"Always in motion is the future." - Yoda
It is always interesting to see how a product I've worked on fits into the ever developing Star Wars universe. Nexus of Power for Force and Destiny is now listed as shipping on the FFG website, meaning it will be arriving relatively soon. Actually, Special Modifications for Edge of the Empire is also about to arrive, but that's another story. I'm going to touch on recent Rebels episodes, so spoiler alert.
Anyway, I've been watching Rebels with great interest of late. Ok, well always, but I've been watching some specific developments closely. FFG has already revealed in the preview that this book deals with vergences. It's fun to see how something like the Jedi Temple in Rebels is treated - how the characters interact with it, and how those interactions might differ with what has come before. Visions are tricky and mysterious and useful in many creative ways.
Yoda's connection with the Temple on Lothal is very interesting. Rebel Recon for "Shroud of Darkness" reveals he probably has more to do with directing the visions than I previously thought in an earlier trip to the temple. I've mentioned before that with the temple providing a conduit to Yoda, it could make for a great way to use Yoda in an RPG encounter without the PCs knowing where - or maybe even who - he is. Directing visions takes this beyond just verbal discussions, and allows any number of lessons to be taught directly.
Usually, visions are regarded as manifestations of the will of the Force, independent of any one person's influence. Obviously, that is not always the case and, in fact, if Yoda is directing the visions in Rebels, might he be doing the same to Luke in the cave at Dagobah in The Empire Strikes Back? I don't think so based on his "only what you take with you" comment to Luke, but it is an intriguing thought that changes how I view the scene.
Speaking of Dagobah, there was also a reminder from Pablo Hidalgo on twitter this week that time in The Clone Wars "Mortis" trilogy seems to pass at a different rate during the events of the show. He notes that Luke might have experienced a similar time distortion while training on Dagobah.
Perhaps directing a vision isn't all that different from the concept of creating a Force illusion, just used in a different way. In Yoda's case, used at extreme distance. Visions are funny things. They're partly mental, partly physical experiences and the show and movies blur the lines of what might be happening in someone's mind versus what is actually occurring in a physical reality.
Actually, this isn't the first occurrence of extreme-distance controlled illusions. Darth Sidious uses something similar against Yoda in Yoda's story arc in The Clone Wars Lost Missions, in very specific circumstances. Wonder if he's done that to anyone else....
In any case, with Nexus of Power coming soon, I'll probably touch on these concepts more in the coming weeks.