dark Jedi as well. In canon Dark Jedi are not part of, nor are they recognized by, the Jedi Order.

In order to be a Jedi one must meet one criterion only: the person must be a member of the Jedi Order in good standing.

By the words, “In Good Standing” I mean that the person must be not disavowed, as it were. So, for example, Revan was a Jedi even though he fought in the Mandalorian Wars until such a time as he fell to the Dark Side. The Exile was not a Jedi anymore because she had been, well, exiled. Jolee Bindo was a Jedi because the Order never exiled him, he left of his own free will but never officially was kicked out.

The Old Republic definition of Dark Jedi will likely be a Jedi who has accumulated more Dark Side points than Light Side points by a significant margin. I don’t think that TOR will make the distinction really between Light and Dark Jedi, and I personally think that is a shame.

I hope that answers your question, and until next time, remember: The Force will be with you… Always.

Dark Jedi Namman Cha

Dark Jedi Namman Cha

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Apr 7, 2011

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Ask A Jedi: Imperial Agents Below Sith?

If you spend any time on the official Star Wars: The Old Republic forums, you are sure to have seen his passion and prose regarding all things Jedi. You know him as Professor Walsh. Each week (or thereabouts,) Professor Walsh will answer a few reader-submitted questions in order to enlighten us all with the ways of the Jedi. You can submit your own question at the end of the article!

Greetings everyone! It’s time for another round of Ask A Jedi! As always I am your host, Professor Walsh.

As you all know, each week or so I do a column where I answer the questions that you have about the Star Wars universe, as well as any questions that you have regarding how lore may, or may not work, regarding The Old Republic.

This week we have a special question that was submitted to me via a Private Message at the official Star Wars: The Old Republic forums.

The questioner asks:

“Hey Prof, why do you keep saying that Imperial Agents will be below the Sith? Aren’t all classes supposed to be balanced?”

This is an excellent question and I’d like to dedicate this column to it.

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Mar 12, 2011

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PAX East 2011: Hall Hood Interview

Yesterday here at PAX East 2011, BioWare Senior Writer Hall Hood was nice enough to take a few minutes with Professor Walsh to discuss Star Wars™: The Old Republic™.

If you know the Professor, you know that he KNOWS his Star Wars (having read all 190 Star Wars novels) and asked some tough lore-related questions.

Hall is an awesome guy who we first met at Star Wars Celebration V in Orlando, and was able to provide some great insight into some of the more pressing matters. Just want to shout out to Hall for being such a great sport!

Enjoy!

 

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