Mind trick

Explanation

The mind trick involves using the Force to alter a target's perceptions or to implant a suggestion into their thoughts. Typically, it is most effective against individuals with weaker minds. Certain species, including Hutts, Toydarians, Falleen, Geonosians, and Dashade, exhibit a natural resistance to these mental manipulations.

Implementations

Mind tricks can manifest in various ways, such as convincing someone to perform an action they would normally find objectionable, instilling a sense of fear, or creating auditory or visual hallucinations, including illusions.

Influencing with the Force

The application of the Force to sway others is known as Force persuasion. Certain species, due to their highly structured mental capacities, are inherently resistant to its effects. Overcoming this resistance requires greater skill. Examples of these species include Hutts, Toydarians, Yinchorri, Kloodavians, Dashade, Falleen, Geonosians, and potentially Snivvians. To illustrate, Revan successfully persuaded Motta the Hutt, while Luke Skywalker was unsuccessful in his attempt to persuade Jabba the Hutt. Furthermore, during the Jedi Civil War, soldiers of certain ranks received training to resist this technique. Conversely, some species, such as the Nikto, are particularly vulnerable to it. Known variations include affect mind and dominate mind, with dominate mind representing a more advanced version of the former.

When a Jedi employs a mind trick, they often accompany it with a wave of their hand to enhance the persuasion. The Jedi adopts a distinct tone of voice and a relaxed facial expression. The target of the mind trick tends to mirror this relaxed tone but displays an unusual facial expression. If the trick is successful, the target agrees to the suggestion without independent thought. Subsequently, they may experience confusion regarding their altered opinion but generally do not feel compelled to revert to their original viewpoint.

Experienced Force users can exert Force persuasion across vast distances, even between starships in certain instances.

The ethical implications of using mind tricks are a subject of debate among the Jedi, as it infringes upon an individual's free will and conscience. Consequently, Jedi are strictly prohibited from using it for personal gain (such as in gambling or negotiations), reserving its application for situations that serve the greater good (though the concept of "greater good" can sometimes justify its use). However, the Sith and other Dark Jedi do not share these reservations and freely employ the ability.

During the instruction of Jedi students, Yarael Poof emphasized the importance of mindfulness when using this ability, reminding them that their target is a living being with their own life and that caution must be exercised, as their command could potentially ruin their target's life. Mind tricks can also be used to sway individuals to fight for a different cause.

This power demands the user's complete focus. Doubts about its effectiveness or distractions caused by insights gained into the subject's mind can lead to the trick's failure.

Inducing Confusion with the Force

A more sophisticated mind trick technique is Force confusion, which can be employed in combat to temporarily manipulate enemies into fighting as allies. This technique is particularly useful when facing overwhelming odds and can be implemented more rapidly than affect mind in the midst of battle.

Force-Induced Fear

Force fear, a dark-side Force power and possibly a dark-side variant of the Jedi mind trick, was utilized around 4000 BBY by Sith and Jedi with dark-side tendencies. The practitioner targets the deepest recesses of the target's mind, inducing an overwhelming and uncontrollable fear that disrupts their abilities. Through sheer force of will, the user can completely erode their courage. If left undefended, the effects can be profound, rapidly demoralizing the enemy with feelings of hopelessness and regret. Depending on the victim, it can cause them to either cower helplessly or flee from their opponent.

Force Fear is classified as a dark-side power because fear is an emotion associated with the dark side. However, as with many powers, the intent behind its use is crucial, and Jedi may sometimes employ it to diffuse potentially dangerous situations.

Force fear has two advanced variations: Force horror and Force insanity. Force horror allows the Force user to induce a catatonic state of panic in multiple enemies, which is more severe and difficult to defend against than basic Force fear. Similarly, Force insanity also enables the Force user to affect multiple enemies simultaneously, but over an even greater range. As the most advanced form of Force fear, its effects are far more devastating, potentially causing victims to descend into a state of frenzied madness and deranged mania as their situation suddenly appears hopeless.

Manipulation of the Mind

Also known as dominate mind or control mind, mind control is the dark-side counterpart to the Jedi mind trick, but it is far more intrusive. It seizes complete control of the minds of the victims affected by the power. Higher levels of mastery allow for the control of more individuals, although its effect on members of species with innate resistance to mind tricks (such as Hutts or Toydarians) remains unconfirmed.

Corrupting with the Force

One particularly sinister variation of this power is Force Corruption, an ability that compels targets to serve the user's cause while gradually draining their life force.

Force corrupt or Force corruption is a dark-side ability that can temporarily manipulate the minds of other sentient beings and make them serve one's own cause. During the Galactic Civil War, it was sometimes employed by Force users of the Galactic Empire, possibly including Mara Jade and Palpatine himself, taking control of enemy soldiers and making them fight for the Empire by attacking other enemy units.

Force corrupt is possibly a dark-side variant of the Jedi mind trick, in which the Force user employs similar principles but uses them to influence the target for violent purposes rather than deceiving them.

Twisting the Mind

This technique, developed by Daegen Lok, is a variation of the mind trick that involves intruding into another's consciousness and distorting their perception of reality to align with the user's desires. Lok's mastery of this ability allowed him to convince Xesh that he was suffocating and to make Bel Zana's mind believe she was on fire, to the point where her body exhibited burn marks.

Creating Illusions with the Force

Force illusion is a potent Force ability and a subset of the various mind trick powers. The user projects an image into the minds of beings within range, ranging from a pillar of fire to a horde of snarling monsters to a fleet of warships, depending on the range. The user can also "see" the illusion, but it appears partially there, semi-transparent like a hologram.

The key difference between a Force illusion and a hologram is that, unlike a hologram, the illusion is controlled mentally and is limited only by the user's imagination. More importantly, a Force illusion does not merely affect the sight of a creature. Because it is projected directly into the brain, it affects all of the creature's senses, from hearing to smell to senses such as echolocation. Even viewing it through an electronic system such as a cybernetic eye or camera is ineffective if the creature is within range of the illusion during its duration; the creature will "see" it with the system as if the illusion were actually there, although any playback after the illusion has ended will reveal nothing at all.

While powerful, it has its limitations. Primarily, it has no effect on inorganic minds, such as those of droids and other AI, and has a greatly reduced (or almost nonexistent) effect on Force users or Force-resistant species such as Hutts and Yuuzhan Vong. It is also difficult to master. While Force illusions can create something from nothing, they cannot make nothing from something (i.e., render someone invisible; for that, Force immersion would be used), although they can conceal anything within the illusion. Additionally, the illusion lacks physical substance. Although it can be "felt," any appendage that touches it will usually pass straight through, revealing its true nature. Finally, sustained use of a Force illusion can be taxing, especially at extreme ranges (thousands of kilometers, large enough to affect capital-ship combat).

Lumiya used Force illusion on mirrors in her bedroom to make the reflected people appear more attractive than they actually were. The Fallanassi, due to their ability to manipulate the White Current, were capable of creating powerful illusions. However, unlike most Force-sensitives, illusions created through the White Current could be made as insubstantial or as real as the user desired, with the most convincing illusions being visually indistinguishable from real objects. Conversely, Fallanassi illusions could be intentionally insubstantial, to trick a sentient into thinking that something real wasn't real.

Yarael Poof, described as a "consummate illusionist," was adept at Force illusions and used them on numerous occasions. Through the Force, Poof could determine an opponent's innate fears and project images of them to entire armies, leading to swift and decisive ends to battles that would otherwise have resulted in bloodshed. In some ways, this was similar to the effects of Force fear, albeit through a different method.

A known variant of Force illusion was masquerade. Masquerade allowed the user to project an image onto a person's mind over the user, essentially masking the user's appearance.

The dark-side technique for creating illusions, or mindforms, involved conjuring visible, lifelike astral projections of whatever the conjurer desired through the use of Sith magic. These illusions distorted all of an individual's sensory perceptions, and only through concentration on the Force could an individual perceive them as being false.

With a simple gesture, a magician could create any manifestation they desired. As an application of the dark side, sorcerers often created hideous forms of serpents and other creatures to torment victims. Playing on all the victim's senses, the illusion could seemingly attack individuals if they believed the apparition to be real. However, the illusion could be undone if the victim ceased to believe in it. The illusions could also be undone if the conjuring sorcerer was interrupted by a powerful light side attack.

The ancient Dark Lord of the Sith Naga Sadow was a master of illusion casting. He possessed considerable natural ability, but to augment the strength of his illusions, Sadow often employed the use of Sith talismans or technology. During the Great Hyperspace War, he would sit in his meditation sphere and project magnificent illusions of war beasts on the battlefields of Koros Major, Coruscant and Kirrek. His concentration was broken, however, when one of his own capital ships fired upon his meditation sphere, causing his magical illusions to fade, eventually leading to Sith defeats on all three planets.

When the spacer Gav Daragon was being initiated as a Sith apprentice by Sadow, he received rudimentary instruction in creating illusions. Daragon's strength was minimal, as every illusion he conjured turned from something pleasing into a hideous spectral form.

Sith sorceress Aleema Keto was quite skilled in this ability. With a simple gesture, Aleema could create any manifestation she desired. Among her more popular creations were hideous forms of serpents and other creatures she used to torture victims, like the Adegan eel she replaced her former tutor Korus' tongue with. During the Battle of Koros Major, Aleema envisioned space grazers and massive warships against the Galactic Republic fleet. She could also form more obscure illusions, like turning swords into living animals, technology into monsters, or phantoms of severed heads.

The Nightsisters of Dathomir had a perception of the Force that was very different from that of the Jedi and the Sith, and an integral part of which was the casting of illusions through "illusion spells."

Around 137 ABY, Darth Wyyrlok used this spell against Demtri and Gerlun, members of the Malevolence, in Andeddu's Keep on the planet Prakith, making Gerlun kill Demtri. Lord Andeddu and Wyyrlok then battled each other with illusions potent enough to inflict real injury on their targets, a contest that Andeddu ultimately lost.

Projecting with the Force

Force projection was an enigmatic Force ability and potentially a variation of Force illusion. Darth Ramage, a Sith scientist, conducted extensive research on this technique, documenting his findings on his holocron, SD41263.I. It allowed the user to create and "program" an apparition similar to themselves to distract, confuse, or lure enemies. The illusion could be animate or inanimate, was fully capable of intercepting incoming fire, and was visible to everyone, not just a selected target. A similar ability primarily associated with the dark side was Force phantom, which required Sith rituals to tether the illusion created by the castor to a living creature, which would die if the illusion were destroyed.

Notable Force Users

Nearly four millennia before the Battle of Yavin, on Taris, Padawan Zayne Carrick attempted to use a mind trick on Marn Hierogryph, but Marn claimed that such tricks were ineffective on him. In 3956 BBY, during his quest for the Star Forge, Revan may have employed this ability on numerous occasions, although Bastila Shan cautioned him against using it for personal gain, such as negotiating lower prices. Several years later, Meetra Surik, known as The Exile, and Kreia utilized the mind trick to make people forget their presence. Additionally, the Exile employed the technique in a manner similar to Revan's previous use. Over three centuries later, Gnost-Dural used the mind trick on a Nikto guard stationed in front of the Crooked Finger bar to avoid paying a required cover charge. Theron Shan remarked that his life would be much easier if he could do that, and Gnost-Dural noted that it doesn't work on everyone and that Nikto were particularly susceptible.

Darth Maul employed this power before the Trade Federation attack on Theed. Other practitioners of this ability included Tenebrae, Kreia, Joruus C'baoth, Luke Skywalker, and Luuke Skywalker. Skilled users could manipulate the thoughts and actions of their targets, as well as their memories, emotions, and senses.

Twelve years before the Clone Wars, while aboard the freighter Monument, Qui-Gon Jinn attempted to persuade Jemba the Hutt to return their dactyl to the Arcona workers in the Arcona Mineral Harvest Corporation. However, he had been focusing so much on healing a recent wound from a fight with a Togorian pirate and was too weak to change Jemba's mind. Later, on Bandomeer, Jinn used a mind trick on a Hutt guard working for the Offworld Mining Corporation to grant him access to the private office of his former Padawan, Xanatos. In 33 BBY, while in a cantina on Dorvalla, Darth Maul used a mind trick on a bartender so that she would "bring him his drink and leave him alone." A year later, while on Naboo, Qui-Gon Jinn used a mind trick to convince the leader of the Gungans, Boss Nass, to allow Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi to depart in a bongo with Jar Jar Binks. Shortly thereafter, on Tatooine, Jinn attempted to convince Watto, a Toydarian junk dealer, to allow him to use Republic credits to buy spare parts for Queen Amidala's royal starship. Watto asked Jinn if he thought he was "some kind of Jedi, waving [his] hand around like that." Watto claimed that mind tricks did not work on his species. During this same time, Qui-Gon used the mind trick to convince a pushy Sebulba to wait outside while he talked with Watto after the Boonta Eve Race and later to make a cruel slave owner give his slaves water and to never harm them again.

The Quermian Jedi Master Yarael Poof was one of the most renowned practitioners of mind tricks before his death in 27 BBY.

Ten years later, on the planet of Coruscant, Elan Sel'Sabagno, a slythmonger, offered Obi-Wan Kenobi some cilona-extract "death sticks," which were potent narcotics, but Kenobi declined. Utilizing a wave of his hand, Kenobi convinced the slythmonger that he should not sell death sticks, but instead "go home and rethink his life." Some days later, while concealed on Naboo, Padmé Amidala inquired of Anakin Skywalker whether he intended to employ the mind trick on her. He responded that it would only be effective on those with weak minds, implying that Padmé possessed a mind too formidable—a fact well known to Anakin.

At the beginning of the Clone Wars, Yoda, a Jedi Master, employed the mind trick on Captain Typho, the individual entrusted with Padmé Amidala's safety, to suggest that they needed to rescue Luminara Unduli and Barriss Offee on Ilum, which was termed a "slight deviation" from their planned course. Despite Padmé's clear recognition of the trick, she willingly instructed Typho to proceed to Ilum. In 21 BBY, Asajj Ventress utilized a mind trick on Captain Rex with the intention of compelling him to contact Anakin Skywalker. However, Rex resisted the trick and instead secretly alerted Skywalker to the impending danger. Later that year, while being held captive by the pirate Hondo Ohnaka, Obi-Wan Kenobi employed a mind trick on a Weequay pirate, persuading him to abandon his guard duty in favor of deactivating the cell bars and indulging in drinks. The Duros bounty hunter Cad Bane was manipulated into revealing the location of the kyber memory crystal and two Force-sensitive children. Initially resistant, Bane was eventually overwhelmed by the combined mental prowess of Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Mace Windu, forcing him to reluctantly disclose the whereabouts of the memory crystal and the children. Also in 21 BBY, Ahsoka Tano twice employed a Jedi mind trick on a Neimoidian guard stationed on a Trade Federation Battleship to facilitate her and Senator Riyo Chuchi's entry into the detention block for the purpose of rescuing Chi Eekway Papanoida. While being hunted for sport on the moon of Wasskah, Jinx, a Jedi Initiate, attempted to use a mind trick on Smug, a Trandoshan hunter, to summon a speeder, but her initial attempt proved unsuccessful. Following Chewbacca's blow to the Trandoshan's head, Smug became vulnerable to Jedi mind tricks, ultimately summoning a speeder that was subsequently hijacked by O-Mer.

Shortly before the war's end, Obi-Wan Kenobi once again utilized a mind trick to avert unnecessary complications on the sinkhole world of Utapau. To secure the necessary transport for tracking down General Grievous, Kenobi employed the Force to influence a local Utai dragonmount-handler into providing assistance. The Utai permitted Kenobi to ride Boga, a faithful varactyl mount, to the tenth level of Pau City, where he located and eventually eliminated Grievous. Following the execution of Order 66, upon Kenobi's return to Coruscant alongside Senator Bail Organa and Master Yoda, they were met by a guard who declared his intention to take the Jedi into custody; however, Kenobi employed a mind trick, convincing the guard that it would be preferable for the Jedi to remain in the Senator's care.

In 3 BBY, Starkiller made multiple uses of the mind trick during his assignments for Darth Vader. He used it to extract information from a bartender on Nar Shaddaa regarding the whereabouts of Rahm Kota, coerced an Imperial officer on Felucia into revealing Senator Bail Organa's location, and attempted to persuade Lobot to grant him an audience with Senator Garm Bel Iblis; yet, Lobot's cybernetically enhanced brain rendered him immune to the mind trick's effects.

Two years after that, following the outbreak of the Galactic Civil War, Galen Marek's clone frequently employed mind tricks to incite Imperials to turn against their allies or to commit suicide. Emperor Palpatine perverted the wills of Imperial units such as Strike force Alpha to the dark side, ensuring that any Jedi attempt to convert a unit would result in their suicide.

In 0 BBY, Kenobi once more employed the Jedi mind trick, this time to persuade a stormtrooper that Luke Skywalker and he were not in possession of the droids sought by the Empire, and that it would be best to allow them to proceed. BoShek, a pilot, utilized latent Force abilities, combined with residual effects from Kenobi's trick, to perform a mind trick enabling him to evade four stormtroopers after "borrowing" a landspeeder. Several weeks later, Luke Skywalker employed a mind trick to compel Bib Fortuna and a group of guards to release them after a bounty hunter had seized Grubba from their custody.

In 4 ABY, Luke Skywalker entered Jabba's Palace with the aim of rescuing Han Solo. He employed the mind trick to convince Bib Fortuna to arrange an audience with Jabba the Hutt. Subsequently, Jabba criticized Fortuna for succumbing to such an "old mind trick," and after Skywalker attempted to use it on the Hutt himself, he informed the Jedi that his mind powers would be ineffective against him.

Following the demise of Emperor Palpatine, Corran Horn inadvertently employed the mind trick to conceal himself from stormtroopers during his escape from the Lusankya in 6 ABY. In the subsequent year, Horn attempted to intentionally use a mind trick on a stormtrooper while on an undercover mission on Thyferra. For a fleeting moment, when the stormtrooper echoed Horn's statement about not being required to accompany him, Horn believed the trick was succeeding. However, it failed spectacularly, eliciting only the stormtrooper's response: "You can go about your business? Your business is my business, void brain!" Horn sustained injuries from the stormtrooper, necessitating a couple of days of recovery in a bacta tank. After commencing studies to become a Jedi, Horn successfully projected an illusion of a vast New Republic task force, complete with the Lusankya and Sun Crusher, into the mind of Leonia Tavira, the leader of the Invids.

Luke Skywalker utilized this ability on the animal inhabitants of lower Coruscant to safeguard himself and his companions during the Corellian crisis. Faced with a large pack of animals, he chose to instill fear into their minds, as it was the most readily discernible emotion. His actions were motivated by the preservation of everyone's lives.

The Force-sensitive Yuuzhan Vong Onimi seemingly employed mind control on Supreme Overlord Shimrra Jamaane during their dominion over the species, but towards the conclusion of the Yuuzhan Vong War, Onimi lost his control over Shimrra. He later attributed this loss, as he stated to Jaina Solo, to his "preoccupation with defeating you [Jaina] allowed what remained of Shimrra to reemerge"; this implies that his distraction in his larger conflict with Yun'o led to his inability to maintain control over Shimrra.

In 40 ABY, during the Second Galactic Civil War, Leia Organa Solo employed a mind trick on a lieutenant from the Galactic Alliance Second Fleet vessel Spinnerfish. She initially tricked him into believing that Lando Calrissian (who was using the alias Bescat Offdurmin at the time) was not providing aid and comfort to the enemy, then that they needed to reach Corellia because they were engaged in a crucial mission for the Alliance, and finally to provide them with the access codes supplied by Intelligence that would enable them to fly directly. Afterward, Lando remarked, "That wasn't really fair," to which Leia responded that the lieutenant was "even more weak-minded" than she was accustomed to, and she doubted he would advance far in the army. Ben Skywalker used a mind trick on Gilthor Breen to persuade him that he had entered a turbolift. He projected an image of the turbolift doors closing and directed him to think about "the girl," a holodrama actress named Aliniaca Verr. Notably, Ben accomplished this trick without the use of either a hand gesture or his voice. Mara Jade used a mind trick on two bystanders after fighting with Lumiya. She tricked the two bystanders into believing that the battle that they just witnessed between Mara and Lumiya was staged for a hol- program. The male bystander remarked that the blood on Mara's face looked real, tricked by Mara into believing that it was fake. In 41 ABY, during the Second Battle of Fondor, Darth Caedus used the Force to mind trick the Fondorians into lowering the planetary shield based around the city of Oridin, opening the city to bombardment by his forces.

In 137 ABY, Princess Marasiah Fel attempted to use a mind trick on Cade Skywalker in order to get aboard the Mynock with Astraal Vao and away from Darth Talon. Cade was not affected, but took them anyway after spotting the Sith. Cade later said to his companions, "Human thinks I'm some weak willed Koochu—tried a Jedi 'mind trick.'"

Behind the scenes

Several games depict the Jedi mind trick as a method for bypassing adversaries undetected. In one instance, it was termed "Force persuasion" but achieved the same outcome, likely a name reserved solely for this particular application. A mind trick is employed within the game, rendering the character invisible to an opponent or opponents. Certain games permit players to utilize the mind trick to disorient and stun their adversaries; others employ it to temporarily sway opponents' allegiance, causing them to attack other opponents.

The mind trick is known as both affect mind and the more powerful dominate mind in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. In Knights of the Old Republic and its sequel, Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, the application of mind-altering Force abilities more closely mirrors the films. Acquiring these abilities grants the player additional conversational options, enabling them to persuade NPCs to act in a manner beneficial to the player—for instance, offering a greater reward than typically received, providing a lower price for an item, divulging confidential information, extracting information from the individual, or manipulating them into performing or accepting various actions.

In the comic adaptation of Dark Lords of the Sith, Aleema's cousin Satal Keto never exhibits proficiency in illusion casting. However, in the Dark Lords of the Sith audio rendition, Satal conjures illusions and employs them to confound his father and aunt, Lord Keto and Lady Magda Keto.

In Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast and Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, should the player character possess a mind trick level exceeding 3 (unattainable without cheats), they may directly control an enemy, including Reborn, who are typically immune to the ability. At level 4, this power could influence anyone, even those with the strongest minds, such as Desann or Tavion Axmis.

Force confusion is a usable power in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords. It becomes available if the Jedi Exile attains a prestige class. Game files from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic suggest that Jolee Bindo was intended to possess the psychic static ability. Whether its omission was intentional or due to time constraints remains unknown.

Force confusion is also present in the Star Wars Episode III video game.

In I, Jedi, Luke Skywalker refers to both his and Obi-Wan Kenobi's application of mind control as Alter Mind.