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If you have some sort of mystical energy thingy in your campaign—be it like The Force, or a magical Weave, or ley lines, or chi, or whatever—don't bother defining it too carefully. Leave it mysterious and vague and unspecified. This has several benefits.
Firstly, it's way easier. You don't need to think about how it works. Just make up whatever you need it to do whenever needed.
Secondly, it gives an air of mystery to your campaign setting. This can be incredibly evocative and make your players really appreciate all the clever worldbuilding you're doing. Just don't let on about the first point above.
Thirdly, you can change it whenever you want. Need an extra power or ability that's never been demonstrated before? No problem! It was always capable of that - the players just didn't know it before. What's more, you can aso take established powers away. How does that work? Who knows? Who cares!
Commentary by memnarch (who has not seen the movie)
Yeah, that would be too much Malevolence to be a phantom.
This is an interesting twist on "The Force is an Energy Field" idea. Would this mean that the midi-chlorians could be influencing things more than just making The Force that is used to do all of the neat abilities we've seen? Or is it more of a contamination thing where Force users have disrupted the typical unthinking state of Silence, and now it's getting ideas on what it should be and do? Possibly even becoming something that likes to eat Force Ghosts! Rey better have a Revelation soon else there's going to be a lot of trouble in the future.
Transcript
Luke: The Dark Side embraced Kylo Ren, but it rejected you. This means something. The two of you are linked somehow.
Rey: But completely different.
Luke: Well. The same, but opposite.
Rey: In other words... different.
Luke: Not necessarily! Just because you’re different doesn’t mean you’re different.
Luke: You need to be careful. If you defeat Ren, the Dark Side may reconsider its options.
Rey: You make it sound like a living thing.
Luke: I haven’t seen the Force behave like this. Something is awakening within it.
Luke: I was the last Jedi, and now there’s the rise of... I don’t know.
Rey: Some sort of phantom menace?
Luke: I don’t even want to think about that.