Prophet

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

Prophet Specialization Skills: Charm, Coercion. Deception and Leadership

A Mystic begins play with a Force rating of 1

The Jedi Order’s proselytizing ebbed and flowed, much as the Force did throughout the Old Republic. Understanding of the Force couldn’t be pressured upon a student without causing resentment and anger, which promises a fall toward the dark side. So for Prophets, they proselytized not to convert, but to offer a voice of hope and an opportunity to learn about the power of the Force.

Now, with the Jedi Order destroyed and the Galactic Republic shattered, Prophets carry a fervor not seen before in the history of the galaxy. To them, their knowledge of the light side of the Force reflects the struggle against the dark. If the Galactic Empire is the shadow blotting out the stars, then Prophets are single points of light, hoping to ignite a candle here and there to light up the sky.

Like Advisors, this specialization directly interacts with people, granting them insight and counsel when needed. Unlike Advisors, Prophets address the crowd, not the individual. Their message has to reach as many ears as possible, in the hope that their ideas or warnings catch fire. Prophets influence communities, cities, or even planets if given a medium and a message.

The medium comes in a variety of forms: a sermon on a soapbox or an altar, a HoloNet posting or recording, flyers or tracts passed from hand to claw, or even images on a poster, painting, or pirate transmission. It doesn’t matter what medium, only the passion and truth of the message.

The message might be filtered through a religious lens, but not always. Prophets are keyed into the Cosmic Force more keenly, and images of the future provide wisdom, guidance, and, for followers, an identity. Since Prophets are only mortal, they can only try to interpret with mortal concepts and metaphors. They then have to translate that message into simple language, further diluting the content. The next person’s limited understanding then further alters that message. The real question is whether this constant alteration by verbal or visual transmission distorts the message or enhances it just as the Force intended.

Prophets who use their abilities for evil or selfish ends have an easier time now during the Galactic Civil War. Those suffering from the Empire’s rule want a voice of hope to give them a reason to live on, and as long as the message doesn’t violate Imperial restrictions on religion or political sedition, Prophets can enjoy a safe (and profitable) career. Even on planets free from the Empire, other sources of oppression (slavery, Hutt influence, corporate interests, and the like) may drive people to a religious charlatan, especially one who can produce miracles.

Even well-meaning Prophets should be wary, since it is much too easy for them to insert their own desires, needs, or fears into their visions, distorting them into their own ends, manipulating their followers into believing their own egos.

Potential Backgrounds

  • Artist: Artists who eventually became Prophets combined sound and word, mixing and matching the cadence of language with metaphor. Pitch, tone, and volume helped convey their message as much as the content. Not surprisingly, these proto-Prophets started off as spoken-word poets and singers, sometimes in a religious choir, but just as often as street performers. When people, with no prompting whatsoever, shouted out, called back, and joined in the performance, these artists began to see words as a connecting power. From there, it didn’t take much for the artist to hear the Cosmic Force calling back.
  • Augurs: Soon-to-be Prophets usually served a community as an augur, sometimes in a religious role, but in others proselytizing a united ethos or philosophy. They may have represented a marginalized group seeking a cohesive identity, a group of caf-house revolutionaries plotting rebellion, or even a rioting group of agricultural workers who needed a voice. These augurs didn’t simply predict the future. Their words linked each individual not only to each other, but to an ideal and legacy of resistance. In a way, these augurs served as conduits of idealism and information, and it took little to see the Force as the true source of this knowledge.
  • Con Artist: Prophets who started as con artists sold futures—literal futures—and tricked groups of people into believing their spiritual nonsense. They rationalized that it didn’t harm anyone if people believed something fake. Besides, false hope is better than no hope at all. When the fabricated hope propelled people to do great things, no one was more astonished than the con artist. These individuals then realized their higher calling, and that their hope was not so false after all.
  • Economist: Economists tend to predict doom and gloom. Every spike in productivity comes with a depressed fall. Every crash comes with predictions of lengthy austerity. Would-be Prophets predicted these disasters in HoloNet broadcasts, articles, or even old-fashioned declarations on the street. Their words brought despair (or merely eye rolls) to many, but helped just enough people to give these economists a glimpse of a higher purpose. This calling kept them seeking the truth until they discovered the Force.
  • Political Expert: The Prophets of the political sphere were pundits, commentators, or critical analysts—both professional and amateur. They saw how a candidate or policy could affect their listeners and would advise accordingly. Whether motivated by doom and gloom or by a compassion for their audience, these political experts began to see how their local communities were connected, then cities and planets, and eventually saw how systems across the galaxy influenced each other.
  • Religious Ecstatics: Ecstatic Prophets usually had some connection with a fringe religious group. These ecstatics quickly gathered a following, one that either threatened the leadership of the original religious group or the authority of the dominant culture. For some, these emotional bursts of insight frightened them. Were they mad? When others found essential truths in their uncontrolled actions and babbling, these ecstatics began to wonder if they did have a connection to something greater.