Lightsaber Damage

[darkclown789]

5D.... isn't a bit low? I mean come on.....

Can anyone provide a fix that would make sense for ANYONE using a lightsaber - so an average joe that knows how to use one does just as much damage as a jedi... just less accurate.

The way it is now, a bounty-hunter wookie, barabel, or some other race that has high strength wearing some decent armor is virtually untouchable by a 'saber.

Thoughts?

~Darkclown
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[Doomhead]

Its not weak when you use the Lightsaber combat force power, which when used successfully allows the Jedi to add his/her sense dice to hit and his/her control dice for damage!!!


My bad... maybe with the jury rig rules in Craken's?

Or use a vibro-axe (STR+3D+1), jury rig it for an extra 3D of damage... for a grand total of STR+6D+1...

Plus Lightsabers are not meant to be used by the Average Joe... They are very dangerous in the hands of a non-force user (They are more likely to injury themselves). That is why a Jedi trains and uses the force, so that s/he can use a saber effectively!
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[Soniv]

First of all, this seems like it ought to be in the House Rules section, as such a rule, to my knowledge, doesn't exist; the closest thing I can think of is the Rules of Engagement damage pool rule, but that was applied to blasters, not lightsabers.

Secondly, he was asking about rules for non-Force users using a lightsaber for greater damage than 5D. LSC does indeed fix the problem for Jedi, but he wanted more of a general solution.

[Matthias777]

A lightsaber in the hands of Han Solo will still cut through a blast door, yet a blast door would merely shrug off 5D damage. The point is valid.

For non-combat applications, I just say that a lightsaber can cut through anything with time...roll the body strength of the object against the lightsaber's damage, and the difference is how long it takes to make a one-meter cut (in seconds).

The problem with changing the lightsaber's damage is that you make the Lightsaber Combat power incredibly powerful unless you modify it as well. Let's say that you increase a lightsaber's damage to 7D. This is a 2D difference, so the same must be reflected in your house rules for LSC:

[darkclown789]

Thanks a bunch, I like the suggestion.

What doesn't seem right to me is that Luke could do double... even triple the damage of Aurra Sing or General Grievous, when it is the same weapon.... I guess we take Matthias777's example and modify the combat ability. OR... lightsaber damage is 7D... unless you activate the force power which does the same effect but -2D to damage or whatever,

Thanks~

~Darkclown
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[garhkal]

As for an official rule on how the lightsaber can do more damage than base for non force users. Called shots. The smaller the called shot area, the bigger the bonus damage. alternately use the dice pooling option from rules of engagement.
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[vong]

I dont know. Personally I think that non jedi should not have lightsabers at all. At the very least they should have some training to have the saber, or they would never be able to wield it properly.

But the higher damage is the force flowing through the jedi, hitting weak spots in the structure attacked, and some extra strength behind the blow. a non jedi would just be hacking and slashing randomly, and it would not be as effective. I dont think a saber could ever be as good in the hands of a non jedi then a jedi.

This is just my 2creds... BUT, if you must this is what I think

Blaster average does 4D, blaster rifle does 5D. Some are powered up to 6D+2. So 5D damage is not that bad for a lightsaber. 5D+2 is a ponite crystal (lightsaber PDF here). So if a player must have a lightsaber, I think that the damage is good enough, or else you are just giving players an overpowered lightsaber. And if the character ever goes Jedi, it would become an unbalanced weapon (or a dark jedi found it and took it from them, he would murder the party... could be an interesting plot twist ).

So yea, bit delayed, but I think that non jedi should not have sabers
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[jmanski]

If an average Joe has a lightsaber- either the Jedi (or Sith) is coming after it, or if deceased, anyone who knows about said lightsaber will come after it.

Best not to have a lightsaber around if you don't know how to use it.
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[Ankhanu]

I don't mind non-Jedi having lightsabers, but I do dislike them being skilled with the weapon. It is dangerous; end of story

As for damage, 5D is pretty powerful, keeping in mind most people and materials in the galaxy would resist with 2D. If you're working against materials, like a blast door or something, in theory, the saber will cut it, given time. You don't ALWAYS need to roll damage; assign it a minimum time to complete and go with that rather than rolling.

Increasing the damage on the weapon leads to all kinds of extra difficulty. Just fudge the rules when needed.
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[Esoomian]

I'm with Ank on this one, the smartest thing for a non force sensitive to do with a working lightsaber (in a lot of cases) is to sell it. Those things can fetch a massive price on the right black market.

However if a PC does want to try and use it then they're never going to be as good as a jedi/sith could be and that makes sense to me. But they'll be awesome at opening doors
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[adamlumina93]

Rules lawyers and SW fanatics will always quarrel over this.
Here is my 2 cents

Point 1
You need to remember that the average citizen in star wars has 2D stats, excluding some alien races, which leaves a difference of 3D of damage which on average would equal 10.5 points of damage, now after one hit with penalties from the wound already a second hit on average with 4D of damage would be enough to send someone to a grave.
Point 2
By running lightsaber damage excessively high the game creators would be running the risk of making Jedi w/Lightsabers invincible or extreme combat monsters.
Point 3
You make the damagemore lethal in the game by allowing called shots for damage, can't remember off hand what rules would be for this, but I would think 2D extra for Head and 1D extra for targeting important parts of the torso or allow a chance to hit where there is no armor coverage, add add appropriate difficulty to the to hit roll for these to call shots.
Point 4
Interpret the dice rolls to better simulate what is happening in combat. If the character soaks it is not because he just stood up to it, rather he was side stepping and it glances armor or clothes. Lightsaber damage is like any other melee weapon to where you need penetration to do damage. Simple glances or tips striking is not going to do much damage no matter what the weapon.