Writing Jedi in Danger: How do YOU do it?

The Episode 3 novelization had some great advice on killing powerful Jedi.

First and foremost, no matter what clever or crazy ideas you actually come up with, the number one thing you have to keep in mind is this - in order for anything to work out, the Jedi's fate MUST BE SEALED simply by having him or her take the mission in the first place. If his/her death in not assured the moment s/he walks into your trap, the trap isn't good enough.

It's all about deception. A Jedi, even a nigh-omnipotent Jedi, can plan for pretty much anything...unless they're being duped in the first place. Because nobody can plan correctly if the people they trust for info are lying. Think Palpatine here. He didn't necessarily need the Dark Side to defeat the Jedi. That was just a helpful device for surviving the angry Council members (which occured after his plan was assured victory anyways). Everything before that could have been pulled off by anybody sufficiently smart and personable enough.

In other words, you want to kill a Jedi? Find a con artist.
(An army helps too, yeah, but we can't all be Supreme Chancellors here. Let's be reasonable.)

 

Distract the Jedi. No matter how well a Jedi can split his concentration, if you give him enough "fake stuff" to focus on, you'll be able to get the drop on him. Sometimes you don't even plan the diversion - a child crying in an alley, or a speeder broken down at the side of a road.

There was a great episode of Monk a couple weeks ago where FBI agents went gung-ho on a case, using fancy technology and crime labs to follow clues and taunts left by a killer. Monk, however, realized that everything was just a big show to draw them from the real clues. A Jedi may not be fooled when being hit over the head like that, but a subtler form of distraction could work really well.

 

(Monk is a fabulous show.)

First take into consideration how good the Jedi in question is. Don't forget that in the movies, we're only seeing the absolute best. (I seem to recall a book that had Yoda saying Obi-Wan was the greatest Jedi ever, and I tend to agree with that.) Not everyone is as powerful as Yoda, Mace, Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Qui-Gon. A normal Jedi isn't going to deflect every blast and isn't going to be aware of every danger. Episode III is proof enough of that - Yoda was able to sense the clones coming after him, and the others weren't. Even Ki-Adi-Mundi wasn't able to hold out for long, and he wasn't facing more than five or six, if I remember correctly.

Also, take a look at the scene on the landing platform in Episode II, when Jango is trying to escape. Seperate the Jedi from his lightsaber, and you've got a whole new ballgame. But even more important, that scene shows how important the environment is, and how the circumstances influence the outcome. Obi-Wan was having to think it up on the spot in unfamiliar territory. Jango was able to use his ship's powers and dictate how the battle commenced. He didn't have turrets and things set up, but he knew Obi was coming and he had his armor, his pistols, and his rockets ready. If you want to offer a Jedi a challenge, let the enemy dictate how the battle unfolds. it is a classic military strategy, and only Alexander the Great consistently got away with fighting on the enemy's terms. Though he always found a way to turn it to his advantage, so whatever.

Anways, to sum up: If the Jedi isn't the absolute best of the best, he can be beaten by normal means. Have the Jedi's opponent fight at a time and place of his own choosing. Put the Jedi in an uncomfortable surrounding and get that blasted lightsaber out of hands.