Lightsaber Finn

[Wajeb Deb Kaadeb]

I was thinking today that Finn, using the lightsaber in The Force Awakens, is a good example of the D6 rules.

He has no Lightsaber skill, yet he was able to wield it efficiently. The novelization says that he's never picked up a lightsaber before in his life, but he's athletic and knows how to use melee weapons.

So, this is a prime example of a character's attribute being used--in this case, DEX,--when the character has no real trained skill in that area.

[Mamatried]

[Wajeb Deb Kaadeb]

[Mamatried]

[Naaman]

From a "lore" perspective, I prefer that the Lightsaber skill be exclusive. I personally feel that unless a character is a Jedi (or has an appropriate background subject to GM discretion), then the lightsaber skill should be off limits all together.

I consider it sufficiently esoteric that non-Jedi would not be able to use it effectively, even if they grasp it's basic application as a "sword."

Ultimately, a lightsaber is built to be used by it's builder. Attuning the weapon to the force is part of making it, thus, the weapon is not only a force-user-specific thing, but a Jedi-specific ritual that makes each one first of all unique, and second, an extension of it's maker.

While any Jedi can use any lightsaber just fine because a Jedi understands what a lightsaber truly is, it doesn't make sense to me that a non-Jedi could make worthwhile use of a lightsaber. Thus, I would relegate such a character to using the dex attribute only, until such a time as they acquire a reasonable source for instruction on the weapon.

YMMV.

(Full disclosure: Finn's use of the lightsaber may be "canon," but, I don't care: I interpret his use of the weapon to be attribute based, and having no overlap to his "melee combat" skill).

[Mamatried]

[Wajeb Deb Kaadeb]

Why would someone be barred from picking up a lightsaber and using it to hit another with? Isn't it the same as picking up a broom stick and hitting someone with it?



I do like the 2E rule where, if an unskilled users misses his attack number by 10+, damage is applied to the character and not his attacker.

Those things are dangerous!

[Whill]

Actually, the example in RAW (R&E p.39) shows that even skilled users are in danger of hurting themselves if they miss the difficulty by more than 10. It is just more dangerous for unskilled users.

Lightsaber rules are are a divisive subject, but here is my idea. The Melee skill can be used for Lightsabers. The rule about hurting yourself applies. Finn has some training in the Melee skill but not Lightsaber, so he isn't in too much danger of hurting himself but he is no match for a Force-sensitive and experienced Lightsaber-wielder.

The Lightsaber skill is an Advanced skill with Melee as a prerequisite (thinking 5D). Just having the Lightsaber skill at 1D eliminates the 'hurt yourself' possibility. The Lightsaber skill is added to the Melee skill in use. Ligthsabers are rare in the galaxy during the Empire, and so is the Lightsaber skill. In RAW, advanced skills cost double the CPs to raise them but I'm thinking of making all advance skills triple the cost to raise in my game. Grievous would be an example of someone who had good Melee and Lightsaber skills, but no Force ability.
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[Mamatried]

[MrNexx]

[Naaman]

There is a lot to unpack here, but, with regard to my idea, it's just my preference.

Critique my logic as you please, but I'm pretty well resolved that I have sufficient RPG/gamer/sci-fi nerd logic to support my position.

If a lightsaber is special, let's keep it special. It's not "loot" and it's not a utilitarian device.

I don't want a SWU wherein everyone has, or "can" have a lightsaber. Anyone not a Jedi needs a story-driven reason for why he has one, and why he knows how to use it, and it should be a well-developed story/reason.

And, to be clear, I didn't say a person can't use it. I said they can't master/develop their skill in it outside of an appropriate context.

And for whatever it's worth, a lightsaber may have a resemblance to a light foil, but I personally consider them to be weapons of wholly different natures. In other words, I consider them as different as apples and ornithine.

[Whill]

[garhkal]

[Argentsaber]

I use lightsaber as a specialization of melee and parry, and have for years (in part due to the mathematical similarity to having a single seperate skill). My real world experience with multiple martial arts weapons actually places the lightsaber somewhere between a sword and a single stick. Almost all maneuvers from either weapon would be effective, including stick exclusives (like flip strikes for example). Having had the fun weekend of multiple black belts fooling about with lightsabers to figure out what works best, I'd say that if taken at a base value, lightsabers would be a brutally effective melee weapon.

That said, at one time I did have a conceptual framework for sabers that explained both the extremely high difficulty (which in reality they really shouldn't have) as well as the exclusivity.. the magnetic field. Such a powerful field would make it likely for minor tugs at the tip of the blade to pull the weapon out of alignment.. tugs which a Jedi could predict with the force, and which only a specialist could otherwise deal with perhaps. Two inches at the end of a sword might not seem like a lot, but trust me it's huge. Anyway, these little tugs could be amplified by proximity of power lines and other magnetic fields.. and this could explain why lightsabers can "bind" despite not having a blade to notch.. the fields stick magnetically.

Finally, in the new canon, the crystal plays a much bigger part in the saber.. they seem to be partially sentient, and could easily make life difficult for an incompatible wielder in small ways.

I guess what I am really trying to get across is that if you want it as a seperate skill (advanced skill, etc.), just pick a reason for it, and if you prefer to just use melee, just let the weapon behave in a predictable way.
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"The universe is driven by the complex interaction between three ingredients: matter, energy, and enlightened self-interest."
G'Kar, Survivors (Babylon 5)

[Wajeb Deb Kaadeb]

I notice that the First Edition rules do take the approach that the Lightsaber can be handled by anyone without training.

Check out page 31, under Dexterity Blank Skills. The lightsaber is used as an example of how to create/use a Blank Skill in the game.

And the quote from ANH is referenced: