I've been tweaking the Lightsaber Construction Rules to be a bit more fluffy in regards to representing why lightsabers are so tied to Jedi and Sith. Not a lot has changed from those written in the GM's Kit, but I wanted to post them here in case some of you wanted to use them.
Few things in the galaxy are as iconic of the Jedi as their primary badge of office, the lightsaber!
Unique to the Sith and Jedi Orders, few outside these two groups have the skill or knowledge to build the archaic weapons. This is primarily due to the knowledge of their creation being a tightly guarded secret, given only to those adepts that have completed their basic skills training in the Force.
Both the Sith and the Jedi understood that there were three fundamental aspects to manipulation of the energies of the Force. While many superstitions and shamanic traditions create detailed and ornate rituals to produce effects through the Force, Jedi and Sith are unique in their ability to shape the Force to their wills in whatever manner they choose. This ability to eshew materials and rituals is centered around a tri-fold idea of the Force, and these three tenets formed the three tiers of training that an Adept must pass in order to be ready to face the final Trials of their Order.
The first tenet demands a student be able to Sense the presence of the Force around her
The second tenet demands a student be able to Control the power of the Force within her
The third tenet demands a student be able to Alter the world around her with this Power
These principles are represented by the core powers of a Jedi or Sith; Sense representing the first tenet, Enhance representing the second, and Move representing the third. Inherently, all three of these disciplines must be learned and embraced in order to be successful in the construction of a lightsaber. While the components could otherwise be put together to similar effect, these laser swords are inferior to the weapon of the Jedi and Sith, and are highly unstable, their blades crackling with barely contained power, and often are as great a threat to their wielder as they are their opponent. Only the skill and knowledge the Force affords them enables a Jedi or Sith to contruct the elegant weapon known as a lightsaber.
The first step is to prepare the crystal. This is the step where you take a raw crystal and reduce it, polish it, and empower it with the Force. To accomplish this, you must make a Sense power check. At least 1 Force Point must be generated in order to attune the crystal correctly. In addition, you’ll have a series of visions through the Force, your behavior in these visions will determine the color of your lightsaber when it is constructed, as they represent the subconscious directions of your mind when preparing the crystal. A list of these visions can be found
here
.
The second step is to build the basic hilt. These are the simple components that form the mechanical parts of the lightsaber (sans crystal). Getting the pieces necessary requires a Streetwise check unless you have received the components already through in game actions. Once the pieces are gathered, you may make your choice of either a Mechanics or Knowledge (Lore) check. This check takes three days of solid work to complete. If you someone to instruct you (such as a mentor or holocron), this test is Average (two purple). If you do so without instruction, then you increase the difficulty to Daunting (four purple). In addition, you may make an Enhance Force Power check, adding your choice of Successes or Advantages to the roll for each Force Point generated (you must successfully generate at least one Force Point). You can spend successes, advantages, and triumphs on this roll to customize and improve your lightsaber hilt (as well reducing the time it takes to build). While it might stand to reason that you could do the above at any time, until you have completed the crystal, you don’t know what size or shape to create the crystal housing in, and thus, you won’t know how to properly fit the components until the crystal is ready. This is also the reason why existing lightsabers must be broken down into their component pieces and re-built; as each crystal has its own structure that is generated by the Jedi at the time of construction. Success on this roll means that you will not need to make a Mechanics check to install the first modification you make (usually the installation of your Kyber crystal – though you may choose to install something else instead) as it will automatically be successful.
The final step is to install the Kyber crystal you have fashioned into the housing and complete the lightsaber’s construction. This final step requires you to lift the crystal using the Move Force Power (as touching the polished crystal in any way will produce imperfections causing the lightsaber to malfunction) and insert it into the crystal housing. Only a single Force Point needs to be generated on this roll, however if you opted to use the free modification success on another component in the above step, you’ll now need to make an Average Mechanics check to successfully install the crystal in the housing.
Once a Jedi or Sith has constructed their lightsaber, they are deemed worthy to complete their training in advance Force techniques and face their final trials before attaining the title of Jedi Knight or Sith Lord.
