Ashin Varanin
Professional Enabler
Swords have been 'in vogue' for a couple of months now, and some other factory staff and I felt it was appropriate to put up a short clarifying guide about what does what, how things are made, etc. These are guidelines, not formal standards. There's room for flexibility, and certainly many swords have been approved that deviate from these guidelines in one way or another.
Q: Do Sith swords require a development thread?
A: That depends on the judge. However, judges often require a dev thread for any sword that has powers or Force-based qualities other than standard lightsabre resistance.
Q: The Wookieepedia page says that Sith swords have/are Force nexuses. Can I-
A: The quality of being a mild Force nexus is generally reserved for true masterwork Sith swords (exceptional submission, master alchemist, and often a dev thread) and some blades which fit those criteria are not a Force nexus. It's discouraged.
Q: What are the differences between a Sith sword and a Force-imbued sword?
A: There are several.
Q: Appearance?
A: A Force-imbued blade is characterized by a colored, visible Force aura, a discoloration of the blade, or visual effects similar to flame or lightning. A Sith sword is a sword.
Q: Weight?
A: A Sith sword is heavier. Some alchemists have sought to circumvent this by using desh-terenthium, a rare, strong, superlight alloy, but desh-terenthium is very flexible -- so larger swords can get...floppy. Ideally, it is most suitable for a rapier or a dagger. The larger a desh-terenthium sword is, the more difficult it'll be to control and the more easily it'll lose its edge. That's a natural consequence of choosing a highly flexible metal to circumvent the natural downside of alchemy.
Q: Cutting power?
A: A Force-imbued blade can cut through most modern metals, such as durasteel, with difficulty. Its cutting power is inferior to a lightsabre. A normal Sith sword does not have that advanced cutting power; it is sharper than a normal sword, but not supernaturally so. Additionally, unless the alchemist uses Svoltan rhyolite in the alchemical process (or after the fact), the blade can grow dull.
Q: What about durability?
A: In terms of durability, many intermediate Sith swords are nearly indestructible. Force-imbued blades, though very durable, do not have that quality. In a ysalamiri field, for example, a Force-imbued blade's protective Force aura (intimately involved with its wielder's Force connection) would be nullified entirely, leaving the blade vulnerable to anything from a blaster shot to a vibroblade. A Sith sword, which does not require its wielder to have an active Force connection to maintain its durability characteristics, would be unaffected by a ysalamir.
Q: What about lightning?
A: An average-to-good Sith sword, made by an experienced alchemist, can trap lightning for release on later contact. A Force-imbued blade cannot, though it can probably block lightning like a lightsabre, with sufficient focus, and not when faced with more powerful lightning than you could normally handle.
Q: What about additional powahs?
A: A high-end Sith sword can often have a special property. For example, at the high end of what's acceptable with a master alchemist and a large dev thread, this sword can resist offensive Force powers. A Force-imbued blade cannot be 'upgraded' in any significant way, though some special qualities can apply to masterwork blades; here's one example.
Q: What about blaster bolts?
A: Most Sith swords can deflect or reflect. A Force-imbued blade generally only blocks.
Q: Who can make what?
A: A Force-imbued blade, though it's something of a lost art, is about as hard to make as a lightsabre, maybe somewhat more so. Sith swords come in various 'grades,' if you will. A beginning alchemist might make a blade with limited lightabre resistance (can be chipped, partially melted, even cut through with sustained contact) and no special properties. An intermediate alchemist can make a sword that's fully invulnerable to lightsabres, with perhaps one minor special property. A master alchemist can get creative. And yes, the judges do look at things like...how much alchemy you've done, in training threads, in dev threads, in tech submissions. If you decided a month ago that you were going to focus on alchemy, and started churning out masterwork, those submissions would get nerfed or denied.
Q: Can alchemy or Force imbuement be applied to an existing weapon, ie, after it is forged?
A: Force imbuement must take place at the time of forging. The same is generally true for alchemy, though it's possible for a master alchemist to alchemize an existing item.
Q: Are their forging processes comparable?
A: Only in the sense of reducing one's focus to the microscopic level of metal lattice structures. Otherwise, the processes could not be more different. A Force-imbued blade's forging is detailed here. A Sith sword's forging generally requires dark rituals and blood, preferably innocent. It is possible for a skilled alchemist to minimize or eliminate the nastier elements of the forging, but such a weapon, though effectively Force-neutral, would likely have no special properties beyond lightsabre resistance. (This is a niche case -- not many alchemists would make an alchemical sword suitable for a Lightsider.)
Q: What about who forges it relative to who uses it? Do I have to forge my own sword?
A: A Sith sword is like a lightsabre in the sense that it's best used by its maker, and anyone else would get better use out of a sword they made themselves. With a Force-imbued blade, since the forging process is intensely personal, that effect is compounded, to the point where getting someone else to make you a Force-imbued blade is a good way to get a weak Force imbuement - reduced cutting power, maybe even reduced durability.
Q: What about all them CIS swords floating around?
A: Josiah Denko and some of his Master-level students have been using a limited version of Art of the Small to achieve a Light-sided hybrid of the two processes. Though this process should not be the norm, it's not a balance concern. It's just important for those learning from that tradition to understand which kind of sword they're making, and individual submissions should not attempt to minmax with 'best of both worlds' arguments.
Q: Are these blades better than lightsabres?
A: Canon says lightsabres are better, full stop. A competent sabre duellist can block a sword just fine, regardless of the difference in momentum, but the lightsabre has an immense advantage in speed and maneuverability. The lightsabre also has vastly superior cutting power, and can cut with the side of the blade or a minimal graze. More to the point, though hardly anyone does this, the 'special qualities' that people try to put in high-end swords can also be applied to lightsabres, with a sufficient tech submission.
Q: So why have a sword at all?
A: De gustibus non est disputandi. Also, cortosis ore won't affect a sword. But that's a niche thing.
Q: Do Sith swords require a development thread?
A: That depends on the judge. However, judges often require a dev thread for any sword that has powers or Force-based qualities other than standard lightsabre resistance.
Q: The Wookieepedia page says that Sith swords have/are Force nexuses. Can I-
A: The quality of being a mild Force nexus is generally reserved for true masterwork Sith swords (exceptional submission, master alchemist, and often a dev thread) and some blades which fit those criteria are not a Force nexus. It's discouraged.
Q: What are the differences between a Sith sword and a Force-imbued sword?
A: There are several.
Q: Appearance?
A: A Force-imbued blade is characterized by a colored, visible Force aura, a discoloration of the blade, or visual effects similar to flame or lightning. A Sith sword is a sword.
Q: Weight?
A: A Sith sword is heavier. Some alchemists have sought to circumvent this by using desh-terenthium, a rare, strong, superlight alloy, but desh-terenthium is very flexible -- so larger swords can get...floppy. Ideally, it is most suitable for a rapier or a dagger. The larger a desh-terenthium sword is, the more difficult it'll be to control and the more easily it'll lose its edge. That's a natural consequence of choosing a highly flexible metal to circumvent the natural downside of alchemy.
Q: Cutting power?
A: A Force-imbued blade can cut through most modern metals, such as durasteel, with difficulty. Its cutting power is inferior to a lightsabre. A normal Sith sword does not have that advanced cutting power; it is sharper than a normal sword, but not supernaturally so. Additionally, unless the alchemist uses Svoltan rhyolite in the alchemical process (or after the fact), the blade can grow dull.
Q: What about durability?
A: In terms of durability, many intermediate Sith swords are nearly indestructible. Force-imbued blades, though very durable, do not have that quality. In a ysalamiri field, for example, a Force-imbued blade's protective Force aura (intimately involved with its wielder's Force connection) would be nullified entirely, leaving the blade vulnerable to anything from a blaster shot to a vibroblade. A Sith sword, which does not require its wielder to have an active Force connection to maintain its durability characteristics, would be unaffected by a ysalamir.
Q: What about lightning?
A: An average-to-good Sith sword, made by an experienced alchemist, can trap lightning for release on later contact. A Force-imbued blade cannot, though it can probably block lightning like a lightsabre, with sufficient focus, and not when faced with more powerful lightning than you could normally handle.
Q: What about additional powahs?
A: A high-end Sith sword can often have a special property. For example, at the high end of what's acceptable with a master alchemist and a large dev thread, this sword can resist offensive Force powers. A Force-imbued blade cannot be 'upgraded' in any significant way, though some special qualities can apply to masterwork blades; here's one example.
Q: What about blaster bolts?
A: Most Sith swords can deflect or reflect. A Force-imbued blade generally only blocks.
Q: Who can make what?
A: A Force-imbued blade, though it's something of a lost art, is about as hard to make as a lightsabre, maybe somewhat more so. Sith swords come in various 'grades,' if you will. A beginning alchemist might make a blade with limited lightabre resistance (can be chipped, partially melted, even cut through with sustained contact) and no special properties. An intermediate alchemist can make a sword that's fully invulnerable to lightsabres, with perhaps one minor special property. A master alchemist can get creative. And yes, the judges do look at things like...how much alchemy you've done, in training threads, in dev threads, in tech submissions. If you decided a month ago that you were going to focus on alchemy, and started churning out masterwork, those submissions would get nerfed or denied.
Q: Can alchemy or Force imbuement be applied to an existing weapon, ie, after it is forged?
A: Force imbuement must take place at the time of forging. The same is generally true for alchemy, though it's possible for a master alchemist to alchemize an existing item.
Q: Are their forging processes comparable?
A: Only in the sense of reducing one's focus to the microscopic level of metal lattice structures. Otherwise, the processes could not be more different. A Force-imbued blade's forging is detailed here. A Sith sword's forging generally requires dark rituals and blood, preferably innocent. It is possible for a skilled alchemist to minimize or eliminate the nastier elements of the forging, but such a weapon, though effectively Force-neutral, would likely have no special properties beyond lightsabre resistance. (This is a niche case -- not many alchemists would make an alchemical sword suitable for a Lightsider.)
Q: What about who forges it relative to who uses it? Do I have to forge my own sword?
A: A Sith sword is like a lightsabre in the sense that it's best used by its maker, and anyone else would get better use out of a sword they made themselves. With a Force-imbued blade, since the forging process is intensely personal, that effect is compounded, to the point where getting someone else to make you a Force-imbued blade is a good way to get a weak Force imbuement - reduced cutting power, maybe even reduced durability.
Q: What about all them CIS swords floating around?
A: Josiah Denko and some of his Master-level students have been using a limited version of Art of the Small to achieve a Light-sided hybrid of the two processes. Though this process should not be the norm, it's not a balance concern. It's just important for those learning from that tradition to understand which kind of sword they're making, and individual submissions should not attempt to minmax with 'best of both worlds' arguments.
Q: Are these blades better than lightsabres?
A: Canon says lightsabres are better, full stop. A competent sabre duellist can block a sword just fine, regardless of the difference in momentum, but the lightsabre has an immense advantage in speed and maneuverability. The lightsabre also has vastly superior cutting power, and can cut with the side of the blade or a minimal graze. More to the point, though hardly anyone does this, the 'special qualities' that people try to put in high-end swords can also be applied to lightsabres, with a sufficient tech submission.
Q: So why have a sword at all?
A: De gustibus non est disputandi. Also, cortosis ore won't affect a sword. But that's a niche thing.
