Sith Sword An alchemically altered blade attached to an ordinary sword hilt, the Sith sword was often a match for a lightsaber when wielded by a trained Sith warrior. The alterations allow the blade to deflect blaster bolts and lightsabers, just as lightsabers themselves do. The blade also focuses the Force energy of the user, giving the edge an unnatural sharpness. As the wielder grows more proficient in the power of the dark side, the blade becomes more deadly. To simulate this, when a dark side character who wields a Sith sword calls upon the dark side of the Force, he may choose to add his dark side bonus dice to the sword's damage, rather than adding it to his attack roll with the weapon. The damage bonus lasts for 10 rounds + 1 round per Force level of the wielder. (This bonus cannot be added to any other rolls during that time, such as attack rolls or skill rolls.) In addition, Sith swords are effective against lightsabers because of the way their alchemically altered metal refracts the lightsaber's energy. Sith swords retain their hardness against attacks from lightsabers, instead of having it reduced to 0 as with ordinary weapons. (See the Lightsabers and Hardness sidebar on page 1 1 7 of the Star Wars Roleplaying Game.) Sith swords do not require power packs or energy cells. Era Notes: During the Golden Age of the Sith, these weapons were only available in areas of space controlled by the Sith. After this time, they become available in the rest of the galaxy as rarely seen relics of a dead civilization.
Dark Armor Those who fall to the dark side know that their greatest enemies will be Jedi. Any given Jedi might be a match for the darksider, so to tip the scales of battle, the darksider needs an edge-a way to withstand damage better than his Jedi opponent can. For many, armor provides the best advantage. Dark armor is nearly always created to meet the specific needs of the wearer. The material and design varies from wearer to wearer. Some suits are crude and heavy, while others are elegant and light. A few seem almost decorative. Almost all of them are alchemically treated during their construction to achieve certain effects desired by the wearer, from additional protection against blasters and lightsabers to extra resistance against certain forms of attack. Dark armor is never simply found; those who wear it almost always take it with them to the grave. It is often destroyed when they are. The Gamemaster should only allow characters to find dark armor in ancient burial vaults, or at least require them to loot it from the bodies of vanquished foes. In either case, taking the armor should not be a
simple task. Burial vaults have traps and guards, and the foe should have been enough of a challenge to make the acquisition of his armor a difficult proposition. Alternatively, though, the GM May allow characters to construct their own dark armor (see sidebar). Creating Dark Armor Characters who have begun the journey to the dark side may wish to construct their own dark armor. This requires the Craft (armor) skill, though some other skills are needed to create certain components the character may desire to incorporate (see below). The character chooses one of the armor types listed on Table 7 - 3 : Armor in the Star Wars Roleplaying Game as the basis for his or her dark armor, then creates that armor using the Craft rules (as described on pages 7 2 - 7 3 of the rulebook). Additional features can then be chosen from the table below (or designed with the cooperation of the GM) and constructed using the rules in this section. Many suits of dark armor also incorporate ordinary technological devices, such as breath masks, comlinks, and motion sensors; these can all be installed after the armor has been constructed and modified.
Cortosis Weave: This substance is made using the Craft skill rules in the Star Wars Roleplaying Game, Chapter 4: Skills. A character decides whether to incorporate Cortosis weave into armor when he begins crafting it. (This modification cannot be added to a completed suit of armor.) This increases the cost of the armor by 15,000 credits and adds 5,000 credits to the cost of raw materials. The character then makes a Craft roll for each week of work; on a failed roll, half of the raw materials-including the materials for the original armor-are ruined and must be replaced. Damage Reduction: A character cannot add damage reduction to a completed suit of armor. He must decide whether to incorporate it when he begins crafting the armor. The price of materials on Table 4 - 2 doesn't add to the work-value of the suit of armor. Instead, after building the suit of armor, the character buys 10,000 credits (for damage resistance 5) or 25,000 credits (for damage resistance 16 of alchemical materials and makes a final Alchemy check. This last Alchemy check represents one week of work; on a failed roll, half of the materials are ruined-including those used in the original suit of armor-and must be replaced Special Price: Some dark armor special qualities have a special price: They require dark side energy.