Star Wars: The Principles of Rajivari

[Jendekit]

Rajivari was a Jedi Master about 25 thousand years before the destruction of the first Death Star, and the first recorded one to fall to the Dark Side. This was long before the Dark Jedi Exiles discovered the red skinned race that would later become the namesake of the Sith, and only three of an unknown number of principles (the 2nd, 5th, and 7th principles) survived the ravages of time:

2nd principle: All life is a battle, even to the last breath.
5th principle: Showing mercy to an enemy creates a spiral of destruction.
7th principle: Sacrificing your strength is the path of a fool.

I am planning on introducing a holocron in a Star Wars game that was made by a Force-Sensitive that followed a series of tenants based off of the Principles of Rajivari, and in addition to the three principles above developed others in line with them. The problem is that when I sit down to come up with more principles I keep coming up blank.

So Playground, let's hear some ideas. The final list will have a total of 15 principles, but don't let that stop you from chiming in.

[Lost in Hyrule]

When weakness is discovered, it must be crushed, or you will be.

[Jendekit]

Tumak gazed at the object in front of him. He knew what it was, not like most in the Galactic Empire, though not like the ones that his father had told him about. If the Empire learned that a Jedi holocron had been in his basement for who knows how long, then his family would be locked up for the rest of their lives (however short that would be). Yet...it didn't look like the holocrons that his father had told him about.

Jedi holocrons were cubes with a blue or green glow to them while Sith holocrons were small pyramids with a red glow. This one was a cylinder and glowed an almost silver-green. With a great deal of hesitance, the zabrak teen reached out and touched the holocron. Almost immediately, a blue hologram appeared above the cylinder of a human man in some sort of armor.

"Greetings, I am Tyrrhe Rasharn, of the Disciples of Rajivari. How may I help you, young Sensitive?"

"Who are the Disciples of Rajinari?" Tumak asked in confusion without thinking.

"The Disciples of Rajivari formed ten years after the Warden of the Jedi Order discovered the three original Principles of Rajivari, one of the original Jedi Masters. Splintering away from the Jedi Order due to increased conflict with the Sith Empire, the first Disciples took with them the second, fifth, and seventh principles and used them as the basis for a new order of Force-Sensitives."

"What are the Principles of Rajivari?"

The image of the man disappeared, replaced with text that read:
First Principle: When weakness is discovered, it must be crushed or you will be crushed yourself. Addendum: When possible, turn weakness into strength.
Second Principle: All life is a battle, even to the last breath.
Third Principle: To love can give great strength, but it will also make you vulnerable. Only open your heart if you are prepared for pain, and only close it if you are ready for emptiness.
Forth Principle: No man can master others unless he first masters himself.
Fifth Principle: Showing mercy to an enemy creates a spiral of destruction.
Sixth Principle: Trust yourself, for in the end you can trust no one else.
Seventh Principle: Sacrificing your strength is the path of a fool.
Eighth Principle: Good and evil are concepts, the product of small minds who see duality and patterns where none exist. All that matters is power and ambition.
Ninth Principle: Power and ambition are both meaningless if you are not alive to enjoy the former or exercise the latter.
Tenth Principle: Power will always find a purpose. If you do not seek out power with a purpose, it will find its own, and you will be dragged along the path your power has chosen for you.
Eleventh Principle: Without power, ambition is futile. Without ambition, power is dangerous.
Twelfth Principle: The Force is a tool with which one can gain power, nothing more and nothing less.
Thirteenth Principle: The path to true greatness is through attaining power and ambition.
Fourteenth Principle: Through the proper training and discipline, you can achieve power from outside, but ambition you must find within.
Fifteenth Principle: No one can tell you how to use your power except yourself.

As Tumak finished reading, the text was replaced with the human hologram who smiled before asking, "Are you ready to begin your training?"

[ReaderAt2046]

"To love can give great strength, but it will also make you vulnerable. Only open your heart if you are prepared for pain, and only close it if you are ready for emptiness."

"No man can master others unless he first masters himself."

"Power will always find a purpose. If you do not seek out power with a purpose, it will find its own, and you will be dragged along the path your power has chosen for you."

I wanted to do some that don't quite align with traditional Sith doctrines, to get the feeling that this is something genuinely different from the other paths.

[Jendekit]

"To love can give great strength, but it will also make you vulnerable. Only open your heart if you are prepared for pain, and only close it if you are ready for emptiness."

"No man can master others unless he first masters himself."

"Power will always find a purpose. If you do not seek out power with a purpose, it will find its own, and you will be dragged along the path your power has chosen for you."

I wanted to do some that don't quite align with traditional Sith doctrines, to get the feeling that this is something genuinely different from the other paths.

The first and third that you provided I really like because they do illustrate how this is a different group, and they are a Dark Side faction without being related to the Sith.

[ReturnOfTheKing]

How about this:

Good and evil are concepts, the product of small minds who see duality and patterns where none exist. All that matters is power and ambition.

Without power, ambition is futile. Without ambition, power is worthless.

The Force is a tool with which one can gain power, nothing more and nothing less.

The path to true greatness is through attaining power and ambition.

Through the proper training and discipline, you can achieve power from outside, but ambition you must find within.

No one can tell you how to use your power except yourself.

Basically, in the above, I define ambition as drive, aim, motivation, a plan, a mission, what you intend to do with your power. One might, for example, be motivated to use their power to take over the galaxy, or avenge their uncle's murder, or protect innocents from harm. To sum up the above principles, your ambition is your own business, but to make your ambitions come true, you've got to attain the power necessary for achieving them, and that's what the Principles are for. So we're basically talking more the grey side than the dark (the Sith got the short end of the stick in that they came out with a completely skewed version of Rajivari's beliefs based on the three principles they could find).

[Jendekit]

"Gatekeeper Rasharn, I remember hearing family stories discussing force using ancestors while I was growing up. There was an aspect I was hoping you could clarify," the zabrak Tumak asked the gatekeeper of the heirloom holocron.

"My knowledge is limited, but I will answer as best as I can. What is it you seek to know?" the holographic human asked of his student.

"I know the Sith use a dark side, and Jedi use a light side. Which is stronger?"

Gatekeeper Rasharn let out a simulated sigh before answering, "The answer to that question is not a simple one. Both have advantages, both have weaknesses. The Light Side is more difficult to learn. The Dark Side is easier to learn, but at the same time, it is also far more destructive to both others and the user. The Light Side is more sustainable in the long run, while the Dark Side grants its power with far less effort."

The hologram changed to show two candles. One much brighter than the other. Both visibly burned down, but the brighter burned faster than the other. Speaking over the hologram, Gatekeeper Rasharn expanded upon what he was showing Tumak, "Consider these candles. Think of them as the Light Side and Dark Side. The Dark Side offers great power with little effort, in this analogy it burns brighter. Using the Dark Side repeatedly results in the user burning themselves out." As he said this, the brighter of the two candles burned itself out, prompting him to continue.

"The Light Side however, continues burning and providing its user power. In the end, I believe that the Dark Side is stronger. However, I feel that the more appropriate question is, 'Do I feel that the benefits outweigh the cost?' For me personally, I felt that the costs were too great. Having said that, it is a choice that everyone must make for themselves."

Here's my view of how the Disciples of Rajivari view the Light vs. Dark debate. While the Dark Side is stronger, it comes at great cost and everyone must choose for themselves whether the cost is worth it. Tying into the notion of ambition being your own business, they don't feel that they should choose one side or the other for their members, but it is something that they need to determine. They will provide as much information and answers as they can, but in the end YOU must choose.

[ReturnOfTheKing]

Woot, two spots are still open! Lemme see...

Power and ambition are nothing if you are not alive to enjoy the former or exercise the latter.

Trust yourself, because you can trust no one else.

'K, done :smallbiggrin:

[Jendekit]

Finally have all fifteen principles! Thank you everyone that pitched in, and if anyone wants to add more tenets to serve as beliefs but not core aspects of the Disciples, please feel free to share. If anyone wants to know more about the Disciples or use them in their own Star Wars games then just ask.

[ReturnOfTheKing]

Finally have all fifteen principles! Thank you everyone that pitched in, and if anyone wants to add more tenets to serve as beliefs but not core aspects of the Disciples, please feel free to share. If anyone wants to know more about the Disciples or use them in their own Star Wars games then just ask.

Well, I'd like to quote at least one of the Principles for personal use. May I?

[Jendekit]

Well, I'd like to quote at least one of the Principles for personal use. May I?

Go ahead, which one?

[ReturnOfTheKing]

The 10th. And thank you :smallbiggrin: