Cortosis

Is cortosis (a material that is at least in part resistant to lightsaber blades) a good idea? I think it deffinately can be. In the EU the limitations of a lightsaber have only been trickled out one-by-one. It seems most authors don't want to mess with the mythically powerful aspect of the famous weapons. I think it's a good idea to play it safe and only add limiting details if it's absolutely necessary. Cortosis, as long as it doesn't crop up everywhere, like kryptonite for Superman, could be a great addition. It is featured prominently in SW: KOTOR, and is necessary to explain why melee weapons could still be effective. It wouldn't be a fun game if lightsaber strikes destroyd every non-lightsaber weapon. KOTOR takes place 4000 years before the rise of the Empire, so it seems plausible that the existence of the material could have been lost to legend.

I think that it would be pretty cool for it to be official, but like I voted, I would hate for characters to be totally immune to lightsabers.

Maybe if Cortosis were extremely rare it would work.

I'm pretty sure Cortosis IS extremely rare, so it works, IMO. 🙂

eh it should be ok....but I didn't think it was all that big in KOTOR....only OBi-Wan

Can't stand it.

I am not against the principle of dense materials being able to better resist sabres, but I would be thinking in the sense of huge blast doors and the like, being slower to cut through. To translate that into building effective sabre-proof armour and- even worse- WEAPONS- really annoys me. It seems to be violating a principle of how Star Wars works. In most ways a lightsabre is a ridiculous weapon (a melee weapon in an era of hi-tech ranged weaponry) so you have to put it in the context of a Galaxy where it works and the way cortosis has been applied has gone against that.

And hell yeah you should have your melee weapons cut in half if you go up against a Jedi with a conventional weapon! Why the heck WOULD any sane person do such a thing? Melee weapons are overpowered in KOTOR anyway.

It is also such a lazy development, Lighsabre =best weapon... oh... let's make something that resists it...

Writers should make more effort than that.

Still, I don't want to sound like I am deifying lightsabres. They should have plenty of liabilities. A material that effecitvely resists it on a personal level should not be one, though.

Well cortosis first came out in Jedi Knight 2:Jedi Outcast. It was used to make shadowtrooper armour, so that it would be lightsaber resistant. You could still kill them with a lightsaber though, so I suppose it could be official and I think it already is.

no, if it's official, it got GL's aproval, and he didn't gave it

Here's a post from a forum I roleplay on. Gives the background and stuff on Cortosis, from a roleplayers point of view.

Cortosis

Cortosis is a red material found on several different planets but most abundent on the planet of Oberdaan. For whatever reason this metal shows force resistant properties. Force Resistant is used in the most literal sense. Cortosis can block lightsabers, prevent mind readings and tricks, and most force users find it very difficult to use the force to push or lift cortosis. If a person is wearing cortosis armor a force user will have to rely on sheer skill to defeat them because force techniques are unreliable against an opponent protected by this metal.

Cortosis normally is not invincible to a lightsaber or force techniques, most of the times that it has been used the metal is simply shaped and molded into form. When done like this it will stop 2 or 3 hits before finally being penetrated by a lightsaber and will force the jedi or sith to concentrate harder to perform force techniques. It slows force users' effectiveness but does not make them helpless unless they are a freshly adopted apprentice and not yet very skilled with the force.

Cortosis is also extremely difficult to mold into small parts meaning that cortosis armor is usually a series of cortosis plates held together by some other material. A well aimed saber strike at a joint or the connecting material will penetrate as it normally would. Usually the sides between front and back of the torso are made up entirely of some other material and is therefore a very easy shot for any good saber fighter.

As said before, normally Cortosis is only force resistant, dulling the lethality of a force adept opponent but not nullifying it. The exception is purified Cortosis. If it undergoes the proper purification process, Cortosis can become force proof. Purified Cortosis is given away by its sheer red luster, unmarked and stainless. In this form a saber can not cut through and a force technique is totally useless. There are only 3 known facilities that have the equipment to purify Cortosis in such a manner, making purified Cortosis armor and weapons nearly impossible to obtain and by no means cheap. In fact there is not a single known suit of purified Cortosis armor as the cost is estimated to be anywhere in the area of 4 million credits; combine this with the price of the Cortosis to be purified and the cost of purification and it rounds out to roughly 21 million credits. This outlandish cost is what keeps purified Cortosis Armor from being produced, the profits just won't outweigh the expenses.

Purified Cortosis weapons however are more common. Their smaller stature and need for less resources makes them much more possible to obtain. Purified Cortosis weapons range from throwing knives and combat knives to swords and clubs. Prices often differ but are around the area of 700 credits to 12,000 credits depending on the type.

Ourtosis

Ourtosis is a much more subtle substance. Unlike Cortosis it is easily pressed into thin strands and when worn is very similar to chainmail or studded leather. Ourtosis is not force resistant like Cortosis but does have its uses against force users. The molecular composition of Ourtosis gives it the unique property of shutting down lightsabers. When a lightsaber strikes Ourtosis the metal gives a sort of feedback jolt and the resulting energy burst, so small it is not usually seen, causes the lightsaber to power down. It is usually only a few second before the power regulation inside the weapon is restored and the saber can once again be used but during that time a well trained or armed opponent may have the chance to defeat the force adept fighter.

Ourtosis is used in armor more than anything, the metal is molded and pressed into chainlink or metal thread and then made into lightweight and thin armor. Unlike its cousin Cortosis this metal does not serve as armor against anything but a lightsaber. Blaster bolts or solid rounds will pass through Ourtosis just like flesh.

Though it is relatively simple to melt down and mold, Ourtosis is still expensive to maintain as it is a very rare metal in the galaxy. A full suit can cost upwards of 250,000 credits. Ourtosis weapons are also available. Because of the nature of Ourtosis it is used primarily in the form of knives, shortswords, and katanas. It's sleek smooth texture makes it perfect for slicing weapons. It's maliability however does make it less effective against an enemy wearing heavier armor or using a similar weapon made out of iron or steel.

One can always tell Ourtosis by it's Black sheen. The metal is a polished black except the edges. When sharpened the sharp areas tend to turn silver. This gives the blade a very fearsome appearance that some assassins might enjoy the ambiance of. Ourtosis weapons can range in price from 500 to 8,000 credits.

Originally posted by Ushgarak
Can't stand it.

It seems to be violating a principle of how Star Wars works. In most ways a lightsabre is a ridiculous weapon (a melee weapon in an era of hi-tech ranged weaponry) so you have to put it in the context of a Galaxy where it works and the way cortosis has been applied has gone against that.

well to only rebuttle your one point 😉 it's not the saber that makes the weapon so dangerous, it's the wielder.

Force proof? PLEASE tell me you are kidding...

BTW, I understand that even in the EU, Cortosis is said to be brittle, so it should make rubbish swords, or even alloyed swords.

And yes, OBVIOUSLY, a weapon like a sabre is useless unless in the hands of a skilled- and for that matter, force aware- wielder.

Hey Ush, CORTOSIS BULLETS!!! 😂

Nah, just kiddin, those would just be a pain. Jedi would doge anyway.

technical, but I'm sure writers will find a way to pass that too
like force-clouding weapons or something 🙄

I've little problem with cortosis showing up occasionally to spice up saber combat, but if it acts as an insulation against force powers, I am completely against it. Few things bother me more than finding hackneyed reasons to prevent a Jedi from using the Force to make a story more suspenseful. I'm fine with yslamari, they were used as necessary, and the Yuuzhan Vong being separate from the Force is interesting and a logical conclusion. A person just being able to slap on a cortosis vest and be invulnerable to a power that can crush throats from across a room, or strike lightning at an opponent, or read minds is uninteresting and could send Star Wars literature down a slippery slope. If cortosis can insulate against Force powers, then what? ÜberForce, which is immune to the powers of cortosis? Ridiculous.

Originally posted by yerssot
technical, but I'm sure writers will find a way to pass that too
like force-clouding weapons or something 🙄

So I'm assuming that means you have a problem with ysalmari (sp?) that dispels the force energy in an area?

I do not much like the idea of it no, but on the other hand if people can use the force, why not animals? and why not animals who have to defend themselves from these creatures?

but people making weapons for that, that's kinda showing the authors are rather lazy in finding more interesting ways of keeping suspence

Because, clearly, you have to be truly sentient to use the Force, so that sorts that out. I think ysalamari are highly objectionable also.

Lazy authorship is at the heart of all of this.

The way they explained the Vong being able to block lightsabers was much better. It's not that the saber can't cut the amphistaffs, it's just that the amphistaffs heal so damn fast that it won't go through.

Originally posted by yerssot
no, if it's official, it got GL's aproval, and he didn't gave it

If you'd read my post you would have seen that I specifically mentioned yslamari, citing that the circumstances under which they were introduced (i.e. the quality of the Thrawn books) justified their existence perfectly. It isn't accurate to assume too many parallels between yslamari and cortosis objects, though, because the simple nature of a living thing generally makes it more difficult to use effectively. It's easy to put on a cortosis helmet to insulate yourself from Force powers (assuming, for the sake of argument, that cortosis can block out the use of Force powers at all) but getting an yslamari to stand on your head is an entirely different affair.
Someone mentioned lazy authorship and for a time I'd have agreed with them. Since then, though, it's occurred to me that strictly obeying a formula is also lazy authorship. A truly excellent work that exists within a collective setting has to carefully balance new material with an adherence to the spirit of the larger saga. Perhaps cortosis, or the Vong's separation from the force, or yslamari effectively utilize the collective setting and break new ground. Perhaps their use simply suggests 'lazy authorship' (although I'm sure you'd find plenty of Zahn fans that would eviscerate you for suggesting such a thing). Perhaps any deviation from the formula of (lightsabers=near invincible) and (the Force=all powerful) will ruin the EU forever.
Personally, I don't think any of those things are terrible, if they aren't overexposed or conjectured upon too far.

Well, I really do not like Zahn, so his fan base does not interest me.

And yes, their use is lazy. If you are going to challenge basic concepts of the setting, far more effort has to be made than 'x that counters it'. Frankly, however, you should not need to do anything of the sort to create an interesting story, and to challenge such precepts purely just to break new ground is, again, lazy authorship.

It is simply a culture of authors trying to break through a setting for their own purposes rather than work with it, and I deplore it. And to call working within a setting 'strictly observing a formula' strikes me as very strange, and to call it lazy simply untrue. A good author can push boundaries without creating lazy nonsense like cortosis and yslamari.