Any good homebrew version a light saber for DnD? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Any good homebrew version a light saber for DnD? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Beau
03-17-07, 02:49 AM I'm sure it's been done and asked about before but I am new back to game after a 18 year hiatus. I am looking for ideas and examples.
I am wondering about creating a spell or magic item that duplicates the star wars weapon and perhaps having it aligned good and positive energy to do more against undead and evil outsiders. I am also interested in possible cool feats to use in conjunction with wielding light saber?
thanks
1hitparry
03-17-07, 03:14 AM Brilliant Energy Weapon Enhancement might work.

Failing that, I think KOTOR's Lightsaber was something like 2d10 19-20 x 2.
The WarOverlord
03-17-07, 09:30 AM I'm sure it's been done and asked about before but I am new back to game after a 18 year hiatus. I am looking for ideas and examples.
I am wondering about creating a spell or magic item that duplicates the star wars weapon and perhaps having it aligned good and positive energy to do more against undead and evil outsiders. I am also interested in possible cool feats to use in conjunction with wielding light saber?
thanks

Yeah, if you want to get technical, a Light Saber is basically uses a Special Uncut Crystal from Tatooine as a focus to create a Stream of Plasma suspended in a magnetic field.

What makes it a "jedi Weapon" is that the crystal is uncut and the Jedi must use the "Force" to adjust the power couplings and such in the Light saber
to avoid the thing turning into a mini nuclear bomb (Which is why Luke making his own light Saber was such a big deal in Ep 6)

And with all that 2d10 19-20 x 2 and the ability to occasionally slice someone in half, behead them, or "disarm" them isn't really worth it.....especially since most bladed weapons....especially the likes of a Halberd have there own advantages (Such as a Halberd being known to go through a metal helm and only being stopped by the bones in the rib cage of the chest after loosing some momentum)

Hmmm, Magic wise it looks like you want one of them blade-a-like spells that create a sword of energy (positive/Negative) with some divine energy aspects.

Feat wise, the Jedi's are Monks with their Light Saber use involving perhaps Weapon finesse, weapon specialization, dodge, uncanny dodge, improved parrying, weapon focus, deflect arrows/projectiles (with light saber), and Zen Weapon (light Saber)
HomebrewedMonster
03-17-07, 11:16 AM Jedi are psionic warriors.

As for the lightsaber, a +1 sword with a glamered spell on it. As a DM if you paid the glamer cost to your weapon I would allow it to look like a lightsaber.
Grod_The_Giant
03-17-07, 11:24 AM Jedi are psionic warriors.

With Vow of Poverty. They're really more multi-class monk/psion.
Werebat
03-17-07, 12:05 PM I'm sure it's been done and asked about before but I am new back to game after a 18 year hiatus. I am looking for ideas and examples.
I am wondering about creating a spell or magic item that duplicates the star wars weapon and perhaps having it aligned good and positive energy to do more against undead and evil outsiders. I am also interested in possible cool feats to use in conjunction with wielding light saber?
thanks

Yeah, I use some weapons like lightsabers in my "wasteland" campaign. Essentially they are adamantine weapons (because they can cut through metal, stone, and such) with the special ability of weighing only as much as a dagger (because the blade itself is weightless energy). They can be activated and deactivated as free actions, and when activated they shed light as a torch.

No one IMC has ever bought or sold one, although many PCs have acquired them (mostly as rewards for completing quests for the Fists of Zuoken monks who craft them). I'd set the price as just a little bit higher than adamantine weapons. Of course they can be enchanted, and most of the time players do have them enchanted.

Oh, I think they might be considered light weapons regardless of which weapon they emulate. This would hike the price up a bit.

- Ron ^*^
Moccanime
03-17-07, 02:07 PM Any good homebrew version a light saber for DnD?

Briliant Energy Longsword
Tempest Stormwind
03-17-07, 02:38 PM Or you could stop looking at the equipment tables and start looking where you get lightsaber-like effects.

Wand (or similar hilt-like item, like a rod) of Flame Blade (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/flameBlade.htm), with appropriate metamagic effects on it (empower, energy sub, energy admixture, and so on). Note that spells bypass DR anyway, the touch attack bypasses armor, and with the right admixtures it can bypass most hardness as well. Describe it as a shaft of light instead of a burning scimitar and you're gold.

If you don't like that imagery, the FRCS has a similar spell, Moon Blade, that literally DOES look like a lightsaber.
WinterPsionic
03-17-07, 03:41 PM I call it a few levels in Soulknife :D (Base Class in Expanded Psionics Handbook)

(No need to say anything Tempest I know how you feel about the idea)

IMHO a Jedi is nothing more then a Gestalt Soulknife/Psion(Telepath)...or one of a few other disciplines.:D
The_Cheeseman
03-17-07, 08:00 PM According to Star Wars D20:

2d8/19-20/x2; deals energy damage; 1-handed exotic weapon; ignores DR and hardness; may be used with Weapon Finesse.

I guess you could use fire as energy damage, since that's about as close as D&D gets to a laser. Maybe say that the damage counts as havign the light descriptor, for the purposes of resistances and immunities, etc. (the ephemeral hangman monster only takes lethal damage from light-based attacks, for example).

Personally, I'd make it more like this:

Light, exotic melee weapon; damage: 1d10/x3 [light]; attacks ignore armor, natural armor, and shield bonuses to AC except those from force effects; damage rolls do not benefit from Strength bonus; ignores first 20 points of hardness and extraordinary (not supernatural) forms of damage reduction.
SolkaTruesilver
03-18-07, 02:33 AM I'm pretty sure the Lightsaber should have the "vorpal" quality somewhere... Making it a true dangerous weapon to face..
TheOinodaemon
03-18-07, 04:24 AM Simple Version: Brilliant Energy Longsword.
SolkaTruesilver
03-18-07, 06:05 AM No good. It would mean the sword ignore anything unliving, such as doors, elementals and golems.

We should not forget that the sword should be able to cut trough any armor, sundering it on the spot (and also sundering shields if used to block an attack).
longlivetheloud
03-18-07, 08:24 AM Star Trek>Star Wars
SolkaTruesilver
03-18-07, 10:37 AM Hey, you will need first to create the stats of a decent Bat'leth before even thinking of a LightBat'leth!

So until then, let's stick to the Jedi Sword...
Mirannan
03-18-07, 10:40 AM My take on this is a soulknife with enough levels to have a longsword mindblade, with a few levels in Illumine Soul (Complete Psionic).
longlivetheloud
03-18-07, 10:53 AM hmmm. i wonder what the stats would be of a Bat'leth...

maybe the equivalent to a orc double axe? or maybe the equivalent of two scimitars? hmmm.
That was not a bad idea.
Tempest Stormwind
03-18-07, 12:42 PM We should not forget that the sword should be able to cut trough any armor, sundering it on the spot (and also sundering shields if used to block an attack).Which the flame blade spell (or Moon Blade, which actually is a shaft of light) would be able to do easier than most other weapons, since it's both a touch attack AND it bypasses hardness (moon blade more than flame blade on that one).
treyfelter
03-18-07, 05:06 PM I love the idea of a rod of moonblade (or flameblade) but how much would something like that cost?
dengarbountyhunter
03-18-07, 05:18 PM We'd have to create a D&D cortosis (a Star Wars material very resilient to energy, including lightsabers. Some vibroblades are made of cortosis to fight Jedi with).
TheOinodaemon
03-18-07, 05:29 PM Forgot about brilliant energy not effecting the objects, good call. Moon Blade is a good idea. Could just be a wand (or ring, or bracer, gauntlets...whatever) that casts Moon Blade.

Lightsabers should ignore armor, but maybe not adamantine, partially because of its suposed toughness and partially because it keeps us from having to make a new medal.

Doesn't the bat'leth curve forward? That would make the weapon more of a chopping, stabbing weapon, as opposed to the slicing cut of a scimitar. Should make the weapon more like an ax.
The_Cheeseman
03-18-07, 05:42 PM Oh, you mean that "special" and "rare" metal that just happened to comprise every suit of armor in the game in KotOR? You could probably just make adamantine do that, if needed. I doubt lightsabers would be common (or affordable) enough to warrant it, however.
The WarOverlord
03-19-07, 03:19 PM Jedi are psionic warriors.

As for the lightsaber, a +1 sword with a glamered spell on it. As a DM if you paid the glamer cost to your weapon I would allow it to look like a lightsaber.

Well, they say "Knights" in their orders name, but are more peace keepers when they are not looking inward to be one with the Force.

Xencian Monks (Myan History...which George Lucas is a nut for)

It is clearly stated by them that they learn to use "The Force" which permeates the Universe and all living things and the connections between them, so they are talking more about a preserverism (Jedi) and defilerism (Sith) type of Sorcery then using just their own internal life energy which defines Psionic Disciplines

The Monks of Xenca Sacrifice themselves to "the Void" which is also the Sorce that "all Magic" comes from and the same energy that creates life and thought and usually were mistaken for Mystics or Sorcerers or even Shamans because of their abilities to foretell future as well as heal along with speaking with the dead (and of course laying waste to crops and life in the case of the Sith)

ANYWAYS BACK ON TOPIC

Except for looking cool when turning the thing on and off...which is lost when going from the Big Screen into a P&P game...the thing is in essence a Vopal Sword or Sword of Sharpness.

The only other real benifit is their magnetic containment fields will allow one Light saber to block another one, but otherwise the thing will cut through all other material weapons and shileds that try to parry it, not to mention all types of armor short of force field type armor like Mage Armor or Globe of invunrability.

So, yeah, basically a Munchkined out Vorpal Sword.
dengarbountyhunter
03-19-07, 09:26 PM About cortosis: they could not make KOTOR lightsabers bypass (or even cut through) all vibroblades and armor without making them uber-weapons of doom (which they are in the rest of the SW universe, but the game balance of KOTOR would be thrown out the window if they were in the game).
dragonseth
03-19-07, 11:59 PM Illumine Soul was a great idea, Mirannan. I've always pictured Soulknives as the best way to do lightsabers, anyway.
Rookbird
03-20-07, 12:10 AM Jedi seem to use two-hands to grip their sabers a lot more often than they would if it was a light weapon and didn't have that function.
Masterfulks
03-20-07, 01:01 AM In one of my games a gift to the PC's was a special scabbard.

It was based off a bag of holding. It was a small cap that allowed the blade to be completely hidden. Swords were made to snap into it with no crossguard and then you could slip around armed and not be detected as easy.

Something like that would help to hide the blade, and isn't terribly imbalancing.
Gadren
03-20-07, 01:34 AM There's the rod of force in MIC...
Werebat
03-20-07, 01:51 AM According to Star Wars D20:

2d8/19-20/x2; deals energy damage; 1-handed exotic weapon; ignores DR and hardness; may be used with Weapon Finesse.

Wow, hmm, kinda like how I ruled it. Pretty cool.

You could make "energy" damage "light" damage (not much is resistant to that, it'd hike up the price a bit further than the faux-adamantine version I use). 1-handed weapon is fine, you can still USE it with 2 hands if you want to, and some Jedi often do. Useable with Weapon Finesse is good.

If you want to make Vorpal standard, that would work thematically, but it would also make them prohibitively expensive. Eh, not Vorpal either, it'd be the one that used to hack off limbs too -- sharpness? Not sure if that made the cut for 3E.

Not sure how much this would all cost, certainly more than adamantium. Quite a bit more, now that I notice the damage.

- Ron ^*^

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Beau 03-17-07, 02:49 AM	I'm sure it's been done and asked about before but I am new back to game after a 18 year hiatus. I am looking for ideas and examples. I am wondering about creating a spell or magic item that duplicates the star wars weapon and perhaps having it aligned good and positive energy to do more against undead and evil outsiders. I am also interested in possible cool feats to use in conjunction with wielding light saber? thanks
1hitparry 03-17-07, 03:14 AM	Brilliant Energy Weapon Enhancement might work. Failing that, I think KOTOR's Lightsaber was something like 2d10 19-20 x 2.
The WarOverlord 03-17-07, 09:30 AM	I'm sure it's been done and asked about before but I am new back to game after a 18 year hiatus. I am looking for ideas and examples. I am wondering about creating a spell or magic item that duplicates the star wars weapon and perhaps having it aligned good and positive energy to do more against undead and evil outsiders. I am also interested in possible cool feats to use in conjunction with wielding light saber? thanks Yeah, if you want to get technical, a Light Saber is basically uses a Special Uncut Crystal from Tatooine as a focus to create a Stream of Plasma suspended in a magnetic field. What makes it a "jedi Weapon" is that the crystal is uncut and the Jedi must use the "Force" to adjust the power couplings and such in the Light saber to avoid the thing turning into a mini nuclear bomb (Which is why Luke making his own light Saber was such a big deal in Ep 6) And with all that 2d10 19-20 x 2 and the ability to occasionally slice someone in half, behead them, or "disarm" them isn't really worth it.....especially since most bladed weapons....especially the likes of a Halberd have there own advantages (Such as a Halberd being known to go through a metal helm and only being stopped by the bones in the rib cage of the chest after loosing some momentum) Hmmm, Magic wise it looks like you want one of them blade-a-like spells that create a sword of energy (positive/Negative) with some divine energy aspects. Feat wise, the Jedi's are Monks with their Light Saber use involving perhaps Weapon finesse, weapon specialization, dodge, uncanny dodge, improved parrying, weapon focus, deflect arrows/projectiles (with light saber), and Zen Weapon (light Saber)
HomebrewedMonster 03-17-07, 11:16 AM	Jedi are psionic warriors. As for the lightsaber, a +1 sword with a glamered spell on it. As a DM if you paid the glamer cost to your weapon I would allow it to look like a lightsaber.
Grod_The_Giant 03-17-07, 11:24 AM	Jedi are psionic warriors. With Vow of Poverty. They're really more multi-class monk/psion.
Werebat 03-17-07, 12:05 PM	I'm sure it's been done and asked about before but I am new back to game after a 18 year hiatus. I am looking for ideas and examples. I am wondering about creating a spell or magic item that duplicates the star wars weapon and perhaps having it aligned good and positive energy to do more against undead and evil outsiders. I am also interested in possible cool feats to use in conjunction with wielding light saber? thanks Yeah, I use some weapons like lightsabers in my "wasteland" campaign. Essentially they are adamantine weapons (because they can cut through metal, stone, and such) with the special ability of weighing only as much as a dagger (because the blade itself is weightless energy). They can be activated and deactivated as free actions, and when activated they shed light as a torch. No one IMC has ever bought or sold one, although many PCs have acquired them (mostly as rewards for completing quests for the Fists of Zuoken monks who craft them). I'd set the price as just a little bit higher than adamantine weapons. Of course they can be enchanted, and most of the time players do have them enchanted. Oh, I think they might be considered light weapons regardless of which weapon they emulate. This would hike the price up a bit. - Ron ^*^
Moccanime 03-17-07, 02:07 PM	Any good homebrew version a light saber for DnD? Briliant Energy Longsword
Tempest Stormwind 03-17-07, 02:38 PM	Or you could stop looking at the equipment tables and start looking where you get lightsaber-like effects. Wand (or similar hilt-like item, like a rod) of Flame Blade (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/flameBlade.htm), with appropriate metamagic effects on it (empower, energy sub, energy admixture, and so on). Note that spells bypass DR anyway, the touch attack bypasses armor, and with the right admixtures it can bypass most hardness as well. Describe it as a shaft of light instead of a burning scimitar and you're gold. If you don't like that imagery, the FRCS has a similar spell, Moon Blade, that literally DOES look like a lightsaber.
WinterPsionic 03-17-07, 03:41 PM	I call it a few levels in Soulknife :D (Base Class in Expanded Psionics Handbook) (No need to say anything Tempest I know how you feel about the idea) IMHO a Jedi is nothing more then a Gestalt Soulknife/Psion(Telepath)...or one of a few other disciplines.:D
The_Cheeseman 03-17-07, 08:00 PM	According to Star Wars D20: 2d8/19-20/x2; deals energy damage; 1-handed exotic weapon; ignores DR and hardness; may be used with Weapon Finesse. I guess you could use fire as energy damage, since that's about as close as D&D gets to a laser. Maybe say that the damage counts as havign the light descriptor, for the purposes of resistances and immunities, etc. (the ephemeral hangman monster only takes lethal damage from light-based attacks, for example). Personally, I'd make it more like this: Light, exotic melee weapon; damage: 1d10/x3 [light]; attacks ignore armor, natural armor, and shield bonuses to AC except those from force effects; damage rolls do not benefit from Strength bonus; ignores first 20 points of hardness and extraordinary (not supernatural) forms of damage reduction.
SolkaTruesilver 03-18-07, 02:33 AM	I'm pretty sure the Lightsaber should have the "vorpal" quality somewhere... Making it a true dangerous weapon to face..
TheOinodaemon 03-18-07, 04:24 AM	Simple Version: Brilliant Energy Longsword.
SolkaTruesilver 03-18-07, 06:05 AM	No good. It would mean the sword ignore anything unliving, such as doors, elementals and golems. We should not forget that the sword should be able to cut trough any armor, sundering it on the spot (and also sundering shields if used to block an attack).
longlivetheloud 03-18-07, 08:24 AM	Star Trek>Star Wars
SolkaTruesilver 03-18-07, 10:37 AM	Hey, you will need first to create the stats of a decent Bat'leth before even thinking of a LightBat'leth! So until then, let's stick to the Jedi Sword...
Mirannan 03-18-07, 10:40 AM	My take on this is a soulknife with enough levels to have a longsword mindblade, with a few levels in Illumine Soul (Complete Psionic).
longlivetheloud 03-18-07, 10:53 AM	hmmm. i wonder what the stats would be of a Bat'leth... maybe the equivalent to a orc double axe? or maybe the equivalent of two scimitars? hmmm. That was not a bad idea.
Tempest Stormwind 03-18-07, 12:42 PM	We should not forget that the sword should be able to cut trough any armor, sundering it on the spot (and also sundering shields if used to block an attack).Which the flame blade spell (or Moon Blade, which actually is a shaft of light) would be able to do easier than most other weapons, since it's both a touch attack AND it bypasses hardness (moon blade more than flame blade on that one).
treyfelter 03-18-07, 05:06 PM	I love the idea of a rod of moonblade (or flameblade) but how much would something like that cost?
dengarbountyhunter 03-18-07, 05:18 PM	We'd have to create a D&D cortosis (a Star Wars material very resilient to energy, including lightsabers. Some vibroblades are made of cortosis to fight Jedi with).
TheOinodaemon 03-18-07, 05:29 PM	Forgot about brilliant energy not effecting the objects, good call. Moon Blade is a good idea. Could just be a wand (or ring, or bracer, gauntlets...whatever) that casts Moon Blade. Lightsabers should ignore armor, but maybe not adamantine, partially because of its suposed toughness and partially because it keeps us from having to make a new medal. Doesn't the bat'leth curve forward? That would make the weapon more of a chopping, stabbing weapon, as opposed to the slicing cut of a scimitar. Should make the weapon more like an ax.
The_Cheeseman 03-18-07, 05:42 PM	Oh, you mean that "special" and "rare" metal that just happened to comprise every suit of armor in the game in KotOR? You could probably just make adamantine do that, if needed. I doubt lightsabers would be common (or affordable) enough to warrant it, however.
The WarOverlord 03-19-07, 03:19 PM	Jedi are psionic warriors. As for the lightsaber, a +1 sword with a glamered spell on it. As a DM if you paid the glamer cost to your weapon I would allow it to look like a lightsaber. Well, they say "Knights" in their orders name, but are more peace keepers when they are not looking inward to be one with the Force. Xencian Monks (Myan History...which George Lucas is a nut for) It is clearly stated by them that they learn to use "The Force" which permeates the Universe and all living things and the connections between them, so they are talking more about a preserverism (Jedi) and defilerism (Sith) type of Sorcery then using just their own internal life energy which defines Psionic Disciplines The Monks of Xenca Sacrifice themselves to "the Void" which is also the Sorce that "all Magic" comes from and the same energy that creates life and thought and usually were mistaken for Mystics or Sorcerers or even Shamans because of their abilities to foretell future as well as heal along with speaking with the dead (and of course laying waste to crops and life in the case of the Sith) ANYWAYS BACK ON TOPIC Except for looking cool when turning the thing on and off...which is lost when going from the Big Screen into a P&P game...the thing is in essence a Vopal Sword or Sword of Sharpness. The only other real benifit is their magnetic containment fields will allow one Light saber to block another one, but otherwise the thing will cut through all other material weapons and shileds that try to parry it, not to mention all types of armor short of force field type armor like Mage Armor or Globe of invunrability. So, yeah, basically a Munchkined out Vorpal Sword.
dengarbountyhunter 03-19-07, 09:26 PM	About cortosis: they could not make KOTOR lightsabers bypass (or even cut through) all vibroblades and armor without making them uber-weapons of doom (which they are in the rest of the SW universe, but the game balance of KOTOR would be thrown out the window if they were in the game).
dragonseth 03-19-07, 11:59 PM	Illumine Soul was a great idea, Mirannan. I've always pictured Soulknives as the best way to do lightsabers, anyway.
Rookbird 03-20-07, 12:10 AM	Jedi seem to use two-hands to grip their sabers a lot more often than they would if it was a light weapon and didn't have that function.
Masterfulks 03-20-07, 01:01 AM	In one of my games a gift to the PC's was a special scabbard. It was based off a bag of holding. It was a small cap that allowed the blade to be completely hidden. Swords were made to snap into it with no crossguard and then you could slip around armed and not be detected as easy. Something like that would help to hide the blade, and isn't terribly imbalancing.
Gadren 03-20-07, 01:34 AM	There's the rod of force in MIC...
Werebat 03-20-07, 01:51 AM	According to Star Wars D20: 2d8/19-20/x2; deals energy damage; 1-handed exotic weapon; ignores DR and hardness; may be used with Weapon Finesse. Wow, hmm, kinda like how I ruled it. Pretty cool. You could make "energy" damage "light" damage (not much is resistant to that, it'd hike up the price a bit further than the faux-adamantine version I use). 1-handed weapon is fine, you can still USE it with 2 hands if you want to, and some Jedi often do. Useable with Weapon Finesse is good. If you want to make Vorpal standard, that would work thematically, but it would also make them prohibitively expensive. Eh, not Vorpal either, it'd be the one that used to hack off limbs too -- sharpness? Not sure if that made the cut for 3E. Not sure how much this would all cost, certainly more than adamantium. Quite a bit more, now that I notice the damage. - Ron ^*^