As per the beta book, "all crystals used in lightsabers are some form of Kyber crystal." The basic idea is that, in order to handle the energies associated with being the core of a lightsaber, a Kyber crystal has a unique crystalline structure. My big question is, does a Kyber crystal have this structure, or does having this structure make a crystal Kyber?

The reason I ask is because one of my players has taken Force Sensitive Exile and, being Corellian, she carries her father's soul diamond on a necklace. She's mentioned to me that it would be cool if that soul diamond could be used later as her lightsaber crystal, but she's also deferred to my ruling.

My first response is, "Hell yes, that would be awesome!" But I don't know if a soul diamond could have the right make-up. I haven't found anything in canon to say that it couldn't be, except for the maddening implied tautology of "a crystal is Kyber because it is a Kyber crystal."

I'm also unsure of whether or not I want the soul diamond to be her lightsaber crystal. Another thing she and I have discussed is her belief that, if using a soul diamond as a lightsaber crystal and the person who became the diamond was Force sensitve, she might be able to communicate with the soul of the dead person through the Force. This is also a wicked cool idea, but I've already decided that her father wasn't Force sensitive -- her mother was.

So should I let this cool idea slide as proposed? Should I make it so that, yes, the soul diamond of a Force user can be used as a lightsaber crystal, but she's not carrying the right diamond? Or should I say no, that only a Kyber crystal can be a Kyber crystal?

The title of this thread comes from the wisdom I sought from The Bard:

What's in a Kyber crystal? that which we call a lightsaber

With any other crystal would cut just as deep

I would allow it. this is their game. it's something that gives her a special attachment to her blade. th

Of course, if players and GM agree add everything you wish I'm pro canon but, as I use to say, fun first.

I have a really abstract proposition. The crystal, familiar inside ir not, could be tainted (or would be in a future) and can guide character to realize some quests to unlock its true potential.

Here you can choose to: It isn't tainted, it's tainted and can be healed or, it's just a trap and there is a Dark Side spirit inside that just wants to go out.

Sigh...

Why don't people who are GMs make the story awesome by going with what their players think is cool than if your response is HELL YES go with it? If your response was hell no...than no...if HELL YES than yes.

Dude--- if you think it's cool and she does THAN WHO CARES! The force works in mysterious ways son son!

Honestly the idea is too cool not to allow. Therefore the task is to find some way to make it work. I would demand some sort of quest or task to learn how to reforge the crystal into one that can be used for a lightsabre. Perhaps it needs to be fused / infused with some particular energy or minerals found on illium. This would give the clear soul crystal some dramatic pattern or streaks of colour. It would look great and could add some further significance in some way, tying it to a planet rich in the Force or similar.

And regards your source:

What's in a Kyber crystal? that which we call a lightsaber

With any other crystal would cut just as deep

"A Darth Plagieous on both your houses"

--Asajj Ventress, former assassin.

It's just your typical magic crystal schtick. Soul diamond, Dragon Pearl, Illum Crystal, Hyper-compressed space unicorn farts... as long as it looks magical and allows light to pass through it's fair game... Go for it.

Given the wide variety of crystals used as focusing crystals in lightsabers through the years of the EU/Legends, I'd say allowing your PC to use their Corellian soul diamond as her saber's focusing crystal is fine.

Statwise, I'm not sure I'd give it the same traits as an Ilum crystal, as I'm sure the Empire would clamp down as hard as possible on any tradition that produced crystals that were well-suited to being used as lightsaber crystals, given how Jedi-phobic the New Order is. I'd suggest using the stats for the crystals found at the end of the Lost Knowledge adventure in the Beta book (Damage 6, Crit 3, Breach 1, Sunder, Mods: +2 damage, -1 Crit +1 Vicious), particularly if the rest of the PCs aren't swimming in high end gear.

Thanks for the responses, everyone.

Honestly the idea is too cool not to allow. Therefore the task is to find some way to make it work. I would demand some sort of quest or task to learn how to reforge the crystal into one that can be used for a lightsabre. Perhaps it needs to be fused / infused with some particular energy or minerals found on illium. This would give the clear soul crystal some dramatic pattern or streaks of colour. It would look great and could add some further significance in some way, tying it to a planet rich in the Force or similar.

I was planning on there being some kind of "quest" associated with it, since nobody should get their lightsaber for free. This might be a good idea, with a potential mentor examining the diamond and saying, "This is not a Kyber crystal... yet." Then she has to undergo a trial much like any other apprentice.

Statwise, I'm not sure I'd give it the same traits as an Ilum crystal, as I'm sure the Empire would clamp down as hard as possible on any tradition that produced crystals that were well-suited to being used as lightsaber crystals, given how Jedi-phobic the New Order is. I'd suggest using the stats for the crystals found at the end of the Lost Knowledge adventure in the Beta book (Damage 6, Crit 3, Breach 1, Sunder, Mods: +2 damage, -1 Crit +1 Vicious), particularly if the rest of the PCs aren't swimming in high end gear.

She doesn't have any designs on pursuing her Force sensitivity beyond a few first tier talents right now, and even if she did I would probably defer for a while so the other players can have a turn in the spotlight. That said, I think the Athiss crystals are a perfect base for this. I don't want a soul diamond to be a perfect lightsaber crystal, and I want to give her a reason to make her own from scratch or, maybe, go looking for her mother's lightsaber.

My first response is, "Hell yes, that would be awesome!" But I don't know if a soul diamond could have the right make-up. I haven't found anything in canon to say that it couldn't be, except for the maddening implied tautology of "a crystal is Kyber because it is a Kyber crystal."

I'm also unsure of whether or not I want the soul diamond to be her lightsaber crystal. Another thing she and I have discussed is her belief that, if using a soul diamond as a lightsaber crystal and the person who became the diamond was Force sensitve, she might be able to communicate with the soul of the dead person through the Force. This is also a wicked cool idea, but I've already decided that her father wasn't Force sensitive -- her mother was.

So should I let this cool idea slide as proposed? Should I make it so that, yes, the soul diamond of a Force user can be used as a lightsaber crystal, but she's not carrying the right diamond? Or should I say no, that only a Kyber crystal can be a Kyber crystal?

Then go for it. In all seriousness, unless your all playing Jedi I don't see the point in not giving them the full whack of mods on it either: A lightsaber is a huge danger to have on you in most settings, so unless your all in it together I would just say "sure, you just need to set a long length of time to put this together and you have a fully functional lightsaber."

After all; light only needs to flow through a particilar crystal to form a beam, right? It just so happens to be the case with certain varients of Soul diamonds happen to have that frequency. As to why they are not all banned it's simply a few methods avalible to handweave the issue; Palpatine and the Inquistiation and Jedi might know a lot about crystals, but it doesn't mean they have to know about every single potential varient out there. I mean for the longest period of time only Ilium Crystals were really used by the Jedi in general so knowledge of alternative routes simply disappeared.

The alternative that soul diamonds simply are not as consistant as Kyber crystals, not in potency but in the fact that soul diamonds that are compatable with being put into a blade are just simply that much more rare. Put the two together? You have a method of lightsaber forming that is unusual and unexplored by any of the big major power players past or present. Though if an example was ever captured from her, the inquistation might look toward's that system in a whole new light.

As for not using a Iium crystal, why not use Dantari Crystal as the base template, no ranks in vicious and one less damage when maxed, but has a cool effect for when you use the force with it. Even if it wasn't her mothers crystal and her father wasn't senstive, doesn't necessarily mean that there isn't a pressence there; it's simply a sublimal pressence that lingered as a fond reminder of the person and that alone can put a heart at ease.

Weird and random thought:

What if (for a campaign) all Kyber crystals were different forms of soul gems? Illum was a massive burial ground for fallen ancient Jedi or Sith. A Krayt Dragon's pearl was the remains of something the dragon ate and by a series of coincidences, those remains were turned into a soul gem/kyber crystal. In this case, synthetic crystals were created by the sith by slaying their mortal foes and turning them into blood red soul gems.

Hmmm... That could make for a pretty epic campaign premise.

A soul diamond sounds more like the heart of a holocron. You could give the player the option to use it for either a lightsaber or a holocron...maybe even build both but have to transfer the diamond between them to use them (maybe requiring a Mechanics check to make the transfer without issue).

What if (for a campaign) all Kyber crystals were different forms of soul gems?

Makes one wonder where the Emperor was getting his speeder-sized crystals for the Death Star...

What if (for a campaign) all Kyber crystals were different forms of soul gems?

Makes one wonder where the Emperor was getting his speeder-sized crystals for the Death Star...

Oh dang. Now that's some dark stuff, right there. Enslave everyone to build the ultimate weapon, then slay them in order to construct its final piece.

I'm looking for your opinion people about a crystal that I designed with my friend.

"Solari crystal"

Same as basic but:

- Base Damage is 7 (instead 6)

- Hard Points required are 3 (instead 2)

- Special: Get +1 Damage and Vicious per Paragon level of difference*

- "Light side paragon" limited Special effects.

* For example, if a "Light Side Paragon 1" (80 or more) attacks a "Dark Side Threshold 1" (20 or less) will get +2 Damage and Vicious. Target and user must be Force sensitive. Maximum would be +4.

Just a thought but with the opening message I wondered if the answer is

!

Seriously though the lightsaber creation process is supposed to be this intensive part rsonal experience to make their lightsaber literally an extension of themselves.

So if that's so then this family heirloom fits the bill!

Not sure on the specific talents it lends but that's for the gm to figure out once the player decides when they're building their own lightsaber.

Maybe those BDZ's are specifically to help create such enormously sized Kyber Crystals?

I'm looking for your opinion people about a crystal that I designed with my friend.

"Solari crystal"

Same as basic but:

- Base Damage is 7 (instead 6)

- Hard Points required are 3 (instead 2)

- Special: Get +1 Damage and Vicious per Paragon level of difference*

- "Light side paragon" limited Special effects.

* For example, if a "Light Side Paragon 1" (80 or more) attacks a "Dark Side Threshold 1" (20 or less) will get +2 Damage and Vicious. Target and user must be Force sensitive. Maximum would be +4.

I wouldn't necessarily give that much of a bonus tied to being a Light Side Paragon or difference, particularly since NPCs don't have a Morality score.

Here's what I'd suggest instead:

Damage - Base 7

Crit Rating - Base 2

Special - Breach 1, Sunder, if a Light Side Paragon add Advantage to a successful combat check.

Mod Options - 2 +1 to damage Mods, 1 reduce crit rating by 1 (minimum of 1) Mod, 1 increase Advantage from successful combat check if LS Paragon by one Mod.

Cost: 12500 credits

Rarity: 10 ®

This way, it's still a perfectly serviceable 'saber crystal, and the perk for being a LS Paragon isn't too overwhelming but still pretty handy, particularly once the crit rating's been modified. It'd also be pricey compared to an Ilum crystal due to how effective that extra Advantage can be and that it's not too difficult to become and remain a LS Paragon (in short, act like a Jedi should and you're golden)

Donny, I love you XDD

Pretty nice mod. I'll show it to my player.

By the way, are you planning to create new stuff on your blog?

Thanks Donnovan!

Stumbled across this as I was coming up with material for my Sith campaign, and had an idea: the crystal used for a graduating apprentice's first lightsaber is made from the remains of their biggest rival.

In SWTOR, for example, Vemrin would become the crystal for the Sith Warrior while Ffon would become the crystal for the Sith Inquisitor.

Don't have access to it at the moment, but I'll upload the stats I came up with for a Soul Diamond and a Tortured Soul Diamond (as I'm calling them)

On 3/13/2015 at 2:40 AM, CaptainRaspberry said:

As per the beta book, "all crystals used in lightsabers are some form of Kyber crystal." The basic idea is that, in order to handle the energies associated with being the core of a lightsaber, a Kyber crystal has a unique crystalline structure. My big question is, does a Kyber crystal have this structure, or does having this structure make a crystal Kyber?

The reason I ask is because one of my players has taken Force Sensitive Exile and, being Corellian, she carries her father's soul diamond on a necklace. She's mentioned to me that it would be cool if that soul diamond could be used later as her lightsaber crystal, but she's also deferred to my ruling.

My first response is, "**** yes, that would be awesome!" But I don't know if a soul diamond could have the right make-up. I haven't found anything in canon to say that it couldn't be, except for the maddening implied tautology of "a crystal is Kyber because it is a Kyber crystal."

I'm also unsure of whether or not I want the soul diamond to be her lightsaber crystal. Another thing she and I have discussed is her belief that, if using a soul diamond as a lightsaber crystal and the person who became the diamond was Force sensitve, she might be able to communicate with the soul of the dead person through the Force. This is also a wicked cool idea, but I've already decided that her father wasn't Force sensitive -- her mother was.

So should I let this cool idea slide as proposed? Should I make it so that, yes, the soul diamond of a Force user can be used as a lightsaber crystal, but she's not carrying the right diamond? Or should I say no, that only a Kyber crystal can be a Kyber crystal?

The title of this thread comes from the wisdom I sought from The Bard:

in legends kyber crystals aren't the only thing sitting in a lightsaber the major thing that determines whether or not a thing can be used a a lightsaber crystal is the force user has they have bound the object with the force which strengthens it enough to withstand the energies of the lightsaber, while in cannon this seems like a extra but unnecessary step as confirmed by asoka tano in rebels

as for the stats of the lightsaber and additional mods that is entirely up to you and the player

i found a excerpt for legends:

"The crystal is not, by itself, the power source of the weapon. Like the Force user, the crystal is attuned to the Force. Without that attunement, the crystal is just a rock. And while a non-Force user could probably ignite and wield a lightsaber, provided the crystal was properly attuned to the Force, all that lightsaber would be for him is a shaft of super-heated plasma. But for a Jedi, the lightsaber becomes more: it is a manifestation of a Jedi's connection to the Force."

if the father of the character is the driving motivation and their moral compass i see no reason as to why this wouldn't happen

side note there is also a concept called "the rule of cool" where if something is cool enough the in universe rules can be bent, suspended, or even broken

It seems to me that using a soul gem in a lightsaber could be a conflict generator. Perhaps while using it to take a life or perhaps in the process of... binding it as needed to make a kyber crystal out of it. It could be seen as torturing the soul trapped within.

Although conversely using it in a holocron could add benefits to the use of the holocron.

I'd say it takes more than a synthetic diamond to make a kyber crystal. After all, in the new canon, the kyber crystal is also the power source and might even be semi-sentient. That's some freaky space magic you don't get out of any old piece of compressed carbon. So, no. In my opinion you shouldn't be able to just pop a soul diamond in a lightsaber hilt and start swinging.

That said...

OMFG THATS AWESOME! DO IT!

Still, Kyber crystals should be rare and special, so we need to wiggle a little bit to make that particular soul diamond special. As you've established, her father was not force sensitive, so his diamond has no real reason to be fundamentally different from all the others out there, but luckily your player has given you the tools to make it happen.

She want's to communicate with her dead father through the force? Good. Encourage it. Have wise sages and mentors mentioned that it could work. Have her try meditating and reaching out with the force. Make her roll for something. Or not. At the appropriate time, or dice result, have her faintly feel her father's presence. No communications, just a faint, reassuring feeling. After all, her father didn't have the means to retain his consciousness after death. Perhaps a bit saddening, and maybe a little bit dissapointing, but she won't be able to communicate directly with him except from that faint presence from soul diamond. Of course, the PC has unknowingly altered and bonded with the diamond, turning it into what is in essence and function a kyber crystal. Of course, such a thing should be impossible, and the PC can't really repeat it. Maybe it'll become a quest to figure out what she did and how to do it again. A good reason to max out the Lore skill and the Manipulate force power tree, methinks.

Yeah I'm pretty much in the same camp as those above who vote via the Rule of Cool mindset. I personally go for any option that makes the players more personally invested in the game, and if using the soul gem of a PC's dead father makes the player more invested, and it enriches their experience, then what is the downside?

Plus, it lets you do some really cool narrative stuff with it. You could take a page from New Hope, when Luke was attacking the Death Star, and he started hearing little snippets from Old Ben. You could have it, when she has the saber ignited, and energy is flowing through the crystal, she might hear the voice of her father giving her little bits of advice here and there. Not every time, but when it's narratively appropriate.

Perhaps, if she has a scene where she enters a Force Vergence, and maybe she uses her lightsaber for light (darn abandoned places not having internal lighting systems), perhaps the ghost of her father could walk beside her, and she can have her Vision Quest focus around him in some way. Either resolving some long festering pain about his death (or whatever), or simply having him be her Force Ghost Mentor if they pick that group resource, or if you just decide to give them that one later on through narrative play.

Personally, the amount of story rich plot kernels I'm thinking up just typing this out, makes the choice pretty much a no brainer. It's really got no negative side to it mechanically (she could just have easily had a kyber crystal as an heirloom as the soul gem), and provides tons of good plot hooks and narrative elements to make your game better.

As they've re-written what a saber crystal is and does pretty extensively since '15, the question is academic. Go with whatever you like. That said, this is pretty badassed. I have no lightsaber in my future (for a long, long while), but I might keep this in my back pocket until then.