The new Ahsoka book has some new information on the colour of lightsabers. The colour is determined by the finder of the kyber crystal . Which, in and of itself, is not too new I believe. But it does detail why Sith lightsabers are red. It turns out that Sith must steal their kyber crystals and bend them to their will causing them to "bleed" hence the red colour. Thoughts?

The new Ahsoka book has some new information on the colour of lightsabers. The colour is determined by the finder of the kyber crystal . Which, in and of itself, is not too new I believe. But it does detail why Sith lightsabers are red. It turns out that Sith must steal their kyber crystals and bend them to their will causing them to "bleed" hence the red colour. Thoughts?

This makes me sad. Very, very sad.

I always preferred Legends in regard to lightsabers, the new canon makes them feel too, I don't know, sappy?

The crystals "bleed"? When did crystals have wills? I think I might be a tad bit prejudice in regards to this subject...maybe just a bit.

Do they explain why most Jedi were green or blue then? I don't mind the explanation I'm just now curious why the Jedi order then confirmed to two (well 3 with the Temple Guards) colors.

The new Ahsoka book has some new information on the colour of lightsabers. The colour is determined by the finder of the kyber crystal . Which, in and of itself, is not too new I believe. But it does detail why Sith lightsabers are red. It turns out that Sith must steal their kyber crystals and bend them to their will causing them to "bleed" hence the red colour. Thoughts?

This makes me sad. Very, very sad.

I always preferred Legends in regard to lightsabers, the new canon makes them feel too, I don't know, sappy?

The crystals "bleed"? When did crystals have wills? I think I might be a tad bit prejudice in regards to this subject...maybe just a bit.

It's a bit emo to be sure. I like that they are trying to add in some mysticism but this was a bit heavy handed for my taste

The colour is a result of the attunement process apparently they are all the same colour prior to this.

I assume since the force guides a jedi to the crystal and the sith use crystals and bent to their will, this is a metaphorical bleed rather than a "natural" process. Ie the darksiders use the crystals unnaturally.

Ugh.

Nope.

Still prefer the crystal defines the colour, at my table Ilum kyber crystals tend to give off a blue or green colour because of their source and as that was where Jedi traditionally acquired their crystals, most Jedi had a blue or green one (though the attuning process of being drawn to and finding the crystal can be argued to relate to personality). Sith lightsabers are red due to the issues with Dark Side force users inability to attune to kyber crystals, so they have to synthesize the crystal with sith alchemy, hence red...

I don't mind the idea of personality defining colour, certainly explain's Mace Windu's lightsaber (outside of the fact that Samuel L Jackson wanted it purple), and if that's the way people want to have crystals at their table (with the choice of all the colours of the rainbow), fair enough.

I remember reading a little while ago on StarWars.com that canon was now that kyber crystals begin white, and the colour comes from the force user attuning to it, and afterwards the crystal remains that colour (why Anakin's lightsaber remained blue and didn't go red overnight - would have been a bit of a giveaway that). But then they had Ahsoka's sabers go from green to white after she left the Jedi Order... So they seem to contradict themselves a bit with that...

The only rebuttal I can manage right now is: not all blood is red. But whatever.

I'm not sure I like that explanation, particularly the whole Sith needing to steal their crystals explanation. What about non-Sith dark side users? It could work, but I vastly prefer the idea that the red color is simply the manifestation of a kyber crystal attuned using the dark side. Still, I haven't gotten the book yet, so I'll hold my judgment until I've read the source material. Maybe it'll sound better in context or else give me some wiggle room.

I remember reading a little while ago on StarWars.com that canon was now that kyber crystals begin white, and the colour comes from the force user attuning to it, and afterwards the crystal remains that colour (why Anakin's lightsaber remained blue and didn't go red overnight - would have been a bit of a giveaway that). But then they had Ahsoka's sabers go from green to white after she left the Jedi Order... So they seem to contradict themselves a bit with that...

Actually, the crystals are specifically said to be "colorless," not white. And the Order kept Ahsoka's lightsabers after she left; the ones she uses in the book and in Rebels are new. (At least, new to her.)

The order gave her back the lightsabers and they were buried with rex's presumed grave with stone stating something along the lines of "here lies the clone commander rex who killed ahsoka tano before falling himself." The sabers were given back when obiwan and anakin asked Ahsoka to deal with Maul on Mandalore , while they rescued Palp at the start of RotS.

She used them in her last fight against Maul where she was left with a choice of saving Rex or continuing to fight Maul apparently. Source the new Ahsoka novel.

The only rebuttal I can manage right now is: not all blood is red. But whatever.

I'm not sure I like that explanation, particularly the whole Sith needing to steal their crystals explanation. What about non-Sith dark side users? It could work, but I vastly prefer the idea that the red color is simply the manifestation of a kyber crystal attuned using the dark side. Still, I haven't gotten the book yet, so I'll hold my judgment until I've read the source material. Maybe it'll sound better in context or else give me some wiggle room.

I remember reading a little while ago on StarWars.com that canon was now that kyber crystals begin white, and the colour comes from the force user attuning to it, and afterwards the crystal remains that colour (why Anakin's lightsaber remained blue and didn't go red overnight - would have been a bit of a giveaway that). But then they had Ahsoka's sabers go from green to white after she left the Jedi Order... So they seem to contradict themselves a bit with that...

Actually, the crystals are specifically said to be "colorless," not white. And the Order kept Ahsoka's lightsabers after she left; the ones she uses in the book and in Rebels are new. (At least, new to her.)

Aah. Sorry for the confusion, I'm a bit behind on watching Rebels (only just started season 2)...

Actually a lot of the Ahsoka story arc was told at the Ahsoka panel at Star Wars Celebrations this year and is considered canon and relates to the unfinished clone wars series which was supposed to cover what ultimately occured with Ahsoka and what happened after she left the jedi order , and her later final meeting with Analin before he swans off to save Palps , she apparently was also supposed to have come close to finding out that Palps was the other sith lord when she discovers the Dark Side vergence under the jedi temple that apparently clouded the visions of all the jedi , preventing them from sensing what was going to occur.

If you want to find out more the panel with Ashley and Filoni should be on youtube.

The order gave her back the lightsabers and they were buried with rex's presumed grave with stone stating something along the lines of "here lies the clone commander rex who killed ahsoka tano before falling himself." The sabers were given back when obiwan and anakin asked Ahsoka to deal with Maul on Mandalore , while they rescued Palp at the start of RotS.

She used them in her last fight against Maul where she was left with a choice of saving Rex or continuing to fight Maul apparently. Source the new Ahsoka novel.

Noted, but in the future I'd appreciate you using spoiler tags when talking about new material.

The order gave her back the lightsabers and they were buried with rex's presumed grave with stone stating something along the lines of "here lies the clone commander rex who killed ahsoka tano before falling himself." The sabers were given back when obiwan and anakin asked Ahsoka to deal with Maul on Mandalore , while they rescued Palp at the start of RotS.

She used them in her last fight against Maul where she was left with a choice of saving Rex or continuing to fight Maul apparently. Source the new Ahsoka novel.

Noted, but in the future I'd appreciate you using spoiler tags when talking about new material.

Technically not new material. It's not info in the book nor is it officially released it is however considered canon, it was only mentioned in the Celebrations panel back a few months ago. In fact what I mentioned about Rex's supppsed funeral is closer to being a spoiler as it was a flashback in the book and not mentioned at celebrations. So apologies for that.

I can say I've never liked this. From the perspective of a role-playing game, I thought it was neat; you might never get another crystal, and it's nice to have a choice what color your iconic weapon will be, in much the same way others will choose their weapon type, and upgrade theme to fit their personality/character, but crystals should have colors as according to their physical properties. If the color "means something", it might be as restricting to a PC as saying "you found a blue crystal", or that meaning might not be as important as you thought.

I've never been so fond of the last decade's further melding of the Force, and the Jedi's favored weapon, as I've made it clear in other posts, and while I appreciate that, in this game, then, I might be able to say my blade is purple (sorry Windu; not so special, now), white, orange, or some other color, instead of "you get blue, or green, if I'm feeling saucy", outside that, I think it's dumb, and the Jedi, even as unified, indoctrinated, and all that they are, would sport more than two colors. It also takes something away from the sacrifice that led to Windu's "special" lightsaber. As for Sith red, I'm sticking to the synthetic crystals story, in my games. Besides, the choice is only relevant if you actually get to make your own. If you never get near a place you could find an untouched crystal, and instead "found your father's lightsaber", and choose to use it, as a memento of him, to take the fight for good to your enemies, it's already got a color, and nothing seems to hint that you can ever change it; find a crystal virgin, in the ground, you can, but once ANYBODY attunes it, you can never go back, even if you are a stronger connection to what changed it the first time. So, as I said, I'll stick with what used to be, at least as I understand it.

If this weren't the case, I'd think many Sith, themselves much more diverse of mindset than the Jedi, would demonstrate many more than two colors; certainly more than one, even if only to further emphasize their vaunted individuality.

Certainly, this is as much personal hurt at the way Star Wars has been handled, as anything else, and like an old curmudgeon, I'm not fond of change, especially when it's something i actually think I know a lot about, and when the changes are not, necessarily, yet for the better. There are parts of the prequels, Clone Wars, Rebels, TFA, and more that I really like, as well as things I can't stand, especially as I see the EU cleared away to make room for it, and, as I said, I'm not sure for the better. Of course, my vaunted EU had it's own fair share of plot holes, poor choices, and just plain dumb things, so I try to give the new stuff a fair shake. Please feel free to disagree, and use the various sources of information we've been given as you please. Hope your games are fun, whatever material you're using, and may the Force be with you!

I can say I've never liked this. From the perspective of a role-playing game, I thought it was neat; you might never get another crystal, and it's nice to have a choice what color your iconic weapon will be, in much the same way others will choose their weapon type, and upgrade theme to fit their personality/character, but crystals should have colors as according to their physical properties. If the color "means something", it might be as restricting to a PC as saying "you found a blue crystal", or that meaning might not be as important as you thought.

I've never been so fond of the last decade's further melding of the Force, and the Jedi's favored weapon, as I've made it clear in other posts, and while I appreciate that, in this game, then, I might be able to say my blade is purple (sorry Windu; not so special, now), white, orange, or some other color, instead of "you get blue, or green, if I'm feeling saucy", outside that, I think it's dumb, and the Jedi, even as unified, indoctrinated, and all that they are, would sport more than two colors. It also takes something away from the sacrifice that led to Windu's "special" lightsaber. As for Sith red, I'm sticking to the synthetic crystals story, in my games. Besides, the choice is only relevant if you actually get to make your own. If you never get near a place you could find an untouched crystal, and instead "found your father's lightsaber", and choose to use it, as a memento of him, to take the fight for good to your enemies, it's already got a color, and nothing seems to hint that you can ever change it; find a crystal virgin, in the ground, you can, but once ANYBODY attunes it, you can never go back, even if you are a stronger connection to what changed it the first time. So, as I said, I'll stick with what used to be, at least as I understand it.

When the Jedi split, they still used swords, imbued with the Force. After they parted, the Jedi created their first lightsabers; bulky, clunky affairs, with external batteries, connecting tubes, and wires, and a plethora of other limitations, while the fallen Jedi became one with the ancient Sith race. Still, these new Sith had trouble matching lightsabers, and created their tremor swords; vibro-blades with Sith Alchemy, to make them resistant to saber's cutting abilities. A few, though, coveted the weapons of their foes, and they captured several specimens. By this time, the hilts were more streamlined, as they are today, and so the Sith could cobble more together, but the crystals, those were another matter. The Sith couldn't find Ilum, and so had to make due with using their Alchemy, fabricating synthetic crystals to fill in for the Ilum, and Adegan, crystals they needed. A limitation in this process caused an impurity, and tinted the crystals red, thus why Sith lightsabers are often, uniformly, one color.

If this weren't the case, I'd think many Sith, themselves much more diverse of mindset than the Jedi, would demonstrate many more than two colors; certainly more than one, even if only to further emphasize their vaunted individuality.

Certainly, this is as much personal hurt at the way Star Wars has been handled, as anything else, and like an old curmudgeon, I'm not fond of change, especially when it's something i actually think I know a lot about, and when the changes are not, necessarily, yet for the better. There are parts of the prequels, Clone Wars, Rebels, TFA, and more that I really like, as well as things I can't stand, especially as I see the EU cleared away to make room for it, and, as I said, I'm not sure for the better. Of course, my vaunted EU had it's own fair share of plot holes, poor choices, and just plain dumb things, so I try to give the new stuff a fair shake. Please feel free to disagree, and use the various sources of information we've been given as you please. Hope your games are fun, whatever material you're using, and may the Force be with you!

Ultimately we have many explainations as to what gives the colour and we dont have to stick with canon, which is a good thing. Personally I prefer the canon explaination, I believe my GM doesnt.

Edit: for those that would like a written synopsis of what happened between the clone wars and the book. https://clonecorridor.wordpress.com/2016/07/16/swce-ahsoka-untold-tales/

Out of curiosity, who's the one relaying this tidbit about Sith having to steal crystals and why they always have red blades?

I ask because if it's not a Sith directly, then there is the possibility that whatever source of info Ahsoka is drawing upon could be mistaken. For instance, if it's from old Jedi teachings, then it could well be their information is woefully out of date, and that the modern Sith have devised other means to acquire kyber crystals. Or if it was a Sith, they could very well have lied; I wouldn't put it past a Sith Lord to deliver a falsehood to a hated enemy just to keep them in the dark about the Sith's true methods.

Personally, I like/prefer the idea of the Sith using synthetic crystals, as it fit with their notion of dominance, not only over others but over the Force, bending it to their will to create a replica of something natural, in a way making their lightsaber crystals "unnatural." It would also enable them procure kyber crystals in sufficient quantity for groups like the Inquisitors while not being as reliant upon ritual as the Jedi Order was.

This whole thing is also contingent upon Kyber crystals all being light-siders or pro-light ... who's to say that there don't exist any type of Kyber crystal that will reveal itself to a dark sider, or Sith ...

What I like about this, is that you could surprise your player with a white or blue or green saber that falls to the dark side ... and his companions, by having his saber turn red during an encounter ... because arguably, this light-side preference in the kyber crystals means they will change from whatever colour to red when stolen by a Sith/dark sider. hehehe!

The colour is decided at the point of attunement they doesnt get changed while in use. As for it being sith, remember not all darksiders are sith, in fact the inquistors are dark side users, the Grand Inquistor is a fallen Jedi, the other enquisitors are just dark siders and even Vader has been described as a fallen jedi instead of a Sith as it has often been described (more so in Legends) that unlike Dooku and Maul , Vader never really got to be taken on as a proper apprentice as Sidious kept most of that knowledge to himself, a more recent explaination was that Vader was only given little further training from the Emporer on dark side techniques because he felt that Anakin was no longer the man he once was after his duel with Kenobi. So while Vader was the Emporers servant he was never given a proper apprentice position ala Maul and Dooku.

In fact it would appear that even Mauls position as apprentice may have been less tenuous than believed as Dooku may have been the Emporer's apprentice at that time. It would seem that Sidious dangled that carrot when required to get people to do what he wanted.

The info on Sith having to steal crystals is included in the new Ahsoka book, however just to clarify its not Sith, its just that if a Darksider goes to Ilum for example they have no way of knowing what is ice and what is a suitable kyber crystal as the crystals are colourless (just to clarify this does not necessarily mean that a blade made with one is colourless, this automatically throws out the fact that the crystals themselves have colour even after attunement). In the book ,and in the Younglings arc of the Clone Wars, the crystals call out to the person looking for them, as per the will of the force. Sith and other darksiders who bend the force to their will rather than try to follow the "will of the force" cannot determine a kyber crystal from ice on Ilum, however Sidious had access to the crystals kept at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, and the process of a darksider forcing the crystal to attune for them, is what causes the metaphorical bleed. The sources of this information is taken from the new book, the Younglings arc in the clone wars, and also from Ahsoka's lost tales.

I'd prefer if they left it mysterious. We don't need any new revelations about how midichlorian radiation bombards the crystals and alters their hue...

I prefer what I read in the essential guide to weapons and technology. The green and blue crystals come from Ilum and the red crystals and synthetic ones made by the Sith. But that was older Canon.

I think this idea is just a bit silly.

I'd rather see the crystals being what they are, than they changing over time. And I'd say synthetic crystals are just fine example of Sith power and what you can do with the Force when you put yourself into it.

I like it, fits with the theme of the light being the harder path to follow and the dark side being quick and easy. Jedi have to be patient and find the crystals that are perfect for them, Sith can just take whatever they want and force them to attune.

I rather like the idea that a Sith Lightsaber Crystal when purified by a Jedi turns white because they lack their original hue.

Given the Sith's propensity for killing Jedi it doesn't stretch much that they corrupt the lightsaber crystals of their fallen foes to serve as their own weapon kind of also hints at Starkiller Base's original purpose if it was turned into something that turns entire star systems into charnel houses as another example of the Sith's cruel spite.

So Blue is for those who use the force for physical effects, whilst green is for those that seek to become one with the force or emphasize the philosophical side, purple apparently is when they try to mix light with the darkside...

Has anyone wondered about the old jedi who helped Ahsoka recover her stolen lightsaber during the Clone Wars series?

His were white too wasn't they?

Has anyone wondered about the old jedi who helped Ahsoka recover her stolen lightsaber during the Clone Wars series?

His were white too wasn't they?

I believe Filoni stated it was a very light blue, but it certainly looked white.

Ahsoka novel spoilers!