Reference Disrupter rifles and pistols

i heard that disruptor pistols and rifle blasters, are unblockable by light sabers... is this true.. the verpine shatter gun i can see.. sure, but there are other versions of disruptor.

I would like to know how they are unblockable.. and why, (wiki links work for me)

 

When it comes to research questions for Star Wars games, Wookieepedia is your friend. As for disruptors, they produce a wave like effect, rather than a standard bolt - think ripples on a pond as opposed to the usual line effect. The article doesn't say whether or not this makes it impossible to block with a lightsaber, but that'd certainly make sense.

All of that said... not totally sure if this is the right forum for such an inquiry. But there you go.

 

The only instances I recall of Lightsabers going against Disruptor rifles and pistols are KotOR, KotOR II, and the Jedi Knight games. In KotOR they're deflectable by lightsabers so far as I recall, in the Jedi Knight games however I distinctly remember playing as Kyle on Coruscant. As I was running along an area Disruptor bolts would fly past him, He'd not move to block them at all, but, if the blast hit the lightsaber it'd stop. Both of these may just be game mechanics but it seems reasonable to assume from them, that low power disruptor blasts can be deflected while high power blasts simply dissipate against the blade or are at least weakened a significant amount.

 

Actually, I distinctly remember Kyle turning into a pile of ash before my very eyes when I played the game. Guess that was just me though.

 

ok, if this isnt the right board, which would be?

 

Perhaps the EU Community, or some such. I don't frequent the other parts of the boards a whole lot, but the RPR is usually for inquiries and stuff related to... well, roleplaying itself. I bring this up because you'd probably be able to get more help in another part of the boards.

 

Since I's mostly a RP question, I have players with disruptor asking if they are block able, and others with sabers saying of course, everything is block able..

 

I'll allow it. We get these questions every now and again. Of course, if you're asking whether they're unblockable by officially published d6/d20 rules, you'll have to ask these folks here cause we generally have no idea.

 

Computer/video game mechanics (<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<)^999 canon. There is no point in using them as evidence in any way whatsoever.

IIRC, disruptors use the same mechanics as blasters; the wave is just wider. Thus, a saber can block part of the wave just like normal. The trick is merely blocking enough of the wave that nothing gets through to hurt the lightsaber's wielder. In fact, the entire wave could probably be blocked with a well-timed wide swing.

 

Force absorb is your friend.

But since there is no definitive answer, I think it's fair to say that as a GM, it's your game and your call.

Personally, as a pro-force-user, Disruptors would be totally blockable in my games. A pro-Imperial GM might see things differently and make them unblockable, etc. Take time to think about it, consider such things as game mechanics and balance of power, etc. and make a judgment on it. Tell your story.

cheers!

 

oh that happened more than once with me too, but if the blast ever hit the lightsaber blade it'd stop. Might have been a glitch, or something.

 

To emphasize my point about width being the main issue, paralysis beams have a similar advantage over lightsabers.

 

IMO, lightsabers cannot completely block things several times wider than the blade's own width.


Think of a lightsaber as a baseball bat and a normal, crimson blaster bolt as a baseball. The bolt is concentrated into a small area which allows the lightsaber to block it, just like a bat can hit a baseball.

Now think of the lightsaber again as a baseball bat but a wide area of affect bolt such as a stun beam as a large water bomb being thrown at you. What do you think happens when you try to block the water bomb? You hit it, but because it is larger and its mass is spread out in a wide area, it still goes around the bat and you are a sopping wet fool being laughed at.

You say energy is different from physical objects? Not really. A concentrated laser beam can be blocked by an object larger or near to its own size. A laser beam set on a wide setting cannot be blocked by smaller objects. The energy will continue past the edges of said object.

A physical object being blocked by a physical object has a much greater chance of actually being repelled compared to energy being blocked by a physical object. And yes the blade of a lighstaber is a physical object. It is plasma enclosed in a magnetic field of some sort.


As for video games, they are poor references for examples. Games are designed to be fun and entertaining. If Lucasarts created the powers of a game as realistic as possible, it wouldn't be fun. The Force Unleashed is a prime example of over blown Force powers.