December 10 recap

•Ras Patul is assigned a Padawan.

•Marina says goodbye.

•Yvegeny takes on a job from the Genoharadan with the help of the ship's new pilot.

•Bao Koon and his apprentice, Haesh, get to know Ras.

Ras and Yvegeny find that they have various messages waiting for them on their comlinks. In the first one, Kelif tells the party he will stay on Naboo with his family. Ras receives a message telling her to meet with the Jedi Council of Reassignment. Yvegeny gets two more messages; one is from Marina, telling him that she's leaving the Raraza to pursue the planet Iego on her own, but she'll send for Yve when she finds it. She does say, however, that in her wheeling and dealing to find the planet, she made a bad deal, and now someone (she doesn't know who) knows that Yvegeny is really Kazbich. She does say, however, that she has hired a new pilot for the ship. The second message for Yvegeny has an unknown sender from the Genoharadan, saying it's time to get to work — they've got a job for him, and it's pro bono to pay them back for loaning out Shodu to capture Gaph.

Upon arriving at the Council of Reassignment, Ras is assigned a Padawan — Drallon, a Quarren teenager who was the apprentice of Master Muz before his untimely death in the Sith attack on the Jedi Temple. Drallon has been badly shaken by his master's death, and while he is a promising lightsaber student, he has refused to use one since Muz's death. As Ras is not only a gifted lightsaber student but also an expert negotiator, it is believed that she will be able to help complete Drallon's training. As such, Drallon will accompany her to Chommell Prime.

Ras also meets a Jedi Knight who will be joining her: a Kel Dor Jedi Investigator named Bao Koon. An expert seer and a formidable Force user, Bao specializes in tracking down and neutralizing darksiders, and he wears civilian clothing to blend in, rather than his Jedi robes. He is joined by his apprentice, a sarcastic Yarkora named Haesh who is following in Bao's footsteps. The Council recommends that Ras Patul, Bao Koon, and their respective apprentices get to know each other before they join the Republic fleet at Chommell Prime.

Yvegeny meets up with a protocol droid in the lower levels of the city, who tells him his assignment — assassinate Geonosian senator Mazzag, who's been trying to form a political coalition and has given his associates gift droids that have been secretly recording information for him, which could drastically tip the balance of power in the Galactic Senate. The droid then wipes its own memory and wanders off. Yvegeny has Crask Luk follow Mazzag around the city to get a sense of the guy's schedule.

At the same time, Ras and Bao decide to renew their search for Wertsnik, but aside from a few scant clues about him being in the Works district, they don't have any good leads. Yvegeny asks Ras to help him take down Mazzag, but Ras refuses — he's a senator, and he's clean; all she's got to go on is Yvegeny's say-so. However, Crask produces some clues — Mazzag stays in the high-class areas near the Senate, but he does frequent a restaurant that specializes in insectoid cuisine.

Yvegeny looks for a good way to poison Mazzag's food, and contacts Oro, but insults him by calling Lyta his "master." However, he does pass the comlink onto Lyta, who doesn't know any insect-specific food poisons. Lyta does give him the complex chemical names for a common "bug bomb" used by exterminators. Yvegeny takes this information to a nearby pharmacist, but the pharmacist becomes concerned when he says he's going to use this to kill a Geonosian. Yvegeny claims there's a building infested by Geonosians "who've gone insane because of the Force," but the pharmacist raises a security force field and advises Yvegeny to leave.

Using Ras' name, Yvegeny then goes to the Jedi Temple, where he meets up with a Bith Jedi Healer in the infirmary. Yvegeny claims he needs medicine for a Geonosian friend and gives him the names of the chemicals Lyta described, but the Bith recognizes this as poison and, confused, provides Yvegeny with actual Geonosian medicine. Having exhausted his options, Yvegeny contacts an exterminator and picks up a few bug bombs.

With the trail for Wertsnik having gone cold, Ras then tells Bao about Aya Lim, the conflicted Jedi apprentice who they encountered on Nar Shaddaa and Myzil V. Using the description, Bao is able to detect Aya Lim in the Force — within 100 kilometers of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, in fact. Bao starts tracking Aya Lim into a middle-class district not far from the Temple.

Yvegeny looks for allies to help him take down Mazzag, and goes to the lower levels to talk to Prello the Hutt. Yvegeny tries to convince him to lend him some muscle, but Prello is reluctant to get involved in an attack on a senator and is paranoid about the trail going back to him if things go south, so he refuses. He does spread the rumor, though, that Calo Nord is on Coruscant and after a bounty.

Yvegeny decides to go back to the landing pad to meet up with the new pilot, who turns out to be archive droid A9G-E5. A9G (who Yvegeny calls "Aig") explains that he comes with very good references — he was an archive droid for the University of Alderaan who was also programmed to be able to pilot ships and chart astrogation courses for university-owned ships. He's since become an independent droid and gone into business on his own as a pilot — and a good one, too, as he knows several advanced flying maneuvers — although he still has a huge store of general knowledge about the galaxy in his system. A9G is unwilling to risk himself killing a senator, but Yvegeny convinces him to be his driver by saying that Senator Mazzag was responsible for the death of his former crewmate, Kelif Binks-Fett. Yvegeny has disguised himself in the turban of Calo Nord to throw off anybody who spots him, but A9G is paranoid and wants to preserve his dignity, so he wears a turban himself.

Bao Koon trails Aya Lim to a flophouse not too far from the Jedi Temple, then follows that trail to a nearby starport. He and Haesh call in Ras and Drallon to rendezvous. They arrive at a starport where civilian freighters are going across the galaxy. Aya Lim is seen from far away boarding one, though she does look back, seemingly sensing she is being followed. Ras checks that ship's registry — it's going to the Outer Rim, but one of its stops is Chommell Prime. Ras senses they will meet again soon, and a crowded civilian spaceport isn't the place for a confrontation. On the way back to the Temple, Drallon and Ras talk — Drallon is reluctant to use a lightsaber now that he has seen them used to kill his friends and former Master, and he is terrified of the notion that he may one day have to take a life himself. Ras reassures him that a Jedi does not take lives needlessly and that a lightsaber is a tool of defense, not aggression.

A9G drives a rented speeder convertible while Yvegeny sits in the backseat, ready to shoot Mazzag. A9G pulls alongside the speeder to see that Mazzag is guarded by two Colicoid infiltrator droids. One jumps across the gap and engages Yvegeny with his vibroblade arms. Yvegeny shoots it a few times, and A9G flips the speeder on its edge, knocking the droid to its destruction while Yvegeny barely hangs on. Yvegeny shoots the remaining droid and Mazzag, sufficiently wounding him that a lobbed bug bomb finishes him off. Mazzag's droid driver panics and takes him to his Senate office while A9G drives away to avoid any pursuers.

At the starport, Ras sees breaking news footage of Senator Mazzag's speeder coming under attack and groans.

Galactic Gazetteer: Chommell Prime

The planet Chommell Prime was one of the first planets colonized during early expansion into the Mid Rim. Hyperspace explorers catalogued the planet about seven hundred years ago, and Chommell Prime — so named because it was the largest planet in the sector — was discovered to be a gas giant with large quantities of naturally produced irolunn gas, a substance that substantially improves the fuel efficiency of capital starships. As no company had sponsored the scouts who discovered it, Chommell Prime became the subject of a bidding war between various mega-entities. The planet soon entered galactic prominence when its deed was purchased by the wealthy Medon family of Utapau.

No history of Chommell Prime is complete without a history of the Medons. This Pau'an family dates back to the early days of the Republic — no less than three Medons signed the Galactic Constitution. They made their fortune in planet exploration and prospecting, selling the natural resources of one world to buy another. As such, they have been very influential in the Republic because they have helped fund various hyperspace expeditions that found very profitable planets. The Great Manifest Period, in which the Expansion Region was established 15,000 years ago, was funded in large part by Medon money.

However, it is important to note that the Medons are fiercely independent. While they are patriotic to the Republic, their first loyalty is to their family. Most Medons who pursue business do so within their own corporations — they do not deign to work for others. The Medons are kind to their friends and ruthless to their enemies, and many competitors have been bankrupted by the Medons' superior business acumen. The Medons are aided by a group of Gen'Dai servitors, who have served them for centuries.

Upon purchasing Chommell Prime, the Medons took advantage of the natural irodunn gas and constructed a large starship repair hub, called the Expanse. Ninety kilometers long and two kilometers wide, this facility is one of the largest drydocks in the galaxy, capable of servicing over a hundred capital starships at once. Inside, the Medons have constructed a variety of tourist attractions and accommodations for visitors getting their ships refueled. However, the Medons are very strict about their investment — no weapons are allowed on the Expanse, and violent agitators have been known to be simply hurled off the station by security droids, to plummet to their death.

In the interest of business, the Expanse has been declared neutral territory by the Medon family, allowing any ship to dock there as long as they can pay (and as long as they can avoid any violent incidents). A small underworld has thrived in the lower levels of the Expanse, however, using the vast shipyard to smuggle contraband from ship to ship. Mercenaries who are looking for work can usually find a quick job from the ships passing through. The Medons have also allowed corporations such as Czerka and Lhossa to extract their own irodunn gas — at an enormous tribute, of course. Corporate espionage runs thick, as many entities would love to end the Medons' monopoly of irodunn gas.

Besides the Expanse, there are also several floating Medon estates drifting among the clouds, but these are heavily guarded and intruders are not welcome. (A nearby desert planet in the same system, Chommell Minor, also houses a Pau'an colony, but it is more for middle-class Pau'ans and is nowhere near as fancy.) A few smaller drydocks have been set up by the Medons across the planet, though these are not as popular as the more accommodating Expanse. Several small corporate-approved irodunn gas collectors float through the atmosphere, and a few cruise ships make short stops at Chommell Prime to enjoy the spectacular view. There are rumors that the Medons have secret drydocks hidden away in the lower reaches of the atmosphere for their more private customers, but given that they can easily move across the planet, no one knows for certain where they are.

Most curiously, a flotilla of stolen and battered Czerka ships has been recently spotted drifting through the atmosphere on the far side of the planet. Attempts to contact the ships have been met only with grunts and growls, and it's believed the ships fled a Czerka colony before suffering hyperdrive damage. The Medons have been trying to find and destroy the flotilla, as refugees on their doorstep is bad for business.

Troubling for the Republic is that despite Chommell Prime's loyalty during the Mandalorian Wars, the Medons are maintaining their neutrality during the Sith invasion, and many worry the Medons are positioning themselves to be valuable to the Sith in the event that Darth Revan destroys the Republic. Sith ships have been seen docked at Chommell Prime, but given that violence is not tolerated on the Expanse, the Republic has been stymied at trying to apprehend them.

Character updates

As the party prepares to rejoin the greater galaxy after the long stay on Naboo, some of the players are making some changes to their characters:

•Milky is retiring Kelif, who will be staying on Naboo with his family. He will be now playing a Kel Dor Jedi Investigator, going for something of a "noir detective" feel.

•Jim will be retiring Lyta and Oro in favor of a more soldier-type character, species presently unknown.

As far as I know, Ras Patul, Gobmush and Kazbich/Yvegeny will remain constant.

November 17 recap

•Kelif Binks-Fett has a strained reunion with his father, and considers staying on Naboo with his family.

•On Coruscant, Ras Patul fulfills her mission to track down and arrest Gaph.

•Yvegeny calls in a favor from the Genoharadan.

On Naboo, during the celebrations after defeating the Mandalorians, Kelif catches up with Gobar. Gobar is glad to see Kelif, but Kelif is much more reserved — he's still touchy about having been exiled from Otoh Bokan years ago. Goban assures Kelif that it was for his own good — the political situation there was unstable and Kelif could've been killed. Kelif offers to duel Gobar, secretly planning to kill him, but Gobar catches on and tries to assuage Kelif's hostile intentions.

Kelif says he wants to use Gobar as a contact between him and the Gungans, while Gobar wants to follow along in the Capanata and see the galaxy. Gobar tells him that his mother and siblings are no longer at Otoh Bokan — they're in a small village nearby, away from the violence. Together, they go there and Kelif is reunited with his family, who is very proud of him and his success as a warrior. They ask him to stay on Naboo and help protect their village, which Kelif is left to consider.

Left with some time for rest and relaxation by the Republic military before they rejoin the fleet at Chommell Prime, Ras and Yvegeny ponder where in the galaxy they can go. Remembering his unfinished business with Gaph, the Ryn crime lord with the Sith artifact grafted to his spine, Ras convinces Yvegeny to go to Coruscant. Marina takes them there in the Capanata, and they're greeted by Crask Luk, the Duros air taxi driver.

Ras and Yvegeny go to the lower levels, where they meet up with Prello the Hutt, who they had earlier met while on Coruscant, and who agreed to help them find Gaph for a nice fee. Yvegeny realizes they might need some help bringing Gaph down and makes a call to his handlers in the Genoharadan. They'll send somebody to help, though Yvegeny will need to pay him, and he'll owe the Genoharadan a favor; Yvegeny agrees to this arrangement. Soon, a Rodian mercenary, Shodu, arrives to help, and upon being briefed on their objective, agrees to help capture Gaph (Yvegeny tells Ras that he's just a mercenary they hired). Prello the Hutt tells them that Gaph has left his former hideout and has relocated — to where, he doesn't know.

Ras goes to the Jedi Temple, where she meets with the Jedi (Asa Ulara is presently away on a mission, but some of the survivors from the Sith attack are there to greet her) and uses the Force to try to locate Gaph. Because of his Sith artifact, he can't be detected through the Force, but Ras knows to look for some of his henchmen. Looking into the future to see where they'll be tomorrow, Ras sees a henchman being eaten by albino cannibals outside an abandoned Industrial Automaton warehouse. After a computer search by Yvegeny to locate the warehouse (and confirm the existence of said albino cannibals, called cthons), Ras calls Coruscant Security to get some help capturing Gaph and his men, but is unable to convince them to lend any aid, as nobody is willing to go that deep into the lower levels. Still, they are able to at least requisition a speeder truck so they can at least get down there with Shodu.

Inside the warehouse are about 40 Ryn warriors wielding blaster rifles, standing in groups around their hastily built shelters, while Gaph is (presumably) in a crude hut in the back of the warehouse. Shodu kicks the door open and lays down the autofire, as Yvegeny draws his slugthrower submachine gun and Ras wields two lightsabers to quickly cut through their enemies. To save a few lives, Ras uses the Force to make some of the Ryn run away in fear — some run out of the warehouse, making Ras' vision of the henchman being eaten by the cthons a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Eventually, once most of the Ryn are dead or gone, Gaph and his guards emerge from his hut. Gaph is surprised to see Ras again, but draws his power hammer and gets to swinging. As Ras engages him in melee, Shodu proceeds to snipe from across the room and Yvegeny's precise aim keeps Gaph off his feet. After battering Gaph for a bit, Ras successfully convinces Gaph to surrender rather than fight to the death. Gaph promises that he will rat out Lyta as an accomplice, but Ras and Yvegeny are not deterred. Yvegeny and Ras split the cost on paying Shodu, who performed admirably, and once they get Gaph to a holding cell, Shodu parts ways with the group.

Awesome gear

Here are the individual pieces of powerful gear that each player got:

Ras: A small translator droid*; the writings of ancient lightsaber master Vo'ren Faalo, granting access to the Force regimens Sparring Practice and Vo'ren's First Cadence (see Jedi Academy Training Manual)

Lyta: The robe of a Jal Shey master; grants access to two Force powers (Force shield and prescience, both in Legacy Era) and two Force regimens (Quiet the Mind and Eyes of the Force, both in Jedi Academy)

Kelif: A Baragwin interchangeable weapon system, able to transform between blaster rifle, sniper rifle, and grenade launcher (see Galaxy at War), with superior accuracy enhancement and pulse charger; provides +1 attack, +3 damage, and deals 1 extra die of damage on a crit

Yvegeny: A Verpine heavy blaster pistol with a pulse charger, double trigger and superior damage enhancement; provides -1 attack (+1 when aiming), +8 damage, can switch between normal and ion damage as a swift action; requires Intelligence 13 to wield

Gobmush: The legendary arg'garok of Gamorrean warrior Rogrukh, with superior accuracy and damage enhancements, cortosis weave, and neutronium reinforcement; provides +2 attack, +5 damage, crits on 19-20, and gives a +2 bonus to Persuasion checks to intimidate

*Replaced from original offering of a Barab Ingot lightsaber crystal.

November 8 recap

•The party helps liberate Keren, and ultimately Naboo, from the Mandalorians.

•The true identity of Mandalore is revealed.

The adventure begins with the party on its way to Keren to liberate the city. After discussing plans with the resistance, the party decided to scout ahead first, using a stolen Mandalorian gunship to avoid attracting attention — the Capanata is left behind at the abandoned Eutix station. Ras enters a meditative trance while Marina and Yvegeny fly the ship (which, they note, has been heavily slave-circuited to only need two pilots instead of the usual eight) and Gobmush works the sensors. As the ship approaches Keren, Gobmush soon detects that the gunship has been hooked up to the local Mandalorian network — all the ships here are connected by a central communications relay. By poking around the network, they find that the city of Keren is guarded by an energy shield protecting it from bombardment (about 30 ships constantly overhead, waiting for the shield to fall or looking for weak spots in the shield), and the Mandalorian force engaged with the city is about 100 Mandalorian troops with 500 sentinel droids, while the city has a colonist militia, light artillery, and guerilla troops. The party finds it odd that the Mandalorian force is composed of mostly droids.

The gunship is hailed by the central relay, asking what they're doing in Keren. Yvegeny claims their ship is the Aay'han and they're an infiltration team trying to get into Keren, getting them permission to land, though there will be a Mandalorian team waiting for them when they land in the woods outside Keren. At the landing, Yvegeny sticks to his story, but when the Mandalorians push to be included, Yvegeny says he'll give a signal when he's ready for the second Mandalorian team to enter.

The party begins the walk to Keren, when they begin to notice that they are being followed. Gobmush decides to fall back from the main group and find out who they are, only to end up surrounded by camouflaged humans — definitely not Mandalorians. He tries to communicate through his vox-box, but has a hard time convincing them he's not a Mandalorian. Finally, he turns on his comlink, and Lyta persuades the guerillas that they're not with the Mandalorians — they just lied to them to get past their ships. The guerillas agree to let the party inside Keren. The Mandalorians radio Yvegeny and let him know they're getting impatient; they want 10-minute status reports, or they'll storm the city themselves.

The party crosses through the forest and across the plains to the walled city of Keren, which sits on a river and near Lake Varum. Inside, the city is mostly undamaged — the colonists got the shield up and running before the Mandalorians could hit too hard. Although most of the citizens are armed, life generally proceeds as normal within the walls of the city. The guerillas lead the party to the central town hall, where they're met by the lieutenant governor, a Trandoshan named Surussk, who explains that the previous governor is dead.

The party explains that they're with the resistance, and begin helping around the city. Yvegeny works on fixing up a comm relay to be able to communicate with the insurgents in Theed and the Eutix labs, while Lyta and Oro set up a triage to help out with medicine in the city; Keren's doctors died in the initial assault, and since then, they've been relying on a med student. Gobmush investigates the possibility of using submarines to evacuate the city if need be, while Kelif meets with the city's anthropologists, who have been studying Gungan culture, and meets with the few Gungans who are living peacefully in the colony. Monad, a shaak shepherd, knows about Gobar Binks in particular, pointing out that most Gungans know who he is — he's now the Gungan-Mandalorian liaison.

Surussk, asking about how the party got to Keren, learns that the party is hooked up to the Mandalorian network. He points out that the ships are connected by the central comm tower — it was initially built for the Republic to coordinate ships, but the Mandalorians seized it in the early attack. If they can capture or destroy the tower, the Mandalorian ships around Keren will be confused and probably regroup at the war forge. Yvegeny plans to lure the Mandalorians outside into Keren, where they can be easily ambushed; meanwhile, Yvegeny, Marina and a Twi'lek from Keren named "Twitchy" will use the gunship to attack and destroy the tower.

Yvegeny detonates some abandoned buildings near the edge of town, then comms the Mandalorians to begin their attack there. When the strike team breaks through the wall, they find Ras, Kelif and Gobmush waiting for them with an army of armed colonists, while Lyta and Oro work the triage. Ras uses the Force to crash a wall on most of the foot soldiers. Gobmush and Ras face a Mandalorian Wookiee who flies into a rage and batters them with his fists, but they figure out how to use his aggressive tendencies against him and bring him down. A black-armored Mandalorian produces a barrage of blaster fire that badly wounds Kelif; he takes cover behind a vehicle before Gobmush charges the Mandalorian, finishing him off. Kelif grabs the black Mandalorian armor and the autofire gun, a prototype interchangeable weapo system (modulating between blaster rifle, sniper rifle, and grenade launcher). Meanwhile, Yvegeny bluffs his way into the relay tower's airspace before blowing it to smithereens. As the tower falls and the ships fly away to regroup, the gunship gets a comm from the wreckage below. He says he's leaving the Mandalorians and he can provide valuable intelligence if they rescue him. The gunship lands and picks up an older Gungan, who introduces himself as Gobar Binks (Kelif's father).

When the party regroups happily in Keren (although Kelif is off helping the colonists), they meet up with Gobar Binks, who's very enthusiastic about helping the Republic beat the Mandalorians, and readily admits that he can be useful — he knows that Mandalore the Divider is at the war forge, and he's pretty sure he can get some of the Gungan tribes together to take down the Mandalorians. The party debates what to do: some want to free Theed, while some want to directly attack the war forge.

Eventually, the party hatches a plan. Gobar Binks gets some of the Gungan tribes to help take back Deeja Peak and Theed, and Sith officer Ordal Naberrie will be in charge of hooking up with the rebels in Theed to help retake that city. Meanwhile, colonist ships will attack the war forge, providing cover while the Capanata enters the war forge to assassinate Mandalore the Divider. Gobmush will travel separately in a Gungan bongo with a guide.

As the battle rages overhead, the Capanata sneaks underwater, dodging falling debris to enter the war forge. Gobmush secretly breaks off from the Capanata and heads off to a different location. Inside, the war forge is on high alert, and the party fights through legions of foot soldiers to reach the inner sanctum, thanks to blueprints that Gobar Binks provided. Along the way, Rek Luk, who reveals he's been following the party and is joined in the battle over the war forge, tells the party he wants the Raraza back.

Ras, Yvegeny, Lyta and Oro cross over the factory in the core of the war forge, past a null gas trap, to find Mandalore the Divider himself, a tall, well-armored soldier, and his minions loading riches into an escape pod. The party quickly wipes out Mandalore's minions, and while Mandalore talks a big game, he doesn't back it up with any strong show of might. Mandalore soon falls, and when the party takes off his helmet, it's just a shrimpy Neimoidian inside, and the vaunted "helmet of Mandalore" (whosoever wears the helmet of Mandalore, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of the Mandalorian clans) is nothing but a clever forgery.

Ras broadcasts to the Mandalorian fleet that Mandalore is dead and the helmet has been destroyed; some soldiers fight to the death, but most of the soldiers — being conscripts — surrender or defect immediately. The party finds some very nice gear in among the treasure for their troubles. Rek Luk picks up the Raraza, and immediately begins petitioning the Naboo provisional government for purchase of the war forge to turn it into a Luk Shipping factory.

Gobmush arrives at his destination: the underwater Eutix lab, near the planet core. He was sent to Naboo in the first place by Czerka to destroy the Eutix facility. The Selkath scientists are cowed by his mighty arg'garok, so he has Chuckles kill the beck-tori. His mission on Naboo is now complete, and he rejoins the party.

The party's mission on Naboo is done. With the help of the Sith navigator, the party learns that the Sith who attacked Coruscant regrouped at the nearby planet Chommell Prime, and the Republic prepares to attack the planet. For all their efforts, however, the Republic first agrees to provide the party with some much-needed R&R before they rejoin the fleet to help attack Chommell Prime. Gobar Binks, eager to leave Naboo for new pastures, joins with the party.

DM's Notes:

• I was originally planning to have the party travel to Otoh Bokan, but I decided it would be more interesting to have the mountain come to Mohammed and bring Kelif's father, Gobar Binks, to the party instead. He's a very different kind of Gungan than we've seen before — he's very social and very ingratiating. He comes across like a used car salesman. (And I wasn't entirely sure what I'd have the rest of the party do if they went there. I'd conceptualized the city as undergoing a bloody political coup, but I didn't really see the party getting involved in Gungan politics.)
• My original concept for the fake Mandalore would be that he was a former Mandalorian who'd ended up being a gladiator-for-hire after the war, and he had the idea to build a new helmet and rally the clans because he earnestly believed in the Mandalorian cause. But I liked the idea that it was just a con artist who was looking to grab his own planet and taking advantage of the lore surrounding the helmet. (In canon, Darth Revan held onto the helmet after the end of the Mandalorian Wars specifically to prevent them from picking a new Mandalore, then gives it to Canderous before heading off to the Unknown Regions before the start of KotOR II.) The idea of a fake Mandalore helmet being used to revive the war effort is one I've had since the campaign began.
• The Naboo war forge survived the Mandalorian Wars simply because it was underwater, and Revan and his troops didn't know about it because it wasn't in a big, obvious place (as war forges usually are). It holds all the Mandalorian ship blueprints, hence there being authentic gunships, fighters, etc. in operation on Naboo.
• While the party believed at some points that these Mandalorians held multiple planets, they only ever held Naboo (I didn't want to correct the party). They would've eventually tried to take a nearby planet if left to their own devices too long, but they only had the manpower to hold Naboo. As for where all the riches came from that Mandalore the Divider was loading into his escape pod before his defeat, those are from his ships raiding nearby planets and ships. Really, not much better than common pirates.

Clone Wars Season 1 out on DVD

Season 1 of The Clone Wars is now out on DVD. I've already picked up my copy, and it includes a sketchbook of concept art from the first season, as well as 7 director's cut episodes. I've been with the series from the very beginning, and I highly recommend it — the animation is pretty good, and it's a lot of fun action (though I will admit the second half of the season is heads above the first).

Season 2 is currently ongoing on Cartoon Network. If you want to check out my weekly reviews stretching back to the start of the first season, visit my personal blog.

Update

Small-group game was canceled on Thursday, October 29; it took much longer for me to leave Chicago than I had hoped (took a few wrong turns), so I was not able to return to Wausau in time for the session.

However, there is a Sunday game coming up in the next few weeks, which I will post once I look up the exact date.

October 8 recap

•The Mandalorians show they're wise to the party now, arresting and imprisoning them at Deeja Peak.

•Yvegeny and Kelif hold off an army of Mandalorians to provide a distraction.

•The party plans to start its planet-wide rebellion at Keren.

The party takes off for Deeja Peak, wanting to regroup with Celeri and any other unwilling Mandalorians to help coordinate their burgeoning rebellion. Upon landing the Capanata in Deeja Peak, Yvegeny exits the ship to find a large welcoming party of Mandalorians waiting for him. A Rally Master questions what orders brought him there, then leads him away to a detention center for further discussion. When Ras and Kelif attempt to leave the Capanata as well, they are also questioned by a Rally Master and hauled to a detention center. They are told that security footage from the war forge shows them leaving with a high-priority Sith prisoner (Ordal Naberrie) on their ship, leaving the Mandalorians to think the Capanata is housing a group of traitors. Yvegeny, Ras and Kelif are stripped of their weapons and armor and shoved into individual holding cells in a former police station. The Mandalorians force their way onto the Capanata and arrest Lyta and Oro, though they miss the hidden Gobmush and Marina.

While in prison, Yvegeny constructs a shiv. Ras managed to hide her lightsaber on her person, and uses it to smash the force field generator protecting her room. She promptly uses a mind trick to send the guards away, then frees the others. When the guards return, Ras and Yvegeny quickly dispatch them, and despite their grievous wounds, Lyta keeps them alive. The group heads to the armory and finds all of their equipment there. Realizing the whole city has turned against them, the party decides it needs to head back to the Capanata to escape.

Yvegeny and Kelif draw their guns and prepare to be a big distraction — drawing out the Mandalorians with heavy fire and grenades. Meanwhile, Ras, Oro and Lyta sneak out the police station another way, taking advantage of the distraction to get to the ship. Yvegeny and Kelif launch a suicidal attack on the Mandalorians and are interrupted by a heavily armored Mandalorian with a giant sword, who gives Yvegeny some new scars but is ultimately brought down by Kelif. The duo makes its way towards the barracks, hoping to hit the Mandalorians where it hurts.

Ras, Lyta and Oro arrive at the Capanata's docking bay, only to find a Basilisk war droid guarding their ship. Ras uses the Force to hurl the driver off, then not able to read the console (as it's in Mando'a), stabs at the controls, shutting the droid down. They get aboard the Capanata and find Gobmush and Marina still aboard. They haul the Basilisk inside for later repairs, and the ship takes off and heads for Yvegeny and Kelif's position.

Yvegeny and Kelif find the barracks empty — just about every able-bodied soldier in Deeja Peak is armed and chasing them. They hole up inside, barricading the doors, and continue to take pot shots at the soldiers gathering outside, then notice the Mandalorians bringing grenade launchers to tear the doors down and storm the building. Yvegeny and Kelif destroy the grenade launchers, only to find out (painfully) that snipers have drawn a bead on their position, and they're effectively trapped.

At this moment, the Capanata swoops in overhead to extract its two errant gunrunners. Needing cover from the snipers, Yvegeny and Kelif set fire to the building, using the smoke as cover to get on the roof and board the Capanata. The ship races away from Deeja Peak, evading Basilisk war droid pursuers. As the Capanata heads back to the Eutix lab site, they get a transmission — during the firefight in Deeja Peak, about 200 rebels stormed the docking bays and stole 11 starships, and they'll rendezvous at the Eutix lab site.

When the party arrives at the Eutix site, they find a large group of rebels waiting for them, looking for direction. Yvegeny suggests first freeing the city of Keren, which is under siege by the Mandalorians but still has a strong Republic contingent. He delivers a rousing speech to the rebels, and the party prepares to retake Keren.

Don't call it a comeback

Dang, sorry about the long delay between posts. I've been taking a bit of a break from RPG stuff for the past 2-3 weeks, but I'll be back at it this week, especially with the small-group session on Thursday.

For now, enjoy that The Clone Wars has started Season 2, and it's all streaming at Starwars.com:

http://www.starwars.com/video/view/000871.html

Galaxy at War

So about a week ago I picked up Galaxy at War, but that was sadly on the same day as my computer problems. Now that my computer is feeling much better, I feel better about posting.

Chapter 1 is Military Heroes and encompasses all kinds of new player options. There are nine new species, most of which have a military bent: Barabel, Dashade, Lurmen, Taung, Thakwaash, Trianii, Yevetha, Yuzzem, and Zygerrian. I should mention that this book could accurately be described as "splatbook for military-themed heroes, and also new stuff from the Clone Wars series." Hence the Lurmen, who are noted for their pacifism, and the Zygerrians, known as galactic slavers (though they appeared in the comics, not the TV series). Barabels are mighty impressive — natural weapons, natural armor, darkvision, radiation resistance, stun resistance, AND reroll Persuasion checks to intimidate — and Dashades are mighty good at fighting Force-users due to their inborn resistance to Use the Force checks.

Then there are talents. Jedi get two new talents: Cover Escape, which helps allies when you use Block and Deflect to protect them, and Prime Targets, which lets you deal an extra die of damage to targets who haven't been attacked since your last turn.

The Noble gets the Anticipation talent tree, which is pretty useful. It's all about helping your allies anticipate enemies' actions — like the Forewarn Allies talent, which gives your friends a +2 bonus on attack and damage for attacks of opportunity, and Get Down, which lets you knock your allies prone when they're targeted by a ranged attack. They also get two new talents for the Leadership tree — the unfortunately named Commanding Presence (which is also the name of a soldier talent in Force Unleashed), which is otherwise pretty good, and the very good Tactical Savvy, which lets you add your Intelligence modifier to the result of any Force Point an ally rolls. Really, really powerful.

The Scoundrel gets the Brigand talent tree, which is all about tripping up opponents. Cheap Trick lets you reroll Deception checks to feint, and Quick Strike lets you get an extra attack in during the first round of combat. They also get some new talents that boost the Sneak Attack talents, most notably Backstabber, which lets you deal Sneak Attack damage when flanking. But this particular talent gives me a little bit of worry about power creep: there's an identical talent already out (Advantageous Positioning), except it's an Assassin prestige class talent and it has a prerequisite (the Shift talent) before you can even take it. Backstabber is only once per round, so you can't do it on, say, an attack of opportunity, but how often are you flanking on an attack of opportunity?

The Scout gets some new Camouflage talents which greatly boost sniping by giving concealment or making targets flat-footed. They also get the Advance Patrol talents, which are kind of generic. They're not bad, but they're not particularly flavorful, either.

The Soldier gets two new talent trees — the Shockboxer and Veteran — as well as a new talent apiece for Commando and Weapon Specialist. Shockboxer is all about close-up attacks and penalizing your opponents for missing you in melee. (Gobmush in particular would like the Retaliation Jab talent.) Veteran is kind of all over the place, but it's primarily about keeping yourself alive. Battlefield Remedy is nice for Treat Injury; Tested in Battle improves your second wind; Seen It All protects you against fear effects, for example.

While talents left me a little lukewarm, I'm all about the new feats, which are pretty much across-the-board awesome. Bantha Herder is an oddly named but fantastic feat that lets you move around targets of ranged attacks. Never Surrender is a great option for characters with Endurance trained (*cough*Gobmush*cough*); the first time you'd be knocked down to 0 hit points in an encounter, you can make an Endurance check (with a DC equal to the damage taken) to stay at 1 hit point instead. Mission Specialist lets you pick a skill — all of your allies who aren't trained in it get a +2 bonus to it. It's a good way to shore up any deficiencies in the party.

There's a group of weapon-focused feats (Disabler, Pistoleer, Riflemaster, and Sport Hunter) that greatly improve certain weapons. Disabler, for example, focuses on ion weapons, and gives you a bigger blast radius with ion grenades and d8s instead of d6s when using ion pistols. They make some less-used weapons more useful (I'd use the sporting blaster pistol more often if I could reroll 1s on damage!), even slugthrowers.

There's also a subset of feats that mimic D&D's "choose your stat for defenses" shtick. Force of Personality lets you use Charisma for your Will; Predictive Defense lets you use Intelligence for Reflex; and Resilient Strength lets you use Strength for Fortitude. For the capper, Fight Through Pain lets you use your Will Defense to determine your damage threshold.

There's a set of Martial Arts feats that each feature a particular style (Echani, Hijkata, K'tara, K'thri, Stava, Tae-Jitsu, Teras Kasi, and Wrruushi) and are extraordinarily useful if you plan on being a martial artist. There's also the super-cool Team Feats, which get more useful the more people in the party have them. They all give a +3 bonus (doesn't stack with Skill Focus), +1 for each ally who has the feat. And they all give something extra, too — the Perception one, Wary Sentries, lets you take 10 on Perception checks all the time, and Medical Team, the Treat Injury feat, increases the healing when you're aided by someone else with the same feat. All in all, very cool, and I'm very impressed with Team Feats.

There's some new prestige class talents for the Elite Trooper and Gunslinger. The Elite Trooper gets the Squad Leader talent tree (unfortunately named just like a Soldier talent tree in Clone Wars), which gives healthy bonuses to all your allies. These are pretty powerful and can make the Elite Trooper a little more of a team player. The Gunslinger gets the Sharpshooter talent tree, which is all about shooting things from far away. They're really good and give a nice boost to aiming (Yvegeny, take note), though they're most effective from farther away.

One new prestige class is introduced in the book: the Martial Arts Master. Do you like beating up on people with your bare hands (and wearing only light or no armor)? Then you will love this prestige class. It's got some stringent requirements (4 specific feats and a talent from one of two trees), but it's well worth it. For completists, you also gain access to the Master of Teras Kasi tree from Threat of the Galaxy. This provides all sort of unique ways to beat the crap out of people.

Chapter 2 is Hardware. There's some great weapons in here. Melee weapons are darkstick, entrenching tool, fire blade, shockboxing gloves, shock stick (a very nice tool for knocking people unconscious), static pike, and vibrolance. Ranged weapons are the ascension gun, sidearm blaster pistol, variable and heavy variable blaster rifle (very cool weapons that force you to keep track of ammo, but let you spend more shots to deal higher damage dice), repeating crossbow, flame cannon (a bigger flamethrower that requires a tripod), radiation grenades (some nasty "dirty bombs"), smoke grenades, interchangeable weapon system (a 3-in-1 weapon that can be a blaster rifle, sniper rifle, or anti-armor rifle), mortar launcher, rotary blaster cannon, scatter gun, tactical tractor beam (very cool!) and targeting laser. There's four new kinds of mines: antipersonnel, detonite cord, ion mines, and limpet mines (just slap them on a vehicle and watch them explode). There's also a good amount of armor that incorporates the modification rules from Scum and Villainy: Barabel microbe armor, biohazard suit, camo scout armor, Katarn-class commando armor (which may be the best medium armor in the game), Rebel Alliance marine armor, stalker armor, and a stun cloak (note: the stun cloak does not stun you, it stuns anyone who tries to grapple you).

There's also a whole lot of normal equipment: anti-rad dose, camouflage netting (Yes! It's real, Kelif!), camouflage poncho, com scrambler, tightbeam comlink, communications scanner, cryogenic pouch, droid diagnostic, field food processor, personal field shelter (or "tent," as we call them on Earth), plasma bridge, proximity flare, radiation detector, targeting beacon, triangulation visor, and vacuum survival pouch. Everything you need for your very own military operation. Expect some of these things to appear soon in our campaign.

The book also includes advanced cybernetics. Want a targeting eye, a built-in neck comlink, or a handy brain computer like Lobot? Now they're possible, although I should note that there's a hefty chance of implant rejection. There's also rules for spending a Destiny Point when you die to survive long enough to have a chance of cyborg implants to keep you alive, a la Darth Vader or General Grievous. (There are ways you can die without being able to spend a Force Point to survive, if you fail a Constitution check poorly enough after already falling unconscious.) There's also some nice cross-promotion with Scum and Villainy, as cybernetic prosthetics can now be modified (Yvegeny, again, rejoice).

The chapter features new droids: the A-series medical droid (Grievous' droid from the Clone Wars episode "Lair of Grievous"), the KDY-4 tech droid, Chiba DR-10 protocol droid, B2-AA air assault super battle droid (the jet pack droids from the episode "Jedi Crash"), the Eradicator-series battle droid, the purge trooper (from The Force Unleashed), sniper droideka, tactical droids (the eponymous droid commanders from the Clone Wars cartoon), the Vigilant 2X Picket Droid, the CLL-M2 Ordnance Lifter, and the MR-200 Series Minesweeper.

There's also some new animals in the section: the carrier butterfly (used to relay messages), new mounts bolotaur and gelagrub, and vicious beasts like the gutkurr (seen in episode "The Innocents of Ryloth"), mastif phalone, nek, roggwart (seen in "Lair of Grievous"), and Gamorr's own watch-beast.

There's not a whole lot of new vehicles or ships — some Clone Wars and Force Unleashed stuff — but the book does contain rules for "vehicle fire" effects, similar to tactical fire for capital starships. Want to have AT-ATs in your fights without worrying about one lucky hit killing a player? Now you can. The chapter concludes with rules for gear requisitions (for a military campaign) and rules for rank and privilege in a military organization.

Chapter 3 is Military Campaigns. It's got a lot of military jargon, as well as detailed write-throughs of how to play a campaign where all the characters are in the military. It concludes with a detailed write-up of the ultimate military campaign, playing as the Galactic Empire. It talks about how to play Imperials who aren't all bad guys, and gives some adventure hooks for an Imperial campaign, whether it's Imps versus aliens, Rebels, or other Imperials. The chapter concludes with a Battlefield Encounter Tool Kit, with stats for some things found on common battlefields (mines, automated sentry guns, razor wire) and rules for artillery strikes, mortars, and orbital bombardment, finishing up with a Random Mission Generator.

Chapter 4 is Military Units, and talks about various military groups in different times of Star Wars history. There's no stats with any of these, but they're pretty evocative and talk about military groups can vary their tactics, membership, and objectives. There's the Ailon Nova Guard, Churhee's Riflemen, Hapan Royal Guard, Kaleesh Kolkpravis, Katarn Commandos, Lightning Squadron, Mandalorian Protectors, Mistryl Shadow Guard, Nimbus Commandos, Onderon Beast Riders, Republic Rocket-Jumpers, Senate Guard/Senate Commandos, Sun Guards of Thyrsus, Trianii Rangers, and Wraith Squadron.

Chapter 5 is Bases and Battlestations. It's full of rules for interior combat of all kinds. It's got blueprints for a lot of common rooms (barracks, hangar bay, command bridge, etc.) as well as DCs for things you would commonly find in them. It's very similar to what appeared in the Galactic Campaign Guide for the old rules set, and it's a welcome addition to the game. It's also packed full of rules for alarms of all kinds, blast doors, computer systems, and traps of all kinds. (Finally, rules for carbon freezing!)

I won't get too much into Chapter 6, Military Encounters (which includes several mini-adventures of varying levels), or Chapter 7, Operation: First Breach (a small campaign set during the Clone Wars), but suffice to say I'm impressed.

All in all a good book — not too impressed with the talents, but the feats are pretty nice, and this book is a GM's dream come true with all of its rules for bases and battlestations. You'd best believe I plan to incorporate some of this stuff into the campaign.

September 7 recap

•The party makes an unlikely ally of a Sith officer.

•A standoff ensues at a hidden Eutix laboratory.

The party, flying away from the Mandalorian war forge, discusses what to do with their Sith prisoner. At first, the entire party attempts to interrogate him all at once in the mess hall, which proves disastrous; Yvegeny and Kelif are more interested in causing pain than getting information, and the party fails to provide a unified front. The officer, who introduces himself as Ordal Naberrie, scoffs at the notion of providing any information to the party. Finally, after shooing Yvegeny and Kelif out of the room, Lyta talks to Ordal one-on-one and learns that he belongs to a military family dating back any generations, and that he served in the Coruscant Defense Militia during the Mandalorian Wars (and did not see any action). He follows Revan because he was the only Jedi willing to help the Republic fight the Mandalorians when no one else would, and Revan was single-handedly responsible for the Mandalorian defeat.

Lyta appeals to Ordal's sense of family tradition: Would his father and grandfather approve of him deserting the Republic? Ras jumps in, offering to get him away from the Sith (and specifically the Butcher) if he helps. Ordal acquiesces; he says his ship was on the way to the Sith rendezvous point, but had a hyperdrive malfunction and detoured to Naboo for maintenance. When they arrived in-system, they were attacked by Mandalorian gunships and shot down; Ordal and some of the crew got to the escape pods in time. While Ordal himself doesn't have the coordinates of the Sith rendezvous point — he's just a lieutenant — he knows his ship's navigator made it to one of the escape pods. Lyta and Ras take him to the cockpit, where he uses the Capanata's comm system to locate two Sith escape pods — one near the Eutix lab site, and one near Harte Secur. The ship sets course for the Eutix site.

Along the way, Ordal talks to Yvegeny about having fought in the war, and is underwhelmed that Yvegeny fought on the Mandalorian side. Yvegeny tries to intimidate him by threatening to torture him, but Ordal stands his ground and tells him he has tortured people. (Lyta, who is overhearing, loses all respect for Ordal.) Yvegeny uses his computer skills to change the transponder code of the Capanata to avoid detection by the Mandalorians, altering its ID to be that of an Orphanmaker gunship he saw near the war forge. Yvegeny and Ordal talk more about how they would take out the Mandalorians: Yvegeny is all for a revolution, but Ordal admits he'd rather just bombard the planet from orbit, not just because it's effective, but also because it gets the job done (as the destruction of the planet Telos a few months ago can attest).

The party arrives at the Sith escape pod landing site near the deserted Eutix lab; Marina, Oro and Gobmush stay aboard with Ordal while Ras, Lyta, Yvegeny and Kelif study the site. On the beach, it appears the escape pod drifted ashore, and whoever was aboard stripped it clean, loaded all of their stuff into a net, and dragged it to the Eutix site. While following the tracks, the party discusses the Yvegeny/Kazbich situation. Ras reminds the party about the fake Kazbich wanting to be in jail and getting financial benefit for doing so, so Yvegeny shouldn't act Kazbich-like to sabotage it. In fact, Ras says that after the death stick deal with R'vana on Coruscant, Yvegeny's got one more chance before Ras kills or arrests him herself.

The party eventually arrives at the abandoned Eutix labs — it's just a bunch of prefabricated buildings set around a landing pad. The buildings have been stripped clean, and it looks like anything of value has been taken. As the party explores, someone shoots at Yvegeny from inside one of the buildings; it turns out to be the other Sith survivors, including the navigator. Ordal quickly helps the party talk the Sith troops into a ceasefire. The Sith soon agree to help the party overthrow the Mandalorians, and even agree to provide information if the party can get them away from the Sith. They also loan Yvegeny their portable transmitter, which he plans to use to help coordinate his rebellion.

The Sith officers tell the party about a strange comm signal they picked up while hiding in the buildings; the Mandalorians didn't seem to have been too thorough when they sacked the place, so they must've missed it. It leads to an underwater facility near the planet's core. Everybody boards the Capanata and prepares to head deep into the planet's underwater core.

The party soon finds the facility, which has been extremely well-hidden, and Ras, Lyta, Yvegeny and Kelif enter. Ordal offers to enter the facility with them, but the party decides the Sith should stay on the ship. Marina is secretly ordered that if the Sith try to take over the ship and strand them there, she should vent water inside and drown them all.

Upon following the hallway inside, the party is stopped by a force field, where a security eye droid asks for identification. Yvegeny hacks through the force field, and the party is greeted by a Selkath scientist, who introduces himself as Bruck and asks who the party is. When the party reveals they've come from the Republic and the Mandalorians have taken over the planet, Bruck gets on his comlink and tells the executive officer to immediately begin scuttling the lab. The facility immediately begins venting water in to destroy their experiments. The party is quite surprised by this and intimidates Bruck into taking them to his executive officer.

Bruck takes the party to a central chamber, where Selkath scientists are working around a giant water tank with an enormous leech-like creature inside called a beck-tori. The executive officer, Quol, is convinced to stop the scuttling, then explains what's going on — they're a Eutix laboratory studying the beck-tori because of its natural Force abilities. It's a dangerous predator with a high midichlorian count (sending the party into groans) that can reproduce asexually, making it a threat to a planet's entire ecosystem. Because the lab's location has been compromised, the Eutix scientists want to relocate the beck-tori.

The party debates whether or not to kill the beck-tori — Ras argues that it's a living being that hasn't done any wrong, but Yvegeny says it's too dangerous to leave alive (the lab has a poison release to kill it if need be). Eventually, the party decides to leave the Eutix lab alone for now, saying they'll make sure a Eutix ship gets down there to move the beck-tori once the Mandalorians are overthrown. Yvegeny loads up on communications equipment to help their resistance movement, and the party decides to set up a rebel base at the abandoned Eutix landing pad, using the Sith to man the base. The party also considers using the underwater Eutix lab as a communications relay across the entire planet.

Trivia:

•Ordal Naberrie fulfills something I've been meaning to do more since the start of the campaign: incorporate the ancestors of Star Wars lore into the game. In the same way that Galduran Calrissian is an ancestor to Lando, Ordal is an ancestor to Padmé (and Kelif is an ancestor to Jar Jar). I plan to incorporate more of these kinds of characters into the campaign as time goes on.

August 29 recap

•The party explores the city of Theed, which is held by the Mandalorians.

•Ras and Yvegeny make contact with a resistance movement.

•Kelif finds information about his dad.

•The party enters the heart of the Mandalorian movement on Naboo — the underwater war forge — and absconds with a Sith prisoner, as well as fresh supplies.

Ras Patul and Kelif Binks-Fett wake up from their medically induced naps, quite surprised to find that three days have passed and the Raraza has fallen into enemy hands. The party ponders where to go before deciding to set down in the city of Theed, which is occupied by the Mandalorians but facing heavy resistance from a group of colonists. The Capanata is commed by the Mandalorians, asking what they're doing there; Yvegeny replies that they need repairs.

Theed is similar to Deeja Peak — the signs have been painted over in Mando'a, the businesses have shut down in favor of Mandalorian-controlled ration centers, education camps have been set up to train conscripts in the Six Actions, those too weak to fight scurry around as second-class citizens, and blue-armored Neo-Crusaders patrol the streets. However, whereas Deeja Peak was mostly intact, Theed has seen signs of struggle — most of the buildings appear damaged or wrecked.

After convincing the landing party that they're here for repairs, Ras and Kelif don armor and begin to look around for the resistance movement. However, they're harassed by Mandalorian soldiers when they start asking questions — especially when the soldiers notice Ras doesn't speak Mando'a and threaten to ship her to an education camp — prompting Ras to mind-trick the soldiers into letting them escape. Yvegeny also asks around for information, but there's no computer terminals to run searches, so he's got to do it the old-fashioned way. He goes around the city looking for information, but forgets that he's still wearing the Mandalorian armor and nobody's particularly inclined to talk to him. He wises up, ditches the armor, and heads to the slums of Theed, where he spreads the word that he's got detonite for sale, hoping to lure out members of the resistance. Eventually, he's approached by a street urchin named Kyb, who tells him to meet him in the woods outside Theed later that night. Yvegeny calls up Ras and Kelif, telling them about the meeting that night.

Meanwhile, on the ship, Gobmush is thrilled about having a mess ship and has been hard at work in the kitchen. Lyta is training Oro in administrative tasks and how to set up a medical clinic in a war zone, a necessary skill for the organization she wants to set up. Marina, also staying on the ship, approaches Lyta and tells her and Gobmush that back in Deeja Peak, she overheard Yvegeny say to a Mandalorian Rally Master that he was actually Kazbich and provide corroborating evidence (having been conscripted into the Mandalorians on Taris). Gobmush says he already knows — Yvegeny smells exactly like Kazbich — but Lyta is surprised.

Kelif decides he wants some camouflage armor but is frustrated that he cannot buy it, as all of the stores in Theed are closed. Reasoning that the only way to acquire it would be to receive it from a superior officer, he approaches a Rally Master and asks about receiving camouflage armor. The Rally Master says he will provide it only if Kelif joins a reconnaissance unit, to which Kelif reluctantly agrees.

Yvegeny has a feeling that Kelif might betray them, and comms Kelif to say the meeting site has changed — it's now near the ship. However, Kelif doesn't tell Ras about the switch, so Ras shows up at the correct site with Yvegeny and Kyb. Kyb is starstruck by Ras, a Jedi Knight, and is filled with renewed hope they can drive away the Mandalorians. He leads the duo to a camouflaged tunnel, leading to the sewer system, where the rebels operate out of an old control station. They meet with Indar, an old man in his 50s who is the leader of the rebels; he is also quite happy to see that Ras is a Jedi Knight, though he admits he doesn't know of any other resistance groups on the planet. Yvegeny decides that he wants to help the rebels throw off the invading Mandalorians, and he decides to build a transmitter so they will be able to contact other resistance groups.

Kelif eventually realizes he's been ditched by Yvegeny, and also that he was never told where specifically the recon group was meeting up. Bored, he decides to hang out with a group of Mandalorian soldiers, first doing target practice (at which Kelif fails horribly) and then a stun duel, which ends with Kelif unconscious and the victors spray-painting graffiti on his armor.

Lyta and Oro eventually leave the ship to find people they can treat. There are no formal Mandalorian doctors, only combat medics, and so most of the medical care is reserved for the soldiers. The rations the Mandalorians provide are clean, so there's no diseases running rampant, but there are still injuries about, especially given the guerilla fighting going on. Lyta and Oro set up a clinic, treating just about all the poor citizens who are not fit to fight for the Mandalorians. Eventually, they tell Lyta about the resistance movement.

Overnight, Ras is visited by the spirit of her mentor, Mur Haddin, an Umbaran woman. Mur explains her absence by saying she has been speaking with other Force-sensitive members of the Patul family — cousins and such, as Ras' family is dead — and checks in on her progress, pointing out that Lyta was recently visited by the spirit of her old Master, Neyeria. Ras admits to not knowing what to do on Naboo, but Mur reassures her, and says that while the Force is a powerful ally, she should not discount her more "mundane" abilities — like her speaking ability. Mur says that Ras' ability to affect the hearts and minds of others will change the fate of the entire planet.

Ras asks around the rebels about any ships in the area lately; they say there was an escape pod that landed not far from Theed the same day the Raraza entered the system, but the Mandalorians snatched it pretty quickly and took it to their war forge. He also asks the few Gungans in the rebel group about Kelif's father, Gobar Binks; one of them recognizes the name and says he last saw him in the Gungan city Otoh Bokan.

The party reunites the next days on the Capanata. Ras shares her information about the escape pod, thinking it may be from a Sith ship, and also shares about Gobar Binks being in Otoh Bokan. Yvegeny is interested in going to the war forge because the Capanata was assigned togo there anyway, and he can requisition supplies and explosives for the rebel group there. The party debates between going to the war forge or Otoh Bokan, and Marina, exasperated, tells the entire party that Yvegeny is Kazbich. Ras tells the party that the fake Kazbich is safely in prison, and that it's in that man's best interest to stay there — his loved ones are being financially supported in exchange for his compliance. The party decides to go to the war forge.

The Mandalorian war forge is in a lake the size of Lake Michigan, where it sits on the lake floor. The airspace around it is heavily guarded by Mandalorian ships and Basilisk war droids of all kinds. It's the size of a small city and is a veritable fortress. As the Capanata has aquatic sealing, it can safely travel underwater, so Marina flies the ship into a docking bay. A Mandalorian greeting party immediately demands to know their purpose, so Yvegeny tells the truth: that they were sent there for supplies. The Mandalorians say they'll deliver the explosives and food supplies while Yvegeny stays at the nearby pilot quarters.

Ras and Kelif don Mandalorian armor and decide to find the Raraza and the escape pod. Kelif uses the computer terminal to find their locations; the Raraza was captured after a long siege against the security droids, and the escape pod's personnel are being held in the high-security brig. When they arrive at the brig, the Shock Troopers guarding the entrance demand a passcode — which they don't have. Ras mind-tricks the guard to let them pass. Inside they find several cells holding colonists, Gungans, unfortunate travelers who were shot down, and finally, Sith military personnel. The commanding officer is defiant in the face of Ras, the "Mandalorian," saying he'll never admit to anything under torture. Ras instead assured the Sith she'd get him out, not revealing her identity. The officer asks about his men, but when he learns she wouldn't be able to get them out, he is nonchalant about leaving them behind.

To get the Sith officer out, Ras puts him into a Force trance, then calls out for a doctor, saying the officer had suffered a heart attack. A triage unit arrives shortly, and a doctor gets ready to begin treatment when Ras mind-tricks him, saying the officer was dead (just before getting shot with adrenaline). Ras and Kelif load him onto the stretcher and say they'll carry him to the morgue. Ras ducks into a closet, and Kelif runs back to the Capanata to get an extra suit of Mandalorian armor. They outfit the officer in the armor, then carry him aboard the ship just as the Mandalorian dock crew finishes loading up supplies. The Capanata and crew promptly leave the war forge.

Where's Where on Naboo

Here are the Naboo locations mapped out by the Mandalorians on the Capanata's navicomputer. Not all Gungan cities are listed; most are currently held by the Mandalorians. Only those near Republic colonies or major trade centers are listed.

Deeja Peak colony

Status: Occupied. Resistance minimal. Isolated location and tight airspace control has ensured easy conversion to Resol'Nare (the Six Actions). Climate unacceptable for food production; output minimal.

Keren colony

Capital of Naboo. Status: Under siege. Colonists have organized armed resistance, but supplies and reinforcements running low. Governor has declared martial law and is unsuccessfully attempting to create alliance with Otoh Mandassa Gungans.

Theed colony

Status: Occupied. Resistance strong. Though Mandalorians control infrastructure, colonist rebels wage guerilla war against soldiers. Nearby Otoh Raban Gungans have forged non-aggression pact with local Mandalorians, some converted to Resol'Nare. Colonists have been conscripted into food production.

Harte Secur colony

Status: Abandoned. When Mandalorian fleet attacked the planet, the Langua Gungans stormed the settlement and slaughtered colonists. Feared by other Gungans, the Langua Gungans are bloodthirsty cannibals and have resisted all entreaties from Mandalore. Mandalorian military currently lacks personnel to seize Harte Secur.

War Forge

Underwater in Lake Kwilaan, has remained hidden since Mandalorian Wars. Functioning at 83% production capacity. Heavily guarded by Basilisk war droids. High-priority prisoners, spoils are to be shipped here for processing. Heart of Mandalore the Divider's empire.

Jedi Camp

Site of first Revanchist landing during Mandalorian Wars. All Jedi here eliminated. Now used as proving ground for new conscripts.

Eutix Lab

Abandoned science post near western coast. All equipment of value taken to war forge. No strategic value.

Otoh Bokan

Gungan city. Important trade center for Gungans due to location near four main channels. Repelled initial Mandalorian assault; has since agreed to terms, converted to Resol'Nare. Undergoing political upheaval between three factions.

Gung Slabs

Stone monoliths near Gungan "sacred place," ruins by "elder" species believed to predate Gungans. Includes engravings of cultural rituals in Gunganese and Old Corellian. Upon discovery by Republic anthropologists, was essential to deciphering their language and culture.

Arctic regions

Located at north and south poles. Though no sentients live there, have proven useful as training grounds for new conscripts.

Meet the new ship, the Capanata

The Quartermaster-class Supply Ship stolen by Yvegeny, Gobmush and Marina is ID'ed as the Capanata, named after a well-known dish in the Outer Rim. The Quartermaster ships are designed to take a lot of punishment so the cargo inside isn't breached, so it's got a reinforced duranium hull and significant shielding to be able to withstand punishment. The Mandalorians have forcibly grafted on some weaponry: a quad medium ion cannon and a double heavy laser cannon. They've also outfitted it with a fuel converter so they don't need to stock any particular type of fuel for it, and it's also received amphibious sealing so it can safely travel through Naboo's oceans and lakes — particularly so it can reach the underwater Mandalorian War Forge. It's also got huge cargo space, so it can fulfill its original duty — carrying supplies.

However, because of all the extra systems that have been added, the ship is a "hunk of junk" (as described in Scum and Villainy; when it goes down the condition track, a system randomly malfunctions or shorts out) and has the Used template from the core book (when the ship reaches -3 on the condition track, the condition becomes persistent until it can receive repairs).

The Capanata (with Marina piloting)

Corellia StarDrive Quartermaster-class Supply Carrier

Colossal space transport

Init +2; Senses +7

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Defenses: Ref 14 (flat-footed 14), Fort 31; +14 armor

HP 200; DR 20; SR 50; Threshold 81

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Speed: fly 12 squares (350 km/h), fly 2 squares (starship scale)

Base Atk (by weapons user); Grp +49

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Abilities Str 52, Dex 10, Con -, Int 14

Skills: Initiative +2, Mechanics +14, Perception +7, Pilot +2, Use Computer +7

Crew 2; Passengers 10

Cargo: 115 tons; Consumables 6 months; Carried Craft none

Hyperdrive x3 (backup x12); navicomputer

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Weapons

Quad medium ion cannon (user’s attack roll +2); 7d10x2 ion

Double heavy laser cannon (user’s attack roll +2); 6d10x2

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Additional emplacements beyond the basic model:

Amphibious seals

Fuel converter

Quad medium ion cannon

Double heavy laser cannon

August 16 recap

•With half the party out of commission because of the crash, the party struggles for direction.

•Gobmush returns, looking for an old enemy.

•Marina proves capable of handling herself, but takes offense at being treated like an NPC.

•Lyta speaks with an old mentor who surprisingly respects her independence.

•The party reaches the nearby settlement of Deeja Peak, only to find it's under new management.

•Yvegeny finds his past to be an asset.

Upon assessing the crash of the Raraza, Lyta, Oro, Marina and Yvegeny find that Ras Patul and Kelif Binks-Fett were injured in the rough landing and must undergo medical attention. Lyta dopes them up and provides treatment. With the two people who are most invested in coming to Naboo in the first place down for the count, however, Lyta and Yvegeny are unsure of what to do now — neither one of them really had any interest in the planet in the first place.

Meanwhile, a few weeks ago on Coruscant, Gobmush ran into an old friend, Pedric Graff, with whom he used to work while working security for Czerka. Gobmush related his experiences with Eutix on Myzil V, and Graff enlisted him to help with Czerka security again. Seeing as how on Coruscant most of the security is corporate-owned, having a lot of different corporations with heavily armed personnel has given a new meaning to "corporate espionage." While raiding a Eutix office on Coruscant, Gobmush learned that Eutix had something big going on on Naboo. Graff put together a group of security personnel and scientists, including Gobmush, to find and raid the Eutix facility on Naboo, but Mandalorian gunships shot down their ship, and Gobmush and Chuckles were the only survivors. Coincidentally, their crash site is only a half-hour walk from where the Raraza lands, and Gobmush sets out on foot to find his old friends. On the way, he spots humanoid footprints leading in the same direction.

Gobmush reunites with the party, and instantly recognizes Yvegeny as Kazbich, though because he speaks Gamorrese, nobody can understand his exclamation of surprise. Yvegeny and Marina have been trying to get the ship working again, but find that they need new parts to get airborne again. Gobmush suggests that they may be able to scavenge parts from the crashed Czerka ship, and so Lyta, Oro and Yvegeny join him to head out in the Republic landspeeder that Kazbich had taken from Myzil V and stowed aboard the ship.

While driving through the woods (which is difficult, because there's not a clear path), the speeder suddenly comes under fire as Mandalorian gunslingers decloak. Oro is nearly mortally wounded, while Yvegeny sustains grievous wounds and Gobmush is saved by his armor. As Yvegeny outshoots one Mandalorian and Gobmush dispatches two with his mighty arg'garok, Lyta and Oro use the speeder as cover and bolster their allies from inside. One Mandalorian tries to cloak using his stealth field generator and make an escape, but Yvegeny unloads with his autofire weapon, causing the Mandalorian to reveal himself just in time to connect with Gobmush's axe.

Yvegeny puts on the helmet of one of the Mandalorians in order to see if they can find some information, and the helmet crackles to life, as someone is trying to contact Rancor 1, asking for his status. Yvegeny bluffs his way through it, claiming that they killed the Raraza crew and plan to rendezvous with Sarlacc Squad, a group of Mandalorians that is apparently stripping Gobmush's Czerka ship. He also learns about Bantha Squad, a group that is converging on the Raraza. Yvegeny orders them to pull back from the ship, claiming he's got orders from Mandalore the Divider himself. Bantha 1 says they should rendezvous and attack the ship together, and it occurs to Yvegeny that Bantha 1 really plans to kill him instead.

On the way back to the Raraza, the party debates what to do at first, but Gobmush decides to just charge in and kill the Mandalorians; Lyta and Yvegeny, wearing armor stolen from the gunslingers, can either kill the soldiers or stun Gobmush, claiming to be true Mandalorians. Gobmush tragically drops his arg'garok mid-charge, and the Mandalorians draw two vibroblades apiece and begin slicing and dicing. Yvegeny and Lyta are unsure what to do, and Lyta, using a stealth field generator, tries to maneuver around the melee to get to the ship, but is spotted, so she loudly claims that Gobmush "won't get away this time," pretending to be a Mandalorian. Yvegeny then shoots Gobmush on stun, causing the Gamorrean to drop down and "pass out," but their ruse is compromised when Marina emerges from the Raraza with a blaster rifle in tow and opens fire. Lyta intimidates Marina into surrender, however, though Marina recognizes the Selkath under the armor. The Mandalorians immediately binder-cuff Marina to the landing ramp and cuff Gobmush, then head into the ship.

Two Mandalorians go to the med bay to see the doped-up Umbaran and Gungan (as they enter with Yvegeny, the security system is not activated) while the one remaining Mandalorian hauls Gobmush inside with Lyta. The soldiers speak to Yvegeny, trying to determine if he's actually a Mandalorian or a Raraza crew member who stole the armor, but Yvegeny passes their test by correctly remembering the six precepts of Mandalore. At the entrance, a Mandalorian tries to speak with Lyta in Mando'a, but she doesn't speak the language and fakes her helmet being shorted out to avoid communication.

As the party wonders what to do next — especially as the commandos tell Yvegeny that a ship is en route to the Raraza to pick up the prisoners to take them to the nearest settlement, Deeja Peak — everybody (except the un-perceptive Mandalorians) hears Marina escape from her binder cuffs. While the soldier near her fiddles with her helmet to get it working, Lyta tries to help Gobmush escape his binder cuffs, only to realize she doesn't know the code to get them open. Gobmush improvises and headbutts the Mandalorian. A melee ensues, and Yvegeny and the soldiers near him rush to the loading bay to intervene. Gobmush, unfortunately, while trying to headbutt the Mandalorian again, loses his balance and falls prone, and hoping to save face to their "captors," Lyta tackles him. Yvegeny shoots that Mandalorian, claiming it was an accident. The two remaining soldiers almost appear fooled, and attack Marina and Gobmush, before Lyta tries to intimidate them into surrendering, at which point they promptly cloak and beat a retreat.

Frustrated that the two Mandalorians escaped, and that their gig is up (as the soldiers now know that members of the Raraza are attempting to infiltrate using stolen armor), and that there's still a ship on its way to pick up the prisoners (and they don't know how big of a ship), the crew realizes it has no easy choice on what to do next. Gobmush has a good idea of where to find Deeja Peak, the nearest settlement, even though talking to Bantha Squad indicated that it's being held by the Mandalorians. After Lyta performs some quick surgery and Gobmush releases his snoruuk mushrooms and iriaz pups into the wild (except one snoruuk he keeps for himself), the crew leaves behind the Raraza in the care of its security droids. The entire party (unconscious Ras and Kelif included) loads up into the landspeeder, hoping to make the three-day journey to Deeja Peak and find some parts for the Raraza.

After the first day of driving, the party makes camp for the night. Lyta, still awake, hears her name being called, then sees the spirit of her old Jedi Master, Neyeria. Lyta goes off into the woods so nobody thinks she's talking to herself. Neyeria tells Lyta she shouldn't feel guilty about not being able to save her former Master, and Lyta apologizes that Cariaga Sin killed Neyeria looking for her. Neyeria tells Lyta that though she respects that the Selkath does not wish to be a Jedi, she should not turn aside help from others; there are other Force traditions out there that might help her, and even if she would not join them, she should not stubbornly refuse their aid. She also warns that the dark side is more than flashy displays of power; it's also moral rationalizations and quick, easy decisions, pointing out that Lyta has made some questionable calls. Neyeria also says that while Lyta doesn't know why she's on Naboo, parts of her destiny will come into focus while she's there. Lyta is flippant about the advice, to which Neyeria shows some disappointment about "relying on old defense mechanisms" and disappears.

Lyta has trouble sleeping that night and is groggy for the next day of driving, when the speeder finally breaks out of the woods and crosses the plains, heading for a mountain range in the distance. While passing a herd of wild shaaks (giant, fat herd animals), Yvegeny opens fire on them, and after Gobmush field-dresses them, the party discovers the deliciousness that is shaak meat. At the end of the second day, the party makes camp at the base of the mountains. Marina inquires with the party exactly what the plan was back at the ship, and is disgusted that she hadn't been informed of it (and that she almost got killed because of it). She insists on being included in future plans and groans that she was probably better off in her cell back on Myzil V.

On the third day, the party realizes it doesn't know precisely where Deeja Peak is. Yvegeny finds that the Mandalorian armor they've held on to are no longer connected to the Mandalorian computer network, though he is able to access it briefly and locate Deeja Peak before being shut out. The party drives through the mountains to get to the town.

About a half hour outside of town, the party decides to park the landspeeder; Lyta, Oro and Chuckles will stay with the still-out Ras and Kelif, while Marina, Yvegeny and Gobmush don Mandalorian helmets, try to blend in with the Mandalorians believed to be occupying the town, and see what they can find out. Deeja Peak is a walled city with surface-to-air turrets around it, and when the trio approaches, they see it's guarded heavily by Mandalorians, including a basilisk war droid. Yvegeny, being the only awake party member who speaks Mando'a, bluffs the guards, claiming they're the sole survivors of one of the gunships that the Raraza destroyed when it first entered the system (and Marina, not knowing the language, is a new recruit). The party gains entrance into the city.

The Deeja Peak colony has been repurposed as a Mandalorian fortress. Most of the Basic signs are rewritten in Mando'a; the stores have been closed and replaced with ration centers; the men and able women have been conscripted into Mandalorian service, while the weak and children are used for labor; Neo-Crusader soldiers, all wearing the familiar blue armor, heavily patrol the streets. Yvegeny inquires where he can get some of the red armor, and learns it belongs to the Rally Masters, essentially sergeants in the Mandalorian army. While wandering the town figuring out their next move, the party is approached by a Rally Master, who inquires about their mission. He tells them that the Republic is believed to have landed on Naboo, "with fifty Jedi Knights if there's only one," and so the base is at peak readiness. He orders them to man the wall, patrolling for signs of attack.

While patrolling the outer wall, Yvegeny strikes up a conversation with a conscript named Ceferi, saying he's a Republic contractor and he'll help free him and his family if he helps them bring down the Mandalorians. Ceferi is skeptical at first, but points out that the party could probably get Rally Master armor from the barracks, and that they should wear the full armor — wearing only the helmets is drawing too much suspicion. Yvegeny is relieved he doesn't turn them in.

Also while on the wall, the party can spot several landing platforms around town; they're all heavily guarded, as the Mandalorians don't want any citizens attempting to escape. Most of them are civilian ships retrofitted with heavy weaponry; there's a useable Neimoidian shuttle and Quartermaster-class supply ship visible from the wall. After stopping by the officer barracks in town and receiving Neo-Crusader armor (but rebuffed the Rally Master armor), the party decides to investigate the Quartermaster ship, which turns out to be a galley ship. A group of soldiers is unloading the ship under the direction of a Rally Master; while exploring the inside of the ship while unloading, they find it's too well-armed to simply steal right away.

While the party helps unload the ship, Yvegeny meets Deck, the ship's assigned pilot, and lures him into a dark alley with Gobmush, who promptly kills him so Yvegeny can steal the pilot insignia. (The party feels guilty for killing Deck, as he was a pretty enthusiastic guy, and didn't really seem like a bad guy despite being a Mandalorian.) The Rally Master wonders where Deck is, and inquires as to who Yvegeny is, as he's never seen him before. Yvegeny truthfully identifies himself as Kazbich, saying he fought with the Mandalorians during the Wars (also true). He says a Gungan named Kelif got him back into the Mandalorian ranks, but the Rally Master doesn't recognize the name. The Rally Master is willing to let Yvegeny fly the ship back to the supply post, but insists on sending his own men aboard as well.

Aboard the mess ship, Gobmush and Marina make quick work of the Mandalorian soldiers, and Yvegeny accesses the Mandalorian network, locating many points of interest on the planet, including a real find — the Mandalorian war forge, the factory where armor and weapons are mass-produced, which is underwater in one of the major lakes. The network reveals that the Raraza was towed there by a larger ship. Marina also reveals that she overheard Yvegeny refer to himself as Kazbich to the Rally Master, and she knows that he's Kazbich, though they'll wait to talk about it until later.

Yvegeny picks up Lyta, Oro, Chuckles, Ras and Kelif outside of Deeja Peak, then the party regroups to plan its next move.

(DM's note: I haven't fleshed out the "points of interest on the planet" yet beyond the war forge, but I plan to cover them in small-group sessions. Points would include Republic colonies, Gungan colonies, and other things the Mandalorians have found on the planet.)

Galactic Gazetteer: Naboo

The planet Naboo was discovered in the past four decades by the unprecedented exploration boom of the Hyperspace Navigators Guild after the Great Sith War. With the reduction in use of hyperspace beacons and the introduction of more portable navicomputers, along with new routes recovered from Mandalorian ships, hyperspace exploration became the new frontier during the Republic's reconstruction. An intrepid explorer, Kwilaan, discovered the world and informed the Republic about its presence at the edge of the Mid Rim.

To call Naboo a beautiful world would be an understatement; the pastoral plains, lush forests and breathtaking rivers make the planet a veritable paradise. The planet is flush with natural resources, and while many mining companies have expressed an interest, Republic colonization protocol has first established several small colonies here to establish a local presence first. Small cities have been established at Theed, Dee'ja Peak, Harte Secur, and Keren; consult the Naboo METOSP for more information. While farming operations have commenced, the planet is not yet self-sufficient, and technology imports are shipped in every month.

There has been limited first contact with an amphibious species living underwater that calls itself "Gungans." These primitive creatures can be quite cunning and are believed to have a strong hunter culture; for this reason, civilian travel outside the cities is highly discouraged without an armed guard. For the most part, the Gungans seem unperturbed by Republic colonization; they have developed their own primitive technology and have been shown capable of learning Basic. While some isolated groups have attacked Republic settlements, most of the Gungans appear uninterested in the colonies, though their own settlements have yet to be discovered. Aerial reconnaissance has not yet determined where the Gungans live.

According to Jedi records, Mandalorians held the planet during the Mandalorian Wars before Revan and his followers liberated the planet. Several Gungans were spotted among the Mandalorian ranks during the war, but just as many appear to have deserted and can be found wandering former Mandalorian territory. Scouts have found wreckage of Mandalorian outposts dotting the planet, but recovered records indicate that the Gungans already knew some Basic before the Mandalorians arrived. A wide-ranging theory among Naboo anthropologists is that neither Kwilaan nor the Mandalorians were the first to discover the planet.

The planet is also home to fierce wildlife that has not yet learned to be afraid of hunters. Aside from large and fearsome varieties of marine life (as the loss of many oceanographers can attest to), powerful land predators include the tusk cat, the narglatch (a stealthy swamp hunter), the saw-tooth grank, and perhaps most fearsome of all, the gigantic simian veermok. Naboo has already seen an influx of hunters looking to make trophies of these big-game animals, and just as many hunters have brought home a grank pelt as have needed to be identified by dental records.