Storytelling alternatives to Jedi vs Sith

[Adam Reynolds]

What other enemies could Jedi fight to avoid Jedi vs Sith becoming stale? Though I would still argue that as long as the new movies show a different side of things, with neither Jedi or Sith in power, they could still be interesting. My idea would be after the next trilogy, perhaps with the new characters serving as fully fledged Jedi who would be rebuilding the new Jedi Order.

This came out of a debate in the Force Awakens thread:

Unless someone is creative enough to figure out an alternative, perhaps warriors who are made, equipped and trained to be immune or resistant to most common Jedi abilities and Force powers. I think a dedicated thread should me made discussing what that would be.

One possibility is a purely inorganic but highly mutable and diverse species that have a chaotic hive-mind. The Yuuzhan Vong were also an example of this, being outside the Galaxy's regular Force and instead forming their own.

While I wasn't a fan of the Yuuzhan Vong, the second idea is interesting. A hive mind would be all but impossible for a Jedi to accurately read. Though their more general precog might still be somewhat effective. This depends on whether Jedi sense future decisions or future events.

But the problem with adding a new threat to Star Wars is that the galaxy is one that is already explored and well understood. Whatever threat exists would be one that the Jedi would have already been familiar with. "If it does not appear in our records, it does not exist." While she was wrong about Kamino, the fact that it had to be deleted indicates that the Jedi already knew every possible threat within the galaxy.

Though it would be possible for the new Jedi to encounter something after the fall of the Empire destroyed the records of possible threats. That itself would be interesting, to see a new sense of exploration after the loss of records to the Empire. It would also allow for the possibility of finding records among what was left by the Empire and Jedi and allow both sides to fight for it.

Another unrelated idea I mentioned in the other thread was that of Jedi vs Jedi. In the early days of rebuilding, what if Jedi were split on the issue of justice vs peace. One camp argues that the function of the Jedi should be striving for justice whatever the cost, pointing out that the Jedi of the Old Republic lost because they were too strongly tied to the poltics of the Old Republic. The second argues that their more important function is maintaining peace and working with the New Republic, pointing out that Jedi are not capable of operating on their own in their current state.

This would occur as the Jedi are in the process of rebuilding and thus not yet decided on which course was superior. It would also be interesting if the heroes of the new movies are on opposite sides. Though of course, fitting the taoist ideas of the Force, the best course is a balance between the two extremes.

[Zixinus]

I'll copy-paste directly from my own idea notes (these are set in the somewhat EU universe where Luke has established the Academy):

Enemy cult, Children of the Void: a spacer-related cult of Force-users, relying heavily on scavenging. While originally a cult intent on studying the universe itself trough the Force, they have been attracted to the Dark Side trough the void's emptiness and entities within. They have a history of being connected to the old Order's Exploration Corps but not exclusively.

They believe that they are in contact with powerful entities that they reach trough the Force, entities that they believe is not simply a more alien form of life but the Force manifested in sentient clusters. These entities are real (although not what the Cult think of them as) but are difficult to contact and they deliberately avoid contacting Jedi or Sith, both sometimes sensing their presence but unable to contact them. The link between these entities (I haven't named them yet) is strongly telepathic and has strong influence over their followers, changing them and teaching them.
A further link is an alien species commonly known as Deep-dweller, a species adapted to vacuum life and with a super-low temperature biology, who are the oldest members of the cult and have Force-sensitive members. They are extremely alien compared to most Republic species and their experience the Force differently, although they still have Light and Dark side. They are capable of temporarily joining their brains together to form temporary joined minds.
What the entities actually are I am not sure yet. They would have physical aspect to them and would be truly ancient.

The cult's religion is complex, heavily centering around the entities and trying to ascend their biological body. They view the existence as life as merely an accidental by-product of specific environments and view various cosmic processes as what is actually important to the world. They live mostly on spaceships that are well-kept and all modified to be self-supporting, often with zero gravity and feel that going on a planet's surface is some sort of trap. They often have extended-stay space suits that they train to be able to stay in for months. Cybernetic implants and augmentation is common, although a significant portion of them is devoted to allowing them to live as spacers. The cult also focuses on meditating on the void around them, commonly trough hyperspace. The cult is very esoteric and closed, only accepting members they send invitations to. Unlike the Jedi and Sith, the cult encourages the creation of children and views the cult itself as a large family unit. Children are not exclusively raised by their parents but by the entire cult, every member encouraged to treat any child as their own. This makes all ties to the cult strong family ties.

One important aspect of their power is the knowledge of ancient Force-enhanced technology, Rakatan or otherwise. The cult is apt at finding the usable remains of ancient civilization. They hoard such technology and are dogmatic about not sharing it, viewing it as holy.
The cult prefers economic power over military might, but their fleet of starships allow them to project violence. However the cult is not devoted to the Dark Side and uses it in an unusual fashion. Rather than ego, fear and anger, they use things like mania, religious fever aided by drugs and cybernetics to have controlled bursts of insanity that makes their relationship with the Force different. When not using such the Cult also is able to use the Force to see trough the void, able to find and detect things that fit their interest, especially wrecks and starships lost trough hyperspace accidents. They never simply abandon a wreck, always able to scavenge and salvage. They are also able, trough specialized hardware and hyperdrives, to influence hyperspace travel and thus able to use hyperspace routes that would be otherwise too dangerous to use by regular crafts.

The cult is broken down to many clusters and cells that are largely independent from each other. Hierarchy is broken down within a cluster by seniority in being contact with their entities and their relationship with each other. These leaders pledge themselves to the service of the cult's worshiped entities and trough them, have contact with each other. Some clusters are more friendly to outsiders than the others (typically closely tied to how much they trade), their leadership varying cluster-by-cluster. A cluster is always tied to a fleet or some fixed location, each dividing up hierarchy among themselves. An individual's rank is closely tied to what spaceship they posses and what role it has within a cluster (the larger the better).

They are apt at zero-g combat and like to force their opponents to using it to gain an upper hand. They prefer to scavenge various weapons as they use the Force to find any usable and suitable weapons as "gifts of the void". Lightsabers are preferred, especially ancient ones that make a black core, but any variety of weapons is used. The cult does not view physical alternation or Force-aided combat abilities as high-priority. All of them are capable pilots (being able to pilot considered a sign of adulthood) and all combat-oriented members have their personal, customized starfighters.

The Cult in the past is is secretive and stays away from Galactic governments and their influenced areas, be it the Republic or the Empire. This greatly aided in their survival. The Old Jedi Order knew of their existence but back then were considered just a minor cult and the Exploration Corps kept them in check. During the Empire they were hunted but were considered a low-priority threat, lower than that of the Rebellion. The Cult's mobile and clustered nature also helped them, simply moving itself away from Imperial space and thus away from their influence. Palpatine wanted some of the cult's secrets and considered them a low-key rival. He knew of the entities that the cult centers around (via a previous Bane-Sith that investigated them) and at one point managed to contact them, but they required submission of a person to gain their power, something that Palpatine obviously refused.

The Cult has its own network of infrastructure, all mobile when possible and well-defended and/or well-hidden when not. They have a significant fleet of found, restored and self-built spaceships. For labour they rely on droids and automation, and on non Force-sensitive members. What they can't produce themselves, they will trade, sometimes selling mapped hyperspace routes or scavenged supplies. Several more powerful cult members are traders, uncaring of laws but unwilling to transport anything alive (be it pets, livestock or slaves) due to how they view their spaceships as their personal space.

With the falling apart of the Galactic Empire, they have become a power in the vacuum that the Old Jedi Order and Palpatine's own Sith cult have left (there were other Force-sensitives under Vader and Palpatine such as the Inquisitor), they have allied themselves with several Imperial warlords or systems unwilling to join the Republic. Another aspect is that with the death of the Trade Federation, they are rising as a legitimate trading and Force-using political power trough the Galaxy, even within the New Republic. While the New Jedi Order is building itself, the cult has survived mostly whole and outnumber the Jedi.

We see how the Jedi dominate and hide, how they fight a hostile opposite of themselves, but we haven't seen them much of them handling legitimate rivals.

But the problem with adding a new threat to Star Wars is that the galaxy is one that is already explored and well understood.

There are still large regions of the Galaxy that are unexplored, according to the old guides and atlas.

But the problem with adding a new threat to Star Wars is that the galaxy is one that is already explored and well understood.

Unless it is outside of their reach or was not a threat during the Clone Wars and beyond.

Another unrelated idea I mentioned in the other thread was that of Jedi vs Jedi. In the early days of rebuilding, what if Jedi were split on the issue of justice vs peace. One camp argues that the function of the Jedi should be striving for justice whatever the cost, pointing out that the Jedi of the Old Republic lost because they were too strongly tied to the poltics of the Old Republic. The second argues that their more important function is maintaining peace and working with the New Republic, pointing out that Jedi are not capable of operating on their own in their current state.

The justice cause does not make sense to me as you present it: how do they propose to instil justice of any kind without the New Republic? For there to be justice there needs to be some sort of societal value system to which according to justice works by. Without the Republic supporting them and giving them authority, a Jedi is just a citizen with a lightsaber (if that) and the Jedi Order a cult. Are they supposed to just go to whatever world and throw themselves at the first case of injustice they find? Essentially becoming renegades that only obey whatever law they decide to hold themselves to, ignoring the larger political picture and dictating to society as they see fit?

In fact without the Republic supporting them there is no Jedi Order. The New Jedi Order needs funds to operate, to buy their spaceships, to buy the food they eat, to get, maintain and supply the spaceships they use, etc. Even the old EU stuff about the Old Jedi Order concede that they must have credits if nothing else. How does the New Jedi Order fund itself if not trough the Republic, especially as it grows in numbers? If they make any sort of basis for income they will be tied to that. If they tie themselves to donors they will have to prioritize those donors. If Jedi can be hired than they essentially become mercenaries of a sort.

You are right however that the New Order's redefining themselves would have the question of whether it should devote itself to being agents of justice or peace. I would also add how they would have to redefine their relationship to the Republic, whether to integrate themselves to existing branches of the Republic or put distance from them. There is also the question of authority, should the Jedi be independent agents answerable only to themselves and the Senate, empowered to do whatever they think is in needed? Or should they be more humble and merely assist existing branches of the New Republic?

[FTeik]

Do you really have to ask? Almost the entire Bantam-EU did without Jedi vs Sith. The writers just have to come up with good scenarios, where the Force-powers of the Jedi don't turn into the plot-solving devices. Let the Jedi be investigators or ambassadors or spies, who have to reveal mysteries, crime-cases or conspiracies. And if you have to show a flashy lightsabre-battle, let it be against the Grievous-style henchman/-droid of the evil mastermind, if you need one.

[Adam Reynolds]

We see how the Jedi dominate and hide, how they fight a hostile opposite of themselves, but we haven't seen them much of them handling legitimate rivals.

That is an interesting concept in general. It is that it seems odd to me that Palpatine wouldn't consider them a greater threat. I suppose it is possible if they just kept to themselves. But I see no way that the Jedi of the Old Republic would have left them alone. The Jedi are a religious order that would see them as dangerous heretics that must be stopped.

It is interesting that this group structures themselves in a similar manner to the Rebel Alliance. This would be a good conflict for former Rebel characters, with them wondering if they are still the good guys. Though this group reminds me more of the quarians.

As for the rival issue, it is possible that this will be the case in the new movies. But it would still be Sith, though possibly wannabes rather than the fully fledged Sith Order that we have previously seen. Though they won't really be legitimate rivals in the sense you are talking about.

There are still large regions of the Galaxy that are unexplored, according to the old guides and atlas.

Not according to AOTC. The Jedi librarian confidently states that "If an item does not appear in our records, it does not exist." While she was wrong about Kamino, as it had been deleted, there is no indication that she was wrong more generally. The Jedi had explored the entire galaxy as well as the satillite galaxy.

Unless it is outside of their reach or was not a threat during the Clone Wars and beyond.

While the Jedi may be content to let the Hutts rule Tatooine, there is no indication that a rival group of Force users would be allowed to survive. During the Clone Wars they may not have a choice, but before that they absolutely would. And they would do anything in their power to stop it.

Though that could actually work for that faction, and give them a legitimate reason to hate the Jedi in that the Jedi largely wiped out their ancestors. So when this new group of Jedi attempt to form under Luke Skywalker, this group would be opposed to it. Not only would they have superior numbers but they would also have superior political power thanks to their role as traders.

The justice cause does not make sense to me as you present it: how do they propose to instil justice of any kind without the New Republic? For there to be justice there needs to be some sort of societal value system to which according to justice works by. Without the Republic supporting them and giving them authority, a Jedi is just a citizen with a lightsaber (if that) and the Jedi Order a cult. Are they supposed to just go to whatever world and throw themselves at the first case of injustice they find? Essentially becoming renegades that only obey whatever law they decide to hold themselves to, ignoring the larger political picture and dictating to society as they see fit?

In fact without the Republic supporting them there is no Jedi Order. The New Jedi Order needs funds to operate, to buy their spaceships, to buy the food they eat, to get, maintain and supply the spaceships they use, etc. Even the old EU stuff about the Old Jedi Order concede that they must have credits if nothing else. How does the New Jedi Order fund itself if not trough the Republic, especially as it grows in numbers? If they make any sort of basis for income they will be tied to that. If they tie themselves to donors they will have to prioritize those donors. If Jedi can be hired than they essentially become mercenaries of a sort.

While they would obviously need to be tied to the New Republic in some fashion, the question as you say is how much? And whether they also obey the boundaries of the Republic or if they continue in their quest for justice beyond it.

And obviously the funding requirements would dictate some sort of relationship with the Republic, but the New Jedi Order could still maintain relationships outside the Republic. And thus there would be ground for a conflict among the Jedi. What relationships do they consider most important?

You are right however that the New Order's redefining themselves would have the question of whether it should devote itself to being agents of justice or peace. I would also add how they would have to redefine their relationship to the Republic, whether to integrate themselves to existing branches of the Republic or put distance from them. There is also the question of authority, should the Jedi be independent agents answerable only to themselves and the Senate, empowered to do whatever they think is in needed? Or should they be more humble and merely assist existing branches of the New Republic?

That would be a key element of the conflict. In the Old EU, there were characters that had active rank in the NR military while also serving as Jedi. Even Jaina Solo did this. If there were characters that similarly had military backgrounds, I could see them arguing that these positions should be retained as they become Jedi. Thus you would have a character in a similar position to Commander Shepard in Mass Effect, with an allegiance to the Citadel Council as a Spectre and also to the Systems Alliance as a Marine. Or even worse in the second game with the odd relationship she had with Cerberus while still serving as a Spectre.

You could thus have two groups with orders that were conflicting to the point that they would end up directly opposing each other. One who sides with the New Republic military and supports a cause on behalf of the democratically elected government. And one who supports a downtrodden planet that was being oppressed in the name of political expediency. The second group could also end up in an alliance with a less than ideal group in order to try and help the planet, similarly to the issue with Commander Shepard and Cerberus. If they were the only game in town attempting to do something about the injustice, then it would make sense that a Jedi might see siding with them as the lesser evil.

[Zixinus]

That is an interesting concept in general. It is that it seems odd to me that Palpatine wouldn't consider them a greater threat.

Because they simply would not be a threat and were not capable ,or had the willingness, to threaten the Empire. They find and have lots of technology and useful wrecks, but not enough people to use them. Having a fleet of ships isn't very useful if you can't captain them. Likewise Force-sensitive technology (that the Old Jedi Order had) is only as useful as your engineers have it. The cult is large but not that large.

Palpatine knew that the power of the entities (I should name them but I don't have a story about them yet) were considerable but he also knew that they were locked away and isolated to who-knows-where. Reaching these entities is difficult, even with practice, and it does not gurantee that you'll get anything useful out of them. They have not interfered with galactic events for a very long time and Palpatine seen no reason why they would now.
Have a look aside the whole entities-from-beyond business and you have a mad, isolationist space-scavanger cult composed of semi-functioning scrapheaps and wrecks with a handful of gadgets.

He viewed the cultist as inferior wannabes (not Sith or Jedi wannabes even) distracted by far-off voices and had them hunted more on general principle than as any strategic threat. The Jedi in hiding were far superior threats. Palpatine merely needed to put them on the "destroy on sight" list for patrolling Imperial forces and that done vast damage to them.

Again, the cult is isolationist and uninterested in galactic politics (up until after the death of the Emperor). Clusters design themselves to be self-sufficient, not to one day conquer the universe. The cult actually believes that life is a mere scummy by-product of the Universe and is a trap that separates the true self from the true cosmic harmony that is the Force.

With Palpatine's death the remaining Imperial leadership simply did not bother, allowing the cult to grow and slowly gain power trough the turmoil trough exploting the black market. It is only with the rise of the New Republic that the cult has started to become interested in galactic politics and started gaining strength.

I am actually imagining the idea of a new, unifying leadership arise within the cult (perhaps initiated by traders and navigators) that actively starts entering greater galactic society after Palpatine's death. A willingness for the isolation to lessen and join galactic society after the pressure of the Empire's domination fades away. Maybe at this point the cult has grown and has become rich enough to be not just self-supporting but able to afford projecting power trough well-trained agents. Agents that may be hired or answer requests for help, like the Jedi does for the Republic.

But I see no way that the Jedi of the Old Republic would have left them alone. The Jedi are a religious order that would see them as dangerous heretics that must be stopped.

These guys are not Jedi, they don't adhear to the Jedi's view of the Force, so how could they be considered heretics? The most appropriate English phrase would be "pagan".

And if Jedi prosecuted space-pagans, why are the Night sisters alive during the Clone Wars? Look at Obi-Wan's visit to them: he was rather adamant about getting stuff out of them but he wasn't exactly threatening to wipe them out if they don't comply. The Jedi clearly didn't worry too much about them, likely because the Nightsisters weren't a threat to the Republic.

Though they won't really be legitimate rivals in the sense you are talking about.

I mean "legitimate rivals" in three senses:

1. As an alternative source of obtainable Force-users available to larger society. The Sith serve no one but themselves and what temporarily they need to serve to further their goals. The Jedi serve the Republic. These may serve those that they form alliances with.

2. As an organization that can handle Force-sensitives and render them safe to society. One of the points of the Jedi's way of life is that they submit themselves to society rather than use their powers to reshape it as they see fit. They instead use their powers to influence society trough high social ideals like justice or creating peace or protecting the secrecy of life.
These guys do not oppose society, they instead leave it and only interact with it trough legitement means (trading). That actually describes several religious orders.

3. An alternative path for a Force-sensitive to take. As a Sith you go bloating your ego and rage to use the Dark Side, trying to amass more and more power, in a grand quest of absolute domination. As a Jedi, you deny the self and seek enlightened trough service to others. With these guys, you go away and make your own life with people similar to you, gaining guidance from vast and mysterious voices from beyond that know many things.

Not according to AOTC. The Jedi librarian confidently states that "If an item does not appear in our records, it does not exist." While she was wrong about Kamino, as it had been deleted, there is no indication that she was wrong more generally. The Jedi had explored the entire galaxy as well as the satillite galaxy.

Or she could be merely referring that in the available knowledge to the Republic society that they are part of, they have all of that available. Not that they have every possible knowledge available.

The dialog does not support the notion that all of the galaxy has been discovered and mapped.

Also, just because something is on a map does not mean that it was explored. We have maps of other solar systems but we haven't explored them.

While the Jedi may be content to let the Hutts rule Tatooine,

Tatooine was never part of the Republic and thus the Jedi never had any say on the matter. There is also no indication that the Jedi ever had a say in the matter, worlds join the Republic on their own.

Clone Wars series portray the Hutts as owning certain parts of space (not just planets but hyperspace routes that were vital for the war) and the Republic respecting their sovereignty.

there is no indication that a rival group of Force users would be allowed to survive.

There is no indication that they would be hunted either, especially if they were not a threat to the Republic or the galaxy at large.
With Sith I can see that, but then only those that would pose a threat to their goals and make meaningful opposition.

And whether they also obey the boundaries of the Republic or if they continue in their quest for justice beyond it.

The problem with that is that if they still maintain ties to the Republic, how will it look if the Jedi doing that would violate the sovereignty of non-Republic worlds and governments? Certainly the Jedi would not limit themselves to the borders of the growing New Republic in their job, but if they use that authority outside of it then they are essentially enforcing Republic authority.

One of the things that the New Republic is (or likely to be considered to be) is "not the Empire". A guy going around distributing his idea of justice with a lightsaber that is answerable to no one but some far-off power is going to be compared to Vader sooner or later.

[Adam Reynolds]

Palpatine knew that the power of the entities (I should name them but I don't have a story about them yet) were considerable but he also knew that they were locked away and isolated to who-knows-where. Reaching these entities is difficult, even with practice, and it does not gurantee that you'll get anything useful out of them. They have not interfered with galactic events for a very long time and Palpatine seen no reason why they would now.

That almost seems similar to the Aiing-Ti monks from Vision of the Future. They could even teleport objects with the Force. And oddly teach their powers to one with no traditional Force abilities.

I am actually imagining the idea of a new, unifying leadership arise within the cult (perhaps initiated by traders and navigators) that actively starts entering greater galactic society after Palpatine's death. A willingness for the isolation to lessen and join galactic society after the pressure of the Empire's domination fades away. Maybe at this point the cult has grown and has become rich enough to be not just self-supporting but able to afford projecting power trough well-trained agents. Agents that may be hired or answer requests for help, like the Jedi does for the Republic.

That really would be an effective conflict. Especially if there is really no apparent reason for the Jedi to oppose them other than general principle.

I mean "legitimate rivals" in three senses:

I agree, I was merely suggesting what the new films appear to be doing.

Or she could be merely referring that in the available knowledge to the Republic society that they are part of, they have all of that available. Not that they have every possible knowledge available.

The dialog does not support the notion that all of the galaxy has been discovered and mapped.

Also, just because something is on a map does not mean that it was explored. We have maps of other solar systems but we haven't explored them.

Actually it does support the fact that they knew every world in the galaxy. Kaminio was outside the Republic. While there could obviously still be things that the Jedi didn't know about, they obviously knew the overwhelming majority of what was occurring. In any case, for a story occurring after the fall of the Empire, it doesn't matter as the majority of that knowledge would be lost.

Though given what we saw in TPM with Anakin not being noticed by the Jedi, perhaps a group like this could form in the Outer Rim, targeting Force sensitives ignored by the Jedi.

There is no indication that they would be hunted either, especially if they were not a threat to the Republic or the galaxy at large.
With Sith I can see that, but then only those that would pose a threat to their goals and make meaningful opposition.

It depends on when you are talking about. If this was happening thousands of years earlier, then the Jedi probably would have wiped them out to a degree. The Jedi had to become dominant somehow.

The same might even be true for the Nightsisters. They might have once been more powerful and reduced over time because of the Jedi. They weren't actually very numerous or powerful with what we saw in Clone Wars. Grevious almost completely wiped them out without too much trouble. The Jedi could have easily done the same.

The problem with that is that if they still maintain ties to the Republic, how will it look if the Jedi doing that would violate the sovereignty of non-Republic worlds and governments? Certainly the Jedi would not limit themselves to the borders of the growing New Republic in their job, but if they use that authority outside of it then they are essentially enforcing Republic authority.

Perhaps my initial description of peace vs justice was somewhat backwards. It would make more sense if there was a peace faction that was against the Republic imposing its rule across the entire galaxy. The justice faction would be in favor of the Republic imposing the rule of law everywhere. Thus the key conflict would be over a system that was attempting to enter the Republic. The system had a non-democratic rule that was still largely well liked by most of the populace. The peace faction would ironically side with the Republic government and be in favor of letting them in regardless. The justice faction would argue that a democracy should take effect first.

One of the things that the New Republic is (or likely to be considered to be) is "not the Empire". A guy going around distributing his idea of justice with a lightsaber that is answerable to no one but some far-off power is going to be compared to Vader sooner or later.

That would easily be a major key to the conflict. Especially if they were in opposition to Jedi working directly for the Republic in a way that put political expediency over what was right.

[Zixinus]

Actually it does support the fact that they knew every world in the galaxy.

Prove this fact then. I do not see this dialog supporting that. That they know the location of non-Republic world does not predict that they know the entire galaxy (except maybe in the sense of a star-chart, consider how much we know about the galaxy from just being on Earth).

The Unknown Regions are mentioned twice in Clone Wars and once in Ultimate Star Wars book.

It depends on when you are talking about. If this was happening thousands of years earlier, then the Jedi probably would have wiped them out to a degree. The Jedi had to become dominant somehow.

They had the support of the biggest galactic government in the galaxy to which they gave selfless service, upholding the ideals of the Republic. That's a pretty good way to become popular and thus dominant. I can easily imagine that most parents, when they learn that they have a Force-sensitive child, were actually happy or glad to hand them over to the Jedi (although I also think that the child would regularly come back to visit, that is interesting question how that worked).

"Wiping out" cults and religions that don't make themselves an opponent to the Jedi does seem to describe the Jedi philosophy. Then again, we rarely see what they think of other Force-sensitive cults. Their approach to the Night Sisters does not hint of this mentality.

The same might even be true for the Nightsisters. They might have once been more powerful and reduced over time because of the Jedi. They weren't actually very numerous or powerful with what we saw in Clone Wars. Grevious almost completely wiped them out without too much trouble. The Jedi could have easily done the same.

Yes (although Grievous did have a large army on-hand), but there is no indication that the Jedi WOULD do it unless they had a very good reason to. Again, they do not seem to have much of a crusader-mentality or oppose religions they disagree with.

It would make more sense if there was a peace faction that was against the Republic imposing its rule across the entire galaxy.

Worlds join the Republic on their own, even back in the days of the Old Republic. Worlds that don't are left alone. It's hard to say what the exact policy was, but imposing rule does not seem to be the Old Republic's thing, thus it is likely that the New Republic feels the same way (look at the last few Mandalore episodes in Season 5 of Clone Wars, Obi-Wan had to go with no support). Imposing their rule seems to be something that the Empire would do, which is something that I imagine the New Republic does not want to be seen as.

The justice faction would be in favor of the Republic imposing the rule of law everywhere. Thus the key conflict would be over a system that was attempting to enter the Republic. The system had a non-democratic rule that was still largely well liked by most of the populace. The justice faction would be in favor of the Republic imposing the rule of law everywhere. Thus the key conflict would be over a system that was attempting to enter the Republic. The system had a non-democratic rule that was still largely well liked by most of the populace. The peace faction would ironically side with the Republic government and be in favor of letting them in regardless. The justice faction would argue that a democracy should take effect first.

We have several cases of Republic members that had straight-out royalty (Princess Leia?), especially in Clone Wars . Those flying guys for one, there was another where the Jedi supported an uprising. Naboo is also a weird mix of it.

Saying that they need democracy first is the Jedi deciding what the denizens of the world need for them without considering what the people themselves think. Such arrogance would be uncharacteristic to the Jedi (although *insert joke about American foreign policy here*, haha), although I would imagine something like that would happen with the fledgling New Jedi Order.

[Galvatron]

Do you really have to ask? Almost the entire Bantam-EU did without Jedi vs Sith. The writers just have to come up with good scenarios, where the Force-powers of the Jedi don't turn into the plot-solving devices. Let the Jedi be investigators or ambassadors or spies, who have to reveal mysteries, crime-cases or conspiracies. And if you have to show a flashy lightsabre-battle, let it be against the Grievous-style henchman/-droid of the evil mastermind, if you need one.

Agreed, but I think this whole thread is based on OP's belief that Jedi powers make them virtually unassailable by anyone BUT the Sith. It all boils down to how effective their precognition really is.