Skill: Force Lightning
Control Difficulty: Difficult, modified by proximity, limited to line of sight.
Alter Difficulty: Target’s control or Perception roll
Time To Use: One minute.
Game Note: A Jedi who uses this power for any reason immediately gains a Dark Side Point.
Effect: This power is a corruption of the Force. When used it produces bolts of white or blue energy that fly from the user’s fingertips like sorcerous lightning. The bolts tear through their target, causing painful wounds. Since this power is Force-generated it can be Force-repelled using absorb/dissipate energy. A Jedi can absorb Force Lightning into their lightsaber.
Force lighting courses over and into its target, convulsing the target with serious pain, and eventually killing him. Armor does not protect a character from Force lightning. Force lightning causes 1D of damage for each 2D of alter the user has (rounded down: a character with an alter of 5D would cause 2D of damage).
Background: Force lightning, also known as Sith Lightning, was a power that Force users could conjure through the dark side of the Force.
Force lightning was an offensive technique which involved a discharge of electrical energy from the practitioner’s hands and was capable of killing or inflicting severe pain on the target of this attack as well as possible disfigurement or even disintegrating them.
In some cases, the intensity of Force lightning was so high that the victim’s skeletal system glowed and could be seen through his or her skin—as demonstrated with Mace Windu—or even through heavy armor. Force lightning could also have other effects in rare instances. During the mission to Pasaana, while battling Kylo Ren, the Jedi Rey released a burst of Force lightning so powerful it was able to obliterate a First Order troop transport ship. Shortly after, during the Battle of Exegol, Darth Sidious unleashed a barrage of Force Lightning that completely disabled the ships in the citizens’ fleet above.
A variant of the ability, known as chain lightning, involved a burst of lightning that would spread from the first target to those around them. Another variant used by Sidious was the power Dark Aura, a miniature storm of malevolent Force energy and lightning surrounding its producer that tortured and slowed the movement of all caught within its radius.
Force lightning occurred in at least four colors; blue, green, yellow, and red. The typical form was a bluish-purple version as demonstrated by Darth Sidious, Darth Tyranus, Snoke, and Rey; Nightsister magick equivalents were green like magical ichor as demonstrated by Mother Talzin. Darth Momin’s lightning glowed yellow, and red lightning was used by the Son—a represention of the dark side—and the disembodied spirit of Darth Vader when he entered a portal in his castle on Mustafar.
A Jedi and Sith could deflect the lightning with a lightsaber; a powerful Jedi Master such as Yoda was capable of deflecting the attack using Force deflection or absorb it but only for a short while and with immense effort. Gungan personal energy shields were also capable of repelling Force lightning. Mace Windu and Rey were both able to deflect Sidious’ lightning back onto him using lightsabers. In Rey’s case, the force of his own reflected lightning was what ultimately destroyed Sidious. Quinlan Vos was able to deflect the Force lightning of Tyranus back onto him with his lightsaber.