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Lightsaber

2021-03-05T22:14:51Z

2601:4C1:C400:4050:C1DA:4314:4628:C4DF: /* Rifles */

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{{Topquote|This is the weapon of a Jedi Knight. Not as random or as clumsy as a blaster; an elegant weapon for a more civilized age.|Obi Wan Kenobi, [[Star Wars|A New Hope]]}}
{{Topquote|Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid.|Han Solo, who doesn't give a shit how "civilized" your weapon is}}

'''Lightsabers''' are one of the most iconic weapons in [[Star Wars]], if not in all of sci-fi, being energy swords used by the Jedi and the Sith. Your basic lightsaber is a cylinder about 20cm long which at the push of a button emits a "blade" of plasma about a meter long which can reflect blaster fire and cut through pretty much everything that's not another lightsaber blade with minimal resistance.

== Basic fluff ==
The main components of your basic lightsaber are the outer shell, power cell, a focusing emitter, power switch, and a kyber crystal which powers and generates the blade. Everything is fairly common stuff except for the crystal, which is attuned to the Force. In Legends, kybers were both mined and could be made by Force users while in the new Disney canon they are exclusively of natural origin. Blade length can usually be adjusted. The Jedi order made less powerful lightsabers for use during training for fairly obvious reasons. Likewise they're also rigged to turn off if dropped.

Non Force-users can use Lightsabers, but generally can't make the best of them. Of course, the same can be said about any untrained individual learning to use a certain weapon, but the gatekeeping isn't just about training. It's also about understanding how to use it and control the balance in minute ways (some sources even claiming the plasma blade produces a gyroscopic effect) without having to always switch your grip over such a small area. An affinity to the Force also gives a lightsaber user a measure of subconscious precognition, which lets them to predict where a blow will come from and let them effectively parry blaster fire.

In legends early Lightsabers known as Protosabers were powered by a fanny pack sized power cell worn on the belt connected to them by a cable.

== Lightsaber Combat ==

=== Hilt Variants ===
*'''Protosaber:''' The prototypes that were made during the transition from Force powered katana to beam of plasma suspended by magnetics and powered by Force Imbued crystals. Power packs had to be carried on the belt and connected by cables before sufficient miniature technology was developed.
*'''Crossguard:''' A lightsaber with a bit of cortosis or other lightsaber resistant material as a crossguard. Despite how obvious this is and the era of cortosis being obtainable matches the era where lightsaber fights were reasonably common, they are barely mentioned.
**'''Lightsaber Crossguard''': aka the Kylo Ren. One regular lightsaber acts as the main blade, two small ones go out perpendicular to the main one to act as a crossguard and vents for excess energy. If one were to ask about energy consumption, these things would probably be the bottom of the list when it comes to energy efficiency. Not very useful as an actual crossguard but has shown some use as an additional cutting edge; the crossguard can be used to cut in the enemy if the two are clashing in melee. If Kylo Ren's saber is anything to go by, it's also terribly unbalanced and difficult to use due to having three exhausts. While many use it as an example of why Disney-era Star Wars sucks, it was in fact invented in Legends material.
*'''The Darksaber''': Truly unique among lightsabers, as only one of its kind was built- by a Mandalorian Jedi, no less. For one, the blade is, well, black, with a glowing white edge to it, with the additional effect that makes it seem like the blade is "electrified". Secondly, the blade shape is along the lines of a tradition single-edge sword- to be specific, a falchion or a seax. This is also reflected in the hilt design. The blade is also considered to be the Excalibur of Star Wars, as the one who wields it has the potential to unite the clans of Mandalorian Space and declare themselves Mand'alor (basically the king/queen of all Mandalorians)
*'''Lightsaber Shoto:''' A smaller lightsaber for use as an off-hand weapon for dual-wielding Jedi who did not have the balls to carry two regular sabers, or as a main weapon for small-sized wielders.
**'''Guard Shoto:''' Essentially a short lightsaber built into a tonfa hilt, allowing for unique techniques such as blocking or trapping.
**'''Dual Phase:''' A lightsaber that can swap between short and long length.
*'''Curved Lightsaber:''' A hilt design preferred by duelists, allowing for greater finesse. It was based on the hilt of an actual fencing sword since Christopher Lee knew how to fence and holding a hilt like that was most natural for him.
*'''Great Lightsaber:''' The exact opposite of a shoto. Much larger hilts and longer blades designed for larger individuals, or those who prefer a more brute force style.
*'''Saberstaff''': Two lightsabers stuck together. Best known for being used by Darth Maul, but was initially invented by the Old Sith Empire, long before the Rule of Two.
**'''Lightsaber Pike:''' A double bladed variant with a much longer hilt, giving more reach. They are sometimes depicted as being foldable for easy storage. Confusingly shares a name with the actual "blade on long stick" below.
**'''Interlocking Lightsabers:''' Two lightsabers that can be combined at the base to make a saberstaff.
*'''Lightsaber Pike:''' A long, saber-resistant shaft often with a shorter lightsaber blade at the end; creating a large, but cumbersome weapon with decent reach. An uncommon sight, used by the Knights of Zakuul often paired with a shield like a [[Hoplite]]. Also used by some of the Emperor's Shadow Guards. Confusingly shares a name with the "two blades on one long stick" above.
*'''Lightwhips:''' Lightsabers with longer, [[What|flexible]] beams, making defense against them more difficult. In fluff this flexibility is often traded against a weaker beam strength. The story for its initial appearance was blatantly inspired by stories of [[Wikipedia:Miyamoto Musashi|Miyamoto Musashi]] beating Shishido Baiken and his kusarigama, with Luke figuring out the solution to "enemy wraps up your sword" is "have a second sword".
*'''Inquisitorial Lightsaber:''' A double-bladed variant with a unique hilt design allowing it to spin on its axis introduced in the Disney-era show Rebels. [[What|Also allows its wielder to spin it and fly like a helicopter,]] because ''"I'm Mary Poppins y'all!"''
* '''Blaster Hilt:''' A perfect combination of [[choppy]] and [[shooty]]. This jury rigged thing was created by Ezra from Rebels and looks kind of like a mechanical riding saber's handle, but with a blaster barrel attached to the top of it so he can shoot dudes before chopping them up.

===Rifles===
Yeah. Two different models of "ranged lightsabers" actually existed at different points in time. Listed in order of publication until more are revealed. The real reason for their existence is because other franchises like [[Dune]], [[Warhammer 40k]], [[Star Trek]], [[Doctor Who]], Mobile Suit Gundam and even recent [[XCOM]]s had ranged physic weapons long before Star Wars did. None of these weapons have appeared in the movies or tv yet. Because a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_shot_first certain hack] doesn't understand what the term "anti-hero" actually means.

*'''Lightsaber Rifle:''' This weapon was used by Jedi Master Jocasta Nu against Darth Vader. [[fail|It only had five shots before saber loaded into the top of the rifle melted.]]

*'''Farkiller:''' If you thought the Jedi were morons before. The story behind this thing will multiply that opinion two fold or more. [[awesome|The Farkiller was a Sniper Rifle that used Lightsaber technology to kill targets kilometers away.]] The Jedi excommunicated both it's creator and primary user than they were killed when a war broke out, because reasons. [[Inquisition| They were most likely assassinated by the Jedi themselves.]]

=== Lightsaber Styles ===
Fighting with a lightsaber is more than simply swinging your laser sword and hoping to hit the enemy while blocking his attacks. Lightsaber combat is considered a true martial art that developed different styles and forms over the ages as eras moved on and needs changed. There are a number of canonical ''(and non canonical)'' lightsaber combat styles with their own pros and cons.

*'''Form I - Schii-Cho:''' When lightsabers were invented, the first style was based primarily on existing sword-fighting techniques. Schii-Cho was the ''basic'' lightsaber style learned by most beginners and is the gateway to lightsaber combat with most later styles building upon its principles. Few actually go on to master the style properly, which is unfortunate because Form I is a perfectly functional style in its own right - in other words, it's the "boring but practical" form. It is best suited for melee combat against multiple opponents, though it pales horribly against ranged weapons. Kit Fisto (the Green-Abe-Sapien-with-dreadlocks guy mostly seen in Episdoe III and Clone Wars) was said to have mastered and stuck to this form in the Visual Dictionnaries.
*'''Form II - Makashi:''' If Form I is "sword fighting," then Form II is "fencing." It uses a more precise and elegant method of attack and defense versus the sweeping movements of Form I, though still operating on traditional "sword form" techniques. Makashi is a style best suited for one-on-one combat, though as with Form I it offers no defense against ranged weapons. Its name is Japanese for "to defeat." Count Dooku's style.
*'''Form III - Soresu:''' Someone somewhere noted that the first two forms were useless against ranged weapons and moved to correct this, creating an all-new style that catered to defense and was the first style to truly teach how to block blaster bolts. In melee combat it placed emphasis on small, efficient movements, outlasting your opponent(s), and waiting for them to tire and/or make a mistake. Its inoffensive nature marked it as the ultimate expression of the Jedi philosophy but meant that inexperienced initiates were left without effective means of attack. Obi Wan took up this style after Qui-Gonn's death and is considered THE master of Soresu.
*'''Form IV - Ataru:''' Forms IV and V were developed concurrently, as lightsaber masters looked at Form III and decided it was far too passive a combat form, as simply waiting for your enemy to tire out isn't really an effective means of fighting. "Ataru" therefore was developed as an "aggressive" form that placed emphasis on overwhelming attack; teaching its practitioners to strike relentlessly and acrobatically from multiple angles, requiring high agility and endurance on the part of its users. The main problems with Ataru are that it is not suitable for long encounters, or for closed environments. Its name is Japanese for "to hit." Yoda uses Ataru exclusively, as does Anakin Skywalker in episode 2.
*'''Form V - Shien:''' As with Ataru, the developers of Shien looked at Form III and said that being passive was a poor form of offense. But rather than overwhelming an opponent with relentless attack as with Form IV, the Shien style maintained its emphasis on defense but taught how to redirect an opponent's strikes, moving around the battlefield and creating their own opportunities for counterattack. It is considered to be one of the better styles for combat against ranged opponents and multiple attackers, but is less suited as a dueling style.　Its name is Japanese for "support", which is fitting for a non-offensive style. Ahsoka Tano and Galen Marek use Shien while using their lightsabers in a reverse-grip.
**'''Djem So:''' The more physically demanding variant of Form V, the style is still grounded in the same principles of controlling your opponent and creating opportunities for counter attack, but is more suited for fighting against a single opponent as it instructs the user to physically dominate the fight by battering their way through the guard of the opponent, or opening the opponent's attacks into new opportunities to strike. As a true evolution of lightsaber-on-lightsaber combat; a Djem So practitioner ''with sufficient strength'' could overcome a skilled Makashi duelist. The specific failings of Djem So are that it is criticized for having a lack of mobility, and is less useful for physically weak practitioners. Anakin Skywalker, learning his lesson of not recklessly charging a master of the dueling form (that is, Dooku) after losing an arm, primarily uses Djem So during the Clone Wars and episode 3. As Darth Vader, he uses a mix of Djem So, Soresu, and Makashi
*'''Form VI - Niman:''' The "Moderate" form that combined elements from all of the previous forms into a single hybrid style, allowing its practitioners to learn the basics of lightsaber combat in all areas, eventually replacing Form I as the ''"standard"'' style by the time of the Clone Wars. Critics point out that this form is insufficiently demanding, provides no decisive edge in battle, and is ill-suited to both dueling and the open battlefield. However, Form VI does encourage its adherents to be highly flexible and to incorporate more Force techniques in combat, encouraging the user to strike and guard telekinetically and control the fight intuitively. This made ultimate mastery of the Niman style very difficult, so as with Form I, most initiates eventually gravitated towards a different style to suit their preferences. However, true masters of the art, like Exar Kun (who is pretty much unmatched in melee except by freakishly powerful beings like Vitiate and Luke) are incomparable in combat, having no weakness in form to exploit, closing the advantage gap by sheer skill.
**'''Jar'Kai:''' Technically the "Jar'Kai tactic" refers to fighting with two lightsabers at once, regardless of the chosen lightsaber form. However the ''"Jar'Kai Style"'' was a specific predecessor to the Niman style that existed before the actual invention of the lightsaber and was later incorporated into the Form VI curriculum. Therefore while Form VI is a style unto itself, those who wish to learn how to use two lightsabers often find that the principles of Niman lend themselves well to two-weapon combat, occasionally combined with a Shien style reverse grip.
*'''Form VII - Juyo:''' The "Ferocity" form, and is one of the most physically and emotionally demanding forms. It was designed specifically for lightsaber duels, being compared to the directness of Form V combined with the energy of Form IV, although the movements come across as chaotic and erratic, often appearing raw and unpolished, the goal was to be unpredictable and vicious, with a heavy emphasis on offense. Juyo was sometimes labelled a "Sith style," Form VII is particularly aggressive and opens the users mind up to the dark side of the force if they are not careful. Darth Maul and Emperor Palpatine used Juyo in the movies.
**'''Vaapad:''' The Mace Windu variant of Juyo that was only perfected much later. Vaapad was exactly the same lightsaber style as Juyo with a different mindset; Vaapad requires the practitioner to exert a certain measure of control by channeling the emotion back into the fight rather than letting it overcome the user. Though this was difficult and required a constant stream of Force use to achieve, therefore it was actively discouraged by the Jedi council as being too risky to attempt.

In the Legends Continuity, there are a number of other styles and techniques used in lightsaber combat:
*[[Meme|"I have the high ground"]] is an actual style... Or more appropriately a methodology called '''Sokan''' which teach the user how to use their environment to their advantage: bottling the enemy into small spaces to restrict movement, using open spaces to generate speed etc, and of course; gaining the advantage of higher terrain to limit your opponent's avenues of engagement while increasing your own.
*In a unique case of gamers getting shit done, even one fanon technique made its way into the continuity. '''Trakata''' is a technique which takes advantage of the fact you can turn a lightsaber on and off very quickly, allowing for rapidly re-positioning the blade through an opponent's guard. This was first named as a distinct technique in the [[Star Wars D20|Saga Edition RPG]], and since made its way into expanded universe materials.
*The Jedi Knight series of [[/v/|video games]] created the '''Fast''', '''Medium''', and '''Strong''' lightsaber styles for those trained in the New Republic Era, ostensibly as a gameplay mechanic, since three styles are easier to animate than seven or more. But this was later explained in EU materials as a necessity due to Luke's informal training and the scarcity of written materials following Order 66, meaning that New Jedi Order had to practically invent brand new styles based on the limited information available to them and unrelated melee combat techniques.
*The sideways Disney-canon guidebooks indicate that the Sith have access to all of the styles of the Jedi ''(aside from Vaapad)'' but have modified them to suit their purposes and have discarded elements as they feel necessary. Condensing the seven forms to only three: '''Strong:''' with its foundations in Djem So and physical domination, '''Fast:''' with a focus on footwork and precision, and finally '''Juyo:''' which remains unchained from the standard curriculum, lending credence to its status as the "Sith" style.

=== Lightsaber Colors ===
{{Topquote|So I said to George Lucas, 'You think maybe I can get a purple lightsaber?' He’s like, 'Lightsabers are green or lightsabers are red.' And I’m like, 'Yeah, but I want a purple one.'|Samuel L. Jackson}}
In the original films, the colors of Lightsaber blades hadn't any particular important role, other than Blue/Green = Good, Red = Bad. Green blades were added when Luke had a costume change for the third movie (Because the blue blade wouldn't have shown up well during the fight at the Sarlacc pit). Since then, other colors have been added through material outside the main movies (though the first new color to be added famously came about because Samuel L. Jackson wanted to stand out in the fighting pits on Geonosis in Attack of the Clones, so he got a purple blade).

* '''Blue:''' Blue Lightsabers are the most common color for padawans and initiates and is kind of the "aggressive" Jedi blade. Not to say that it's a violent color; it's more that the blue-wielding Jedi tend to be more martial and will more readily use their saber to defend their friends and allies. Most Jedi we know of has used a blue lightsaber, including Luke and Anakin Skywalker, Obi-wan Kenobi, Ahsoka Tano, Rey and so many more. The most notable blue lightsaber has got to be Anakin's Lightsaber which eventually found its way into the hands of Luke, until he lost it on Bespin, alongside about a handful of hand. It ''somehow'' ended up in the basement of Maz' castle where Rey took it over (infuriatingly, marketing now calls it "Rey's Lightsaber" - just take my life work why don't you. Some fans have gone to call it the "Skywalker Saber" in response).
* '''Green:''' The "wise" color, wielded by Jedi masters who take a distanced, scholarly approach to the Force and the galaxy at large. Green is almost always used by masters or thoughtful Jedi, in particular the ones that take a religious adherence to the Force and the Jedi way. Well-known wearers of green sabers are Luke after losing his father's lightsaber on Bespin, Qui-gon Jin and Yoda.
* '''Purple:''' Where the blue saber is martial, the purple saber is decidedly bloodthirsty. It's no coincidence that it's close to the Sith's red lightsabers in color, since the users of the ultra-rare purple sabers tend to be battle-loving warriors who dance on the edge of Dark Side methods. The only know bearer of a purple blade is <s>Samuel Motherfucking Jackson</s> Mace Windu, Jedi master and general during the prequel era, though Luke took up a purple shoto in the Legends continuity.
* '''Yellow:''' Used to be associated wtih Jedi Sentinels, those who tried to balance learning and combat, as well as the Jedi temple guardians. Rey shows up with a yellow lightsaber at the end of Ep. IX.
* '''Red:''' The color strongly associated with Sith. In the expanded universe continuity, this is because the lightsaber crystals that Sith use are synthetic, as they have no access to proper Kyber crystals and prefer to make ones infused with Dark Side energy. In-fact, before ''Attack of the Clones'' (and especially before the prequels entirely), it often treated Vader and later Maul's use of red as having no real meaning, leading to groups of darksiders like Jerec's band of Inquisitors (''Dark Forces II'') and the Sith corrupted Jensaarai (''I, Jedi'') using every color possible, while some prominent Jedi used red blades. In the Disney continuity, the Sith use the force to dominate the living Kyber crystals, causing the change to red in a process known as "bleeding".
* '''White:''' An unnatural Kyber crystal color like the red one, but created by cleansing a Red Kyber crystal from Dark Side influence. Little is known about what they are like since few Jedi even get to see a white blade. Ahsoka Tano eventually ditch her blue saber for two white ones.
* '''Black:''' Exclusive to the Darksaber, a lightsaber made by the first Mandolarian Jedi. Because it responds to the user's emotions and state of mind, it allows non-force users to wield the blade effectively against lightsaber-armed force users.

== Issues with Lightsabers ==
{{Topquote|Arc trooper: Are you Jedi as good with blasters as you are with lightsabers?"<br>"Obi-Wan: Better. We only use lightsabers to make fights more equitable.|The Cestus Deception, a [[Star Wars]] novel}}
Specifically, weightless blades. Because light weighs pretty much as low a mass as you can get not counting your dick (oh snap!), the center of balance of the blade is likely somewhere near the end of the handle (going by that's where the battery is, and that they likely weigh more than the blade projector). The problem with this is that you are essentially wielding a lever which will, upon being hit, flop all over the place because your hands function as a hinge. This might be less the case when used in two hands but when used in one your sword will go all over the place when it is struck. There ''is'' some in-story stuff to justify this, mostly based around how the arc-waves that form the blade do have a kind of mass that balances it correctly, but this is mostly hand-waving the issues.

Another point is the double lightsaber. Based on a variety of unbladed [[pole-arm]]s like the Gun or the Bo, it has a double-sized handle with the laser parts coming out from both ends. The problem with this style is that it gives the wielder only a limited surface to work with without burning or chopping their hands off. Maybe this can be discredited as training in the Force and all that jazz (plus Ray Park, the actor and stunt performer for Darth Maul, is REALLY good at what he does, in fact it was his input that resulted in the double lightsaber's handle being the length it is, since the original concept had a much shorter one), but this would still involve swinging a large dangerous rave stick very close to your body, and a good number of these styles involve holding the weapon near the end to gain great striking power at the tip of the weapon like with a [[pole-arm]]. With a lightsaber this is not possible, though not needed since it can just cut through anything by touching a target and letting the plasma do all the work.

And the lightwhip and all other kinds of outlandish lightsabers can go right fuck themselves. And don't use the Force argument; if someone focuses on holding a plasma whip properly they will get shot because, super powerful or not, you still have to think. The "lightcrossguard" on the lightsaber of Kylo Ren certainly looked silly, but for one, they gave him an edge in close combat letting him use them to burn his opponent in a bind, and secondly, expanded material say they are vents required because his lightsaber is unstable. You'd think that his boss might fix that problem for him, but that would be using logic.

One of the biggest issues with lightsabers is shown in the side material of Star Wars itself. They block most energy blots well enough. Assassins who specialize in killing Jedi use slug throwers to bypass their ability to block blaster bolts. So when the users tries to deflect bullets, a Jedi instead has to deal with very hot goo coming at them at hypersonic speeds. This also doesn't cover that some energy weapons have large bore sizes. As attempting to block them would just cause an explosion that sets it's victim alight with plasma.

== Countering Lightsabers ==
A lot is made about the lightsabers ability to cut through most known materials given enough time and exposure. They aren't god-tier weapons though, and there are several materials that are capable of not only resisting lightsabers, but blocking or redirecting them outright.

*'''Cortosis:''' the material often first thought of when people want to counter lightsabers. Cortosis in its refined form will immediately shut down a lightsaber that comes into contact with it. Whether this shorts out a lightsaber briefly or for a few minutes varies from source to source, but the property is imminently desirable nonetheless. The main problem is that mining and refining cortosis causes [[Cancer]] like some space asbestos, so it is hazardous to work with and most sources have been depleted in the era where Jedi and enemy force users were more common so it's quite rare by the era of the films. Not only that, but pure cortosis is considered to be quite brittle and unsuitable for a lot of applications. Less-refined variants will not shut down a lightsaber, but they are impervious to lightsaber damage, making it still useful for blades and armor.
*'''Phrik:''' a material useful for its ability to disperse any form of energy, not just lightsaber blades, and was known to be highly durable ''and'' light. Phrik weapons are most notably used by the droid Magnaguards of the Clone Wars with their electrically arcing staff weapons.
*'''Beskar Iron:''' Used by the Mandalorians, most notably in their armor but also in their blades and starship hulls. Beskar iron is considered practically indestructible, not merely to lightsabers but practically everything. The main problems with Beskar is that the ore is only found on the planet Mandalore and its moon Concordia, and the techniques of working with it are secrets of Mando smiths, making it virtually impossible to find anywhere else. To add in the difficulty of obtaining it, Mandos have a MASSIVE FUCKING HATRED of non-Mandos (especially Jedi due to bad blood in Legends and canon) having anything made of Beskar, as they consider it part of their culture. So they refuse to make any for foreigners, and see others having any on them as a huge insult.
*'''BFG:''' When all else fails, the old Imperial Guard proverb of just blow it to hell works fine. Spamming enough shots, or even just firing one big shot, will usually be enough to either overwhelm the opponent or cause an explosion when contacting the Jedi so powerful it'll kill them outright.
*'''Flamethrowers:''' KILL IT WITH FIRE! On a more serious note, flamethrowers are great, because no matter what manner of Matt Ward level bullshit you pull out of your butt, no amount of logic bending is going to allow a lightsaber to block a flame. The only problem is making sure the Jedi stay in place, but meh. Just lure them into a corridor and burn them in the confines.
** Of course, flamethrowers are a kinda crap weapon in Star Wars against anyone halfway expecting them because breath masks are quite common and a hard counter to the carbon monoxide problem. Jedi also have the potential to throw the jellied fuel back with the force.
*'''Slugthrowers''' Yes, even traditional projectile firearms can counter a lightsaber-wielding Jedi or Sith. You see, blaster bolts are actually a fair bit slower than a chemically powered FMJ round, with the tradeoff being that the power packs can hold a lot more ammunition. This means that while a Jedi can generally see and either block or deflect a bolt with his saber, the same can't be said for bullets, especially those coming from an automatic action-style of gun. And even if the Jedi did manage to get a saber in front of one, what ends up happening is that essentially they've turned the speeding bullet into a molten shotgun spread still traveling at the same speed.
*'''Sonic Blaster''' Similar to the above, a lightsaber can't stop sonic blasts. They were the preferred option when fighting Jedi was a common occurrence, as they were about as powerful as a slugthrower but with the capacity of a normal blaster. They also work better underwater—but are completely ineffective in space.
*'''Any weapon with a stun setting''' Weapons with stun options manifest as rings when fired at an opponent, making a block attempt with a lightsaber presumably useless as the rings are larger than the blocking surface area of the saber.

== Influences on the rest of /tg/ culture ==
The lightsaber is, as previously said, a very iconic weapon that has had considerable influence on weapons throughout sci-fi and fantasy. Though we cannot compile all of them, here are a few likely ones.

* [[Power Weapon#Power Sword|Power Sword]]: Games Workshop could't stand to miss out on the opportunity to add their own version of a lightsaber, which they very much did with a power sword. It's similar, in that it has a dispersion field that turns on around the blade, but differs in that it only can reliably penetrate certain armors or materials, unlike the lightsaber. On the same point, Lightsabers appear to be rather limited, whereas power weapons can be attached to more and differing vehicles, like titans or warships.
* [[Melta#Fusion Blades|Fusion Blade]]: GW couldn't resist the opportunity to rip Star Wars off though. Enter the Fusion Blades, which are the [[T'au|weeb]] melta swords. They spurt out energy that has the power to take out tanks. To be fair, the Jedi never had Crisis suits or made their lightsabers the size of a man, but still. We all know what they are.
* [[Eragon]]: A dumb fantasy rip off of both Star Wars and Lord Of The Rings, the main character is allowed to carry a Blue flame sword. It's dumb and it should feel dumb.
* Control Freak from Teen Titans: Not the cancer one, but the good one. The man is literally a walking fa/tg/guy, and wields a quad bladed lightsaber as a weapon. Also dresses like a jedi.
* Kiba: An obscure anime that basically is a Grimdark version of Pokémon where the monster trainers also fight each other with energy swords instead of standing around giving their monster orders.
* Sun Blade: A magic item from Dungeons and Dragons that is a sword hilt that generates a blade of energy that does radiant damage.
* Beam melee weapons: From the long running franchise Mobile Suit Gundam. In-universe, the first Mobile Suit (the name used in the series for the giant robots) armed with a beam melee weapon is the titular Gundam RX-78. It carried two beam sabers in its backpack, which also served to recharge them when not in use. It could also be armed with a beam javelin (a long rod that emitted a larger, spiked beam and was suited for throwing). In-universe this was a game-changer: other MS were armed with heat weapons (i.e. melee weapons with super-heated edges for better cutting through armour) which could be pretty bulky with an exposed power source. Beam weapons were lightweight, compact when inactive and they could cut through just about any type of armour around. Mass-producing beam weapons (and mobile suits to wield them) was one of the major turning points of the war in the original series but the vast majority of the time the original anime shows them used pretty much exclusively for destroying battleships, with only a single beam duel that's cut in the movie version. Later series got really crazy, with beam scimitars, beam daggers, beam whips, beam fans...yeah, shit goes crazy over at [[/m/]].

[[Category: Star Wars]][[Category: Weapons]]

Ninja

2021-03-05T19:13:32Z

2601:4C1:C400:4050:C1DA:4314:4628:C4DF: /* Ninja weapons and gear */

[[File:HistoricalNinjaArt.jpg|thumb|Pictured here: A Ninja doing what Ninjas do best]]
'''Ninjas''' are awesome disguised individuals who kind of seem like the anti-[[samurai]], though contrary to popular belief, many ninja were in fact samurai (remember, samurai were not just a type of a warrior, they were a social class). Like [[rogue]]s, but with more ''style''. Worth noting though that the term was never used historically, the historical term is shinobi-no-mono, roughly translating as "the one who hides".

During Sengoku Jidai, Japans age of warring states, they served as spies, saboteurs and guerrillas. Some worked for particular [[noble]] families, such as the Fuma, who served the Hōjō Clan as guerrilla warfare specialists (though they were known as rappa, battle-disrupters, with the term ninja being applied to them somewhat after the fact) while others were basically covert-organizations-for-hire, like the Iga and Kōga, with them really being the only proper shinobi-no-mono. They used disguise, deceit, and general trickiness to steal secrets and treasures, sabotage the enemy and misdirect them, though contrary to popular belief, assassination was pretty far down their list of priorities.

A few of their tricks are somewhat well documented; for example, they would disguise a log in clothes and a hat identical to their own, just barely hide it, and, when pursued, run past it. When their pursuers saw something that looked like the guy they were chasing hiding, they made the obvious assumption and attacked, thereby delaying the pursing party. If you wonder where Naruto's obsession with logs came from, well, now you know. Another common trick was simple: Ninja were usually peasants and looked it, but knew gardening or some other skill that would allow them to get a job in the castle of some lord. The feudal system of Japan was such that the feudal lords (particularly the higher ups) tended to view peasants as interchangeable, thus giving the ninja an "invisibility" that had more to do with psychology than sneaking about.

Over time, they became feared. The primitive and superstitious people began to believe that ninjas were more than just dangerous spies and masters of disguise. They attributed magical powers to them, like the ability to shapeshift, conjure fire, turn invisible, control animals, and even [[monstergirl|mate with the spirits]] to give birth to monstrous half-human creatures. Because having the world simultaneously so terrified of you that it would pay a premium for your services and so hilariously wrong about the nature of your methods that actually countering you was hard was ''incredible'' for business, the secretive clans weren't exactly in a hurry to go debunking these folktales.

Ninja usually dressed like whoever they were disguised as at the time, since ''everyone'' stares at the guy in black pajamas. The iconic image of the head-scarf and robe clad "ninja" is actually an outgrowth of a clever bit of Japanese stagecraft.

In traditional Japanese theater there is no "backdrop" set, just a black felt curtain and stagehands manage the other sets and props while covered head-to-toe in black clothing. You may think this is distracting, but after a while, the audience is just trained to ignore them, the way ''you'' ignore that a stage is just a set and the actors only carrying props when you watch a play.

One incredibly clever playwright took note of the fact that the audience was trained to ignore these hands, and came up with a brilliant idea. When the script called for a ninja to assassinate a character, one of the stagehands would suddenly mock-stab them, leading to many double-takes and shat bricks on the audience's part. As with all good ideas, it was quickly appropriated by billions of talentless hacks who used it all the time, until the idea of the black-stage-gear-clad ninja was embedded deep into the public consciousness, simply because people ''always'' take their cues on what's real or unreal from fiction.

The move from decentralized warring states period to a centralized military dicatorship, however, dealt a heavy blow to the ninja's business, since, after all, a peaceful isolationist nation had much less need for their abilities, and the end of the shogunate and the modernization of Japan in the nineteenth century broke them for good, since their methods had grown dated with the passing years. The Boshin War and the subsequent decade of rebellions destroyed the samurai, and the practice of ninjutsu with them in favor of western style government agents. Still, they remain in the public imagination, and in the hearts and minds of all fans of Japanese culture and history, [[weeaboo]] and non-weeaboo alike.

As a result, like the samurai, any traditional game with an ancient-Japan-proxy (read: ''all of them'' (or at least, all of them that grow to sufficient complexity)) has got ninja in it somewhere. Let's take a look.

== [[Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]] ==
[[File:Ninjas PHBR15.jpg|right|300px]]
Ninja made its D&D debut in the [[Oriental Adventures]] book, as a "secret" sort-of-multiclass rather than an independent class in its own right. The idea is that since ninjas aren't supposed to exist, they each have another class as an undercover identity. Any bushi, sohei, wu jen, or yakuza you meet might be a ninja in secret: they get most of the traditional thieving skills ([[Derp|except picking pockets or hearing noises]]), disguises, thief-acrobat tightrope-walking and pole-vaulting, slow falling they stole from the monks, some escape-artistry, backstabbing and assassination, and finally some rudimentary ki abilities. Most of the time they can only use these abilities when nobody's looking: if their true identity is ever discovered, they're almost guaranteed to get killed by their own clan in retaliation. All Oriental Adventures characters take [[Honor]] [[Serious Business|pretty seriously]].

They're introduced into the 2nd edition through the Complete Ninja's Handbook, which suddenly flips the above policy around: ''all'' ninjas are single-class only, no multi- or dual-classing allowed. They also [[Fail|lose most of the really cool shit detailed above]], being mostly just your regular sort of thieves with a bit better sneaking and more weapon options. At least they can detect noises and pick pockets now (though they're still worse at them than thieves). On the bright side, there's kits: Stealer-In is the basic package, Shadow Warrior is better at fighting but worse at thievery (and imposes onto you a racist accent and compulsion for dick jokes), Intruder is the sneaky spy that's never off-duty, Consort is the seductive charmer, Pathfinder all alone and aloof in the wilds, Lone Wolf even lonelier and usually hunted down by either his old clan or whatever enemy wiped them all out, and Spirit Warrior does magic. The other classes also get some quasi-ninja kits of their own.

== [[Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition]] ==

[[Dungeons and Dragons 3rd Edition]] made the ninja a shitty [[rogue]]. Intended as a rogue/[[monk]] mix, but unlike Pathfinder they get much fewer skills than the rogue, no armor, and can't do rogue backstabbery unless invisible. They also can't use their [[weeaboo]] powers for shit because all of them draw from a super tiny ''ki pool'' and last only one round. The only one they get early enough to be worthwhile is invisibility which they need to (and can't) spam like crazy because, as said before, they get a shittier version of Sneak Attack that only works when invisible. So basically, they're rogues that [[FAIL|can't skillmonkey OR backstab as well as rogues and get pretty much nothing in return.]]

[[Eberron]] has no Japan analog, or at least not one that hasn't been conquered by the Quori. Here Ninja are instead a creation of [[Elf|Elves]] with the Mark of Shadow. Note that Samurai, by contrast, are a [[Dwarf]] tradition.

{{D&D3-Classes}}

== [[Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition]] ==

In [[Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition]], rather than make an entirely separate ninja class, they decided to simply roll it into the [[monk]] class as one of the "Ways" that a monk can choose to follow upon reaching level 3. The ninja option is the Way of Shadow, which allows the monk to use ki to cast certain spells (darkness, darkvision, pass without trace, silence, minor illusion), teleport from shadow to shadow, become invisible in darkness, and get a bonus attack against an enemy that was hit by someone else in that same round.

== Pathfinder ==
[[File:Reiko.jpg|right|200px]]
[[Pathfinder]] also made the ninja as a rogue/monk, and their vast variety of skills means that they outdo both classes by miles (except as skill-monkeys or number of attacks per round). They trade in the rogue's unique skillmonkey powers, like disarming magical traps, for "ninja tricks," which, like the monk's special powers, use up a ''ki pool''. Also, they are perfectly capable of outdamaging the fuck out of rogues, given the nasty things they can do with projectiles and poison, on top of their sharing the rogue's backstabbery. They also get passive bonuses to their stealth tests the longer they've been in stealth, leading to hilarious shenanigans.

They also make a scrumptious dip class for monks and vice-versa, since their ''mixed martial arts'' passive abilities let their class levels stack for abilities, and the monk's ''flurry of blows'' explicitly works for all those ninja projectiles. Combine with the "ninja trick" that lets them double the number of projectiles they throw for a ki point, then combine ''that'' with poison... you get the idea. Hope the DM didn't let you get ahold of drow venom. In other words, Pathfinder ninjas are [[awesome]]. They are still screwed over by the many sneak attack nerfs introduced in Pathfinder, but at least they look cool.

Sadly when the Rogue was updated/fixed into the Unchained Rogue, the Ninja class was not updated along with it. It should be possible to stack Ninja onto Unchained Rogue, but it's officially an invalid combination because of how unchained rogue and alternate classes work.

{{Pathfinder-Classes}}

== Legend of the Five Rings ==
[[File:Ninja Legend of the Scorpion Clan.webp|left|thumb|Also it's own boardgame.]]
[[Legend of the Five Rings]] is mostly about samurai shenanigans, but ninjas both exist and are potential sources of PCs . Only two of the Clans in Rokugan have ninja on the payroll (well, technically, only the Spider have ''ninja'', the Scorpion are very insistent that they have ''shinobi'' -- the two are written the same, but differ in how you pronounce the characters). Ninja are theoretically regarded as somewhat mythical: actively talking about ninja like they exist in a court setting will lose you honor and result in lots of scorn and ridicule from the stuffed-shirt courtiers. In practice, most samurai do know they're real, so don't hesitate to tell people you trust in more-private and less-open settings when there's an assassin on the move.

Scorpion shinobi are, hilariously, probably the most level-headed and moral people in their crazy clan of manipulative assholes and anti-heroes. They actually start out running the Gauntlet, a series of tests that involve dressing like a "traditional" black-pajamas ninja and essentially running interference, attracting lots of attention while the ''actual'' ninja that's probably been posing as a manservant or courtesan for months does the necessary sabotage/wetwork/spycraft/etc. Those who survive get to learn to be REAL operatives.

The ninja of the corrupted Spider Clan are... less theoretically-benign. They're ordinary people who have traded away bits and pieces of themselves to the Shadow Dragon, a manifestation of the Lying Darkness whose malign power seeks to consume the world. They're probably better at outright assassination than Scorpion shinobi, since their powers are practically supernatural instead of just realistically good, but they often have very little personality or initiative of their own. It makes them good at not being noticed, or at pretending to be other people, but when the mask slips, they won't have the skills to talk their way out. Scorpion ninja can be good at lots of things, but most Spider ninja know only how to kill and steal.

In 4th Edition, the "Ninja" school tag was used for one advanced school in the Crane: the Daidoji Harriers. The Harriers were an extension of the Daidoji Scouts, though strictly speaking ANY member of the Daidoji family could become a Harrier (including even shugenja since it only has the Ninja tag). The Harriers were primarily saboteurs, and were infamous for their use of gunpowder ("gaijin peppler"); their use of the forbidden substance led to them becoming so secretive that even the rest of their clan didn't even know they were acting on their behalf. However, they were disbanded when the Dragon Clan proved to the Crane champion that the Harriers existed and were using the forbidden powder (which had prompted an otherwise-unexplained Dragon attack on the Crane). In addition, there is a possibly-apocryphal tale of a vassal family of saboteurs in the Phoenix Clan, the Sesai; they get an alternate path with the Ninja tag, but they were never part of the core plot and were added in during the d20/2nd Edition era in Way of the Ninja. As such, they may or may not be part of your game world.

== Warhammer Fantasy ==
[[File:Ogre ninja.webp|left|thumb|An Ogre ninja.]]
[[File:Ninja WH.jpg|thumb|A ninja from 2e's ''Ravening Hordes''.]]
While the ninjas of this setting only reside in Nippon (aka Warhammer Japan), the eastern continent GW does not giving a shit about and is therefore underdeveloped with little information about them nor is there any miniatures. Luckily, a bunch of Skaven from the clan Eshin was able to learn their ninjitsu arts after travel to the far east and became a bunch of backstabbing, shuriken throwing, cloak wearing, back flipping rats that decimate their enemy with sheer cunning and surprise tactics. Then there's also the occasional Man-Eater Ogre who does the same thing and pick up some of their tricks.

There are also other units from other faction/race where they utilize the cunning and stealthy tactics of a ninja without copy Nippon.

For the Dark Elves, there's Shades, who can move quietly in concealment while carry armor piercing crossbow to devastate their enemies in a surprise attack.

For the High Elves, there's Shadow Warriors, the descendants of the Nagarythe elves during the great sundering who are skilled in guerrilla warfare and concealment tactics. Alith Anar the king of Nagarythe is the leader of these badasses and he took the guerrilla warfare to a whole new level with his op war gear: The Moonbow that turned his every shot into a bolt thrower, Shadow Crown that can stop the fucking time for just a few seconds whenever he said Nagarythe, and finally Stone of Midnight a jewel that alith anar stole from Morathi that allows him to conceal himself in shadow.

For the Wood Elves, most of them are already experts of this kind of fighting style since they always conceal themselves with the forest, but there are the Waywatchers, who are skilled in concealment, shooting arrows and setting up booby traps. Then there are Wardancers, the warriors of their trickster god Loec, who fights with either twin blades or double sides double sided spear while performing war dance, lethal movements that devastates their enemies with absolute cunning while avoiding enemy strikes.

For the Lizardmens, there are these specialized poison darts Skink called Chameleon Skinks that has the looks and the ability of a real life chameleon, conceal themselves to perform guerrilla warefare while protecting them from enemy range fires.

For the Greenskins, there's night goblins. Due to years of consuming mushrooms and other potions, they have natural camouflage that conceal them in dark area. They are also pretty dangerous due to the consumption of fungus beer, where they could fight in absolute fanatical states. There are also these Nasty Skulkers who specialized in surprise tactics and is able to pierce enemy armor due to the two sharp razor blades they wield.

For the Dwarves, there are rangers who specialized in concealment, booby traps, sabotages and guerrilla warefare. Like all dwarves, they are slow and good in melee combat, but is still much faster in comparison due to wearing lacks of armor. They are also shunned by other Dwarves for being a bunch of weirdos fighting in cowardly tactics.

== Myths and facts ==
Few things have as many myths associated with them which people believe as facts as the ninja, to the point that the image people associate with the term ninja in fact has almost nothing to do with the real ninja. In fact, even Japan has ninja-museums all over the country and basically all of them are based around the pop-culture image of a ninja. Gotta find some way to pay the bills I guess (which is oddly appropriate actually, as one of the actual tasks of a ninja was deception). Anyway, [[weeaboo|weebs]] prepare to have your life's ruined, for here are some of the myths people believe about the ninja.

# Specially trained ninja were not something found all over Japan. They came primarily from Iga Province and a region named Kōga and while there were some groups who used ninja-esque methods, such as the Fuma who served the Hōjō Clan, the term ninja has generally been applied to them after the fact.
# The term ninja was not used historically. The historical term is shinobi-no-mono, roughly translating as "the one who hides". The term ninja wasn't used until the 20th century.
# Though there were certainly acts of espionage much earlier, specially trained ninja came to existence around the 15th century, during the Sengoku Jidai, Japan's age of warring states.
# Ninja did not wear black uniforms and they certainly didn't wear masks. They wore regular civilian clothing or the same armor everyone else did. They wouldn't wear something that would make them identifiable as a ninja.
# Ninja did not use a straight sword named ninjatō, which is a fictional weapon made up by some woo hack. The Ninjatō is a product of 20th century pop-culture and was not used historically. They used [[Samurai#Samurai_Weapons_and_equipment|katana, yumi, yari]], etc, same weapons as everyone else did, with the possible exception of weapons that could be passed off as common tools, as with the Kunai, below. As with clothing, they wouldn't use a weapon that would make them identifiable as a ninja.
# The [[Shuriken]] is not a ninja weapon. Throwing knives in general were used by samurai and ashigaru (peasant foot-soldiers) alike and more used for distraction than straight up killing.
# The [[Kunai]] is not actually a ninja weapon. In fact, it is not actually a weapon at all. Like many "weapons" from around the world, it is a farming implement that could be turned into a weapon in a pinch. The reason it is so associated with ninjas is that anyone could be seen carrying one of those without eliciting suspicion. Side note: While the Kunai could be modified into a weapon, it almost certainly wouldn't be a ''throwing'' weapon, as the design is not well-suited for that purpose; it could be used as the blade of a rope-dart, but rope-darts are '''not''' throwing weapons, but rather a kind of ''whip''.
# This should be fairly obvious but ninja did not do some trick where they would catch the blade of a sword with their bare hands. Any attempt to do so would prove to be quite hazardous to ones health. (It's ''possible'' that they used a piece of metal or stone concealed inside a glove, but that would likely be more a showy trick or desperation move than something commonly useful.)
# Ninja and samurai were not sworn enemies. Most samurai likely did not even know that there is such a thing as a ninja, as ninja were not all that common. As a matter of fact, many ninja were actually samurai as well.<ref>That being said, a certain element of class or cultural warfare ''might'' be read into some actual historic accounts: Ninja favored a "whatever works" style, which contrasted against the more "dignified" and "honorable" Samurai ideals commonly called "Bushido"--but by the same token, ''many'' Samurai were not very honorable as measured under this version of Bushido.</ref>
# Being a ninja and being a samurai are not mutually exclusive. In fact, the one whom is generally regarded as the most famous ninja of all time, Hattori Hanzō, was a samurai, as were many other ninja.
# Ninja were not assassins, at least not primarily. Assassination was pretty far down their list of priorities, they were covert agents whose skills tended primarily toward espionage and sabotage.
# Ninja were not solely about covert operations. They would engage in regular battle as well, though they would prefer to do it through guerrilla warfare whenever possible.
# It is highly likely that kunoichi, female ninja, did not even exist. If they did, they would have been spies and part of what's now known as "honey-traps", not any kind of fighter.
# Ninja were not hired because they were needed for jobs considered dishonorable for a samurai. To a samurai, nothing is more honorable than bringing victory to their master. If they have to do it through covert methods, so be it. Ninja were hired because they had the required expertise in covert operations the average 'regular' samurai lacked.
# While many like to think of ninja as a major part of Japanese history, like the samurai are; the reality is that if you removed ninja from Japanese history not much would change.

=== Ninja weapons and gear ===
As stated above Samurai inherited their gear from Samurai and shared the same equipment. We'll try not to make it a cut and paste of the Samurai gear but since there are a lot of crossover. You should look at the [[Samurai#Samurai_Weapons_and_equipment|Samurai]] page if you want a more in depth description. This section details how the Ninja used them instead.

* Trick Katana: Since many Ninja were Samurai, so of course they would have owned Katanas. They fought quite dirty with them too. Such as filling the scabbard with red pepper, dirt, dust and iron filings. Blinding their opponent so the Shinobi could land a quick killing blow or make a fast retreat.

* Other swords: Since Katana were mainly used by Samurai and could be used to identify them if they were lost or spotted by other Samurai. Ninja would likely have used other swords as well. Such as Wakizashi(short swords) and older Chokutō or Kodachi style swords. Since the latter were for either restorations of the latter or recreations of family heirlooms. Most Japanese Swordsmiths would not ask any questions if they were paid to make these ancient blades. As long as they were getting paid.
** Note on Ninjatō: As stated above the Ninjatō did not exist. Instead they would have been based on pre-Katana straight swords or even shikomizue aka cane swords. Hollywood producers most likely confused these weapons as their own distinct swords.

* Yumi: Japanese bows and arrows. Ninja had access to these too. Larger bows could fire arrows that can penetrate the armor of most Samurai. Some were dipped in poison to increase the chance of killing their targets. Fire Arrows were created using Iron Filings, saltpeter, sulphur and ash. Some even had hand grenades attached to them for use in sieges.

* Firearms: You should already know were we are going with this. Country to popular fiction, Ninja had firearms and used them as often as they could. The most common being Tanegashima. In fact, Shinobi were aware of gunpowder and bombs hundreds of years before 1543. Guns would often be used for assassinations and ambushes or to backup retreating Shinobi to kill any would be pursuers. Since the tech of the day made it impossible to track firearms. Thus accusing Samurai of being spies or working with them would be very difficult to prove.

* [[Shuriken]]: While inferior to guns. Shuriken like arrows were coated in poison and even [[Nurgle|excrement]]. Ninja would create traps with them, technically they were early makeshift landmines.

* Armor: Ninja used two different types. Full Samurai armour and lighter armor for infiltrators and saboteurs. A Ninja in full plate would have likely used them for hit and run attacks and false flag operations. Creating distractions that would allow spies to sneak into enemy strongholds or to protect themselves from arrows and bullets during combat.

* Improvised weapons: Since Samurai and the peasants they recruited to their cause were also farmers. Shinobi used farming tools as well. These included weaponized kama, kunai, kusarigama, sai and tonfas. Even the legendary nunchaku were originally tools used for agri-work before they were adapted into weapons. Since they looked little different than the real thing and could be used in the same fashion. This made them the perfect weapons to hide in plain sight. Many lords would hire a peasant to tend their fields not knowing that they actually worked for one of their rivals. This sort of thing tends to happen when you make your employees buy their own tools instead of purchasing and storing them yourself.

[[Category:History]] [[Category:Dungeons & Dragons]] [[Category: Legend of the Five Rings]]