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Game News KotOR Lightsabres
- Thread starter Ausir
- Start date
Zetor
Arcane
Disclaimer: The last time I played SWRPG was back in '97, so I take no responsibility blah blah red stapler blah.
The original [2nd ed] SWRPG handled lightsabers as a melee weapon doing 5 dice [5d6] of damage, same as a blaster rifle, but bypassing any armor the victim was wearing. What made them deadly in the system was [aside from their ability to deflect laser shots] how easy it was to hit someone in melee, as compared to a ranged attack -- 'course if you want to slice the bad guy with a lightsaber, you'll probably be in point blank range anyhow
.
Now, that 5d6 wasn't HP damage either, since SWRPG didn't have hitpoints to begin with [it used a variant of the Paranoia combat / damage system, interestingly enough]; basically the attacker rolled 5d6 and if the victim couldn't roll higher using his strength roll [Xd6+modifiers, attributes generally don't go above 2d6+1, and you could use XP / force points to boost the roll], he'd become stunned / wounded / incapacitated / dead depending on how much he missed the damage roll by. If you were already in a condition, you'd use that as a basis. (so a hit that'd make you go from normal to wounded would kill you if you were wounded already and incapacitate you if you were stunned)
With lightsabers you also had the option of severing a limb instead of killing an enemy (knocking the enemy unconscious) which was how the 'Light' jedi preferred to defeat their enemies. Light saber wounds also didn't worsen over time, compared to pretty much anything else. (instant cauterizing, coming up!)
Oh yeah, this was balanced out by making lightsabers rare as 'eck and having lightsaber combat as a 'trained' skill. [ie. you need a trainer to improve] It was the only combat skill a character couldn't improve on their own IIRC. There were also rather heavy rules associated with acquiring / using one, etc etc., but we all know that.
-- Z.
The original [2nd ed] SWRPG handled lightsabers as a melee weapon doing 5 dice [5d6] of damage, same as a blaster rifle, but bypassing any armor the victim was wearing. What made them deadly in the system was [aside from their ability to deflect laser shots] how easy it was to hit someone in melee, as compared to a ranged attack -- 'course if you want to slice the bad guy with a lightsaber, you'll probably be in point blank range anyhow
.Now, that 5d6 wasn't HP damage either, since SWRPG didn't have hitpoints to begin with [it used a variant of the Paranoia combat / damage system, interestingly enough]; basically the attacker rolled 5d6 and if the victim couldn't roll higher using his strength roll [Xd6+modifiers, attributes generally don't go above 2d6+1, and you could use XP / force points to boost the roll], he'd become stunned / wounded / incapacitated / dead depending on how much he missed the damage roll by. If you were already in a condition, you'd use that as a basis. (so a hit that'd make you go from normal to wounded would kill you if you were wounded already and incapacitate you if you were stunned)
With lightsabers you also had the option of severing a limb instead of killing an enemy (knocking the enemy unconscious) which was how the 'Light' jedi preferred to defeat their enemies. Light saber wounds also didn't worsen over time, compared to pretty much anything else. (instant cauterizing, coming up!)
Oh yeah, this was balanced out by making lightsabers rare as 'eck and having lightsaber combat as a 'trained' skill. [ie. you need a trainer to improve] It was the only combat skill a character couldn't improve on their own IIRC. There were also rather heavy rules associated with acquiring / using one, etc etc., but we all know that.
-- Z.
Azael
Magister
XJEDX said:
There are countless theories on what they are actually made of, some of the best say that lightsabers are called that because they emmit light, not because they are made out of it.
Anyway, I'm sure there must be some special rules governing lightsabers even in the d20 system. They can't really be handled like swords after all, or can they?
Jed
Cipher
I'm quite sure that I remember reading the laser-arc-magnetic-field explanation in some of the official literature as a kid, though knowing Lucas, I can imagine that the "official" word may have been revised several times by now.Azael said:
Azael
Magister
It would seem like many Star Wars fans aren't too keen on taking Lucas' word for anything after the two last movies + the changes made to the Special Editions... :wink:
Sol Invictus
Erudite
Lucas is just dumbing down the Star Wars universe to appeal to little kids. JAR JAR, anyone? Meesa go rip meesa own entrails and die now.
Section8
Cipher
It's an interesting conundrum really. I agree that winning a lightsabre battle basically boils down to getting an opening, and striking. There are a few things in traditional D&D that fuck with that.
First of all, criticals. If two Jedi are fighting (and it's bound to happen many times over) then every swing exchanged has a 5% chance of hitting. That means the fight should be over within 20 swings, give or take a few, and it's pure luck determining the victor.
Secondly, unless there are some interesting rules introduced above the base d20 system for parrying and force based environment interaction, then it's going to be fucking dull. NWN proved that endless battles against opponents that can barely hit each other are just fucking tedious, and utterly pointless especially if the player can heal at the cost of an AoO that's not going to fucking hit anyway.
Thirdly, Bioware's favourite bastard combat system isn't going to suit it. For combat that involves constant reaction to each move from an opponent, they would be better off opting for a fully real-time fighting game style system, a turn-based system where Jedi are able to react defensively during their opponent's turn, or even better, something designed from the ground up with console lightsabre combat in mind.
First of all, criticals. If two Jedi are fighting (and it's bound to happen many times over) then every swing exchanged has a 5% chance of hitting. That means the fight should be over within 20 swings, give or take a few, and it's pure luck determining the victor.
Secondly, unless there are some interesting rules introduced above the base d20 system for parrying and force based environment interaction, then it's going to be fucking dull. NWN proved that endless battles against opponents that can barely hit each other are just fucking tedious, and utterly pointless especially if the player can heal at the cost of an AoO that's not going to fucking hit anyway.
Thirdly, Bioware's favourite bastard combat system isn't going to suit it. For combat that involves constant reaction to each move from an opponent, they would be better off opting for a fully real-time fighting game style system, a turn-based system where Jedi are able to react defensively during their opponent's turn, or even better, something designed from the ground up with console lightsabre combat in mind.
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