Inquisitors and Lightsabers

By WillisRBC, in Star Wars: Force and Destiny RPG

Mine has the following stats:


This lightsaber features a ringed emitter which can partially detach from the cylindrical handgrip in the center, allowing the twin blades to rotate rapidly without effort from the wielder. This function serves as a way to intimidate opponents, as well as deflect any form of frontal attack. Add an automatic Advantage to any Coercion checks while wielding an active Double-Bladed Spinning Lightsaber. The handgrip can be removed entirely from the ring-shaped emitter, allowing the Force-imbued circlet of metal to be used as a throwing disc.


Double-Bladed Spinning Lightsaber: Skill Lightsaber, Damage 6, Crit 2, Range Engaged, Encumbrance 2, HP 1, Price ®20,000, Rarity 10, Breach 1, Defensive 1, Linked 2, Sunder, Unwieldy 5


Force-Imbued Chakram: Skill Ranged (Light), Damage +2, Crit 4, Range Short, Encumbrance 1, Price (Included in above), Rarity 8, Cortosis, Defensive 1, Pierce 2


If the Chakram is removed from the lightsaber the blade loses 1 point of Linked and 1 point of Defensive until reattached.

Yeah, which is part the reason why the blades are a welcome edition. I kind of like how they had made the prequel era into this golden age of knowledge. Ever since then the entire galaxy, Sidious and Vader excluded, have to all relearn how to fight and live by scratch. The fighting techniques would be laughable by sith/old Jedi standards, but these bloodhounds are neither of those things. I find it important to remember that distinction and for the new audience, it's a visual cue.

We do actually get to see how a pair of these Inquisitors shown in Rebels fare against a fully trained Jedi. It doesn't go well for them.

They 'lose', true. However, if Asoka hadn't and an escape route, she was going to be the one to go down.

Remember, Inquisitors may not be *as* skilled with their lightsabers as a genuine Jedi, but they're no pushovers, and they tend to be able to call in a grade (and quantity) of backup that PCs can't easily muster.

Yeah, which is part the reason why the blades are a welcome edition. I kind of like how they had made the prequel era into this golden age of knowledge. Ever since then the entire galaxy, Sidious and Vader excluded, have to all relearn how to fight and live by scratch. The fighting techniques would be laughable by sith/old Jedi standards, but these bloodhounds are neither of those things. I find it important to remember that distinction and for the new audience, it's a visual cue.

We do actually get to see how a pair of these Inquisitors shown in Rebels fare against a fully trained Jedi. It doesn't go well for them.

They 'lose', true. However, if Asoka hadn't and an escape route, she was going to be the one to go down.

Remember, Inquisitors may not be *as* skilled with their lightsabers as a genuine Jedi, but they're no pushovers, and they tend to be able to call in a grade (and quantity) of backup that PCs can't easily muster.

I was only counting the actual fight, not when a few dozen Stormtroopers showed up after they were beaten to bail them out. :P

Yeah, which is part the reason why the blades are a welcome edition. I kind of like how they had made the prequel era into this golden age of knowledge. Ever since then the entire galaxy, Sidious and Vader excluded, have to all relearn how to fight and live by scratch. The fighting techniques would be laughable by sith/old Jedi standards, but these bloodhounds are neither of those things. I find it important to remember that distinction and for the new audience, it's a visual cue.

We do actually get to see how a pair of these Inquisitors shown in Rebels fare against a fully trained Jedi. It doesn't go well for them.

They 'lose', true. However, if Asoka hadn't and an escape route, she was going to be the one to go down.

Remember, Inquisitors may not be *as* skilled with their lightsabers as a genuine Jedi, but they're no pushovers, and they tend to be able to call in a grade (and quantity) of backup that PCs can't easily muster.

I was only counting the actual fight, not when a few dozen Stormtroopers showed up after they were beaten to bail them out. :P

That's the thing. They 'lost' the fight because Ezra, Kanan, etc. were able to escape, not because they were actually taken out of the fight.

The Inquisitors were still fully capable of fighting Asoka (especially with the backup that just arrived), but they no longer had the means to complete their mission.

Yeah, which is part the reason why the blades are a welcome edition. I kind of like how they had made the prequel era into this golden age of knowledge. Ever since then the entire galaxy, Sidious and Vader excluded, have to all relearn how to fight and live by scratch. The fighting techniques would be laughable by sith/old Jedi standards, but these bloodhounds are neither of those things. I find it important to remember that distinction and for the new audience, it's a visual cue.

We do actually get to see how a pair of these Inquisitors shown in Rebels fare against a fully trained Jedi. It doesn't go well for them.

They 'lose', true. However, if Asoka hadn't and an escape route, she was going to be the one to go down.

Remember, Inquisitors may not be *as* skilled with their lightsabers as a genuine Jedi, but they're no pushovers, and they tend to be able to call in a grade (and quantity) of backup that PCs can't easily muster.

I was only counting the actual fight, not when a few dozen Stormtroopers showed up after they were beaten to bail them out. :P

That's the thing. They 'lost' the fight because Ezra, Kanan, etc. were able to escape, not because they were actually taken out of the fight.

The Inquisitors were still fully capable of fighting Asoka (especially with the backup that just arrived), but they no longer had the means to complete their mission.

We'll have to disagree. Ahsoka could easily have killed them both after disarming Seventh Sister, instead of stopping to tell her that she was beaten.

It's an awfully good thing to do to monolog the beaten, instead of defeating them swiftly. XD Though I guess that's to save it for the inevitiable confrontation when Kanan and Ezar can finally best them.

Yeah, which is part the reason why the blades are a welcome edition. I kind of like how they had made the prequel era into this golden age of knowledge. Ever since then the entire galaxy, Sidious and Vader excluded, have to all relearn how to fight and live by scratch. The fighting techniques would be laughable by sith/old Jedi standards, but these bloodhounds are neither of those things. I find it important to remember that distinction and for the new audience, it's a visual cue.

We do actually get to see how a pair of these Inquisitors shown in Rebels fare against a fully trained Jedi. It doesn't go well for them.

I do like how utterly out-classed those Inquisitors were. And I especially like how they are so smug going in. One wonders what anti-Jedi propaganda they've been raised on. They've certainly never encountered a fully trained one before (let's ignore the technicality of if she's a Jedi). I imagine they think something like "Jedi - corrupt, decadent subversives who are weak and foolish".

The way the big one just throws his saber at Ahsoka who hops over it is priceless - well done, doofus. Now you don't have a weapon. :)

On topic, I may just have my Inquisitors use blasters and boatloads of Enhance seeing as none of my group currently have a lightsabre user in the party. If they get one, I'll change it up.

That's the thing. They 'lost' the fight because Ezra, Kanan, etc. were able to escape, not because they were actually taken out of the fight.

The Inquisitors were still fully capable of fighting Asoka (especially with the backup that just arrived), but they no longer had the means to complete their mission.

Yeah, no. Ahsoka could have easily finished off the Sister at the time who was sitting down with her back to the wall without a weapon; and the Brother was actually unconscious for part of the fight and also unarmed at the end. Said it before but when your opponent, smiles, turns off their weapons and bows their head to meditate in the middle of a fight waiting for you to attack them - that's when you say to yourself: "wait - am I not the main character in this story?" ;)

Edited by knasserII

I was somewhat disappointed when I saw that the spinning blade gimmick wasn't just the Grand Inquisitor's "thing" and that the other two had it as well. I was looking forward to seeing what sort of interesting new lightsabers they'd have, but I guess the Inquisition just mass-produces and hands them out like standard-issue equipment.

Especially for Seventh Sister, who has her "thing" with the probe droids.

(Which was fun for me, as it was something I did ages ago.. a gadgeteer character with little repulsorlift droids.)

I must say, **** that turned out to be a fantastic show, i wasnt really all that happy about it when it was announced, but its fairly enjoyable

Agreed. I was really annoyed at TCW being cancelled, and didn't like the idea of a "kid Jedi" being the sidekick. But I finally gave in and watched it. My heart grew three sizes that day.

Do what you will and it's the canon on your universe that you built.

I'm sure the inquisitors have other weapons as well.

So the 7th Sister. Her little probe droids are basically just an Inquisitor using the Squad rules in Age of Rebellion Game Master screen, right?

Mini Probe Droid [Minion]

2/2/1/1/1/1

Soak 3/ W 3, Def 0/0

Skills (Group Only): Perception, Brawl

Talents: None

Abiliities: Droid (does not need to breathe, eat, or drink, and can survive in vacuum or underwater; immune to poisons or toxins), Hoverer (does not need to spend extra maneuvers to navigate difficult terrain), Silhouette 0.

Equipment: Micro stun generator (Brawl: Damage 4 Critical 5; Range [Engaged]; Stun Damage)

Yeah, which is part the reason why the blades are a welcome edition. I kind of like how they had made the prequel era into this golden age of knowledge. Ever since then the entire galaxy, Sidious and Vader excluded, have to all relearn how to fight and live by scratch. The fighting techniques would be laughable by sith/old Jedi standards, but these bloodhounds are neither of those things. I find it important to remember that distinction and for the new audience, it's a visual cue.

We do actually get to see how a pair of these Inquisitors shown in Rebels fare against a fully trained Jedi. It doesn't go well for them.

I agree Asokha hands their backsides to them. On the other hand, is Asoka an "average" Jedi, or does she have narrative special sauce that comes from being a popular, headlining protagonist? I suspect Asokha is a cut above most of her Former "Golden Age of the Jedi" peers. She's a highly blooded saber-monkey trained by a pair of Primadonna Pro-From Dover Jedi.Obi-Wan, while being a horrible teacher for Anakin, is a full-on Jedi Master and brilliant in his own right with a saber. And Anakin is, well, Anakin. He's a rarefied breed, and so is his winsome apprentice, IMO. In other words, she was brought up by the best of the best. That we see Ahsoka open a can of Jedi whoop-ass on a pair of inquisitors so that the fans can enjoy a favorite having a moment of awesome doesn't necessarily mean any run-of-the-mill Jedi from "the good old days" would enjoy the same dominance, or success. In fact, I'd go so far as to say SW films and cartoons focus on the creme de la creme of the Jedi in-crowd. The el-coolio wow-factor Jedi. As a result, using their depicted performance as a baseline might introduce a sampling bias into our potential analysis of the inquisitors intended performance and ability in the game. The book describes them as "highly skilled."

Yeah, which is part the reason why the blades are a welcome edition. I kind of like how they had made the prequel era into this golden age of knowledge. Ever since then the entire galaxy, Sidious and Vader excluded, have to all relearn how to fight and live by scratch. The fighting techniques would be laughable by sith/old Jedi standards, but these bloodhounds are neither of those things. I find it important to remember that distinction and for the new audience, it's a visual cue.

We do actually get to see how a pair of these Inquisitors shown in Rebels fare against a fully trained Jedi. It doesn't go well for them.

I agree Asokha hands their backsides to them. On the other hand, is Asoka an "average" Jedi, or does she have narrative special sauce that comes from being a popular, headlining protagonist? I suspect Asokha is a cut above most of her Former "Golden Age of the Jedi" peers. She's a highly blooded saber-monkey trained by a pair of Primadonna Pro-From Dover Jedi.Obi-Wan, while being a horrible teacher for Anakin, is a full-on Jedi Master and brilliant in his own right with a saber. And Anakin is, well, Anakin. He's a rarefied breed, and so is his winsome apprentice, IMO. In other words, she was brought up by the best of the best. That we see Ahsoka open a can of Jedi whoop-ass on a pair of inquisitors so that the fans can enjoy a favorite having a moment of awesome doesn't necessarily mean any run-of-the-mill Jedi from "the good old days" would enjoy the same dominance, or success. In fact, I'd go so far as to say SW films and cartoons focus on the creme de la creme of the Jedi in-crowd. The el-coolio wow-factor Jedi. As a result, using their depicted performance as a baseline might introduce a sampling bias into our potential analysis of the inquisitors intended performance and ability in the game. The book describes them as "highly skilled."

I can't really argue with that -- Ahsoka isn't the "average" Jedi, especially when you look at some of the more monkish and/or more scholarly examples that seem to dominate in the TCW era.

For the game I'm currently building I'm taking two approaches. For rival level Inquisitors they'll get the spinning blade kind. But for a nemesis level one they'll get their own unique lightsabre to better represent the story importance of the character. Granted for the game I'm designing Leia will be an nemesis level Inquisitor so that may also explain why she gets a different lightsabre.

The best way to think of it is that the Empire builds items on mass, thus all Inquisitors will be given one of these Lightsabers.

They can then use it to suit their own fighting style either using one of two blades (for the linked quality).

The spinning effect has absolutely no use in fighting, what so ever; but is instead used as an intimidation device. (As demonstrated from the Star Wars: Rebels)

It is used to spin when moving or in-between strikes and blocks, but not while actually connecting.

Thus it is in fashion the same as a double-ended Lightsaber, with the option to be used as either a single or a double.

The spinning is fluff that you the GM should use when describing it to you players. (Perhaps making them make a fear check when it is used for the first time)

The best way to think of it is that the Empire builds items on mass, thus all Inquisitors will be given one of these Lightsabers.

They can then use it to suit their own fighting style either using one of two blades (for the linked quality).

The spinning effect has absolutely no use in fighting, what so ever; but is instead used as an intimidation device. (As demonstrated from the Star Wars: Rebels)

It is used to spin when moving or in-between strikes and blocks, but not while actually connecting.

Thus it is in fashion the same as a double-ended Lightsaber, with the option to be used as either a single or a double.

The spinning is fluff that you the GM should use when describing it to you players. (Perhaps making them make a fear check when it is used for the first time)

The spinning effect seems to be more than just intimidation, though. I mean yes it's frightening for your opponent's blade to suddenly start spinning like a buzzsaw but it also makes it very difficult to actually pin the **** thing down and deflect the repeated blows, as seen in Ezra's hallucination of the Inquisitor killing Kanan.

It also seems like it would make blaster fire deflection easier so long as the blades are spinning fast enough, so in the end I think I'd give the saber Deflection 1/Defensive 1 when spinning, along with Unwieldy 3 to reflect how careful you have to be to use it in that mode.

It shouldn't make deflecting ranged fire any easier.

The blade has to intersect the projectile by being in precisely the right place. Most of the "disc" of the spinning blades is still absolutely empty space at any one instant. The blades aren't spinning fast enough that they move along their arc faster than a projectile is going to pass through it.

It shouldn't make deflecting ranged fire any easier.

The blade has to intersect the projectile by being in precisely the right place. Most of the "disc" of the spinning blades is still absolutely empty space at any one instant. The blades aren't spinning fast enough that they move along their arc faster than a projectile is going to pass through it.

Yeah, that's fair.

So Defensive 1-2, Unwieldy 3, and possibly a Fear check the first time someone sees it used.

Edited by Jace911

The best way to think of it is that the Empire builds items on mass, thus all Inquisitors will be given one of these Lightsabers.

They can then use it to suit their own fighting style either using one of two blades (for the linked quality).

The spinning effect has absolutely no use in fighting, what so ever; but is instead used as an intimidation device. (As demonstrated from the Star Wars: Rebels)

It is used to spin when moving or in-between strikes and blocks, but not while actually connecting.

Thus it is in fashion the same as a double-ended Lightsaber, with the option to be used as either a single or a double.

The spinning is fluff that you the GM should use when describing it to you players. (Perhaps making them make a fear check when it is used for the first time)

The spinning effect seems to be more than just intimidation, though. I mean yes it's frightening for your opponent's blade to suddenly start spinning like a buzzsaw but it also makes it very difficult to actually pin the **** thing down and deflect the repeated blows, as seen in Ezra's hallucination of the Inquisitor killing Kanan.

It also seems like it would make blaster fire deflection easier so long as the blades are spinning fast enough, so in the end I think I'd give the saber Deflection 1/Defensive 1 when spinning, along with Unwieldy 3 to reflect how careful you have to be to use it in that mode.

It also, while looking really cool, is highly impractical and - as designed - would be just as dangerous to the wielder as their opponents.

The way FFG has built their, Inquisitor is to take the Defection and defensive nature into account, with regards to the standard builds.

If you wish to build or own Inquisitor that has upgraded their Lightsaber or is much harder than the build in the books, they aren't stopping you.

Though the base build Inquisitor is to take in account all that has been discussed before hand in this thread, whether in use of there specialist stats or Adversary level.

Remember FFG designed this to be a Dramatic Heroic game; many of the unique features have been accounted for in one manner or another through the use of the Adversary level or special GM level Talents. (As a catch all; instead of a new rule for ever possible scenario)

After running another session, I made the ultimate inquisitor. His lightsaber, in spinning death mode, had linked 3, vicious 2, unwieldy 4, and the other things that a lightsaber would have.

After running another session, I made the ultimate inquisitor. His lightsaber, in spinning death mode, had linked 3, vicious 2, unwieldy 4, and the other things that a lightsaber would have.

I don't like the spinning lightsabers of doom, but you did a good job converting it into the game

I liked it when it was the Grand Inquisitor's "thing".

I'm less fond of it now that it's just standard issue.