It goes without saying that the lightsaber in SWR is a powerful and deadly weapon - as it should be. But traits aside, the symbolic and iconic significance of the lightsaber cannot be underestimated.

So, I ask, who has had the weapon make an appearance in their games? Is it used by the NPCs or PCs, both or neither? How has its inclusion affected your game, its balance and its story?

I have not yet had a lightsaber appear in my games at all.

I haven't included it either, except as the tiniest hint of a threat when my Players were boarded by a Imperial force and there was an Inquisitor on board. Luckily the were smart enough to not do anything stupid.

I plan on bringing the Inquisitor back really soon, and this time, she will engage the PCs.

My biggest fear was the Force Sensitive Emergent just yanking the saber out of the Inquisitor's hand. I want the acquisition of a lightsaber to be a very momentous occasion, and not just looting it off of a corpse.

Fortunately, my fears are abated after talking it over with the good people on the d20Radio boards.

I am eager to see just how imbalanced they are. They can't be worse than the disruptor pistol, but thankfully none of my players have any interest in getting one.

My biggest fear was the Force Sensitive Emergent just yanking the saber out of the Inquisitor's hand.

A simple lanyard can do wonders to prevent such things.

My biggest fear was the Force Sensitive Emergent just yanking the saber out of the Inquisitor's hand.

A simple lanyard can do wonders to prevent such things.

It would if the Inquisitor actually knew of the FS:Em's tactics. Without going too much into detail, the FS:Em wasn't in the party when the main group first encountered the Inquisitor, and her appearance is more bad luck / coincidence than anything else.

But I have a good strategy lined up in any case. It should make for an intense encounter should it come to blows.

I've had a lightsaber appear... but its non-functional. The FSEx has the material (a crystal) and the know-how (taught by holocron) to put it together, but it is a roll and so far she's failed. The acquisition of a lightfoil made her happy, but she's hardly using it, preferring her blaster rifle with attached grenade launcher and targeting scope. I also support that decision, as she's deadly with a rifle! Her only use of the force is to read emotions and surface thoughts, which she uses as part of coercion and negotiations... yes, she on the brink as things stand now. She's not evil, not not nearly good either

So far I've used Move against my players a bit, it results in chaos! Throwing people onto people (perhaps they should have a "resistance" check?) causing lots of damage, using auto-fire pelting them with rocks unsuccessfully.

I'm looking forward to include an Inquisitor at some point, with a lightsaber, or even a double lightsaber. Mmmmyeees. That'd teach them for being uppity and arrogant.

I have a Jedi survivor as an NPC acting as an instructor for the groups force sensitive characters (he looks and acts like the tenth doctor!). He pulled the lightsaber ONCE afte months of traveling with the group, made four attacks, and saved the group from getting overrun by imperial forces. After the smoke cleared the group just stood there in awe of him and what he did as he had never attacked anyone. It was interesting seeing the group afford him such respect after that.

In my own game, there is only a single Force Sensitive (I had a cap in place before play that everyone knew of/was happy with), and there has been no mention of lightsabers or Jedi, Inquisitors or even Vader. Then again, the game is a play-by-post, meaning that it can take months before two Chapters are completed (with the trade-off of gameplay speed that the campaign consists of detailed and enjoyable posts).

I have plans to cover a lot of ground with regards to the Force-using traditions and their tools - but can't go into much detail as a lot of my players frequent these forums. Still, it should be very interesting to follow...

It goes without saying that the lightsaber in SWR is a powerful and deadly weapon - as it should be. But traits aside, the symbolic and iconic significance of the lightsaber cannot be underestimated.

So, I ask, who has had the weapon make an appearance in their games? Is it used by the NPCs or PCs, both or neither? How has its inclusion affected your game, its balance and its story?

As yet, functioning lightsabers have been exclusively the provenance of NPC's. One Saber-pike made its way to a PC's hands, but it was used solely to frame someone.

No lightsabers in the games I've run or played, at least not yet.

Admittedly, my PC in the one EotE game I am playing in does have the Jedi Initiate specialization from my Ways of the Force supplement. so I do (one day) have the option of acquiring a lightsaber... I'll just need a few thousand credits for parts and several days to build it, things the GM isn't really obligated to provide. In the meantime, I'm a bit more focused on reaching Force Rating 2 (only need 65 XP more to hit the talent) than on getting a lighsaber... though I did purchase Jedi Training so Lightsaber is now a career skill for Valin.

One of my players has a lightsaber. She didn't start the game with it, and really only got to use it for the first time yesterday. Also, it wasn't just given to her, it took a while for her to get one and be able to use it. Other than that I've had a saber show up one with time with a Forsaken Jedi. Coming up in the next game there is going to be an inquisitor, who will most likely have one as well. So, since release, I've had it show up three times.

One of my players has a lightsaber. She didn't start the game with it, and really only got to use it for the first time yesterday. Also, it wasn't just given to her, it took a while for her to get one and be able to use it. Other than that I've had a saber show up one with time with a Forsaken Jedi. Coming up in the next game there is going to be an inquisitor, who will most likely have one as well. So, since release, I've had it show up three times.

In the above instance, I assume you're using the Lightsaber custom skill?

My biggest fear was the Force Sensitive Emergent just yanking the saber out of the Inquisitor's hand.

A simple lanyard can do wonders to prevent such things.

It would if the Inquisitor actually knew of the FS:Em's tactics. Without going too much into detail, the FS:Em wasn't in the party when the main group first encountered the Inquisitor, and her appearance is more bad luck / coincidence than anything else.

But I have a good strategy lined up in any case. It should make for an intense encounter should it come to blows.

Inquisitors hunt for Force-Sensitives, so I'm sure they've seen the Move/disarm trick before. It doesn't take a genius to see the value in a lanyard so long as the Inquisitor isn't the type to throw the lightsaber like Vader is fond of doing.

I'm sorry Shakespearean_Soldier if we are hijacking your thread.

Good advice HappyDaze. I ultimately decided on the opposed discipline check for using the move power to grab the lightsaber out of her hand.

When the player first took the control upgrade that would allow him to grab held items from other people's hands, he expressed his surprise that the difficulty was so low. I told him that for most mooks it's not going to be a problem, but certain folks are made of sterner stuff. I told him that for tougher foes, it might be an opposed check. He was fine with this. So it's not going to be a surprise that it will be an opposed roll, though he probably wont expect the Inquisitor to have a discipline of 3 and an a willpower of 4. Plus, I might be a real stinker and flip a DP to upgrade the check. It depends on the tone at the time.

Should he succeed; well he might have some bigger trouble on his hands than trying to find someone who can teach him how to use it.

I had the party discover a derelict ship after they fluffed their hyperspace roll. After the avoided crashing into it they boarded and eventually found a stasis chamber which opened to release a Dark Jedi who had used the Stasis chamber to avoid death following a ship 'incident'. They managed to kill him after an epic fight but, unbeknownst to the party they broke it irrevocably during the fight. The Jawa in the party pocketed it (something that player does a lot annoyingly) but has yet to try to use it. I look forward to the attempt.

I have a strict "No Jedi" policy in my games so far. Of course, that only extends to PCs.

Unknown to them, they were working for a Jedi Exile-turned-crimelord who promised the party a way through the Imperial blockade around the planet in return for doing some work for her. She made good on their deal, but was found out by the Empire. The only time they got to see her lightsaber was as the gangplank on their ship rose, and they just caught a glimpse of her getting ready to square off against Vader.

A couple party members have expressed interest in recovering her lightsaber, though mostly as a memento. I made a blind roll and determined it's still out there somewhere, so who knows? Besides, none of them are Force-sensitive, so I'd limit any activities they could manage with it.

On the appearance of lightsabers in game, Zoe Robinson (the charmingly geeky lady in charge of art direction for FFG Star Wars RPG product lines) had an instance where the group she was playing with got their hands on one... with none of the characters recognizing what they'd found. As her PC was the captain of the ship, she had to institute a standing rule of "any weapon capable of hulling the ship is NOT ALLOWED ON BOARD MY SHIP!"

I'd like to think that if Valin (my teenage Force-sensitive street rat PC) ever found a lightsaber, he'd probably be stunned at first before sliding into a geeky "this is so cool!" Particularly once he clues in that his mentor actually gave him some Jedi training, such as "stick fights" that ostensibly were to sharpen up the boy's danger sense (Sense power's Ongoing Effects)

I'm actually currently in the process of finding out how to introduce a lighsaber later in the game. When my last game introduced a lighsaber, none of the players took up the chance to use it. This time, however, I have two force sensitives, which means I'm supposing they'll want to use one (they both were once Jedi/Sith). I'm currently thinking of having one of their allies, an Ithorian trader, giving them one on accident by giving them some cargo as a reward that happens to have lighsaber bits in it, which one of them will recognize.

The idea of a lighsaber in the games a good one for me.

Not had a light saber appear in game yet. I wonder if they "scream" Jedi to everyone though. Han and the other cantina patrons did not all immediately seem to suspect Kenobi of being a Jedi in the Cantina, although they certainly found the saber unusual. Similarly on the Falcon Han sneers about "Hokey Religions and Ancient Weapons".

This and a few other things make me suspect that contrary to the prequel trilogy the Jedi were already fading when Luke was born. Twenty years from Palpatine taking power to New Hope beginning is not a long time for the Jedi to be completely forgotten, or is it? Certainly I can see new innovations being adopted that quickly and people forgetting what life was like before them, but it seems quick to forget something that had existed "for a thousand generations".

I still go back and forth as to whether they were Jedi exclusive or not.

Not had a light saber appear in game yet. I wonder if they "scream" Jedi to everyone though. Han and the other cantina patrons did not all immediately seem to suspect Kenobi of being a Jedi in the Cantina, although they certainly found the saber unusual. Similarly on the Falcon Han sneers about "Hokey Religions and Ancient Weapons".

This and a few other things make me suspect that contrary to the prequel trilogy the Jedi were already fading when Luke was born. Twenty years from Palpatine taking power to New Hope beginning is not a long time for the Jedi to be completely forgotten, or is it? Certainly I can see new innovations being adopted that quickly and people forgetting what life was like before them, but it seems quick to forget something that had existed "for a thousand generations".

I still go back and forth as to whether they were Jedi exclusive or not.

Well, the lightsaber was a pretty iconic weapon of the Jedi Order, with other users being even more of a minority in the galaxy than a Jedi Knight.

As for the cantina scene, the patrons probably figured they were better off not screwing around with the old man that just cut down two dangerous men like it was no big deal. Sort of how if you were in a seedy bar and saw Glenn Jacobs (aka WWE's Kane) choke slam some annoying jerk through a table, you probably wouldn't be in a hurry to screw with him.

In regards to Han's derision during that fateful trip to Alderaan, that was probably a mix of a 20-year Imperial smear campaign and Jedi already being near-legendary figures (before the Clone Wars, there were 10,000 Jedi Knights and Masters, which in a galaxy with trillions upon trillions of sentient beings is a tiny percentage of the galactic populace). So never having seen the Force in use, it was easy for Han to laugh it off as "smoke and mirrors." Had Kenobi opted to bust out some telekinesis or Jedi mind tricks, Han might not have been so quick to dismiss it. I'd imagine Han was fairly dumb-founded when Vader stopped those blaster bolts with his gloved hand in ESB before using telekinesis to disarm Han of his trusty blaster pistol; the most Han had likely seen of the Force before that point was Luke doing what amounted to "parlor tricks," especially if you take into account his skepticism of Luke being a Jedi Knight in RotJ.

One of my players has a lightsaber. She didn't start the game with it, and really only got to use it for the first time yesterday. Also, it wasn't just given to her, it took a while for her to get one and be able to use it. Other than that I've had a saber show up one with time with a Forsaken Jedi. Coming up in the next game there is going to be an inquisitor, who will most likely have one as well. So, since release, I've had it show up three times.

In the above instance, I assume you're using the Lightsaber custom skill?

Yes, we use the skill connected with agility. I gave her the option of Agility or Brawn depending on what type of style of fighting she wanted to use. Basically, I went with what made the most sense for me and ran with it.

Meh, I'm in two minds about the glowsticks.

On the one hand, they're super-iconic, and SW isn't really SW without them.

On the other hand, they're horribly overpowered, and the thought of a whole bunch of players having them is a tad scary.

EVERYTHING about the Jedi is a tricky balance issue - too weak and that seems wrong in-universe... Too potent, and anyone who plays anything else instantly becomes a bit part player.

I think there's a VERY good reason FFG are leaving the glowstick users 'til last.

Besides, I hate the prequels and the whole 'Jedi Town' thing, and I'd actually like to keep them special and almost unique. I want Force-users to be rare in any era. One lightsaber on screen is cool. Two is super-cool. But twenty on the screen is 'meh'.

As for lightsabers themselves, I've already decided they can't be used by non-Force-users. No on/off switches, just a mental command to the crystal. In fact, probably a big penalty if you haven't attuned it previously. So sorry, any smugglers wanting to cut open a giant space kangaroo are gonna have to use a knife

I actually like the idea of a Jedi Temple. The Jedi seem to have evolved into the Shao Lin Monks of Star Wars.

I do agree with Donovan that anybody who pops a light saber in a bar fight is NOT someone I want to mess with.

I just hope that it takes a long experience curve to get people to the full fledged Jedi Knight stage. It seems that Obi Wan's self restraint is the only thing that keeps him from cake walking through everything. Luke in Return of the Jedi is in a similar situation.

It is only that Han, Chewie, Leia etc are pretty awesome at what they do that keeps them from being completely overshadowed by the Jedi.

Of course with light sabers being so awesome any character who wears or displays one openly is going to become am instant thief magnet and center of trouble. After all the Jedi are extinct, so who ever is carrying a saber is no Jedi....

As for lightsabers themselves, I've already decided they can't be used by non-Force-users. No on/off switches, just a mental command to the crystal. In fact, probably a big penalty if you haven't attuned it previously. So sorry, any smugglers wanting to cut open a giant space kangaroo are gonna have to use a knife

I like this idea.

As for lightsabers themselves, I've already decided they can't be used by non-Force-users. No on/off switches, just a mental command to the crystal. In fact, probably a big penalty if you haven't attuned it previously. So sorry, any smugglers wanting to cut open a giant space kangaroo are gonna have to use a knife

I see your argument, and raise you one instance of Han using Luke's lightsaber on Hoth. But you could always attribute that to latent Force sensitivity in Han, or else Luke subconsciously allowing it to be activated. Either works.