Sci-Fi Melee Weapons: Bat'leth, Lirpas, Lightsabres, Rykk Blades, Koltari, Denn'Bok,

[Kal'El Wayne]

Ok, so I know that the Sci-Fi genre is often more well known for the prevalence of energy projectile weapons. But you have to admit, we do like watching a good old fashioned duel to the death with weapons that even modern day humans would consider antiquated, albeit unusual. So I decided that since I want to have characters written up for Star Wars, Star Trek and Babylon 5, I really would love to have all their favourite ancient and noble weaponry available. So I thought I might ask for some write-ups of stuff related to them.

Obviously I would like to find out about any that I can, so first a few lines of fluff would be great. Then a mention of the stats of the weapon itself. (Usually just the fact that it does XD6 K.A. and what categories it would fit into for Weapon Familiarity or Weaponsmith.) But I would also like to know any details that might come in handy for the roleplaying, such as how heavy it is and when it should or should not be used.

So, anyone got any suggestions?

[RexMundi]

Lightsabre's alone will flood the thread with this build or that build, heh..... Got a few builds laying around for some Bab5 stuff and a few things for my Firefly game as well. Will have to see what box I stuffed them in while rearranging the rooms.....

~Rex

[Kal'El Wayne]

So here are the titular weapons, with some brief explanation as to where I heard the name.

Bat'leth - The Klingon sword, used in most battles if possible. Also popular (in universe) among members of many other species, especially their adversaries turned allies, the Federation.

Lirpas - A Lirpa is a Vulcan ceremonial weapon, dating back to the days before their devotion to logic, when their extreme emotions were allowed to run free. The Lirpa is the weapon used by Kirk and Spock in that famous fight to the death. A long wooden pole in the centre, with an extremely sharp semi-circular blade fanning out from one end of the pole and a large, heavy, metal club on the other end.

Lightsabres - The sword of a Jedi or Sith, this is a blade of plasma held in by a magnetic field. It's creation involves force-sensitive crystals and is a test of the creator's complete mastery of the force.

Ryyk Blades - The traditional sword of a Wookie, this weapon is an enormous blade which is nevertheless able to be manipulated gracefully by the immense user. Each is hand made and considered to be an extension of it's user.

Koltari - The sword of the Centauri, now used mostly for ceremonial occasions and duels to the death among the heads of feuding houses. It is a straight sword designed for use in a thrusting attack, unlike the slashing weapons that make up most of this list.

Denn'Bok - This is the extendable metal staff of the Rangers. It is a small metal cylinder no wider than the average human hand when held closed, but it grows to about six feet or more when activated.

[Tasha]

I would start the writeup for the Lirpas with the Naginaga, which is what the bladed side of the weapon is. Add either 4d6HA or 1d6+1 KA +1 Stun Mult for the other end.

Koltari sounds like the Fencing Foil or even an epee. A sword style weapon designed for thrusting and not slashing attacks.

Denn'bok is just a fancy foldable Quarterstaff. (ie 4d6N HA Str Min 10 or so).

Ryyk Blade sounds like a 2h Sword (ie 2d6 HKA str min 15 or so)

A lightsaber's writeup depends on whether you subscribe to the notion that it's the super death sword that can instantly cut through anything (but Cortosis) regardless of game balance, or whether you don't mind writing it up as some thing that's a bit more balanced against other weapons.

Bat'leth does around 1.5HKA. It has bonuses for disarming opponents IIRC (ie +1 or so) PS Though I am sure that those blades are supposed to be edged, we never saw the "Sword of Honor" actually cut anyone... If not edged it should be a heavy Quarterstaff (5d6N) str min 13 or so.

I tend to subscribe to the KISS principle of look at the description and see if another weapon is already written up that meets that description. Then modify said writeup to compensate for weapon size (or lack of).

[Vulcan]

The Koltari is actually much more like a Gladius than a fencing sword. It is short and wide, not long and slender... at least, according to the weapon's one screen appearance on B5.

The Bat'leth is not an especially good weapon. Unless you are highly trained in its use, it is clumsy and just as likely to disembowel the user as his foe. Where it really shines is in use against a more conventional weapon (sword, spear, etc.) where you can block, lock, and either bind or disarm your opponent, and close in to unarmed/grappling range with impunity for the takedown. Only then is the Bat'leth used as a lethal instrument, against a foe already beaten. It's really much more a shield than a weapon.

Ah, the lightsaber. A full meter of plasma (heated by the power core, focused through the lens) contained in a magnetic field. It is one of the perfect weapons, the beauty that destroys everything it touches... Including the wielder. This is why it is relegated to force-users; no one else is dumb enough to use one without the TK ability to keep the blade from chopping yourself in half. It's also awkward as heck - grab a Maglight and try to swing it around like a lightsaber in a dark room, odds are you'll get the beam in your face before too long. A Maglight has roughly the same weight distributuion as a lightsaber - NO weight at all in the blade, the large mass of the battery below the hand.

Of course, it makes the ultimate lockpick...

[Kraven Kor]

I think the Bat'leth and the Vulcan staff are the only weapons in your list that really requires much of a "special build" (that have not been done to death like the lightsaber.)

The Bat'leth, I would just write up as a hand-and-a-half HKA (Required Limbs: 1.5 hands or whatever) which means you get a bit more damage on it when wielding it two handed. Just about every other aspect of the bat'leth is going to be a Combat Skill Level, adder, or maneuver - the Bat'leth is just a sharp hunk of metal that happens to look awesome and, in the right hands, I do imagine it would be quite deadly.

The Lirpas - first off, obviously, Required Hands: Two Hands, and build it as a two-slot mutlipower if you must - one slot the HKA, the other a HTH Attack with +1 StunX. If you must go with the original look of the weapon, I would rule it as "unwieldy" and put a -2 OCV penalty on it (seriously, they were practically swinging lampposts at each other, and if that weapon was made of metal, it would weigh quite a bit - even if just hollow aluminum of any decent gauge.)

[Old Man]

Leaving aside the Hero stats for a moment--

The Lirpa is interesting because the center of mass would be very far toward the club end. This would lend it toward being wielded with the hands closer to the club end, as a sort of very long axe, with the tactical bonus that you could catch your swinging Lirpa toward the blade end and quickly transfer the momentum to the club end without having to muscle it into motion so much. I'd expect a martial art built around the Lirpa to involve a lot of circular slashing/smashing strikes with an emphasis on keeping the thing swinging. Of course it ought to have a high STR min as befits the cheesy Vulcan race, as well as a reach advantage and an OCV penalty.

The Ryyk blades would also have a high STR min but the layouts vary so much. Some might be statted out as a plain 2H sword, but the tonfalike ones might have an OCV penalty and a bonus to block.

Bat'leths are probably the most versatile weapon in the list--one or two hand operation, lends itself to blocking, and has flanges that could make it good for disarming. Definitely an OCV penalty though, if not an outright requirement that you learn the martial art to use it.

Of course, alien races don't have a monopoly on suicidally weird melee weapons.

[ErikModi]

Koltari - The sword of the Centauri, now used mostly for ceremonial occasions and duels to the death among the heads of feuding houses. It is a straight sword designed for use in a thrusting attack, unlike the slashing weapons that make up most of this list.

Actually a Coutari. It's more of a spatha, the Roman sword that was a bit longer and straighter than the gladius. A short-to-medium sword, without the reach of a true longsword or the close-in-maneuverability of a short sword. Nothing really special, I'd say.

[ErikModi]

Lightsabers can actually be realistically statted without being ultimate blades of death or flashlights on steroids. A Hand Killing Attack, first of all, probably not dealing a ton of damage on its own. Armor piercing, certainly. Lightsabers are effective cutting tools, but you still need to put some muscle behind them to get them to cut through something. An armor-piercing sword, done and done.

Lightsaber: Killing Attack - Hand-To-Hand 2d6 (2d6+1 w/STR) (Reduced Negation (5)), Armor Piercing (+1/4) (50 Active Points); OAF (-1), No Knockback (-1/4), Total Cost 22 points.

Where lightsabers really come into their own is in how Jedi and Sith use them.

[Vulcan]

Given the source material, I always thought Lightsabers should be NND (forcefield), does Body.

[Starcloud]

Many people think that. Then when you examine the on screen evidence, really, it's not true. It bounces off of thin railings sometimes, and cuts through them other times. The difference? The apparent strength behind the blow.

NNDs always do their damage.

[Laundry Knight]

Part of the problem with using screen images is that movie producers weren't able to produce real lightsabers and had to rod like objects with hilts, kind of like metal bokken. They just used special effects to shroud them with light. Consequently, the swords did bounce with contact and did have forward heft in real life; so, the idealized lightsaber and the screen lightsaber were two different animals, and you would have to decide which animal you want to run with in your game.

[Kraven Kor]

Part of the problem with using screen images is that movie producers weren't able to produce real lightsabers and had to rod like objects with hilts, kind of like metal bokken. They just used special effects to shroud them with light. Consequently, the swords did bounce with contact and did have forward heft in real life; so, the idealized lightsaber and the screen lightsaber were two different animals, and you would have to decide which animal you want to run with in your game.

Exactly - are we mimicking the movies, following the examples in the expanded universe books, or trying to use our own scientific / realistic take on it? Each will result in a very different weapon.

[Tasha]

Exactly - are we mimicking the movies, following the examples in the expanded universe books, or trying to use our own scientific / realistic take on it? Each will result in a very different weapon.

I truly believe that creating a weapon that follows the weapon's essence, but is still well balanced within the campaign is the path to a more fun game in the Star Wars universe.

[ErikModi]

And in the essence of the lightsaber, it is a fantasic, BUT NOT ALL-POWERFUL, cutting weapon.