The first Inquistor we met was actually very good at his job and pretty skilled as well. More then enough to handle most partially trained padawans and untrained force users he would run into. Master Jedi usually were dealt with by Vader or Mercenaries who used cheats to win or you could just toss a small army of storm troopers at them until they died. Inquistors aren't meant to fight fully trained Jedi and win just hold them in place long enough to send in something from above to deal with it. Ezra is much stronger in the force then his master just in terms of talent and probably would become a master if he can survive long enough he isn't as strong as Luke or Anakin or even Rei probably on the same level as Kylo Ren aka Poseur Vader

I always thought that an Inquisitor would be the bad guy that you have to run from..... or I learned that the hard way because one of my pc's paralyzed my Inquisitor from the neck down.

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

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

Yes, it was rather dissapointing to see these two use them as well...

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

Thank you. I had the lightsaber built like that because it was very scary for the players.

A lot of people seem to think the Inquistors would actually be something more then marginally competent. The problem with Inquistors is if they are good then they are a threat to the emperor. Its a tough balancing line, but learning certain skills like light saber making is not in the empire's best interests. Inquistors will know just enough to capture or kill force sensitives with limited training so having factory manufactured standard issue light sabers with an artificial crystal makes a lot of sense.

That doesn't mean that they should all get stamped-and-pressed copies of what first seemed to be the Grand Inquisitor's unique weapon.

A lot of people seem to think the Inquistors would actually be something more then marginally competent. The problem with Inquistors is if they are good then they are a threat to the emperor. Its a tough balancing line, but learning certain skills like light saber making is not in the empire's best interests. Inquistors will know just enough to capture or kill force sensitives with limited training so having factory manufactured standard issue light sabers with an artificial crystal makes a lot of sense.

Since the Force is required to make a lightsabre, unless we assume that Vader and Paplaptine make every one of those lightsabres, we must conclude that it is reasonable that Inquisitors are taught the basics of lightsabre construction. They may short them on training them in the ways of the Force (which would make them truly a threat) but so long as they maintain control of where lightsabre crystals can be obtained (and it reasons that they do since they all use the standard red) they have nothing to fear from teaching Inquisitors how to make a lightsabre.

The red saber crystals are synthetic. Sith/Dark Jedi believe they're more powerful because there is less variation in them compared to natural crystals. Likewise in the KoToR era Sith sabers were mass produced which tells me they are more of a mechanical construct than a spiritual/mehanical symbiosis.

The red saber crystals are synthetic. Sith/Dark Jedi believe they're more powerful because there is less variation in them compared to natural crystals. Likewise in the KoToR era Sith sabers were mass produced which tells me they are more of a mechanical construct than a spiritual/mehanical symbiosis.

Yes, and as I said so long as they control the source of the crystals they have nothing to fear from teaching them how to make them. But even SWTOR showed lightsabre construction as requiring the Force. I find it highly unlikely that if the Emperor didn't trust the Inquisitors with the knowledge of how to build a lightsabre that they would trust someone to mass produced a bunch of them.

In the grand scheme of things Force knowledge is what would make the Inquisitors dangerous, not knowing how to make a lightsabre. Lightsabre combat only gets you so far when you have the power of Force Choke or Force Lightening and can stop a person before they get within striking range.

I believe it was in KoToR we talk to Sith Academy students that don't use the force to build their sabers they're received as signs of rank.

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.

Personally, I think you overdid it, as a standard double-bladed lightsaber backed up with a dice pool of 4 profiency and 1 ability (Lightsaber 4, governing characteristic of 5) would have been sufficient and not resulted in a weapon that's going to be murder if the PCs manage to get a hold of it.

But if it worked for your game, more power to you.

Well, from my point of view the Jedi are evil! EVILLLLLLLLL

I guess we will find out when they explore/if they explore inquisitor origins. Personally from what I see, I see no reason why the emperor would teach them (or rather, vader) anything they didn't have to know. They can fight with lightsabers, use a bit of the force, but anything that could possibly make them self reliant outside their narrow role would be discouraged. Thus I can imagine even the lightsabers were pressed and stamped out of their mold; how they used it was up to them but it was designed to be a universal tool to erase any identity beyond what they are. Dogs of the empire fit only for the scraps. After the incident with Ventress and Maul going on to be a real big pain in his rear, I imagine Palpatine wants to minimise the potential for another rogue agent.

Mind you I imagine they would see their role with much greater importance, doing the emperors work and all that, but I can really see an episode coming up where at least one of the inquisitors discovers that to the empire they are nothing more then yet another disposable resource much like sterilised storm-trooper armour.

A lot of people seem to think the Inquistors would actually be something more then marginally competent. The problem with Inquistors is if they are good then they are a threat to the emperor. Its a tough balancing line, but learning certain skills like light saber making is not in the empire's best interests. Inquistors will know just enough to capture or kill force sensitives with limited training so having factory manufactured standard issue light sabers with an artificial crystal makes a lot of sense.

Since the Force is required to make a lightsabre, unless we assume that Vader and Paplaptine make every one of those lightsabres, we must conclude that it is reasonable that Inquisitors are taught the basics of lightsabre construction. They may short them on training them in the ways of the Force (which would make them truly a threat) but so long as they maintain control of where lightsabre crystals can be obtained (and it reasons that they do since they all use the standard red) they have nothing to fear from teaching Inquisitors how to make a lightsabre.

The Force is required to attune the crystal. Beyond that, constructing a saber is very much a mechanical process.

Kaosoe's got a good point.

It may well be that the Inquisitors' lightsabers are using crystals that are not attuned to that particular Inquisitor. Might be why the suggested lightsabers in the Build-An-Inquisitor section are just using basic, unmodified Ilum crystals. The Inquisitors in Rebels may very well not be given enough Force training to be able to attune a lightsaber crystal, especially if it's a synthetic one that's of "inferior" quality to the synthetic crystals used in Vader and Palpatine's lightsabers.

Then again, looking at Legends, in the Legacy comics era, you had the Imperial Knights that were fully capable of making their own lightsabers with synthetic crystals, but each lightsaber was largely identical and had the same silver-hued lightsaber blade, a mark of how solidarity between them and that they stood united in their purpose. So it's still possible that Inquisitors are able to attune a crystal and thus properly build their own lightsabers, but that they opt to use the same design of lightsaber hilt as a reflection of how the Empire presents itself as this great monolithic power that you cannot hope to overcome. Could very well be that the Grand Inquisitor was so good at his job and held it for so long, that other Inquisitors simply adopted that same style of hilt because their boss used it with great success. Given how few of the opponents that an Inquisitor would expect to face are indeed properly-trained Jedi, it's probably a successful design both in intimidation and enabling the wielder to attack more ferociously than they're own limited training wound allow.

I know this is just personal preference, but to me it feels like Force-users should be fairly individual and distinct -- not cookie-cutter.

I can appreciate mass-produced lightsabers as an attempt by the Empire to pump Inquisitors out of a factory line the way they do Stormtroopers...except the Inquisitors aren't cookie-cutter, they're very distinct both in appearance and personality. It just seems odd to make the effort to distinguish between your villains and then give them completely identical weapons, when those weapons are a great opportunity to characterize them even further.

I know this is just personal preference, but to me it feels like Force-users should be fairly individual and distinct -- not cookie-cutter.

The majority of the Force-users that have names and dialogue have been fairly individual and distinct. It's even something of a running joke of just how mundane Kanan's lightsaber is given the only "neat trick" it has is that he can quickly remove or attach the emitter portion to better disguise it. And while the Inquisitors have the same style of hilt (much as the Jedi Knights seen on film used the same fundamental style of lightsaber), they use them in different ways. Fifth Brother is a brute, Seventh Sister is almost spider-like in how she moves, while the Grand Inquisitor had elements of formal dueling.

If you want to get down to brass tacks, the Jedi of the prequel era all had "cookie-cutter" lightsabers in that they used a single-bladed hilt with a very simplistic design aesthetic. Anakin added extra embellishments and features to his largely because he was a techie; he did that to pretty much any ship he flew as well, or did in Legends material at least, marking him as an outsider. But the rest of the Jedi followed a fairly standard design template, with the closest they came to breaking out of it being the occasional bout of dual-wielding. In fact, in the films the only ones to use lightsabers that didn't fit the typical single-blade mold were the bad guys, from Maul's double-bladed lightsaber to Dooku's curved-hilt lightsaber and now Kylo Ren's crossguard lightsaber.

The entire notion of modding a lightsaber, unique crystals with different peoperties, etc. is gamer geek chic.

In the movies, despite different hilt aesthetics and blade colors, sabers are pretty all the same.

Its the style and personality of the Jedi or Sith, not the saber itself, that sets them apart.

The entire notion of modding a lightsaber, unique crystals with different peoperties, etc. is gamer geek chic.

In the movies, despite different hilt aesthetics and blade colors, sabers are pretty all the same.

Its the style and personality of the Jedi or Sith, not the saber itself, that sets them apart.

Actually, the modding of lightsabers with various crystals and so forth can largely be laid at the feet of video games, with the KOTOR series (as well as SWTOR MMO) being the most visible culprits. WEG did include a couple different types of Adegan crystals in their Tales of the Jedi sourcebook, but the damage variance wasn't all that much and beyond the damage code worked the same as any other lightsaber. But you're right, in that it is predominately a gamer thing, since as far as films and novels were concerned a lightsaber blade was the same no matter what type of crystal was used in the lightsaber's construction.

It was kind of implied in my earlier post, but most of the variance we see amidst the named Jedi/Sith/whatever is in their fighting styles as you stated. Obi-Wan and Anakin are different as day and night, while Yoda's "muppet on crack with an IV of Red Bull" take on Ataru is vastly different Qui-Gon's usage of Ataru, and they're all different from Mace Windu, who literally has a style all his own (in the BTS material for AotC, Nick Gillaird even called it "Sam Jackson style"), yet each one of them uses the same fundamental design of lightsaber, with the only variance in Yoda's being to account for his diminutive stature in contrast to most other Jedi.

Bump: questions- was reading dawn of the rebellion.

For a inquisitor to switch their lightsaber into “spinning mode” in order to activate deflection/defense.

Is that an incidental, maneuver, or action? Dawn of the rebellion mentions something about not having to continue an action? Thanks.

On ‎11‎/‎23‎/‎2019 at 9:32 PM, Sincereagape said:

Bump: questions- was reading dawn of the rebellion.

For a inquisitor to switch their lightsaber into “spinning mode” in order to activate deflection/defense.

Is that an incidental, maneuver, or action? Dawn of the rebellion mentions something about not having to continue an action? Thanks.

It's never specified, so I'd imagine it's akin to switching a blaster to/from the stun setting, which itself is an incidental.

It's also predominantly an NPC weapon, so probably best for the GM that they can just have the Inquisitor switch modes as an incidental on their turn rather than burn a maneuver or worst still an action.

I set it to an incidental action in my game, to change between modes. It would happen a lot quicker on screen if they didn't pause in the action to make it more dramatic.

41 minutes ago, damnkid3 said:

I set it to an incidental action in my game, to change between modes. It would happen a lot quicker on screen if they didn't pause in the action to make it more dramatic.

Give the evil sabers a special quality, making a social check against an opponent gives you a boost die on your first attack after switching modes. 😎