help with light sabers

By SavagePanda, in Game Masters

ok so it has been a little over a year since I last ran a game. since then F&D has come out and I have a player that wants to play a Jedi. having no problem with this. What my question is an I know my player will bring it up. What are the rules for the color of your sabers. I have yet to find anything on this so if someone could help point me in the direction. If there is none I have no problem just making it up.

Thanx in advance

SP

There is nothing on colors.

Fall fashion says Blue is more appropriate, while Green would certainly be more Spring friendly....

There is nothing on color, but the new canon makes the kyber crystals force sensitive and alignment of the user can literally change the color to red.

You still can just contract the saber red as far as I know and old canon gives synthetic (kyber crystal) sabers red color anyway.

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Lightsaber_crystal

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Kyber_crystal

Decide for one flavor and go with it, both approaches are fun, personally I prefer the new canon one which makes the color something very personal which is between the natural force active crystal and the force wielder finding the crystal. One the crystal has a color though, the color should stick as far as I know.

In the stickyed Resources thread on the EotE board, there is (or at least was) a 9 question saber color thread that the player should answer in character. The resulting possible colors are Blue, Yellow, Red, Green, Orange, Purple, and White.

Off the top of my head;

Blue is if they're neophytes or just like using physical force effects ala enhanced speed, etc,

Green if they like using the force but are trying to be subtle or thoughtful...

Red if they're outright evil used to be synthetic created mind you...

Yellow frankly I think this is if they're cunning

Purple if they're seriously badass wielding both light and darksides of the force...

Not sure how accurate this is!

Purple if they're seriously badass wielding both light and darksides of the force...

Purple is if you are Samuel L. Jackson and tell GL that you want to have a purple lightsaber, because you are so badass and at least some of that should be reflected on the character you play. ;-)

The book's answer:

hansoloshrug.gif?w=401&h=169

(Caption: Han Solo shrugging as if to say, "Hey, whatever.")

My answer:

You can have any color you want, as long as it's not black.

Seriously, according to new canon, the color of the blade is set when the user attunes the crystal in the Force, and it has something to do with their connection to the Force. Most people who would be Jedi and are at least nominally associated with the light side end up with blue or green, but other colors are possible. Red seems to be the result of attuning a crystal while steeped in the dark side. And since the lightsaber color makes no mechanical difference, I tell my players they're open to anything on the spectrum. They can even have a (ugh) brown crystal if they want it.

I only deny black because of a personal theory regarding the Darksaber, namely that it's not a lightsaber in the traditional sense but something more arcane and terrible, like a Sith alchemy blade.

I like to imagine that the crystal attunes to a color that reflects the Force user attuning it but in game terms, the player (not his/her character, if that distinction matters) gets to choose whichever color is appropriate.

I can't remember which source I get this, it must have been a YouTube I watched a month or so ago, but there's a fan theory about the representation of the colors that I like:

  • Blue and Green are generally associated with Jedi. Possibly Light Side Force users generally but Jedi are are only canonical data point. Blue saber colors tend to emerge from Jedi who are more direct and practical (or physically inclined) in nature. Jedi who are more contemplative and philosophical (or mentally/spiritually inclined) imbue their crystals as green. So for instance, Luke's first saber -- originally Anakin's hand me down -- is blue to reflect Anakin's kinetic nature, but the one that Luke builds himself is green, reflecting on the spiritual journey he undertakes to make himself a Jedi.
  • Red sabers are associated with the Sith, though I imagine they could be emerge from Dark Siders generally. Legends lore has it that red crystals are synthetic, but the notion can be reworked maybe by saying crystals that attune readily to the Dark Side are rare enough that synthesizing them makes more sense. Or, synthesizing the crystals doesn't really make them red, but the Dark Sider's overwhelming urge to inflict his will on the Force and on the rest of the universe is manifest in the practice of making your own crystal, rather than seeking one out in nature.
  • Purple sabers might represent Force Users who are on one side of the Force, but skirt the other side. I like this and find it consistent with how Mace Windu is portrayed personally.
  • Yellow or white crystals could be the hallmark of Force users who are gray Jedi (assuming one is willing to entertain the notion of gray Jedi). They represent characters who maintain a precarious balance between both sides of the Force.

Bear in mind, the above is just a fan theory (and one i borrowed from a source I wish I could cite). Essentially saber colors are arbitrary and don't necessarily signify anything in and of themselves, at least in any canon that's firmly established. I could even see that saber colors are utterly arbitrary and the only reason Jedi have blue/green and Sith have red is doctrinal peer pressure. I might be putting a squicky overtone on the Jedi Order here but I could imagine that a youngling/padawan who attunes a saber color that isn't blue/green might be frowned upon (possibly unfairly) as having an attachment outside of their Jedi devotion, because they've sabered up at a color that sets them apart from other Jedi. (Which implies that Mace Windu would have proven himself beyond that prejudice, if one makes that the case).

From the Star Wars Databank:

KYBER CRYSTAL (LIGHTSABER CRYSTAL)

At the heart of every Jedi lightsaber is a kyber crystal found on several planets, most notably the icebound caves of Ilum. This crystal is attuned to the Force, and connected to a Jedi Knight on a deeply personal level. In this way, a lightsaber is an extension of a Jedi's Force awareness. Because Jedi let the Force guide their selection of the crystal, the vibration that the crystal creates in the lightsaber blade helps Jedi center themselves and find balance in the Force. In this way, a Jedi can center his or her attention beyond the distractions of combat. A lightsaber crystal is colorless until first attuned and connected to a Jedi -- at which times it glows either blue or green, or in some rare instances, another shade. From that point on, it retains that hue.
I created the questionnaire that JalekZem mentioned and it's stickeyed in the resources list, but it's also here;
At one point in Legends lore it was stated that the blue color was from Adegan Crystals, which turned Green if synthetically made, and the Red of the Sith blades was from the choice of crystal the Sith used. This was (as shown above) ret-conned in the new backstory (around the time of the Clone Wars cartoon).
Edited by Kyla

The one thing that was added recently was regarding Ahsoka Tano’s white lightsabers in “Rebels”, namely that she is not aligned with the Jedi Council or the Sith, and while she is still a person who tries to follow the best of the Jedi philosophies and tenants, she’s not technically a Jedi.

And therefore, Ahsoka has white lightsaber blades.

Didn't she have white sabers in Clone Wars series just before her exeunt story arc?

Didn't she have white sabers in Clone Wars series just before her exeunt story arc?

That might have been planned for the final season which wasn’t officially finished and published. I know there were at least a couple of story arcs in that season that involved Ahsoka.

But officially we didn’t see her use white lightsabers until she appeared in Rebels.

What are the rules for the color of your sabers.

My extensive rules for determining lightsaber color

1) Find a die bag with tons of multicolored dice

2) The prospective jedi sticks their hand in

3) Remove a single die

4) That's your lightsaber color

5) If the prospective jedi is unhappy with the color, start over with step 1

Yellow frankly I think this is if they're cunning

Or a kenner action figure

20130814-122405.jpg

Fall fashion says Blue is more appropriate, while Green would certainly be more Spring friendly....

That Ashoka, white lightsabers after Labor Day. How tacky and gauche
Edited by Desslok

Back in my the day, there was only 3 colors. Blue was for Jedi. Green was for wanna be Jedi's, and red was for Sith.

Then someone said they wanted purple, cause "Purple is funky" and now it can be any color

Didn't Samuel L Jackson want purple so he could pick himself out in scenes like the Geonosian Arena? Or was that just a rumor?

Didn't Samuel L Jackson want purple so he could pick himself out in scenes like the Geonosian Arena? Or was that just a rumor?

What are the rules for the color of your sabers.

My extensive rules for determining lightsaber color

1) Find a die bag with tons of multicolored dice

2) The prospective jedi sticks their hand in

3) Remove a single die

4) That's your lightsaber color

5) If the prospective jedi is unhappy with the color, start over with step 1

That's devious. Swiped.