Lightsaber Construction

""The crystal is the heart of the blade. The heart is the crystal of the Jedi. The Jedi is the crystal of the Force. The Force is the blade of the heart. All are intertwined: the crystal, the blade, the Jedi. You are one.""

- Jedi Master Unduli

The building of a lightsaber is a required step in the training of a Jedi and involves not just technological skill, but also a close attunement to the Force. Only Jedi and those closely attuned to the Force can make these deadly weapons. This is because the crystals need extremely careful alignment. Failure to do so would cause self destruction upon activation. A Jedi can sense how the crystals should be aligned, but failure is always possible.

Beginning Construction
The construction of a sabre takes an extreme amount of concentration. There is no exact instruction to build a lightsaber, due to the irregular shape of the crystals. Thus, each sabre is unique in both the interior and the exterior construction. Often, the design of the sabre reflects in the fashion of the builder. The average sabre has one large cell. When two crystals employing a bifurcating cyclical-ignition pulse were constructed it allowed the blade to be used underwater, but this modification added difficulty to what was an already complicated construction process. Generally only Jedi from aquatic races would go to the trouble of constructing a waterproof sabre, as only they had the mobility to use it effectively underwater.

Timeframe
A minimum of one month in needed to create such a sophisticated weapon. This includes assembling the pieces, both by hand and with the Force, and meditating to imbue the crystals. A Jedi would often spend weeks putting it together, making sure that each part fit perfectly, and that it met their exact preferences in length, colour, blade frequency, and so on. As this is an RP forum, construction will take considerably less time, all depending on how the character goes about it.

Components
The lightsaber components that you can buy in the Jedi and Cult stores or receive after a successful mission consists of these items: The recharge socket on the sabre is rarely used, once every few years a Jedi must plug his sabre to be recharged. This takes about 24 hours, depending on the intensity of the blade. Power cells last so long because they are continuously recharged. The blade is a loop of energy, and when released, it simply goes back to the power cell. The only time it loses power is when a sabre strikes an object because the loop is discontinued and the energy flows through the target, destroying it.
 * A handgrip
 * An activation stud plate
 * A safety switch
 * An emitter matrix
 * A lens assembly
 * A power cell (for the most part, unlimited in power; requires little recharging)
 * A power conduit
 * A recharge socket (recharges the power cell when the lightsaber is off)

Constructing Your Lightsaber
In order to build a lightsaber, you must follow these steps:
 * Gather the proper components. On Sithspawn, these materials are the lightsaber components and one or two focusing crystals. Colour crystals are not used, but they’re alluded to in the fact that a player can choose the colour of their sabre despite which crystals they have at hand. Note that while colour of a focusing crystal doesn’t have to affect your sabre, other effects the crystal possesses will.
 * Design the whole project on a blueprint. The lightsaber's hilt is traditionally 25 to 30 centimetres long; however, design and dimensions of hilts varied greatly in part to the preferences and physiological needs of each creator.
 * Go to any Temple within the Jedi Order and once there, use the laser cutting tools and adhesive bonds found in the workshops to create the exterior. Using a diatium laser, make a lateral cut along the completed exterior, so that the handle is in half. The handle is commonly made of advanced titanium alloy, which is the same material used to make starships.
 * Once the exterior is completed, insert the power assembly. Often these come all in one piece, but if a larger or smaller one is needed, it must be built from each individual part.
 * Next is the crystal chamber. You must decide whether or not to use a single crystal or two crystals. More than one crystal makes the blade length adjustable, but for a steep price. The proper alignment of the crystals becomes much harder to make. Take extreme care in aligning the crystals using a low power laser.
 * After that, the blade generation module must be in. This converts the energy into arc wave energy. Unlike the power assembly, this must be constructed part for part.
 * Finally, use a molecular welder to attach the handle halves, which will make it look as if no cut has been made. The last and most dangerous step is activation, make sure the crystals are properly aligned, or you may kill yourself.

Did I’s and Lightsaber Construction
Excluding the steps of aligning the crystals and activating the lightsabre, the construction process can go without Did I's. The aim of lightsabre construction is to reflect on its use and the experiences of the Jedi or Cult member so far. It's a way of exploring the psyche of the character and what they hope to achieve by fashioning their tools and weapons. The fail/success rate is decided by how successful the character has been in exploring his or her psyche.

In the Jedi Order, all Padawans begin with Lightsabre Components. Their task is to seek out a crystal in the caves of Ilum when the time is right, accompanied by their Master, and then with the components and the crystal are expected to fashion their own lightsabre. This being said, a Padawan's first lightsabre should be a standard lightsabre, as per tradition, but it can be a short lightsabre as well. Any specialised lightsabres would be constructed after that first test.

In the Cult of Sadow, the rank of Hopeful, Cultist and Aspirant start with Lightsabre Components. If they wish to possess a lightsabre, they are required to find a crystal in the caves of Molavar and then fashion their lightsabre to their wanted specifications. It is not required for a Cultist to have a lightsabre. However, if a Hopeful, Cultist or Aspirant start out with a Sith Sword, they forfeit their free Lightsabre Components.