Force Sword is defined on B272, with note 7 explained on B274.
Benefits of parrying attacks with them[]
- "damages any weapon or body part it parries"
Unless of course you want to avoid damaging someone/something attacking you: then it's a drawback.
How this differs from normal swords is that they usually only get a CHANCE to inflict damage (you need to roll to hit) and that only applies when you parry an unarmed attack.
Problems of parrying attacks from them[]
- "... or which parries or blocks it"
By "damages" this refers to rolling the basic (burning) damage against the parrying/blocking weapon or body part.
If for example it had enough DR to avoid Penetrating Damage from 6d burning, it would not suffer injury.
the nerfing[]
UT166 introduced an exception to the usual policy: "unless the defense roll was a critical success". It's unclear how this works though, as it seems to represent that someone could do a bare-handed parry against a force sword (at a distance they'd be too far to touch the hand) and not suffer damage.
the exceptions[]
- "Only another force sword or a sonic blade is unaffected."
This appears to overlook the Stasis Switchblade on UT164 which is also explicitly unbreakable and usable for parrying force swords.
Activation[]
Ultratech 166:
- A force sword may be activated as it is being readied on a successful Fast-Draw roll. Otherwise, it takes a Ready maneuver to activate it. In either case, it takes one second for the blade to form and stabilize.
Damage[]
The note "damages any weapon or body part it parries or which parries or blocks it" appears to indicate that even though it is an "energy blade" it can somehow stop kinetic motion attacks.
This is especially useful since it "cannot break" which is a danger of low-mass blades parrying heavier attacks.
It's burning damage is not based on 'thrust' so it does not usually benefit from ST. The only weight is the handle, which takes a mere ST 3 to wield without penalty.
Martial considerations[]
MA209's Force-Swordsmanship clearly emphasizes the relation to Star Wars' Jedi. It also introduces some new rules:
- a "Beat" is possible via a Force Sword vs Force Sword contest
- GMs may, in cinematic campaigns, allow Power Blow to double or triple DAMAGE instead of ST as it normally does (B215) so that the weapon can benefit, but only if the user built the sword themself
- Weapon Bond is suggested as a prerequisite for this
- "same caveats" are used for Weapon Master, which per B99 normally only adds bonus damage "per die" to "basic thrust or swing" weapon damage, which force swords do not use (the melee motions itself may be thrusts or swnigs, but the damage is not)
- Weapon Bond is suggested as a prerequisite for this