A lightsaber must have the following parts: a power cell, a handgrip, an activation plate, a safety, a belt ring or adhesion clip (optional), a blade length adjuster (optional), an emitter matrix, a recharge socket, a lens assembly, a focusing crystal, and a power conduit built around one or more power crystals.
Most hand grips have a length of 24 to 30 centimeters, with the blades extending themselves up to 1.5meters.
The type of crystal used to focus the energy from the power cell determines the harmonic resonance and lethality of the weapon. Jedi Knights use Adegan crystals almost exclusively, as they have done for millenia. The Adegan family includes the following crystals in order of rarity (the die code represents the blade's base damage when using that crystal:
To construct a lightsaber from its components parts takes a minimum of one month and requires a successful lightsaber repair roll against a Very Difficult difficulty. Decrease the difficulty level by one difficulty level for each extra month spent building the saber, to a minimum of Easy (1-5). Jedi characters may adjust the lightsabers base damage die code through modifications [the same way as modifying damage die codes for any other weapon]. Characters rely on their lightsaber repair skill to make such improvements.
Certain crystals can also adjust the damage output of a lightsaber, however as each lightsaber is constructed to fit the specific crystals, the hilt may need modification to accommodate a crystal replacement.
The process of creating a lightsaber varies depending on who the craftsman is, with each artisan giving the saber his or her own personal style. Most Jedi use Adegan crystals, found very rarely but usually nearly flawless. Taking these naturally-ocurring crystals, they build the lightsaber to their own personal tastes, in perfect harmony with nature through the crystal. The Sith, however, use a special furnace to artificially craft crystals in an intense heat, using the Dark Side of the Force to shape the crystals' growth so that when it is time to remove it from the furnace it is already shaped to perfectly suit the Sith Lord's needs. Obi-Wan Kenobi's journal, which was what taught Luke how to construct his own saber, used a method simlar to the Sith's artificial crystal method. Regardless of whether or not natural crystals or synthetic crystals are used, the process of creating a lightsaber is one of the most essential lessons the Jedi (and Sith) teach their students.
