Greetings -

 

So, I have seen a lot of posts floating around about color meanings, crystals, etc. I thought I would share this guide I put together a few years ago for a table top RPG I was running (Star Wars of course). Feel free to correct me if I am wrong on any piece of lore below. And also feel free to add to this guide.

 

This is a guide to Lightsaber Construction...

 

Before placing the crystal in the lightsaber, the Jedi or Sith must imbue them with the Force. To do this, the Force-user must meditate on the crystals for several days. A double-bladed lightsaber takes almost twice as long. There are even chances of failure that would sometimes destroy the crystal being used. In the end, the builder was always attuned to the weapon through the Force. Being better with that blade then anyone who may attempt to use it.

 

A lightsaber, short lightsaber (shoto), or any other form of lightsaber requires 2 crystals. An exception to this is the double bladed lightsaber, which requires 4 crystals.

 

A lightsaber requires the following components (x2 for Double-Bladed):

 

• A handgrip
  
• An activation stud plate
  
• A safety switch
  
• An emitter matrix
  
• A lense assembly
  
• Unique power cell (requires little to no recharging)
  
• Power conduit
  
• Recharge Socket (for recharging if required)
  
• Focus Crystal
  
• Beam Crystal
  

 

Beam Colors and Meanings

 

Silver (uncommon)

This lightsaber is what is called a dual-phase saber. Meaning the length of the blade can be changed with a special switch built into the hilt. The blade can be changed from the typical 1.2 meters to 2 meters with the flick of this switch.

 

Clear (rare)

A clear beam improves the stealth of a character. This was generally used by Jedi who focused on stealth and reconnaissance missions. The only downside to this beam, is it made using the saber difficult during combat.

 

Gold (rare)

This lightsaber is generally used in the ceremony of granting a Jedi the rank of Jedi Master.

 

Rainbow (Shifts through the color spectrum) (rare)

This lightsaber is unique in that it changes hue based upon the mood of the wielder.

 

White (common)

A color only used in lightsaber deflection training. This weapon provides no damage if someone is struck with it.

 

Black

A virtually impossible beam to create, the black lightsaber is convented by all dark side users. It is only a legend that such a crystal exists that would allow a dark side user to create such a beam. It's powers, unknown.

First I'm Ignoring most of the post since it draws information from conflicting sources, ie they were justifying the mechanics behind saber construction in different games. There is little true lore behind lightsabers, mostly due to George Lucas not providing any, and debunking anything anyone else came up with.

Firstly, the part were you say the lightsaber requires two crystals, a beam crystal and a focusing crystal, for most sources, including the books, these crystals are the same thing, meaning only one crystal is needed.

For the Silver beam/crystal lore, this is wrong, colour has no effect on blade length, and those lightsabers that do change length do so because they have multiple crystals (typically three for some reason)

For the Clear Blade, this would be invisible, this would then be the ideal blade type for most Sith, and the fact it isn't probably means it's impossible.

The White and Black Crystals are actually in the game, but white does as mush damage as any other.

The Gold Crystal is a mistake, Jedi council members have gold (the metal) on their lightsabers, ordinary masters (non-council members) are just declared masters without any particular ceremony.

And the Rainbow Crystal is probably not actually possible, it would require the colours to cycle through the actual crystal itself, which I'm sure is physically impossible (chemical bonds would have to be broken and reformed thousands of times per second).

First I'm Ignoring most of the post since it draws information from conflicting sources, ie they were justifying the mechanics behind saber construction in different games. There is little true lore behind lightsabers, mostly due to George Lucas not providing any, and debunking anything anyone else came up with.

Firstly, the part were you say the lightsaber requires two crystals, a beam crystal and a focusing crystal, for most sources, including the books, these crystals are the same thing, meaning only one crystal is needed.

.

IIRC, it's a beam crystal and a focusing lens.

EDIT: And I'll just fail at quoting.

 

First I'm Ignoring most of the post since it draws information from conflicting sources, ie they were justifying the mechanics behind saber construction in different games. There is little true lore behind lightsabers, mostly due to George Lucas not providing any, and debunking anything anyone else came up with.

 

Firstly, the part were you say the lightsaber requires two crystals, a beam crystal and a focusing crystal, for most sources, including the books, these crystals are the same thing, meaning only one crystal is needed.

 

For the Silver beam/crystal lore, this is wrong, colour has no effect on blade length, and those lightsabers that do change length do so because they have multiple crystals (typically three for some reason)

 

For the Clear Blade, this would be invisible, this would then be the ideal blade type for most Sith, and the fact it isn't probably means it's impossible.

 

The White and Black Crystals are actually in the game, but white does as mush damage as any other.

 

The Gold Crystal is a mistake, Jedi council members have gold (the metal) on their lightsabers, ordinary masters (non-council members) are just declared masters without any particular ceremony.

 

And the Rainbow Crystal is probably not actually possible, it would require the colours to cycle through the actual crystal itself, which I'm sure is physically impossible (chemical bonds would have to be broken and reformed thousands of times per second).

The rainbow gem does actually exist it was used by Tenel Ka Djo the grand daughter of Ta'a Chume and eventually the Queen Mother of the hapes consortium here let me link you the gem.

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Rainbow_gem

As you can see the nature of these "gems" is what allowed them to be shift in color and they did actually exsist, even have a noted jedi using one.

IIRC, it's a beam crystal and a focusing lens.

 

EDIT: And I'll just fail at quoting.

Yes, I get that, but the OP had a Beam crystal, a focusing crystal and a lens assemble, Just reducing it down to one crystal.

Ps. sorry about my post mucking up your quote, have fixed it.

The way I see it.

We dont have much (except the very erratic EU) to go on for this.

If I remember correctly, The Bane Trilogy did a good job of explaining why the Sith used Red Lightsaber crystals. And I generally accepted that since the writer decided to pay great detail to the Sith side of things without heavily contradicting other works.

As for the vast amounts of 'colored' crystals out there. Im on the fence about it. On one side, I can understand wanting to exhibit some sort of individuality. On the other, the Jedi were all about shrugging off materialistic attitudes and devoting oneself to the Force. So they were very much a copy and paste sort of group. Individuality wasnt highly regarded amongst the Jedi as it was the Sith.

But there will always be exceptions to the rule and as players/observers/fans we will always find ourselves choosing those individuals that acts outside of what the group does as those to look up to, be fans of or want to emulate.

So you will see a great many that may stay true to the Blue/Green lightsabers of the movies simply because they feel the need to stay true to what it is to be a Jedi. While others may distance themselves from that by choosing a different colored crystal.

As for the Sith brandishing Blue/Green Lightsabers. I cant say I blame them considering Bioware in my humble opinion went a little overboard with the lightside/darkside options. You will find many random encounters where you will be given a choice to make that will result in a lightside/darkside option. These options arent always preceeded by a necessarily obvious light/dark moment. And only when youre given the options of response do you become aware of its implications and youre forced to choose between how you think your character would react (which could net you points towards a side you dont want to be forced into) and what will give you the best option for your overall lightside/darkside goal.

"Toward the end of the Old Republic era, Ilum was the primary source of most crystals used for lightsabers; this dramatically limited the color range, as the crystals harvested from Ilum produce only blue and green blades."

―Tionne Solusar

This is why Jedi primarily use green and blue lightsabers. It has nothing to do with their 'class' although this isn't the first time I've heard of saber crystals being assigned to a specific role in an RPG. I recall one where the crystal was used to demonstrate your alignment, for example.

Also, dual-phase sabers are not all silver. Gantoris made himself one on Yavin in the novel I, Jedi. His was violet. Corran Horn laster attempted to duplicate this with, I believe, a green blade. According to Wookiepedia, Vader also owned a dual-phase saber, so apparently, they come in red too.

So far as I could tell from I, Jedi, the dual-phase bit is part of the lightsaber's construction, not an aspect of the crystal.

Also, dual-phase sabers are not all silver. Gantoris made himself one on Yavin in the novel I, Jedi. His was violet.

Was actually first seen in Dark Apprentice, and I believe Gantoris' lightsaber shifted colors when he changed the phase for length - think it became orange when extended? Haven't read the Jedi Academy trilogy in years. The dual-phase construction of a lightsaber is, as I understand it, linked partly to how many crystals are used in the construction but also to how they're cut and aligned to the emitter. I seem to also recall that anotehr unique property of dual-phase blades is that they were more resistant to the shut-off effect of cortosis, as I believe was referenced in the Hand of Thrawn duology.

But, yeah, more agreement that the colors of a lightsaber being in any way indicative of the wielder's alignment or focus is bogus. Also, special properties imbued upon a weapon via the crystal is crap - only exception I can think of is when Anakin Solo used a Yuuzhan Vong lambent crystal in his lightsaber which, coupled with latent yorik coral implants, allowed him to sense the Yuuzhan Vong through the Force where normally they were invisible.

I'm trying to rationalize the use of a white lightsaber crystal on my Miralukan Jedi Shadow within the lore.

My Jedi has a strong sense of duty and a black and white sense of morality, probably because of the Miralukan ability to view a person's aura in the force. White seems to make sense to me as a Miraluka would not be able to perceive light and color as someone with eyes would (though I believe they can discern color and light based on wavelengths and whatnot, but that's another discussion), so symbolism of color might be more important than visual appearance. As a symbol, I thought white fit with his idea of good and evil, as if Light was "purifying" Darkness when he takes out an enemy of the Jedi Order.

But if white crystals are really rare, I don't see my Jedi going out of his way just to get a crystal of a certain color. He would be to focused on his duties. However, I saw that the Imperial Knights almost exclusively used white lightsaber crystals, almost as if there was a source of abundant supply of them. Does anyone know where the Imperial Knights got their crystals from?

I was possibly considering other options that would seem more practical. I'm currently looking at using a Copper (close to the traditional Shadow coloration), Derelict Purple (Not really bright, so good for stealth with Crystals seemingly available on Ilum), or Mint Green (something that would be very common.)

when Qui gon jinn went to get his crystal the one he connected with is red. It was taken by another student tough. The colors are not at all specific to the light or dark side of the force but the individual person. Red for instance is for those who have deep seated emotions, in the case of the sith who's powers are based of such strong emotions its only natural. As for the rainbow lightsaber, only one ever existed and it belonged to the Exile, it changed color based on which side of the force she attuned to.

I have also heard people complain about the black lightsaber or darksaber. It is in fact a cannon color. The sunriders possed two a saber and a whip.

I'm trying to rationalize the use of a white lightsaber crystal on my Miralukan Jedi Shadow within the lore.

 

My Jedi has a strong sense of duty and a black and white sense of morality, probably because of the Miralukan ability to view a person's aura in the force. White seems to make sense to me as a Miraluka would not be able to perceive light and color as someone with eyes would (though I believe they can discern color and light based on wavelengths and whatnot, but that's another discussion), so symbolism of color might be more important than visual appearance. As a symbol, I thought white fit with his idea of good and evil, as if Light was "purifying" Darkness when he takes out an enemy of the Jedi Order.

 

But if white crystals are really rare, I don't see my Jedi going out of his way just to get a crystal of a certain color. He would be to focused on his duties. However, I saw that the Imperial Knights almost exclusively used white lightsaber crystals, almost as if there was a source of abundant supply of them. Does anyone know where the Imperial Knights got their crystals from?

 

I was possibly considering other options that would seem more practical. I'm currently looking at using a Copper (close to the traditional Shadow coloration), Derelict Purple (Not really bright, so good for stealth with Crystals seemingly available on Ilum), or Mint Green (something that would be very common.)

So yeah, this is not the sort of crystal that you hunt down in a cave, it is not natural, it is the sort you create yourself through a special technique. Maybe this technique has been passed down by the Jedi's Miralukan ancestors?

The lightsabers used by the Imperial Knights were created with synthetic crystals i.e. artificial crystals that are usually constructed with the power of the dark side to produce a red-blade. However by omitting that method and through special manipulations during the creation process or on the crystal itself any colour can be created, including white.

 

So yeah, this is not the sort of crystal that you hunt down in a cave, it is not natural, it is the sort you create yourself through a special technique. Maybe this technique has been passed down by the Jedi's Miralukan ancestors?

Jaina Solo did hers artificially and came out with violet. Luke made his green. I don't think there is anything special in the creation of a synthetic crystal (Think Shadow Academy) and it seems to be a pretty simple process any science major could cook up. Maybe the ancient Sith or Jedi had a special technique, but the Imperial Knights might just have done what Jaina did (considering she was the likely founder of their organization in some way).

Jaina Solo did hers artificially and came out with violet. Luke made his green. I don't think there is anything special in the creation of a synthetic crystal (Think Shadow Academy) and it seems to be a pretty simple process any science major could cook up. Maybe the ancient Sith or Jedi had a special technique, but the Imperial Knights might just have done what Jaina did (considering she was the likely founder of their organization in some way).

Probably, just commune with the Force and all that. But where these colours random or deliberate?

Jaina actually used the force to carefully craft her crystal as it grew over several hours. As for color, I think hers was intentional. She used very precise chemical mixtures to form her crystal, likely forming the exact type she wanted with the color she desired.

The crafting she did in the making of her crystal was more focused on giving it an ideal shape to maximize efficiency (something she is well known for appreciating)

I'm not sure on the specifics of how Luke crafted his.

I'm not sure on the specifics of how Luke crafted his.

I seem to remember through perhaps radio drama or scripts that Luke's was created through a lot of trial and error.