After seeing the new Star Wars, I started thinking: how would you do the lightsaber in fantasy? Now, I don't mean how you'd literally just implement the lightsaber mechanically, but how you'd best represent the flavor it brings.
What I mean by this is that the lightsaber, especially in the original movies, represents something different than just a powerful weapon. As Obi-Wan puts it, it's an "Elegant weapon, for a more civilized time." To me, the lightsaber was always this powerful, distinctive weapon of a mysterious, distinctive order of warriors. It did something definitive and powerful, while still having the feel of a tool chosen by an organization, not some kind of a superpowered magical weapon that's distinctive by itself. It was powerful, but required training and knowledge of how to utilize it.
Now, in regular old fantasy, I feel that putting in an energy sword that cuts through everything just wouldn't have the same feel to it. It would need to be something powerful, exotic and distinctive in a different way, a way that makes it feel kind of like something that belongs in the setting, but still distinctive. It'd need to have some kind of a powerful property, but one that's straightforward while still being impactful.
So, how would you replicate the "feel" and meaning of the lightsaber in another setting, without actually just copypasting the physical thing itself?
>>44431973
Make 'em Divine. They're powered by the innate divine spark of the wielder. Feeding that spark or growing closer to it? Understanding the true nature of the divine gives more power to your spark and thus your sparkblade.
Have an order of paladins that wield glass swords that when wielded by a normal person, break like normal glass but when wielded by a paladin trained by this order, are deadly weapons.
>>44431973
Make any weapon have tyhe following
Flashy, eye catching and conspicuous
Impractical, but somehow defeats a weapon that should by all rational beat it
Dangerous to the wielder, unless they have plot armor
Its like Excalibur, that lights up and reflects arrows back at the opponent who shot them, by swinging it wildly, and needs psionics to wield properly without slicing yourself in half
Make it like Lazer Tag Academy, where only a certain lineage/ religion/ race/ etc. can make use of them. For anybody else they're just metal handles.
>>44431973
Screw lightsabers, I'd rather have stun batons wielded by honorable and devoted paladins.
Also, they're easier to balance since they don't automatically cut through everything.
>>44432235
Agreed.
>>44431973
TRAITOR
>>44432235
>paladins
>word of God calls your organization "sinister"
>>44431973
>So, how would you replicate the "feel" and meaning of the lightsaber in another setting, without actually just copypasting the physical thing itself?
Make a simple magic sword, ideally in a low fantasy setting.
The rest comes from how you treat the people who use the weapon. Keep them and the usage of the weapon mystical and don't make them the focus of the setting. The worst thing you can do with magical weapons is have every important character use it. Steller example in badness here is kingdom hearts. That series goes from "you have to face the darkness because you hold the one and only weapon that can fight it" to handing that weapon out as the punchline of a joke.
The light saber itself is treated like a katana with all the mysticism the west got for it through the US and Japan. So you're in for a once great order of exalted and wise warriors who now have come to live as hermits or whatever. If you're a bad writer or put too much focus on them the whole thing will probably be really cringy.
My take would be to have some trait and build your warrior order around that and not just go "wise and powerful".
For example, the order is build from the remnants of a small troup of soldiers that long ago fought of an overwelming invading force, their magic swords reforged from the broken blades of that day and only given to those sworn to defend the realm.
The powers of the weapon don't matter, the story behind it does.
>>44432235
I guess that would work for a fantasy feel pretty well, also. Like, the chosen weapon of an ancient, fallen order of warriors is some kind of a hammer or a mace that can really, really whack shit. Not just whack it good, but whack it all the way. Throws people around, breaks down doors and shit, stuff like that. It's a straightforward enchantment, but one that's quite distinctive visually and has a lot of impact (pun possibly intended). Can also be used in plenty of ways by clever (or brutish) wielders.
Elegance is in question, though. But anyway, maybe they should look like bar maces or metal rods instead of hammers or maces. It'd make them a bit more distinctive.
>>44431973
Sunblade
>>44431973
Check Tenchi Muyo. They are fighting with lightsabers and force abilities, essentially.
>>44432319
>The powers of the weapon don't matter, the story behind it does.
They do matter in many games, though. If there's no mechanical punch to the thing and it doesn't actually feel like much to the player whose character has one, it's not gonna make them think much of it.
Of course, that can be alleviated by doing something like you said, like having it be a powerful magic weapon in a setting that usually doesn't have those, and everyone's all "Whoa holy shit" when one turns up. But if the OP's talking about a more high magic setting, then it'd probably have to be something more distinctive than that.
>>44431973
Sharblades.
>>44432235
The traitor! trooper is the only small good thing to come out of the train wreck that is ep 7
>>44432321
That would be incredibly badass.
>>44431973
A status sumbol weapon would have to be expensive and gaudy, yet easily carried. Swords are obvious choices but perhaps flip conventions and make it a gun. In the world only an elite society alllows or hold the technology for firearms. They would be noticed by the ornate wheellock sidearms or long rifles they carry around.
>>44431973
i think the weapon in question needs to be based on an incredibly simple idea. a lightsaber is a type of sword that is enhanced by the users power.
i like the mace/hammer idea of >>44432321
; i could also see using just a simple club. maybe the club could be also used as a thrown weapon with a returning enchantment.
>>44432379
Well yeah, in a game the weapon has to be actually usable because otherwise you're removing a bunch of players from experiencing that story.
I didn't mention it because it's kind of a no-brainer to keep as many option playable in your game as you can. At least as long as analysing a meta isn't part of the game.
>>44431973
Have an order of Paladins thatwield pistols
>>44432321
>some kind of a hammer or a mace that can really, really whack shit.
A magical extending truncheon could definitely do the stun-baton justice.
Also agreeing with having some powers regarding knockbacks, knockdowns, and disarms. Also, that thing should definitely be good at smashing down doors and walls.
Instead of cutting things into pieces, make it have a cooler effect. Like control a bunch of objects with sword motions until you can effectively fight with 100 blades or some anime shit like that.
>>44432748
impact mace. bar mace that gains power when swung and on impact, the hit object is launched away.
cliff you need to climb? the mace's enchantment protects its holder from damage. slam the earth and launch yourself into the air.
skilled users ricochet around the battlefield, blurring and nearly impossible to hit.
fluxes in the gravity magic required to warp space used in an impact mace's construction results in a very difficult weapon to control. its momentum increases very rapidly and can knock the user off their feet. Long hours of practice or psychic sensitivity are required to wield the weapon effectively.
A master is capable of launching car-sized projectiles while moving at speeds that make them night impossible to hit.
>>44432379
I think it shouldn't necessarily be about the story of the weapon, so much as what that weapon says about the wielder.
If we take >>44432319 's suggestion that the weapons are reforged from an overwhelmed troup of soldiers who held off the Invaders, think about what that weapon says about the person holding it. Are they a brave and heroic soldier, giving their all for the kingdom against the Hordes from the West? They might be something else entirely, one of the Western folk who took the sword from a fallen Soldier. Our Sith-Analogue as it were, arrogant and disdainful, holding the weapon as a trophy.
The weapon itself isn't the focus, it can be a mace or it can be a sword. But it has to be recognisable, perhaps when it is drawn one can hear the sounds of that last stand and people are inspired and awed while those weak of will feel cowardice tug at their gut and they abandon the battle?
>>44432084
This aint terrible. A glass sword would be incredibly sharp and effective in the right hands in the right circumstances.
You would need a lot of training to be able to use effectively and not break it.
I seem to recall having an order of warriors in my game whose weapons were magically linked to them, basically by literally breaking off the tip of the blade into the owner's heart in a magical ritual. It gave their bladed weapons a distinctive look, and also the name of the order, the Broken Blades.
The weapons themselves had a few effects, some of which were more related to the process of linking than others. For example, when the wielder cuts something, he intuitively detects different things from the opponent or the thing being cut. Also, the blade itself gains a degree of sentience, and could alter itself subtly in response to things cut, so as to be able to overcome defenses or immunities. It could also reform if damaged further.
The order in question was more of a brutish but really effective supernatural mercenary gang/guild, but I guess you could pretty easily apply this to some other context.
Oh, and I also had some backstory about the first human king who had an awesome magic sword, but shattered it to countless pieces which were forged into the swords of his soldiers. The closer those pieces were to each other, the more power they'd provide to the soldiers as a whole, meaning that as long as his army was united and harmonious, they would be nearly invincible.
That got some play, with the characters trying to find some of these ancient swords and increasing their power as they did, but it didn't go far. Still, I liked the idea.
>>44432361
I was going to suggest something like this: a sword that acts as a focus for its wielder, and is just aware enough to pick and choose who it will work with. Something like >>44432084 could be cool as well.
>>44432941
Not this size, but this look?
Phwoar. Projectile attacks too right?
>>44433107
look wise yes.
projectiles maybe? I actually have a character who uses glass magic/projectiles and it can work, but i dunno if it would fit in with the theme of a single tool that makes an order recognizable.
Another reason I like the glass sword idea is that anyone trained with it would have a distinctive and highly recognizable fighting style.
>>44431973
Pick a weapon, create from it's flavor (both historical and in-game) an order of warrior-monks that use it, and have it be rare. It doesn't necessarily need to be exotic IRL, just in the game's world. Bonus points if the weapon is created by the user.
Spiked Chain. Originally wielded by pit fighters in the gladiatorial games of the capital city of whateveristan. They were levied into an emergency defense force when the city was attacked, and managed to clean house to such an impressive degree that the emperor freed them all from slavery, and they banded together to form a mercenary group that persists to this day.
Crossbow. A certain order of knights uses this dangerous and powerful machine that can make anyone as strong as the most feared archer. They revere knowledge, especially related to engineering, and pass the secret knowledge of how to build and maintain their signature weapon down to their squires.
Macuahuitl. On a volcanic isle to the west their exists a monastary dedicated to the worship of a pantheon more ancient than even the Elves know. Divided into strictly regimented castes, those who are chosen to be warriors must prove their mettle by descending into the temperamental volcano with nothing, and emerge from it with a weapon. They will repeat this journey many times throughout their life, replacing their signature (if fragile) armament.
Battle Ladder. Gnomes are fucking dumb. Nevertheless, their exists a paramilitary organization specializing in siege warfare that uses these as their signature arm. Nobody is quite sure why.
>>44433194
I dunno, glass swords seems like a pretty unified, but still visually distinctive design. You'd have to fluff it pretty well to make it convincing and cool, but the elements are there.
The glass might be symbolic, or it might be some sort of a mythical or supernatural substance (from space, other dimensions, depths of the earth, whatever) you can't find any more. Maybe the powers come from the material itself, more so than any magic that was used to create them.
(also, if breaking is a thing, which it could well be because that's pretty obvious and has a lot of potential, it's probably fair to make it so that the blade reforms itself when given some time. Otherwise it breaks and then nobody's happy).
>>44431973
>Elegant weapon, for a more civilized time
>hack a guy's limbs off and leave him to burn to death in a lava seep rather than just shooting him
damn my glass sword thing took off. Totally using that in my next campaign.
>>44433263
>hack a guy's limbs off and leave him to burn to death in a lava seep rather than
rather than just killing him with the light-saber
>>44433258
Yeah, mechanics wise I dunno how to do it, but fluff wise, lot's of thrust cuts, going for armour gaps, and basically death by a thousand cuts.
I guess it should be in some way fixable for if it breks, but it should take time and some specific knowledge to do so.
>>44431973
the actual thing here is about the weakness. it's not that it's a powerful weapon that cuts through most anything. a dead guy is a dead guy regardless of the method and in likelihood a powerful organization could access numerous methods.
that they use - almost exclusively - a weapon with the obvious weakness of being neither ranged nor area of effect. this tells of the force, and its effect on their methods. in a time when we had no clear idea what the extent of the power of the force was our only clue was that its wielders brought swords to gunfights.
there are two things to be learned here. firstly: to create a fantastic yet compelling story, take something stupid, then change everything else until that thing isn't stupid anymore.
secondly: actual weapons in actual warfare are boring. they have no glaring weakness and therefore no amazing strength. actual real life conflict is mostly solved by pouring resources into it, and the fighters who are those resources have the purpose of returning what is expected and little more. exceptional people would use exceptional weapons and tactics, and that means they must have a way to break the usual rules.
>>44433284
reminds me of the immortal warrior zombies who wield impossibly sharp obsidian swords, from The Malazan Book of the Fallen series
>>44433354
If you want to make it so that the more armored an opponent is, the less it does and the more precision it needs, make it have a damage bonus that's (some number)-the opponent's armor, or other equation where a better armor number makes the result smaller.
That way, precision strikes (called shots to less armored locations etc) are a must against heavily armored opponents, attacking locations with a reduced armor class.
>>44433427
Oh, and I guess a bleed effect or similar would be good. Makes sense. Glass is sharp, you know.
>>44433107
I'd have like 3 designs within the order of glass swords.
One would be a greatsword, one would be a longsword and one would be a dueling/fencing sword.
All involve a lifetime of training to learn how to use without shattering them. Very few learn to use more than one of the types of swords. It's considered a great dishonor among the order if your sword shatters. All swords are made by their users. Any glass can be used but the order generally uses glass that comes from the beach near their enclave. Lightning storms are common there and the sand has a very fine quality that allows the glass to be very hard.
This is just me expanding on my original idea, if anyone thinks of something cooler, I'd like to hear it.
>>44432423
Well that and it was the only Star Wars movie that wasn't incredibly fucking boring.
>>44433284
Eh, I don't think it's that good. A stained glass design would probably look awesome(I might even model one tomorrow), but a weapon that easily breaks when used by someone other than the intended user isn't a good idea. Imagine some young fan swing the sword around, marvelling at this legendary weapon, and in a moment it's broken.
For one you loose the abillity have it turn into an artifact. But if the blades break frequently you also need to keep a steady supply and that takes away from the mistery.
Maybe just have it look like glass but never clearly state the actual material.
There you have a plot hook: In some old ruin you find a sword that seems to be made of glass, yet no matter how much you abuse it, it just doesn't break.
>>44433468
there is so much wrong with this post
but the main one is bait
>>44431973
D&D has some kind of solar blade weapon called a sunblade that functions basically like a lightsaber in practice.
Since it could be argued that the force is little more than magic in general, a setting high in magic would naturally have defense against it and be naturally tougher toward it as well making the whole 'It can slice through anything' argument kind of bullshit.
That said, a vorpal sword sunsword hybrid would be up your alley and extremely rare.
>>44433524
Not really.
All of the star wars films except for VII were total snooze fests with a few scenes that kept me amused here and there. VII was at least entertaining. Shit, but an entertaining enough turd to not make me want to walk out of the theater.
>>44433427
Yes, this is more or less exactly what I was getting at.
High skill required to kill not squishy mooks, but generally devastating against squishy creatures regardless of who is using it.
Critical failures/misses result in sword shattering.
>>44433455
Lightning glass is cool. You can magic that shit up to match the high/low level of your setting.
Also any sort of fencing/dueling with the swords would be highly ritualized. You can't parry or block with glass weapons.
>>44433555
just stop dude, bait on /v/ /co/ or /pol/ with that crap
>>44433575
Nah, total shit fests to me, man.
I absolutely loved the universe of Star Wars but hated pretty much every single film in the series with the exception of VII and I just thought that was Okay.
>>44433615
>loved the universe of Star Wars but hated pretty much every single film in the series with the exception of VII
I know this is bait, but you are everything wrong with a star wars fan
>>44431973
It probably shouldn't be a sword or anything similar to a sword -- would be too close to lightsabres to become its own, separate thing in the minds of the players.
>>44432235
>>44432321
>>44432884
Mace or baton would be a nice base for it, as anons, here, allude to. Quarterstaff or cudgel might also work. You can use any fantasy material or form of energy to distance it from the light part of the lightsabre, too; maybe an enchanted span of a precious metal or fragile jewel, maybe unmelting ice or hardened fire or twisted glass, etc., as long as it's not light or plasma or whatever.
>>44433661
If you say so.
The thing I hated about the movies were how rare as fuck the Jedi and Sith were supposed to be but they were all over the god damned place in the films instead of being some kind of super powered bad asses that should rarely appear.
Its one of the reasons I love Edge of the Empire role playing game so much. No fucking space wizards shitting up the works left and right.
>>44431973
there's a few things that set lightsabers apart
1. under normal circumstances, they're underpowered in their setting. only with the specific training and abilities available to only a select few can it be wielded effectively, then it becomes an overpowered weapon.
2. it doesn't actually have to be a weapon at all. the lightsaber is a useful multitool. block blaster bolts, open doors, light a fire, brighten a dark room.
3. it's instantly recognizable to the senses. the sights and sounds of a lightsaber. if you see or hear it you go, "yep, that's a lightsaber"
4. it was an idea that had a sort of setting crossover. in the middle of this space opera with ships and blasters and aliens, you take an order of knights or samurais and drop it right in the middle of it.
i think if you were going to create something in a different setting that mirrored the lightsaber fantasy, the more of those conditions you met, the better
>>44433481
Keep in mind, I wouldn't have this be like a super well-known order who police the world. It would be more like warrior monks who live out by the sea and mostly keep to themselves.
>>44433571
Yeah, I feel like the fighting style for glass swords would have to involve a lot of very light, quick movements that focus on slightly altering the swings of the enemy and attacking with slicing motions.
>>44433481
>but a weapon that easily breaks when used by someone other than the intended user isn't a good idea. Imagine some young fan swing the sword around, marvelling at this legendary weapon, and in a moment it's broken.
perhaps that's why it is a legend: they never let anyone else near their weapons
>For one you loose the abillity have it turn into an artifact. But if the blades break frequently you also need to keep a steady supply and that takes away from the mistery.
fragile things have been artifacts before, you know. the steady supply might indeed be bad, but perhaps they are not actually so available and this is instead a reason to cook up sufficiently convincing reason to have wielders for such an unreliable weapon.
>>44433744
>it was an idea that had a sort of setting crossover. in the middle of this space opera with ships and blasters and aliens, you take an order of knights or samurais and drop it right in the middle of it.
In a funny way, I could totally see a fantasy lightsaber being a magitech weapon. I mean, it cuts a bit close, but yeah, that'd make it have a pretty nice feel to it.
Like, maybe there was an order of people who, I don't know, maintained some kind of vast magical machine that literally kept the world in balance at some point (it's broken now, so the world is not in balance any more), and when something threatened it, armed themselves with more dangerous components from the machine itself and went out to deal with that shit.
>>44433721
>judges all the movies by prequels
you're letting your age show you bating troll
my statement remains unchanged
>>44433721
So you've never seen the OT?
>>44431973
See the Oni in Tenra Bansho Zero, the Sage in Legend and the Kai in Lone Wolf.
>>44431973
A wooden sword, dulled but carved into it is every slight that you must make right, every duty to be fulfilled. In the hands of any other, it is a light and useless club, but in the hands of a paladin, the burden of its Duty and the sharpness of its Justice is known to all.
>>44433771
Which is why I liked it for an idea. It would require a lot of specific training, but not only that, a specific stat dump. Being that it is so sharp, it wouldn't take high strength to use, but it would take high agility/dexterity, and likely high int/per or similar stat to use. So basically it can only be used by "the chosen one(s)".
>>44432283
Look, if you are dedicated enough to hollow out a planet, fill it with thrusters, reactors and a fucking weapon that eats suns and shits out planet-killing plasma beams then you are the good guys in my book.
>>44433721
Fine. I'll bite
They were rare. They were elusive. They rarely meddled in affairs and politics of The Republic that did not directly deal with The Sith. The whole point of the Prequel Trilogy was that they had been manipulated into a conflict by Dark Powers that led directly to the Fall of the Jedi. By the OT, they were all but extinct, with the only members left being Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke Skywalker, and Yoda. In the new movie,they had JUST BARELY begun to make a comeback, under the guidance of Luke, when Kylo Ren killed them all.
If you just saw the movies to see dudes shoot lasers at each other for 2 hours, then great, but if that's the case, don't pretend you understand what was going on when you didn't even put forth the effort to figure out what was actually going on.
>>44434080
Plus, the "good guys" are really just lazy lucky bastards, the CIS/Empire/First Order is all about hard work, but the Republic/Rebelllion/Resistence?
>gotta fight a war... woops a clone army appears how convenient!
>wew that death star can only be blown by a 1/10000 million shot, how lucky that we just recently found the last jedi, and how lucky that the goddamn thing is so poorly defended
>wew thank the force that the bad guy decided to turn or we'd be roasted
>jeez it sure sucks that we're all gonna die... oh what's that you're a former stormtrooper? you can help us stop the starkiller? how convenient!
>oh no it seems Kylo Ren is about to win, better activate hax
>>44434842
In my mind, Kylo Ren was starting to faint from blood loss and, as a result, was shit at guarding against super obvious, bad attacks.
>>44434842
>"good guys" are really just lazy lucky bastards, the CIS/Empire/First Order is all about hard work,
Even Luke had to go train for some time before getting his powers.
>the vent thing is so poorly defended
>protected by shields that are nearly impossible to break
>covered with active defenses under that
>lost a bunch of fighters just getting to it
>1 in a million shot even once they get there
>greatest living force-user barely made the shot with the Force's help
b8/10
>>44435032
He literally has to keep smashing himself in the side and pacing in circles to keep focused through the pain and blood loss. Yeah, he's a fucking mess when he faces Finn and Rey.
