Model: Crossguard Lightsaber
Type: Melee weapon
Scale: Character
Cost: Not Available For Sale
Availability: R, X
Difficulty: Very Difficult
Damage: 5D (see notes)
Game Notes: If an attacking character misses the difficulty number by more than 10 points (the base difficulty; not their opponent’s parry total), the character has injured himself with the lightsaber. Apply normal damage to the character wielding the lightsaber.
Difficulty: The Crossguard Lightsaber is more difficult to use than a normal Lightsaber, as it is easier to hit the user.
Defensive Bonus: The Crossguard gives a bonus +1D to lightsaber parries.
Background: The crossguard lightsaber was an ancient lightsaber variant with three blades—a primary blade and two vents just below it called quillons—or a physical crossguard. It was once common among Makashi practitioners by the time of the Great Scourge of Malachor. The Sith Lord Darth Atrius wielded a pair of such lightsabers imbued with his anger. Later, during the High Republic Era, Jedi Master Stellan Gios wielded a crossguard lightsaber with an additional, folding physical crossguard which supported the quillon blades. First Order warlord and later Supreme Leader Kylo Ren wielded a lightsaber where the quillons served an additional function as vents to balance out an unstable, cracked kyber crystal.
Crossguard lightsabers were lightsabers with a single hilt for a main blade that either additionally possessed two small vents below the primary blade, positioned opposite each other on the hilt, or had a physical crossguard that extended from the tip of the hilt. Crossguard lightsaber vents, called quillons, projected two smaller blades and thus could be used to vent out additional energy. The smaller blades were tributaries of the main blade. Quillons vented out the energy using an array of focusing crystal activators to split the energy from the kyber crystal inside. Emitter shrouds were used to protect the wielder’s hands from injury or being cut off from battle.
An ancient design, it was once common among practitioners of the lightsaber combat Form II, also known as Makashi. During the High Republic Era, another type of crossguard lightsaber was popular among the Jedi Order. These lightsabers featured a physical crossguard made from metal without having any additional energy blades. Known users include Avar Kriss, Burryaga Agaburry, and Creighton Sun.
The crossguard lightsaber was often wielded as a heavier alternative to the single-bladed lightsaber, with users such as Cal Kestis or Kylo Ren opting to wield it with both hands while attacking in some circumstances. This technique allowed the wielder to break an opponent’s guard with ease, or inflict far more grievous wounds in comparison to the more balanced single-bladed lightsaber.
Appearances: REBELS, Episode VII The Force Awakens, Episode VIII The Last Jedi, Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker
