Training in the ways of the Force is much like training in the ways of a martial art.  It takes time, patience, practice and dedication to training.  It will be a hard life, one with much reward for the character in the form of abilities that no other normal being can accomplish.

In the grand days of the Galactic Republic, the Jedi Order trained from the earliest moments of life.  Many children were taken into the Jedi Order, though not all were destined to be Jedi Knights.  It was thought, in all wisdom, that taking children from their families in the early months of their life would help them avoid unfortunate attachments to their family - thus helping them avoid the treacherous path of the Dark Side of the Force.

In the dark times of the post-Yavin era, the Jedi have resorted to training older figures.  Some in their teens, others, more often, in their twenties.  The training is much more advanced in pace and often produces a fully trained Jedi Knight in a two year period - rather then the decade or so of the previous era.

The Dark Jedi and the Sith Order are often recruiting from the pool of Jedi Order students.  There is has never really been much of a Dark Jedi Order as there was the Jedi Order.  They were more scattered and typically were the Fallen of the Jedi Order.  Outcasts.  The Sith Order under Palpatine seemed to have an affinity for luring Jedi Knights to the Dark Side.  Dooku and Skywalker were such examples.

For this reason we will be using a base for the training.  The Jedi Order is the main base.  The Dark Jedi Order, as it is called, will form the second step.  The final step will be the Sith Order.  The only true difference between the three Orders of the Force is their philosophies.  The Jedi Order is, of course, lawful and life preserving.  The Dark Jedi are either of the Dark Side because they choose to impose their own wills or ideas of law on others, no matter what the true law of the galaxy is, or they are, much as the Sith, evil.  Jedi often fall to the Dark Side's seductive power during conflict, becoming twisted and evil as they unleash their emotions.  The Sith Order is a group of often power hungry, powerful Force Users who feed on their enemies and their own aggressive and dark emotions.

Of all the Orders there are but nine ranks that determine a Force Users prowess.  They rise up as their prowess and skill increase, but also only in consideration of other components.

Training in the New Jedi Order

A little green alien once said, "the most serious of minds must a Jedi have."  The Jedi are a group of philosophers and guardians.  Their sometimes seemingly contradictive nature is represented quite often in familiar quotations, such as: "only a Sith deals in absolutes" or "a Jedi uses the Force for knowledge and defense - NEVER attack."  A serious mind, as Master Yoda has told us, is capable of balancing these illusionary contradictions and making them work.  One must understand that the Jedi do not, truly, attack.  An attack is an aggressive action.  The Jedi initiate combat for a purpose that is not fueled by aggression.  Much as an army sitting on the slopes of a hill call out for their opponents to surrender, they will engage in combat if it is necessary for their survival or is required for their duty.  Some Jedi even go to lengths to avoid the ghastly damage they are capable of enacting on their opponents - choosing to avoid killing them or dismembering them at great danger to themselves.

Training in the Dark Jedi Order

Much as it is in the Jedi Order, the Dark Jedi Order train with serious minds bent on something less then honor.  Their focus is on developing their skills to suit their own selfish goals.  Keeping themselves alive and in power are often the primary goals.  They develop a near psychopathic mentality that tells them that in killing others they are doing no harm as long as it serves themselves.  In doing all this they fall to the Dark Side as they unleash their anger on others.  We are what we do, after all.  Selfishness is inherently of the Dark Side.

Training in the Sith Order

With the death of the two last Sith Lords at the Battle of Yavin, the training of new Sith Lords is taken back several millennia to the time of Marka Ragnos and Naga Sadow.  To some this might be a great catastrophe, but for those learning from the great Sith Lord and leader Ragnos, it is a gift of divinity.  The Sith Order of old was perhaps much stronger and filled with a greater amount of wisdom, though the advances of power are clearly a bitter loss to those following the greatest modern Sith Lord, Darth Sidious.  The Sith concentrate on their own evil purposes.  They are as selfish as any other user of the Dark Side and often attempt to assassinate one another.  A Master Sith Lord is often darker then space and as evil as the Devil himself.

The tables below give a training time.  These tables assume that the character is active throughout the entirety of the training period.  Each time period to the right of the rank is the time required to train up to the NEXT LEVEL.  So, to move from Initiate to Learner on the Jedi Order Table it takes 1 month of training. Like wise, to get from Master to Council Master it takes 7 months of active work.

Jedi Order Training Table

Dark Jedi Training Table

Sith Order Training Table

Training Modifiers

Only a skilled practitioner of the Force is truly capable of molding the fledgling power of others.  As a result, the more experienced the Master is, the better the training of the student will be.  This will not be reflected on the prowess of the character, rather it will be reflected only on the time it takes to be trained.  Below are a list of tables that describe how a higher or lower ranking master will affect the training of their students.

When training a person, use the following formula to determine YOUR modifier for training them:

Trainee's Level / Trainer's Level = Modifier

UNLESS the character is equal or higher in rank then you, in which case you multiply the formula above by 5.

If training with more then one trainee, follow the next formula

( ( Trainee Level + Trainee Level )  / Trainer's Level ) * 1.11 = Modifier (IF LEVELS OF TRAINEES ARE BELOW 4 (NOT 4 ITSELF) then EXCLUDE multiplying the figure by 1.11!!)

As before, multiply by 5 if training someone equal to or over you.

Training Requirements

Because the training scheme is designed around a pure time base rather then on anything else, it is required a certain amount of training threads per level are to be conducted by the master.  Else wise the student may not advance.  Also, it must be noted that you should discover what powers you are going to want to choose on your next level and have them touched upon in the training thread.  You must complete the required training threads before you can be promoted to the next rank.

Determining Overall Training Time

To determine the overall training time...

...for single student training use this formula:

Base Training Time - ( Base Training Time multiplied by ( 1 - Single Student Modifier ) )

...for a multiple student training use this formula:

Base Training Time - ( Base Training Time multiplied by ( 1 - Multiple Student Modifier ) )

Example Training Tables

NPCs and Holocrons

Holocrons used for training will be dealt with on an individual bases in the Force User Equipment, Artifacts, and so forth.  The level of the Guardian character of the Holocron will be used for the modifier.

NPCs will be determined much the same way.  NPCs currently in use are determined below:

Inactivity and Training

Inactivity does affect training.  Leaves of Absence also affect training.  If you're on an LOA or inactive and not posting at all (IC), then your training is literally stopped during that time period.  When your LOA is ended or your inactivity is ended, then you may re-continue if your master is still available (be mindful of inactivity punishments!).

LOA's are not subject to punishment unless they are over a set period of time (3-4 months).  Undeclared LOA's are subject to Admin decision in that case.

Trials

When advancing from the level of five to the level six, the character is required to undergo the "Trials" of their sect.  For the Jedi these trials consist of the Seven Trials of the Jedi.  The Sith and Dark Jedi versions of these trials are fundamentally based on the same principles, but with a twist.  The Sith, for instance, would require an act of evil - for instance, killing one's master or friend or an innocent.  The Dark Jedi would likely follow the same course of the Jedi, but include offensive capability and judgment that is not so much sound but to their own purposes rather then that of justice.

These trials are greatly alike, so they can be listed the same below.  The twists are generalized above. Below are more details and less generalizations.