Makashi Duelist

Of the 6 Career Skills, choose 3 to get a free rank. Of the 4 Specialization Skills, choose 2 to get a free rank.

Mystic Career Skills: Charm, Coercion, Knowledge (Lore), Knowledge (Outer Rim), Perception and Vigilance

Makashi Duelist Specialization Skills:

A Mystic begins play with a Force rating of 1

The presence and showmanship that can come naturally to all Mystics reflects itself in the way of a duelist. For practitioners of Makashi, dominating a combat through one’s presence is just as important as dominating it through martial prowess, and the Makashi Duelist is the ultimate expression of that art.

The Makashi Duelist's skill set reflects the showmanship and presentation so intrinsic to the duelist’s art. A true Makashi Duelist must always fight with poise and grace, never showing the slightest strain and keeping complete control over his facial expressions and his body’s most minute movements.

Though some detractors may dismiss this fighting style as overly foppish and vain, a Makashi Duelist remains an exceptionally potent combatant. Those detractors forget that the Makashi form was developed to fight against other lightsaber-armed opponents. At its heart, Makashi focuses on one goal: to meet an enemy with a sword or lightsaber and slay him. A true Makashi Duelist never loses sight of this goal, and all his flourishes and feints are but means to an end. Movements that work to deflect and exhaust an opponent—particularly if the foe is not prepared for battle with a Force-sensitive—can soon leave an enemy frustrated with the entire experience. As the opponent becomes increasingly worn down, the Makashi Duelist soon finds an opportunity to exploit the foe’s exhaustion.

A Makashi Duelist’s force of personality, rather than natural athleticism, often drives his combat technique. Elements of personal flair become an effective means of disorienting and distracting an opponent during a battle. Sometimes a verbal misdirection can be every bit as effective as a physical one, leaving an opponent open to a single master stroke.

Potential Backgrounds

  • Artist: It might surprise some that many Makashi Duelists did not start off studying combat or warfare. A number of them had an artistic bent, and being drawn to the fluid motions of the body, tended to be dancers. In their early studies, they moved their bodies to music, but that didn’t feel quite right. In an epiphany, they danced in silence and found a rhythm that had no sound and no touch, but still felt real. Over time, their dancing helped achieve a meditative state, merging mind and body with a tempo indescribable—the Force.
  • Augurs: Augurs who would become Makashi Duelists frustrated those who came to them for advice. Sometimes these augurs would give direct (and rather blunt) advice, almost commands. Other times, their wording was so vague as to be worthless, a puzzle to provoke endless questions and doubt. Petitioners wandered off confused and often angry, yet the words would stick in their minds, whirling constantly in their conscious and subconscious, until understanding came with a flash of clarity. These augurs would often come to their own understanding of the Force in similar ways, unaware that they too need to be shocked or surprised out of their own limited vision.
  • Con Artist: When a con artist becomes a Makashi Duelist, it is usually due to a lifetime of movement. These individuals know a wide variety of cons and move from place to place, sensing when a place or a mark is “hot” or “cold. ” In order to figure out a target’s mettle, they first tested out strengths, performing small tricks to gauge gullibility and lying to buy time. When they saw an opportunity, they whittled down their opposition with blows or words—perfect Makashi Duelist technique.
  • Economist: Some economists have seen people, communities, or even whole planets climb and fall in periodic waves. Altering these economic variances to soften the fall and ease the climb required a variety of techniques. Direct economic stimulus plans for short-term gains, gradual educational support for long-term growth, and even the right word or phrase whispered in an influential ear were all valid actions akin to the thrusts, footwork, and feints familiar to all Makashi Duelists. By comparing macro-economic acts to individual physical actions, these economists began to understand the Makashi form.
  • Political Expert: Makashi Duelist-style tactics in politics utilize every social weapon: propaganda, speech writing, door-to-door campaigning, and personal connections. These political experts used this arsenal to push righteous laws or candidates into action. They worked like a steady drop of water, chipping away at the rock of the status quo. Eventually, they led a tidal wave of support, motivating the people themselves into a mighty river, washing away the political elites. Their understanding of the Force happened in the same way. building with each action, cresting at a single moment, and opening their eyes to their destiny.
  • Religious Ecstatics: Ecstatics who eventually became Makashi Duelists went through life with little introspection, acting and reacting nonstop in a whirling, spinning motion. They proclaimed a philosophy of living in the moment. Plenty of people got caught up in this whirlwind, drawn to their orbit but never really landing. Most of these ecstatics simply indulged their own self-gratification, but a few struggled to balance instinct, intellectual thoughtfulness, and caution. When they finally reconciled this struggle, they discovered the Makashi form fit seamlessly into their mindset.