The Jal Shey is one of the oldest known Force traditions, and one of the most wide-ranging. Unlike other traditions, the Jal Shey study the Force from an intellectual, scientific point of view, rather than a spiritual journey. The Jal Shey are regarded as effective and sincere diplomats, on par with the greatest Jedi negotiators. Unlike the Jedi, the Jal Shey spend less effort on physical pursuits, even where the Force is involved. But their understanding of the Force is considerable, enabling them to create items that improve their abilities simply by wearing them. Force-users from other traditions are able to imbue the Force into weapons for their own personal use, but the Jal Shey have perfected a method of extending their improvements to anyone who wields their items.
The origins of the Jal Shey remain lost to the mists of time. They are nomadic by nature and do not settle for long on any particular world. Instead, they seek out places that might improve their knowledge of the Force. They might research a dark side nexus or study anotlier tradition or seek to learn the history of a particular species if it could lead to new insight. However, the Jal Shey are not only scholars and observers of the Force. They also part icipate in the society around them, using their knowle dge to help improve the lives of others. They are especially adept at diplomacy, negotiation, and spirited debate. They act as intermediaries in disputes ranging from simple arguments to negotiated settlements of great complexity-even wars.
The Jal Shey are not great in number. They fall into three categories: neophytes, advisors, and mentors. Advisors’ diplomatic missions make them likely to be encountered traveling throughout the galaxy. Neophytes typically study with mentors until they are ready to accept investigative and diplomatic missions of their own. The Jal Shey recruit Force-users from many worlds and many species, but they are highly selective, choosing only those they believe will accept the Jal Shey way of life and contribute to their scholarly and diplomatic efforts. Thus, those tainted with the dark side and those who present an affinity for combat are not normally selected.
Many Jal Shey learn basic lightsaber techniques for defense, but they rarely specialize in them. Their defenses are not as strong as many Jedi techniques, hence their desire and ability to create armor, belts, and other items to augment their abilities. It is believed that they achieve this through a combination of imbuing the item with the Force and applying technology that helps enhance the Force for the user. The nomadic Jal Shey have been creating such items for uncounted years, and many of their creations have found their way into shops and military stores scattered throughout the galaxy.
Membership: Any character with the Force Sensitivity feat can become a member of the Jal Shey.
Characters who are members of the Jal Shey gain access to the Jal Shey talent tree.