Date: Thu, 25 Jan 1996 01:18:02 -0500
From: connorbd@bc.edu
Subject: Re: Lightchainsaw (was: Fluff)
In-reply-to: <Pine.ULT.3.91.960124151619.13433I-100000@elwha.evergreen.edu>
To: jae+sw-rpg@DRYCAS.CLUB.CC.CMU.EDU
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>Please, do. Actualy I've got so many NPCs I have to build for my in 
>person game, I dont see me having time to do it. The most thought I've 
>given to it was it was probably much harder to use, but has a higher 
>damage than a regular saber. (Like about maybe a D or so more, but not 
>much higher).

The lightchainsaw was invented as a joke during the days of the Purges. Two
Jedi, Deikar Kenobi of Tatooine (a cousin of Ben's) and Sheya Sissicar of the
Corellian world Tralus, were in hiding on Clak'dor Seven with a mutual Bith
friend. Deikar and Sheya got the idea one day of producing a weapon designed for
things like breakins and the like. Since the lightsaber was the obvious choice
for such a weapon to be based on, they developed a device that basically
extended two saber beams to an ultrahot point, hotter than the tip of a typical
lightsaber. Sheya, whose parents had been lumberjacks on Tralus, had used
chainsaws frequently in her youth, so it was decided that the weapon would be
built on a frame shaped like a scalene trapezoid, but with the top slanted to
focus the beam. 

The final weapon was near completion when Deikar and Sheya were assasinated on
Clak'dor by a Bith ninja (or the equivalent). The Bith they stayed with, Kuikk
Sk'etts, managed to keep his identity secret. Eventually he joined Devta
Sharanim's Motesta Circle, where the first usable lightchainsaw, with
color-shiftable blades, was constructed.

Three are known to exist, though the plans for the weapon are no secret. Devta
himself carries one, a largish, bottom-heavy device about a third of a meter in
length, with a handgrip on the back and a trigger handle on the left side (Devta
is left-handed). Jedi Knight Kyp Durron, known for having a rather twisted sense
of humor anyway, carries a hack-job of a chainsaw that basically consists of two
lightsabers on a frame. It works for him, though everyone else thinks it's a bit
odd. The third is the unfinished original that Kuikk Sk'etts brought to Tatooine
and Yavin with him. 

The lightchainsaw is actually easier to use than a lightsaber (you don't get
kickback on a chainsaw with no real blade), but it's more limited because of the
shape. Anyone with access to lightsaber plans, a synchronizing circuit, the
right case parts, and a very precise rangefinder can build one. 

Required skills:
lightsaber design/repair 4d
computer programming/repair 3d
lightchainsaw combat 4d

Damage:7d (on average)
Cost: not available for sale
Availability: 4 (not restricted by law due to rarity)

lightchainsaw combat

The lightchainsaw isn't anywhere near as fluidly managed as a lightsaber. It can
do a fair amount of damage at point-blank range and can be a reasonably good
parry weapon, but it suffers from a few weaknesses. The main thing is that the
blade on a chainsaw is seldom longer than about a meter, much shorter than a
typical lightsaber blade. Also, the biggest problem with multiblade energy
weapons of this sort is the hole in the doubled blade; theoretically, a properly
placed thrust of a lightsaber could cut the chainsaw in half. Though Devta and
Kyp both have mirrors mounted to deflect lightsaber beams, it still requires a
fair amount of skill to manage them in close combat. 

Attacking difficulty: easy (point-blank only)
Parrying difficulty: moderate (slashing)
                     difficult (thrusting)
                     moderate (blaster deflection, + easy control and sense)
                     heroic (blaster deflection without Force aid)