Sabers: the 'unofficial' rules
I've been working on the 'Lightsaber Request Guide' for a while now, when I have had the time but I'm still a ways off right now (what with all the other stuff). So I figure I'll plop down some hard and fast 'rules' for the interrim.
1. Lightsabers are Lightsabers - This means that you can't have a 'light-spear', a 'light-whip', or 'light-nunchaku' yet. Yes, I realize that there are instances from comics, games and books that have these weapons, and I may even implement them in the future, but that will be a very limited basis when and if that happens. Yes, I think that they are cool ideas, so you don't have to 'sell' me on the idea. I'm just not anywhere near ready to discuss or implement them yet (and honestly, if too many people get them, it'll make them way less cool). This rule also applies to 'proto-sabers', 'sith swords', and weapons that have a steel blade along one side of them.
2. Blade colours - If you tell me a colour, I can make it. Basic colours are : Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple, and Silver. There are gold colours, but those are restricted to people with a golden lightsaber award. Can I do teal? Certainly. Blue-violet? Of course. Just tell me what colour, or even better send me a sample of the colour (or, if you're hardcore, a PMS code or hexidecimal number), and I'll do my best.
• If you've requested an Ultraviolet Lightsaber, that's what you get...I'm not going to tweak the tones or whatever, as it's special enough. And for the record, the core of a UV saber is not black...it's clear, with a faint violet glow.
• I will never do two blade colours in a single blade instance. If you must have two colours, go multiphase and watch them rotate. That's the only way it'll work as a saber (you can use some weird force power to change it in battle, but that won't show on the graphic).
3. Hilts - This is pretty open. There are a few things I take exception to, however.
• If you do a highly kinetic art (Soresu, Ataru, Djem So, Vapaad, Sokan, Juyo, Trakata), you can't have a hilt that encloses your hand (knuckle blades or whatever). The nature of these styles requires that you have great hand mobility to perform the style properly, and those ornaments would break your fingers. In contrast, Shien and Shii-Cho users will benefit from these sort of things, based on their art.
• Curved hilts can be used for any form... but realize that if you lose that weapon, it takes you some time to readjust to a straight-hilt lightsaber (say, if you pick up a saber that your enemy dropped mid-battle).
• All gold hilts, or even hilts with a lot of gold will be denied... I can't let any sabers come even close to looking like a Golden Lightsaber award.
• If you ask for a highlander ripoff hilt, that's what you're going to get. 'Carved dragon hilt' means that you don't want me to really draw something unique, just that you want what Duncan or Conner had. And that's what you'll get, for better or worse.
4. Form Restrictions - Yes, which form you practice has a MAJOR impact on what weapons you can use. Not every weapon is supported by every form... Boxers don't magically understand jiujitsu...they've never trained in it. The broad strokes are below.
• If you practice the single-form arts (Shii-Cho, Makashi, Soresu, Ataru, Djem So, Niman, Vapaad, Dun Moch, Basic Sokan, Basic Shien or Trakata), you can only use one lightsaber at a time. That is because these forms often call for maneuvers that require two hands on a single saber, making the use of two sabers at once a liability and a handicap. This is not to say that you can't have two displayed on your dossier... just that you better write it correctly in your ACCs and whatnot.
• Only people who practice Juyo or Shien (with the requisite mastery) can use a double-bladed lightsaber at all. Otherwise, it's ineffective, and a liability to your own safety.
• Anyone of the appropriate rank can have a Multi-phase Lightsaber. But there are forms which benefit more from it. Those forms are Dun Moch, Vapaad, and Trakata.
• If you use Jar'Kai Niman, or Shien (with the requisite mastery), or Sokan (with the requisite mastery), you can use two lightsabers effectively. If you don't...well, you can't.
5. Doing it yourself - If you have the ability, you can of course make your own saber. You do still have to follow the rules, though...and the graphic has to be 400 pixels tall and no more than 300 pixels wide. I'm assuming that you will draw it with proper proportions as regards blade and hilt length/width. If it's not, I'll talk to you about it.
• There are a few people who do good lightsaber gfx in the DB... If you talk to them, they can do the graphic for you as well. They're like 'independant contractors' for the Herald. The former Herald Kaine Mandaala might be possibly convinced to make you a saber, as Cyris Oscura may. Spears Tarentae has done great work on lightsabers as well in the past, and Raven of CNS is also known to do a saber or two.
• You can always send me a scanned sketch and I will make it with the computer. This works pretty well, actually. So if you draw well IRL, but hate computer drawing, this is a great option. Just attach the graphic link in your request, or talk to me in person on IRC or whatever.
And I think that this about covers it. I'll likely post this on the DB forums later. Questions and comments are always welcome.
1. Lightsabers are Lightsabers - This means that you can't have a 'light-spear', a 'light-whip', or 'light-nunchaku' yet. Yes, I realize that there are instances from comics, games and books that have these weapons, and I may even implement them in the future, but that will be a very limited basis when and if that happens. Yes, I think that they are cool ideas, so you don't have to 'sell' me on the idea. I'm just not anywhere near ready to discuss or implement them yet (and honestly, if too many people get them, it'll make them way less cool). This rule also applies to 'proto-sabers', 'sith swords', and weapons that have a steel blade along one side of them.
2. Blade colours - If you tell me a colour, I can make it. Basic colours are : Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple, and Silver. There are gold colours, but those are restricted to people with a golden lightsaber award. Can I do teal? Certainly. Blue-violet? Of course. Just tell me what colour, or even better send me a sample of the colour (or, if you're hardcore, a PMS code or hexidecimal number), and I'll do my best.
• If you've requested an Ultraviolet Lightsaber, that's what you get...I'm not going to tweak the tones or whatever, as it's special enough. And for the record, the core of a UV saber is not black...it's clear, with a faint violet glow.
• I will never do two blade colours in a single blade instance. If you must have two colours, go multiphase and watch them rotate. That's the only way it'll work as a saber (you can use some weird force power to change it in battle, but that won't show on the graphic).
3. Hilts - This is pretty open. There are a few things I take exception to, however.
• If you do a highly kinetic art (Soresu, Ataru, Djem So, Vapaad, Sokan, Juyo, Trakata), you can't have a hilt that encloses your hand (knuckle blades or whatever). The nature of these styles requires that you have great hand mobility to perform the style properly, and those ornaments would break your fingers. In contrast, Shien and Shii-Cho users will benefit from these sort of things, based on their art.
• Curved hilts can be used for any form... but realize that if you lose that weapon, it takes you some time to readjust to a straight-hilt lightsaber (say, if you pick up a saber that your enemy dropped mid-battle).
• All gold hilts, or even hilts with a lot of gold will be denied... I can't let any sabers come even close to looking like a Golden Lightsaber award.
• If you ask for a highlander ripoff hilt, that's what you're going to get. 'Carved dragon hilt' means that you don't want me to really draw something unique, just that you want what Duncan or Conner had. And that's what you'll get, for better or worse.
4. Form Restrictions - Yes, which form you practice has a MAJOR impact on what weapons you can use. Not every weapon is supported by every form... Boxers don't magically understand jiujitsu...they've never trained in it. The broad strokes are below.
• If you practice the single-form arts (Shii-Cho, Makashi, Soresu, Ataru, Djem So, Niman, Vapaad, Dun Moch, Basic Sokan, Basic Shien or Trakata), you can only use one lightsaber at a time. That is because these forms often call for maneuvers that require two hands on a single saber, making the use of two sabers at once a liability and a handicap. This is not to say that you can't have two displayed on your dossier... just that you better write it correctly in your ACCs and whatnot.
• Only people who practice Juyo or Shien (with the requisite mastery) can use a double-bladed lightsaber at all. Otherwise, it's ineffective, and a liability to your own safety.
• Anyone of the appropriate rank can have a Multi-phase Lightsaber. But there are forms which benefit more from it. Those forms are Dun Moch, Vapaad, and Trakata.
• If you use Jar'Kai Niman, or Shien (with the requisite mastery), or Sokan (with the requisite mastery), you can use two lightsabers effectively. If you don't...well, you can't.
5. Doing it yourself - If you have the ability, you can of course make your own saber. You do still have to follow the rules, though...and the graphic has to be 400 pixels tall and no more than 300 pixels wide. I'm assuming that you will draw it with proper proportions as regards blade and hilt length/width. If it's not, I'll talk to you about it.
• There are a few people who do good lightsaber gfx in the DB... If you talk to them, they can do the graphic for you as well. They're like 'independant contractors' for the Herald. The former Herald Kaine Mandaala might be possibly convinced to make you a saber, as Cyris Oscura may. Spears Tarentae has done great work on lightsabers as well in the past, and Raven of CNS is also known to do a saber or two.
• You can always send me a scanned sketch and I will make it with the computer. This works pretty well, actually. So if you draw well IRL, but hate computer drawing, this is a great option. Just attach the graphic link in your request, or talk to me in person on IRC or whatever.
And I think that this about covers it. I'll likely post this on the DB forums later. Questions and comments are always welcome.
posted by Muz at 8:11 AM
2 Comments:
"Yes, I think that they are cool ideas, so you don't have to 'sell' me on the idea."
I don't. In fact I think they're quite stupid. Lightsaber nunchucks? Please.
Cool, meaning novel. Assajj Ventress used her blades with a cord between the pair in the newest BF game. The spear was used by a comic character, etc. The comic and game designers have always tried to make innovations in saber-technology to make something cool. Sometimes they hit, sometimes they miss.
The fact remains that this is a society which has had this technology for a long time, and it's only natural that they'd incorporate it into other weapons... I prefer the 'polearm' idea, myself, but that probably comes from my own study of polearms.
Yet anything wacky like saberchucks (lol) would require a seriously high level to use. I mean, if you've ever picked up nunchaku, you've seen how quickly you hit yourself. With saber-variants, that slight pain would likely result in a missing limb, or a fatal injury. So that's why.
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